Chapter 57: Start of a Journey
(Skyreach)
"We must retreat to the desert, We can harass their lines once they enter Dorne, we slip in behind them and cut their supply lines" Arthur stated as he stood in the war room with Lord Fowler and the other commanders.
"No, we mustn't leave the safety of Skyreach, we will be able to hold them here until reinforcements come" Lord Fowler stated.
"What reinforcements? No one is coming we are on our own!" Arthur shouted back
"Oberyn with the help of Aegon Targaryen managed to defeat the army led by Eddard Stark, he is currently being held captive" Lord Fowler stated as he held up a letter he had received from Doran Martell.
Arthur couldn't help but frown, Doran had been acting like a fool and from what he knew of the man it had to be intentional as he wasn't a foolish person. Arthur looked towards his father who had remained quiet the entire time and saw the same type of concern he also felt.
'Doran... ever the schemer' Arthur thought to himself as he sat down in his seat.
"We'd be in a better position had those cowardly northerners not retreated north instead of coming with us," Lord Fowler said with a disgusted look on his face.
"Be careful with your words Lord Fowler..." Daeron who had been content to sit in his seat quietly spoke up for the first time. He sat there with Blood and dirt staining his skin and clothing, They had been called into the war room as soon as they arrived at Sky Reach without even being allowed to eat or wash.
"Oh? And why should I be careful boy!" Lord Fowler shouted venomously
"I am the Commander in this Army and you stay within my halls, You should be grateful a bastard such as yourself is even allowed in this room" He continued, prompting Arthur to stand up getting his teeth, However, Daeron placed his arm on the man making him back down.
"Lord Fowler, what you've said is undoubtedly true but if I may ask, what power do you wield in this room?" Daeron asked in a low dangerous tone
"What are you talking about!" Lord Fowler shouted back at him.
"Arthur if I asked you to kill Lord Fowler right now what would you do?" Daeron asked.
"I'd cut him down as commanded," Arthur said without hesitation while glaring intently at Lord Fowler who had the wind taken out of his sails at his answer.
Daeron then looked towards the rest of the people in the room "How many of you believe you can best The Sword of the Morning in a fight to protect your Lord" his words were met with silence as no one answered, though even if no one spoke their answer was clear and it made Lord Fowler shrink down more.
Daeron then looked back towards Lord Fowler with a cold expression "Where is this power you speak of? For I see nothing but a weak man, who I could cut down as easily as carving a cake"
Lord Fowler did nothing but look at Daeron with a mix of outrage and a little bit of fear as he saw both Daeron and Arthur looking at him coldly "Mayhaps we should take a break, we've just returned from battle and should wash, eat and get some rest" Beric suggested breaking the standoff that had formed in the room.
Lord Fowler who had not attended the battle and only stood on the edge and watched nodded his head in agreement "Agreed I am quite famished and could use a bath" his words only served to dig under Daeron's skin even more. He and all the rest of the commanders left the room leaving only Beric, Arthur and Daeron alone.
"Something is going on here father, it stinks of Doran's schemes" Arthur stated to his father who had a frown on his face.
"I shan't believe him capable of betraying his people, there are surely better explanations," Beric said though he wasn't convinced of his own words.
"Taking away command from yourself and giving it to Lord Fowler, a man so soft it's a wonder his wife doesn't confuse him for a pillow!" Arthur shouted
"Something is going on, don't you agree Daeron?" Arthur asked turning to the boy.
"I don't care... if Doran wishes to plot against his people he is welcome to, we will be leaving as soon as your sister can travel Arthur"
"Leave? But what about the war?" Arthur asked
"Dorne is safe for now, What you've failed to consider is that Oberyn and Aegon now have a direct route into the Stormlands and then Kings Landing, If the King doesn't leave then he'll risk losing the capital to Aegon" Daeron explained in an emotionless voice.
Beric nodded his head "An astute observation, he is right, at most they'll leave a token force but nothing that could launch a full invasion, especially since they've lost the North"
"But why will we wait for Ashara? Her home is here" Arthur asked.
Daeron shrugged "She wished to come with us and I'm not one to refuse," Daeron said as he got up and left the room with Arthur following behind.
Arthur felt guilt overflowing inside him when he looked at Daeron, he had stopped him from getting his brother's body because he let his fear for Daeron's safety overwhelm him, Daeron had not said a single thing on the subject since he had awoken.
"Daeron, perhaps we should talk about your brother maybe we-"
"Utter no more words from your mouth, I do not want to hear anything on the subject," Daeron said as an Icy cold wind filled the corridors and Daeron glared at Arthur making him shiver.
"As you wish your grace," Arthur said with a bow, Daeron turned around and walked off towards his chambers.
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Daeron slammed his door shut before walking towards his bed and sitting upon it "You look rather awful" he heard a voice say from across the room.
He looked up and saw Ashara who was sitting at a table in her rolling chair palming a cup of wine "Why are you in my chambers?" Daeron asked bluntly with a cold look on his face.
"I heard you had returned from battle and so I wished to greet you and see you were well" Ashara replied.
"As you can see I am fine, You may leave now as I don't believe I'll serve as the best company right now," Daeron said curtly.
Ashara just stared intently at him with her hauntingly beautiful purple eyes, Daeron felt like she could see right through him with those eyes "Arthur told me what happened during the battle..." she abruptly said.
Daeron felt himself clench his fists tightly despite the pain he felt "Leave my chambers now..." he warned in a low voice.
However Ashara with a bit of struggle rolled her chair over to the foot of the bed "Unlike Arthur I am not a Kingsguard, so I am free to disobey you as I please, and until I hear the truth from your mouth I will stay here" she replied in a clear voice.
Daeron whose eyes blazed with fury bore into Ashara "What truth must I speak that will remove you from my chambers" he said venomously.
Ashara looked straight into his eyes her resolve still unshaken "Robb Stark is dead, he was killed in battle, yet I have not seen you grieve"
It felt like all of the pain from fighting the King had just been inflicted on him again and he struggled to hold up his facade "I have no time to grieve, once we leave this place I'll mourn but not now" he responded
Ashara leans forward and grasps his hands in her own "You are running away from the truth, hoping you'll get far enough away that it won't be as painful by the time it reaches you"
"I-I did the same with my daughter... Lyarra, But by the time I let myself grieve I almost threw myself from the Sword Tower in Starfall" she stated in a sad tone.
Daeron grits his teeth as his eyes start to water "I don't wish to think about it..."
Ashara's eyes softened but she remained resolute in her goal "Daeron... tell me the truth" she said calmly as she cupped his face.
Daeron didn't respond for a moment, he knew she was right but he was afraid, Even thinking about saying the words and opening the door to the truth made his whole body tremble, but in the end, he had no choice.
"My brother is dead, I couldn't save him"
With that the door had been opened and the truth of the matter had been stated, Daeron let himself go and he wept like a child while Ashara held him. Robb Stark the person he grew up with and the person he saw as his brother was gone, and he couldn't help but blame himself for not being able to reach him in time.
Robb proved himself a true Stark in his final moments choosing to die to protect his family, and what hurt Daeron the most was that he couldn't take his body back to Winterfell where it belonged, he deserved to be with the Winter Kings and his ancestors, not in the middle of a battlefield so far from home.
Robb had told Daeron he failed him but never had there been more untrue words, Robb risked everything so Daeron could live a good life, and eventually even gave his life.
As Daeron cried in Ashara's arms they eventually found themselves on Daeron's bed where they both ended up falling asleep.
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(The Boneway)
Oberyn Martell walked through his camp watching the celebrations over the victory against the Reach and Stormlands forces, While they were outnumbered over 2-1 they had the ground advantage and with Aegon taking them from the other side in a pincer manoeuvre the victory was all hit assured, being attacked from behind by a professional army filed with veterans and elephants would demoralise anyone.
Though he had not spoken with Aegon yet, he could not trust himself not to draw his knife out and stab him in the throat. His anger at this boy pretending to be his nephew made his blood boil, had Rhaenys not warned him of what they had planned he would've fallen for it. His wish to have a piece of Elia alive and well would make a fool out of him.
He sighed as he walked towards a large tent near the centre of the camp, It was heavily guarded from all sides, though he can imagine that they weren't very happy to be missing out on the celebrations. The guards immediately parted for Oberyn as they saw him, and he walked inside to see various cages with prisoners inside.
The one he wanted was in the centre of the room, the largest and the most comfortable looking of the bunch "Lord Stark, I hope you find the accommodations to your liking" he said with a smirk.
Ned just looked up at him his eyes weary and not entirely caring of his situation "They're fine Lord Oberyn" he simply stated.
Oberyn did not expect to see a man so defeated, From what he heard of Lord Stark he was a resolute and honourable man but the man before him looked as if he preferred the confines of his cell, Oberyn took a seat on a chair outside of his cell " You surprise me, Lord Stark, you are not the man I thought you to be" Oberyn stated with a grin.
"To believe someone hated Lyanna and Rhaegar's son more than I did, psssh I thought that was not possible," Oberyn said as he shook his head in disbelief.
"I do not hate Jon, I did what I did for the sake of the realm, as I do now, I never wanted another war" Ned replied
"And I acted the way I did for Elia, to right the wrongs that were done to her by Lyanna and Rhaegar," Oberyn said humourlessly
He then shrugged his shoulders "But in the end, the truth is all the same, we were both weak men who chose to blame a babe whose only crime was being born, I feel shame that it took someone else to make me realise that... I liked to have thought I was a better man but I suppose I'm not" Oberyn said morosely.
He then looked to Ned "Knowing what you do now would you do anything different?" Oberyn asked
Ned looked him straight in the eyes "If I could do it all over again I would've handed him over to Robert"
Oberyn raised his eyebrows in surprise but shook his head "You would've condemned your nephew to a gruesome death... all for your friend Robert Baratheon"
"Robert is a good man, his temper gets the better of him sometimes but he was a better option than the Mad King" Ned stated
Oberyn looked at Ned with disgust On his face, he finally stood up and spat on the ground before laughing humourlessly "I came here to tell you of the battle that took place at the Prince's Pass"
"Your friend Robert Baratheon killed your eldest son Robb as he came to the defence of his brother," Oberyn said handing him the letter, With nothing more to say he turned around and left the tent the sound of wailing filling his ears from behind him.
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(???)
Daeron awoke in a strange place, though he quickly remembered where he was Though it had been a long time since he had been here, he stood up in the ethereal-looking forest, though he had to admit it looked a lot different than he remembered. There were no sounds of wildlife, there was no sound at all, Apart from that it looked relatively the same.
He turned and looked around for a fire and in the distance he spotted it, walking towards it he couldn't help but feel eyes on him, he'd never felt uncomfortable in this place before so it felt weird he did now. He approached the campsite and was greeted with the site of Nissa who sat there tending the fire as she always did.
Daeron sat next to her and she immediately wrapped him in a warm hug "I'm so sorry for what happened, he deserved so much better" she whispered in his ear.
Daeron just felt himself start to tear up again and he leant his head to Nissa's chest as she stroked his head "Very rarely in life do people get what they deserve, good or evil, and I'm so sorry Daeron but this will not be the first time you lose someone and each time it will hurt you"
"But that is not why I brought you here, I brought you here because you are in danger," She said to him with concern in her voice.
Daeron rubbed his eyes and sat up "How am I in danger?" he asked
"The Gods have all but gone, so those who still worship them often pray to no one... but at times people can often be tricked" she explained
"The Stranger represents Death, which to a mortal would be the end, though this is a common fault people make as death is not the end... The Great Other represents the true end of all things, everlasting night, Winter that never ends, and silence. To a person they might not see the difference and so it would be easy to trick them" She continued.
"You said that the Seven had each been reincarnated, have I met Death?" He asked.
Nissa looked a bit uncomfortable at his words "You have Daeron... you've known them for a while but I did not wish to tell you"
"Why would you not wish for me to know?" He asked with surprise on his face.
"The Warrior is destined to be a master in whatever weapon they choose, the Crone is destined to be a genius, the smith is destined to be a master craftsman... Death is destined to bring the end to its enemies, it can't help but crave death" Nissa explained
"Tell me who it is..." Daeron said with a stern expression.
"Daeron there are more important things to be concerned about," she said avoiding the answer.
"The Faceless men have been paid and have accepted the gold, They are dangerous Daeron, You've also run out of time, after your last use of magic it has slowed your heart down to only a few beats per minute, any more and it will stop completely" she said
"What shall I do," Daeron asked resolutely
"It's time, you have to go to Valyria"
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"C'mon Alyn, we gotta get these here carts loaded" A man shouted as they combed through the battlefield loading different bodies onto their carts. This was a common practice done after battles as people would pay good money for their fallen, though only if they were nobility.
Alyn walked around looking at the thousands upon thousands of bodies scattered across the field, he was annoyed that the King's army had mostly looted them all taking their swords and armour but he supposed he wasn't surprised.
He casually looked around as he stepped on the corpses before seeing the symbol for House Stark, he was young too, and his clothing was fine "Got another one! Dinyl" he shouted as he dragged the body onto the cart throwing it with the others. "So where we 'eading?" Dinyl asked
Alyn shrugged "Might as well go to Skyreach, got mostly Dornish here, suppose the King took his noble dead with him"
"Let's get goin'," he said as he climbed into the driver's seat and spurred his house onwards.
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The sun shined down on a ship as two dragons flew in the sky above it, By the wheel of the ship stood Rhaenys Targaryen holding her two children enjoying the sea air, Asha was at the wheel of the ship where she was happiest.
"How long until we get there" Rhaenys asked
"A few more months until we reach Astapor, got any plan yet?" Asha replied.
Rhaenys smiled dangerously sending a shudder down Asha's spine "Fire and blood"
(AN: So this is pretty much it, end of the Westeros Arc, while next chapter will be a bit of a time skip and we'll be heading into the essos arc, damn we have just passed the halfway point of the story, nearly finished. Let me know what you thought comments are actually appreciated, positive or negative)
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