DAEMON III
107 AC
Caraxes let out a hissing roar while diving into the night in the direction of a concentration of the Crabfeeder’s men.
“Dracarys!” Daemon urges as Caraxes opens his jaw and the sand of Wreckstone is consumed by the crimson fire of the Blood Wyrm.
The screams of the men that died first alerted the rest, who hid inside the multiple stone caves that compose Wreckstone, just like every isle in the Stepstones.
Daemon, in the back of Caraxes, wearing full armor, grunts and the Blood Wyrm lands on the middle of the burning ground, roaring to the few fools that were still there to resist.
“Urnēptre aōla, Drahar!
(Show yourself, Drahar!” The Rogue Prince screams in High Valyrian.
His call is answered by the enemy with arrows.
Most of the arrows only hit the hard scales of Caraxes, making no damage.
But, a flaming arrow hits Daemon in the shoulder.
Caraxes roar after feeling the same pain as his rider through their bond.
Daemon grinds his teeth before taking the arrow out of his shoulder.
He then pushes the reins of Caraxes and the Blood Wyrm returns to the sky.
Looking around, Daemon sees ships of the triarchy with scorpion bolts coming towards them, and then something descends from the sky and soon one of the ships is burning with red flames.
Meleys roar while rising more in the sky after her descent into the ship, evading the bolts that are launched against her.
Daemon smirks before guiding Caraxes against the ships.
With a hissing roar, Caraxes starts burning the ships alongside Meleys.
Soon, the ships of the Iron Throne also join their cause and the rest of the ships of the triarchy try to take a leave.
Daemon would not let them run.
In a fast strike, Caraxes move like a flying demon and descend in the ships with his flame, burning them until they sink on the ocean.
Daemon looks around and sees Rhaenys and Meleys flying by their side.
The two Targaryens trade a glance before Daemon moves his head towards a direction.
Meleys then go towards that direction and Caraxes soon follow.
The two red dragons fly together for a short period of time before finally finding their destination.
It has been some weeks since they managed to take Sunstone and are now using it as a base of operations.
Meleys land first in the beach of Sunstone, but Caraxes soon follow.
The two dragons let out roars to announce their arrival.
Daemon quickly gets his locks out of the way and grunts.
He holds his shoulder as he gets out of Caraxes.
A troop led by an armored Corlys Velaryon approaches them.
“Daemon!
Have you been injured?
Call a healer!” The Sea Snake proclaims to his troop.
Two of the men walk away, searching for help.
Daemon grunts.
“I will be fine.
I just took a flaming arrow to my shoulder.
Nothing that bad.
The important part is that the forces of Wreckstone are demolished.
They are probably getting out of there right now, retreating to Bloodstone.” The Rogue Prince explains while walking towards their camp.
Corlys nods his head.
“Great.
So, the attack was a success.
We can now plan our final attack on Bloodstone and finally end this war.
If it was not for the fleet of the crown, we would be having much more trouble than that.
A war is expensive, even for someone as wealthy as me.” The Sea Snake confesses.
His wife, Princess Rhaenys, walks to them, taking her helmet out and letting her Baratheon black hair flow down her back.
“It will not be that easy yet, Corlys.
The Triarchy will not give up that easily.
They will continue to attack over and over with time.
They know the Stepstones better than we.
They know how to hide and when to attack.
More ships are probably being built, mainly in Tyrosh, which is closer, and Myr, the lands of the Crabfeeder.” The Queen Who Never Was explains.
Her husband nods and Daemon snorts.
“They can rise as much as they want.
We did not lose a battle in moons.
Once we take Bloodstone, this war is over.
We can then create an outpost here to call for the throne to drive the Triarchy away if they attack again.
If they persist, we can attack Tyrosh.
But doing more than that is risking a union of all the Free Cities against us.
And war on that scale would be a catastrophe.
An attack on Tyrosh will be a last resort.” The Rogue Prince proclaims, still holding his shoulder while they walk together towards the camp.
Corlys nods once again.
“I agree.
Well, I think you should go deal with that injury of yours.
We will try to see the results of that battle and how the triarchy is moving.
You can rest for today.
You did a great job.” The Sea Snake says honestly.
Daemon nods with a grunt of slight pain before splitting ways with them.
Daemon enters his tent and starts taking off his armor.
A healer soon enters and starts the process of treating the injured.
The Rogue Prince looks at it.
The hot red mark caused by the fire will probably leave a mark.
But that does not matter.
A true warrior is a scarred one.
After his treatment ends, the healer goes away and Daemon closes his tent and goes to get some sleep after a night planning that battle.
On the next day, Daemon wakes up, wears normal clothes with light armor underneath it and then walks out of his tent.
Under the light of the morning sun, now the whole camp is fully visible.
He can now see the numerous tents over the rocky terrain and the smoke coming from some campfires.
The Rogue Prince walks towards the center of the camp, towards the largest tent.
There, he sees Corlys Velaryon looking at the some maps on the table in front of his tent while arguing with his nephew, Vaemond Velaryon.
Daemon walks slowly, trying to hear the conversation without being noticed at first.
“Myr is sending a new fly to the north of the Stepstones and Lys is sending their own to the south.
Each fleet is larger than any previous one we fought.
With the fleets arriving and the Crabfeeder still not away to be found, we are running out of time.
Our resources are ending and by the time the new reinforcements of the crown arrive, we might get ambushed by the enemy and it will be all over.
We must retreat.” Vaemond Velaryon proclaims in a demanding tone.
Corlys looks at his nephew with a frown and an intense glare.
“Don’t be a fool, Vaemond.
If we retreat, they will get what they want.
While we heal our wounds they will undo everything that we did in that forsaken pile of stones.
We would lose the war and all that effort would be for nothing.
And besides, with Caraxes and Meleys on our side, the Triarchy can send a million ships and they will burn just like the hundred candles from the Fourth Dornish War.
The Crabfeeder is out of places to run and we will soon defeat him, and without his skills in holding the Stepstones or his men, the Triarchy will need to retreat and we will win this war!” The Sea Snake proclaims with conviction.
Vaemond frowns, but takes a step back before letting out a grunt from between his teeth.
“Dragons are not invincible, uncle.
A good shot of a scorpion bolt can kill one.
Just like Meraxes.
Do you want another Rhaenys Targaryen to die in a doomed war?!” The younger Velaryon asks in anger.
Corlys grunts and holds his nephew by the fabric of his shirt, looking to him in the eye.
“Be careful of what you say, nephew.
You may be my blood, but you should hold your tongue if you consider yourself somewhat wise.
Queen Rhaenys died of sheer bad luck.
Do you know how hard it is to pierce through the eye of an adult dragon flying in the air?
That will not happen to my Rhaenys.
I am sure of that.” The Sea Snake says before letting Vaemond go.
The younger Velaryon fixes his posture and looks back at his uncle, less angry.
“Then, we need to take Bloodstone as soon as possible.
And we need a bait to the crabfucker.
Who will be the mad man to take this suicidal task?” Vaemond asks, skeptical.
Daemon takes a step to the front and everyone looks at him.
In silence, the Rogue Prince walks toward the table and puts his helmet on top of it.
Corlys inflates his chest before looking at his nephew.
“Do you have your answer now?” The Sea Snake asks, cocky.
Vaemond frowns and looks at Daemon, analytical.
The Rogue Prince keeps a straight face while looking at him.
Before anything is said, a man walks through the men around them.
On a quick glance, the sigil of House Targaryen on the flag that the man carries declares that he is a messenger of the royal family.
“Sorry to interrupt, my lords!
I bring a letter from your grace King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, to his brother, Prince Daemon of House Targaryen.” The messenger says, bowing while offering a letter to the referred prince.
Daemon frowns and takes the letter before opening it and reading its content.
My dear brother.
With great pleasure, I announce that your wife has finally given birth to your child.
A healthy boy blessed with the look of our house.
A true Targaryen prince.
I hope that the war will be concluded soon so you can return home victorious and meet your future.
King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
Daemon almost smiles with the information, but then he notices that there is a second letter behind the first one.
He swaps the two of them.
Dear husband.
As His Grace announced in the other letter, our son was born recently in good health and I was able to recover well from the birth.
Honestly, childbirth was much worse than anyone could advise me.
But, I am glad that I was able to bring our son to this world without much issue.
I refuse to tell you his name by letter.
You will need to be here to learn that.
Please, come back soon.
Princess Alicent of House Targaryen.
Daemon smirks while reading the letter.
He can tell that Alicent herself wrote it.
The Rogue Prince closes the letter and recovers his stoic expression.
He then gives a glance to the messenger, who quickly gets away.
Daemon fixes his posture and looks to the men around him, who are looking at him with expectation.
He sighs.
“My wife gave birth to a living son of mine.
Now there are five Targaryens that the world must deal with.” The prince mocks with a smirk.
The men around him whistled and clapped in celebration.
Corlys places a hand on his shoulder and looks at him with a serious expression.
“Congratulations, Daemon, but we need to deal with our problems now.
We need you to take the lead on our last assault to the Triarchy so we can take the Stepstones.
And once that war is over, you can meet your child.” The Sea Snake proclaims in a low tone.
Daemon frowns and nods.
The Rogue Prince fixes his posture and looks to the men around him, holding his helmet against the table with one hand while holding his other hand near his sword.
“That war has been going on for long enough.
Almost a year of attacking and retreating.
I think I am speaking for everyone here when I say that I am tired of that.
We will finish the army of the Crabfeeder, take Bloodstone and sink all the ships of the Triarchy that appear, and victory will be ours.
With fire and blood!” The prince proclaims in an inspired tone, unsheathing Dark Sister and pointing it to the sky.
The men roar in agreement and a big number of them do the same that Daemon did with their own swords.
The Rogue Prince smirks with the rise of his confidence.
He then looks back at the two Velaryons.
“What is the situation exactly?” The prince asks.
Corlys takes a deep breath.
“We have a big advantage against the rest of the army of the Crabfeeder, but we can’t deal with the ships and army that the Triarchy is sending.
We need Caraxes and Meleys to deal with them while we extract the Crabfeeder from his nest of rocks.” The Sea Snake explains.
Vaemond grunts.
“We know very well how Drahar operates.
He and his men will hide in the caves as soon as they hear a dragon.
Just like they did last night.
They expect a dragon to arrive.” The younger Velaryon proclaims.
Daemon looks at the map of the Stepstones while thinking.
“Then we just need to break that expectative.” The Rogue Prince proclaims.
Vaemond frowns, looking at Daemon like he was a mad man.
“What do you mean with that?
Only dragons can enter the stone mazes of Bloodstone and get out of here safely.
Our armies will be crushed by rocks and arrows as soon as we get to the main entrance and there is no other way around.
And once the Triarchy arrives, they will bring men and the bolts that they lack.
We need to retreat and come back stronger.
We need more men.
We need more ships.
We need more resources.” Vaemond proclaims in a harsh tone.
Daemon looks at him with contempt.
“The kind of men I hate the most are the cowards.
You fear death, Vaemond?
Or you just don’t have any trust on your own side?” The Rogue Prince mocks.
Vaemond grinds his teeth a bit.
“I am not a coward.
I am just not stupid enough to engage in a battle that we have slim chances to win and that can severely weak the Seven Kingdoms if a dragon is killed.
There is only one two here.
Only two targets for them.” Vaemond argues.
Daemon sighs and cross his arms before smirking.
“I guess you are right on something for once, Vaemond.
We have only two dragons.
We need more.” The Rogue Prince says.
Corlys frowns at him.
“And where can we get more Dragonriders?
There are no Dragonriders of the proper age for a war right now.” The Sea Snake proclaims.
Daemon snorts.
“We don’t need riders.
We need dragons.
If a child can guide a dragon to attack ships, then the child is ready.
We need your children here, Corlys.
We need Vhagar and Seasmoke.” The prince proclaims.
The eyes of Corlys go wide and Vaemond laughs.
“Is that a joke?
You want to bring two kids to a war?
Are you insane?” The younger Velaryon asks, angry.
Daemon smirks.
“They are not kids anymore.
Laena is five-and-ten.
Laenor is three-and-ten.
They are capable riders.
We need the power of Vhagar and the speed that Seasmoke has for being smaller and younger.
What do you think, Corlys?” The Rogue Prince asks.
Corlys takes a deep breath before looking Daemon in the eye.
“I have only two children, Daemon.
One is my heir and the other will become our new Queen next year.
I can’t risk their safety in this war.
There must be another way.” The Seas Snake claims, resisting.
Daemon snorts.
“We need to act fast to cover all the positions to get a definitive win.
Your children don’t need to fight for too much time or do too much in general.
They just need to buy time for us.
Destroy some ships.
Time enough so I can get my work done.
Laena can deal with the army coming from the north while Rhaenys deals with the army from the south.
Me and Laenor will join Laena once the Crabfeeder and his men are dead.
Any failure is very unlikely.
Vhagar is old and slow, but very resistant and powerful.
She will not die here.” The prince proclaims with confidence.
Corlys is about to say something when Rhaenys lands a hand on his shoulder and takes her turn to speak.
“We will accept that, cousin.
But we need something from you as well.
We can’t risk our children, our future, so you can take the glory.
We demand a sacrifice from you as well.” The Queen Who Never Was demands with a severe tone of voice.
Daemon frowns and snorts.
“Of course.
I will risk myself.
I will go to Bloodstone alone, falsely bend the knee to the Crabfeeder, and then attack when his men are out and defenseless.
Laenor and Seasmoke will burn as many men as possible.
I will kill the Crabfeeder or die trying.” The Rogue Prince proclaims with a straight tone.
Vaemond frowns.
“Attack under a peace banner?
That is a war crime.
There is no true victory in that.
The Triarchy will return more motivated because of that.” The younger Velaryon says.
Daemon grunts.
“I don’t care, Vaemond.
We need to win.
That is all that matters.
Being honorable will not lead me to victory.
The Triarchy will need years to recover for another war. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Something around ten years to heal their wealth and army.
Until then, we will only get stronger.
More men.
More ships.
More gold.
We will control the trade in the Narrow Sea and our dragons will get bigger.
By the time the Triarchy returns they will probably have to deal with more than four dragons as well.
Our victory now is more important than anything.” The prince proclaims.
Vaemond grunts back.
Corlys nods slowly.
“Well, I think we have a plan in the end.
Daemon, you will really accept that almost suicidal plan?
I will be surprised if you survive.” Corlys asks, unsure of how to feel about the last topic.
Daemon sighs.
“I am sure of it.
I prefer to die in my war than getting rotten on a bed.
I am a warrior and a second son.
My value must be conquered.
And I have a son now.
If I die, my blood is still around in this world.
But I will not die that soon, Corlys.
I will win this war.” The Rogue Prince proclaims with pride.
Corlys nods to him and Vaemond snorts.
“If you are so certain, let’s go forward.
We have a battle to fight.” The Sea Snake proclaims and the men raise their weapons and shout.
Daemon smirks and nods before looking at his cousin.
“Rhaenys, we need to do things fast.
I want to do things as soon as tomorrow.
Because of that, I need you to fly to the Red Keep and bring Laena and Laenor here.
You can explain the things to my brother first, but I want the three of you here by the night, understand?” The prince commands.
Rhaenys nods.
“I could use a talk with my children and Viserys.” The Queen Who Never Was says with irony before walking out towards where her dragon is landed.
Daemon then looks back at the maps and plans on the table.
“So, time for the tedious part.
Vaemond, I think it is your time to do something useful.” The Rogue Prince smirks and the men around laughs.
Vaemond grunts and pulls the papers.
Daemon sighs while Vaemond starts talking about ships, gold, men, weaponry, time, weather…
He is a man of action.
And that is what he is good at.
The rest, does not matter to him.
Daemon grunts while doing some effort to move the oars of his small boat to the coast of Bloodstone.
While he gets closer and closer to the beach full of rocks, he looks to the sky, which is completely full of grey clouds, even if it is still morning.
The rain will fall soon, but hopefully it will not be a problem for him right now.
The Rogue Prince arrives at the coast and lands his feet on the wet sand.
He grabs the peace banner that he brought with him and raises it while walking forward.
The white flag and his silver hair move with the wind.
Daemon walks toward the oval entrance of the rock formations.
He looks around with the corner of his eyes, trying to assimilate every single piece of broken boat and every single large stone that he can get.
He stops walking, looking towards the entrances on the two levels of the rock formations, where he knows that the Crabfeeder and his men are watching every movement that he does.
Daemon raises the flag with both hands and shakes it around as a peace sign.
He then craves the flag on the sand by his side.
Lots of men come from the various entrances.
The ones high on the rocks holding bows and the ones on the ground holding swords and other close-range weapons.
They all look at him with caution.
And then, from the main entrance at the front, the deformed and half-masked face of the Crabfeeder appears, shaking a bit while moving.
He looks at one man by his side and makes a sign with his head, never using a word.
The man calls two more to be by his sides while he slowly approaches Daemon.
The Rogue Prince takes a deep breath and then unsheathes Dark Sister.
Arrows are pointed at him and swords are raised, until he falls to his knees and then offers his sword on his hands.
The three men approach him and the leader extends his hand to grab Dark Sister.
But then, Daemon grabs the hilt of his sword and in a quick movement Dark Sister cuts through his weak armor and opens his belly, letting his guts flow out of his body.
The archers prepare their arrows and the men start running towards Daemon.
The prince quickly evades the attack of one of the two men on his front and then cuts off a leg of the other one, who falls to the ground.
Daemon runs to a near rock and ends up getting protected from some arrows.
He then takes a breath before throwing a rock at his left as a bait so he can run to his right.
He clashes his sword with another man before moving fast and craving his valyrian blade on his neck.
Daemon then runs to a destroyed part of a boat, but gets hitted by two arrows.
The Rogue Prince grunts, but jumps through a rock and gets to the big chunk of boat.
He is now out of the range of the archers, but the men are still running towards him.
He takes out the two arrows and grunts in pain.
He takes a deep breath and raises his sword to fight to death if needed.
But then, as the enemies almost reach his range, grey fire comes from the sky and engulfs the men, stopping their charge while their leather armor and skin burns.
Daemon looks up to see Seasmoke roaring in the sky, with the young Laenor on his back.
The grey dragon starts bursting his flames over the archers to clear the path for Daemon.
The Rogue Prince looks around to see the Crabfeeder entering his cave.
Daemon runs towards him, making quick work of the burning men that are still trying to stop him.
Daemon enters the cave and has his vision filled by the darkness.
He then see a torch being lighted up some meters on his front.
As an experienced warrior, Daemon doesn’t rise to the bait.
The Rogue Prince turns back and swings his sword at the Crabfeeder, who dodges it before attacking with his axe.
The two weapons clash against each other before both of them retreat.
Daemon and Drahar look at each other through the darkness and the small light of the torch.
The Crabfeeder attacks once again, and Daemon dodges before cutting the knee of his enemy.
Drahar falls into a knee with a grunt and tries to attack Daemon once again, but the Rogue Prince quickly cuts his hand off with Dark Sister.
The right hand of the Crabfeeder falls to the ground along with his axe.
Drahar grinds his teeth while holding his bleeding arm.
Daemon stands triumphant in front of him, looking down at his defeated enemy.
“Issa daor toliot…
(It is not over…)” the Crabfeeder says in high valyrian with the dry voice of someone that is not used to speaking.
Daemon snorts before raising his sword.
With a quick diagonal swing, the Rogue Prince split the body of Craghas Drahar in half.
The two parts fall to the ground, leaking his guts.
Daemon takes a deserved breath.
He takes the axe as his trophy and then grabs the arm of the superior part of Drahar’s body.
He then drags it towards the exit of the cave.
The light of the cloudy day arrives to his eyes and he can see the Corlys and his army arriving to massacre the rest of the men of the Crabfeeder.
Corlys and Vaemond lead some men towards him after cleaning the path.
The Sea Snake looks down and smirks when he sees the body of Drahar.
“It looks like you finally did it, huh?
You must do the other part of the plan now, Daemon.
Take Laenor with you.
We can deal with the rest.” The Sea Snake proclaims, landing his hand on his shoulder briefly before leading the men in another direction.
Daemon leaves the body of the Crabfeeder before taking some steps.
He then looks at the sky and lets out a loud whistle.
The Rogue Prince hears a hissing roar and looks back.
Caraxes emerges on the top of the rock formation, moving his neck like a snake.
He then jumps from it and uses his wings to land into the sand in front of Daemon, who retreats a bit.
The Prince quickly gets on top of his dragon, locking his legs in place.
Without a single word, Caraxes roar and take flight.
The Blood Wyrm flies higher and leaves the island.
Daemon looks around and guides Caraxes to the fleet of the Triarchy.
Daemon looks back and sees Seasmoke and Laenor following them as well as they flew towards the battle in the sea.
There, Daemons spots the massive body of Vhagar burning down boats with its massive green flames.
The scorpions can barely scratch her thick scales.
The Rogue Prince pulls the reins and Caraxes dive towards the boats to bathe them in red flames.
The might of the three dragons combined is too much for the fleet to handle.
Their scorpions can’t even get launched before being burned or at least they can’t land properly on their target.
Soon, the sea is covered by the leftovers of burned ships and men trying to swim for their lives.
The fleet was defeated.
The three dragons let out roars of victory.
Daemon looks down with a smirk before leading the three dragons back to Bloodstone.
Caraxes, Vhagar and Seasmoke land on the coast of the island.
Daemon gets out of his dragon and meets with some men, with Corlys, Vaemond and Lord Celtigar on the front.
The Sea Snake opens a large smile.
“It is done.
The rest of the men are either dead or captured.
Our army claimed every single inch of land in Bloodstone.
The Stepstones are ours!” The Lord of the Tides proclaims, raising his axe in the air while looking to his army.
The men scream in commemoration while raising their own weapons.
Daemon snorts.
“The war has ended, but we still have problems here.
The Triarchy will come back eventually.
We need to take a more tight hold of Stepstones.
Any plans for that, Sea Snake?” The Rogue Prince asks with irony.
Corlys gives slowly nods.
“Lord Celtigar was showing his plans to us.
Why don’t you hear about it as well?” The Sea Snake asks while making a sign to the referred lord, who takes a step further.
Lord Jon Celtigar, the Lord of Claw Isle, is the current head of House Celtigar, a family of valyrian descent that are vassals of the Targaryens since the era of Aenar the Exiled.
But, the Celtigars were never as close to the Targaryens as the Velaryons are.
Even their valyrian blood is considered to be more diluted.
The appearance of Jon Celtigar is proof of that.
Lord Celtigar is a man in his forties and considerably overweight, but still a man with a lot of strength on his thick arms.
He holds a book on his left hand and he supports his weight on his valyrian steel axe, the Crab’s Pincer.
Jon has the valyrian purple eyes, but he has a more common light brown hair, which he keeps short, instead of the more classic silver hair kept by the Targaryens and Velaryons.
As a house of the Narrow Sea with a relevant navy and loyal to house Targaryen for over two centuries, the Celtigars were called to aid them in the war.
For Daemon, aid would be a strong word to use.
The Celtigars are infamous for their large wealth, for a smaller house, but not as much as they are infamous for their avarice.
Lord Jon Celtigar is not an exception.
His dear brother Viserys thought that Lord Celtigar would be the best person to take care of the crown’s finances and avoid wasting everything with no results.
Convincing the lord to do something most of the time was a suffering.
He always had a complaint about the gold going to waste and how they should think more from a future perspective.
At the time, Daemon almost could not resist being in the same place as the man without cutting his throat open after five minutes.
Lord Corlys was the one doing that.
He also did not seem to like it.
Daemon snorts and looks at Jon Celtigar with a bored expression.
The Lord of Claw Isle stands on his ground.
“My Prince, since that whole war started, I have been making plans to the Stepstones once we manage to win.”
“A victory that took longer than expected because of you, Celtigar.
We could have ended it moons ago, but instead you insisted on holding our resources.
Why should I hear any plan from you?” The Rogue Prince proclaims in a mockery tone while frowning.
Lord Jon Celtigar snorts.
“You will understand why I did that right now, my Prince.” The Lord says with confidence.
Daemon snorts and crosses his arms.
“Go on.”
“We need to get a better hold of the Stepstones, as you said.
But, we can’t work with those bare rocks in the middle of the sea.
We need to build a base here.
We need to have forces here, like the Crabfeeder and his pirates had.”
“Let me guess, you took a look at more of a future perspective?”
“Yes.”
“How predictable…
Tell me, what is it?”
“We need to build keeps on each island of the Stepstones and connect the caves to them in the same way as the ones in the Red Keep.
But, not only would we need a large amount of gold to make the keeps, we would also need a constant number of ships and men to keep the Stepstones safe during the constructions.
We would also need loyal men to lead the constructions.
I have made some sketches with the help of some men, here, take it.” Lord Celtigar says, handing his book to Daemon.
The Rogue Prince grunts and takes the small book.
He opens it and sees a large number of notes and sketches of keeps, detailing the constructions according to the location of each island.
Daemon frowns and looks back at Jon Celtigar.
“You did a good job, my Lord.
I can certainly see the advantages of going further with them, but I doubt that we have the resources for that, even with your avarice ruling or gold.” The Rogue Prince says with some frustration.
Lord Celtigar laughs.
“I would not make a proposal that could not be done, my Prince.
We for sure do not have enough resources to make all of those buildings without going into debt, but I have my personal wealth to assist our cause.
Of course, I would need some compensation for that.” The Lord of Claw Isle proclaims with a mischievous smile.
Daemon laughs with a bit of disdain.
“I killed the Crabfeeder to make a deal with the crab himself.
Fine.
What do you want, Celtigar?” The Rogue Prince asks, losing all formality.
Lord Celtigar looks at him without flinching one bit.
“I am not sure yet.
I think I could get some…
benefits out of Stepstones.
You know how much my house respects wealth, my prince.” The Lord says in an evasive tone.
Daemon smirks before walking around Jon Celtigar.
The man follows him with his eyes, concerned.
“Benefits, you say?
Well, that pile of rocks can have many uses.
Many profitable uses.
The main reason the Sea Snake here wanted that war was the absurd taxes that he was paying to go through them.
As a greedy Celtigar, I think you must have an eye for that, don’t you, my lord?” The Rogue Prince says in a tone of mockery.
Jon Celtigar frowns.
“My prince, what are you trying to propose to me?”
“Oh, it is simple.
You help us to build the forts in Stepstones and to keep reduced taxes for the crown and its vassals.
But, you still would have to pay the taxes that you would collect outside of the seven kingdoms.
Like with the dornish or the triarchy.
I offer you the title of Protector of the Narrow Sea and Guardian of the Stepstones.
You will stay in the Stepstones, collect the taxes, make reports to the crown, defend the land against invasors, and also finance and help in the construction of all the keeps that we need.
What do you think?” The Rogue Prince asks, being direct.
The purples eyes of Lord Celtigar shines with the idea, but he keeps well his tough act.
“It would be an honor, your grace.
But I am concerned about the Claw Isle.
If I stay here, the island will be out of my reach.” The Celtigar man says.
Daemon frowns.
“How old is your heir, Lord Celtigar?”
“My son Bartimos is in his twenties.”
“Well, so the solution is clear.
Let your son be your regent in the isle.
He would be their lord after you die, after all.” The Prince proclaims in an authoritarian manner.
Lord Jon snorts and then nods.
“I accept your terms, my prince.” The lord proclaims.
Daemon stops walking around to be just in front of the man, looking down to him with disdain.
“On your knees, Lord Celtigar.” The Rogue prince demands, taking out Dark Sister.
The lord of Claw Isle quickly falls to a single knee, closing his eyes while he bows his head.
Daemon places the tip of his sword on the shoulder of the man.
All the men around watch in contemplation.
“As a representant of his grace, King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, I, Prince Daemon of House Targaryen, name Lord Jon Celtigar as Protector of the Narrow Sea and Guardian of the Stepstones.
Lord Celtigar, do you swear fealty to your grace, King Viserys?” The Prince asks in a formal manner.
Lord Celtigar looks up with an honest gaze.
“I swear my loyalty to his grace, King Viserys.
From this day, and until the last of my days.” The Lord proclaims in a firm tone of voice.
Daemon nods and then he moves his valyrian sword back to its hilt.
Lord Celtigar gets up and the men cheer in celebration.
Daemon takes a deep breath before looking at Corlys.
The Sea Snake is smiling while having a little conversation with his two children, one in each arm.
Rhaenys is just by his side, keeping a shorter smile, having returned from her own successful fight.
Daemon snorts, asking himself if a man like him could imagine himself in that position.
Father or not, the scenario is still laughable when presented to him.
Daemon walks towards them.
“Sorry to interrupt your family discussion, Corlys.
But, I think I should give my greetings to your children here.
They did a good job against the Triarchy today.
You must be really proud of them.
All that a father can want.” The Prince says, being cordial with an ironic tone sliding through his lines.
If Corlys notices it, he is not shaken by it.
He only smiles back.
“Thank you, my prince.
Yes, I am proud of them.
I am proud of my dear boy here for showing all the bravery that a future Lord of the Tides need to sail in the more harsh of storms.
I am also proud of my sweet girl here.
A fine future queen that can stand her ground in war very well.
A warrior queen that hasn’t appeared since Queen Visenya, whose dragon has my daughter as a rider.
I am very satisfied with the conclusion of that war.” The Sea Snakes proclaim with an honest tone, making both Laenor and Laena happy in their own ways.
“You did a great job as usual, Rhaenys.
You make good use of my mother’s dragon.” The Rogue Prince proclaims in a neutral tone.
Rhaenys nods her head.
“Thank you, cousin.
I did what I could for a war that involved the future of my family.
I am happy that we can go back home without major casualties.” The Queen Who Never Was proclaims.
Daemon snorts, but nods.
Corlys looks back at him.
“So, you are a father now and the war is over, at least for now.
You plan to fly straight to the Red Keep to see your son?” The Sea Snake proclaims.
Daemon frowns.
“No.
I can wait one more day.
Tonight, I want to celebrate our victory with my men.
Bring some wine to all!” The prince proclaims, looking around with a large smirk.
Corlys laughs.
“Just be sure not to drink too much, Daemon.”
“No promises.
I have been waiting for that.”
“Well, your problem.
Fetch me some wine as well.”
“Now we are talking.
Someone bring a good one for the Sea Snake!”
Caraxes let out his hissing roar while flying through the sky, getting closer to Dragonstone.
Daemon frowns with the headache he got from drinking too much last night.
But he has no regrets.
Because of the war he almost never got the chance to take some drinks and get his frustrations out.
The only thing still missing for him is some action.
But on those cursed stones in the sea finding a woman is harder than finding his own weight in gold.
Of course, he promised to his wife that he would at least try not to sleep around, as long as she does her job.
And that she did, ha can’t deny that.
In his few visits to the Red Keep during that time, he spends most of his time with Alicent in their bedchamber.
He has needs, after all.
But it was a different experience to say the least.
The Rogue Prince, being natural to brothels, was never too familiarized with sleeping with a pregnant woman.
Each time he visited Alicent, her stomach would be bigger than before and sex became more troublesome.
In the last moon, doing it was almost too strange for him.
At least, he could see that his wife was trying to do her best.
Most probably because she doesn’t like the idea of sharing her husband.
The thought makes Daemon smirk a bit as Caraxes finally arrives in Dragonstone, flying around the island for a bit, searching for a specific place.
Caraxes dives into the entrance of a cave.
The vision of Daemon gets darker as the Blood Wyrm lands inside the cave.
Daemon gets out of Caraxes and places and lights a torch that he brought with him.
He places a hand in the nose of Caraxes and the dragon hiss a bit before laying in the ground in silence.
The Rogue Prince walks deeper into the cave.
The sound of his foot echoes through the walls of the cave.
After a while getting more and more deep into the cave, separate ways start appearing in front of Daemon.
To the left, to the right, to basically any direction.
Experienced with the Dragonmount, Daemon quickly chose a path.
The walls of that path are smaller, but he can walk through it with some effort.
As Daemon passes through that passage, he hears a distant roar of a dragon coming from somewhere.
It is not Caraxes and it is not that far.
He might need to go faster.
After passing through a passage that he had to walk sideways, Daemon finally arrives where he wanted.
He is now in a huge chamber that could fit a ship in it.
On the side of the chamber there is a huge hole that can be used by a dragon to enter and get out.
In the middle of the chamber, Daemon finds what he was searching for.
Seven dragon eggs above some rocks that are liberating some steam because of their high temperature.
Because of that steam, Daemon knows that their mother is near, probably out to hunt.
Daemon takes a breath as he remembers his father bringing him into the Dragonmount and showing that place to him.
The lair of Silverwing, not so far from the lair of Vermithor, her mate.
The perfect place to get a dragon egg in Dragonstone.
Daemon then looks at the eggs and tries to choose one.
As soon as he gets his torch near one of the eggs, the light of the fire is reflected by only one of them.
The one in the middle.
Daemon takes a look and sees the bright golden scales of the egg, reflecting the light like they were made of pure gold.
It almost looks fake.
The Rogue prince touches the egg.
It is real.
Real and very hot.
Perfect.
Daemon smirks and takes the egg, he then quickly goes his way back, before he has to meet Silverwing while trying to take her egg.
The Rogue Prince arrives back at Caraxes and the Blood Wyrm immediately looks to the golden egg in the hands of his rider, giving it a smell.
Daemon laughs.
“Majestic, right?
A perfect egg for my heir, don’t you agree?” The Rogue Prince jokes.
Caraxes snort some steam.
Soon, the two of them take flight once again and Daemon is now able to see better the egg that he got.
As he saw, the egg is full of a golden color, but now he can also see some pink veins in it.
Daemon smiles while looking at the egg reflecting the light of the sun.
“Nobody can deny the royalty of a gold dragon, for sure.
And if you are similar to your father, you will be a war beast in no time.” The Rogue Prince whispers to the egg before smirking.
Daemon pulls the reins of Caraxes and the dragon lets out his hissing roar before flying towards King’s Landing to a long awaited return.
The Blood Wyrm flies through the clouds before diving down into the area of King’s Landing, letting out a powerful roar to announce his arrival.
From his dragon, Daemon can see both commoners and nobles running around and looking at him.
Satisfied with the advice, he guides Caraxes to the Dragonpit.
The red dragon lands on the open grounds of the Dragonpit and Daemon gets himself out, holding the golden egg with him.
The Dragonkeepers guide Caraxes towards the entrance to the pit while Daemon meets with Ser Harrold Westerling, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
“Prince Daemon.
You have returned.
Any particular reason for your return?” The white knight asks in a composed tone.
Daemon snorts.
“I have my reasons, commander.
I will discuss them with my brother.
Only with him.” The Rogue Prince proclaims.
The Lord Commander frowns, but nods.
“Very well.
If you don’t feel bothered, I would like to go with you to the Red Keep, my prince.” Sir Harrold says.
Daemon nods and the two of them get on horses before departing to the Red Keep.
They pass through the streets of King’s Landing and Daemon gets the usual looks from the smallfolk.
Some look of admiration towards a prince and others in fear or anger towards the infamous Daemon Targaryen.
That brings a twisted smile to the Rogue Prince.
His time as commander of the gold cloaks has not been forgotten.
After entering the castle with Harrold Westerling, Daemon walks through the strangely empty halls of the castle before arriving at the throne room.
Guards open the doors to him and Daemon walks in to meet a great number of nobles and commoners around the court, looking at him and whispering.
At the front of the Iron Throne, his brother stands with the crown of the conciliator on his head, looking at him with caution.
Daemon walks through the tapestry in a slow pace, his eyes fixed into his brother’s eyes.
The Rogue Prince pulls out the weapon of the Crabfeeder and the guards raise their swords.
But, Daemon threw it at the feet of his brother before taking a deep breath.
“Your grace.
The Crabfeeder and the triarchy have been defeated.
The Stepstones and the Narrow Sea are now commanded by Lord Jon Celtigar as a Protector under the power of the Iron Throne.
As such, I have come here as a humble bannermen to announce our victory.” The Rogue Prince proclaims before getting on his knees in front of his brother, letting the egg by his side.
Viserys looks at the Daemon while the guards take away the weapon of the Crabfeeder.
The king looks his brother in the eyes, then holds his shoulders and gives him a hug.
The court applauds the tender gesture between two brothers as Daemon gets up.
Viserys smiles.
“Brother, I felt much happiness when I heard the reports.
I am glad that you have returned whole and victorious.
We need to celebrate, but I think there is someone you need to meet first.” The king says with a laugh before pointing to a direction.
From a corner that Daemon did not notice yet, Alicent walks towards them.
Dressed in a red dress, his wife is just as formal and good looking as he would have expected.
But, in her arms she holds something rolled in a white fabric of high quality.
Daemon loses his breath a bit when he looks at it.
Alicent gives him a short smile after seeing his reaction.
“Your son, my prince.” The princess says a soft tone, offering him the babe in her arms.
Daemon hesitates for a moment before taking the child in his own arms.
The court applauds once again while Daemon takes a first look at his son.
He notices the short silver-golden hair of house Targaryen in the child.
Just a bit more blonde than his own hair.
The babe, who was previously sleeping, moves in his arms and before opening his eyes to show their purple color.
Eyes that remembered Daemon of his own father.
The darker shade of purple of Baelon the Brave instead of his light violet color.
Daemon opens a rare honest smile.
“What is his name?” The Rogue Prince asks, not moving his eyes from his precious heir.
Alicent stands more straight.
“I named him after the Conqueror and your younger brother, my prince.
His name is Aegon Targaryen.” The child’s mother proclaims.
Daemon looks back at her.
Prince Aegon Targaryen.
What a pretentious name.
He originally wanted to name his child after his father, but after the incident with his nephew, it is better that way.
“A good name, my dear.
I hope that he will live up to the weight of that name.” The Rogue Prince proclaims.
Alicent nods with a smile.
Daemon gives his son back to Alicent before raising the golden egg, showing it to the babe, who looks at it with clear interest, making his father smirk.
“A golden egg for a golden prince.
It does not get better than that.” The Rogue Prince laughs while Aegon tries to hold the egg with his tiny hands.
Alicent smiles while looking at the egg with admiration.
“A beautiful egg, indeed.” The princess says in a lower tone.
Viserys laughs and holds a hand into the shoulder of each one of them.
“What a great day!
Now, what about we get some food?
I am starving!” The King proclaims with a large smile.
The guards start to lead the court out while other guards guide the royal family to another room.
On the way, the young figure of Princess Rhaenyra walks to her uncle with a bright smile.
Daemon takes a second to take a good look at her.
She is growing fast, that is certain.
“I am glad that you have returned, uncle.
Anything for me?” The princess asks, joking.
Daemon smirks.
“I spoil you that much?”
“Not enough, I would say.
Last time you gave me nothing as well.”
“How rude of me.
Next time I will bring you something.
I can’t get more than a rock in the middle of the Stepstones.” The Rogue Prince proclaims in a dramatic tone.
Viserys laughs loudly before they all sit at the table to get a really nice feast together after a period of hard times.
“Daemon, I think you drank too mu-mph!” Alicent has her phrase cut short when Daemon crushes her lips with his, pressing her back against the wall of their room just after they close the door.
She moans as Daemon moves from her lips to her exposed neck.
“Do you know how much time I have waited to get some action?
I am just starting.
Maybe I will start working on giving a sister-wife to Aegon while I am at it.” The Rogue Prince mocks before grabbing Alicent by her waist and kissing her once again.
She melts on his arms and kisses back, moving her hands to his neck and head.
She breaks the kiss, struggling to get air.
Their eyes met.
“I don’t think I am ready for a second child now.
Aegon’s birth was really hard.
I need more time to recover.” The princess says with a concerned tone.
Daemon grunts while taking his shirt off.
“Do as you wish, but I am not doing half the work here” the Rogue Prince mocks.
He then notices Alicent looking at his covered injury of an arrow with severe concern.
“By the gods!
What happened?
Have you been treated when you arrived?
Are you feeling any pain?” The princess asks, extending her hand to touch around the injury.
Daemon snorts.
“Is not a big deal.
Just an arrow.
Is not even changing my movement now.
I can still do this…” The prince says before carefully throwing Alicent to the bed, gaining a short scream from her.
Daemon laughs.
She sits on the bed with messy hair and gives him a glare.
“That was not fun, Rogue Prince.” She mocks him back.
Daemon smirks once again.
“Not quite there yet, but you are getting better at imitating me.” The Prince says.
Alicent sighs in exasperation while she watches her husband take out his pants.
She frowns.
“You really want to do that now?
It is still soon.
We just ate dinner.” The princess proclaims.
Daemon snorts to her.
“You say that like you don’t want it, but I know you.
You don’t even dare to touch yourself, like the delicate lady you think you are.”
“…”
“I will take that as a yes.”
Alicent sighs while her face turns red.
She moves her hands to the back of her dress and Daemon opens a malicious smile.
On one common day of his life, Daemon Targaryen wakes up with a terrible headache caused by too much drinking.
The Rogue Prince grunts and ignores his sleeping wife, going to the toilet.
After just wearing some clothes, Daemon hears someone knocking on the door.
He grunts once again.
Once the door is opened, he receives a maid with a frowned face of irritation.
The young woman is clearly anxious.
“Excuse me, your grace, but something has happened with Prince Aegon.
We need you there as soon as possible.” The maid asks almost too quickly to be heard.
But Daemon did.
Ignoring the woman completely, Daemon quickly reaches the room where his son was sleeping and opens the door with a strong push, making it hit the wall with a loud sound.
Daemon finds the other maids scared into a corner of the room, looking to him and also to the cradle.
When Daemon looks to the cradle, he feels his breath returning.
Inside the cradle, Aegon laughs happily while a small creature smells his body and gives it some licks.
Daemon slowly walks towards the scene, fascinated.
The hatchling dragon looks up to Daemon, opens his wings to look bigger and screeches, trying to roar.
Daemon smirks with the attitude.
The sunlight coming from the window that reaches the dragon makes his golden scales shine like real gold, his wings are of a pale pink color and his chest is a yellowish color.
At the top of his head is a pair of small white horns, a very rare trait for hatchlings.
The pieces of the golden egg are all over the cradle.
Daemon is a bit taken away by the beauty of the dragon, ignoring how the little thing is making a death threat to him.
“What a majestic creature you are, little one.” The Rogue Prince says with a low tone of voice, offering his hand to the hatchling, who screeches and retreats.
Daemon looks at the bronze eyes of the dragon.
“Drakari pykiros…
tikummo jemiros…
(Fire breather…
winged leader…)” The Rogue Prince starts to sing.
The dragon relaxes its posture a bit, looking at him with curiosity.
Daemon gets his hand closer.
“Yn lantyz bartossa…
saelot vāedis…
(But two heads…
to a third sing…)” The Prince continues as his hand gets closer.
His fingers touch the dragon, but he retreats once again.
“Hen ñuhā elēni…
perzyssy vestretis…
(from my voice…
the fires have spoken…)” Daemon sings when he touches the dragon once again.
The dragon finally relaxes and lets out a satisfied grunt while he gets some scratches.
The prince smirks.
“Be fierce, little one.
We will need a warrior dragon in the future.” The Rogue Prince says before retreating his hand.
The golden hatchling screechs at him.
Daemon opens a malicious smile.
“That is more like it”