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Readers who enjoy the premise of a strong main character like Ei will definitely like my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
The Valyrian Empire
Pentos
200 YA / 200 AC
The House of the Dragon was in a crisis.
A plague had swept through the empire. For the common man, it did nothing more than cause runny noses. Those of Valyrian descent suffered heavier. Coughs, labored breathings, and fevers, which had led to deaths in some cases.
Yet the ones who suffered the most were the dragons.
The mighty beasts that had brought the Free Cities to their knees were wasting away. The plague had made them weak and unable to hold their food. Each time the meat came back with fresh blood and bile. The handlers were afraid to give them more, but without sustenance, they could not be healed.
The eggs were sequestered away. Each one kept in a different, safe place, plunged in boiling alcohol to kill the plague should it touch the eggs.
Even Balerion the Black Dread was not spared. For all his immense size and power, the oldest dragon alive was wasting away like the rest.
All shipments to Dragonstone had been ceased in order to protect the smaller dragons inhabiting the island, but the order had come too late. One by one, the nesting dragons fell ill.
Healers were summoned all across Essos, as well as from Westeros. Some remedies had not worked; others only offered short-term relief. When the first dragon, the fully grown dragon of Prince Aenor, had died, House Targaryen had begun to seek traitors.
The Dragon Handlers were the first. Except for House Targaryen, the handlers were the ones who could approach the dragons so closely. Baseless or not, the interrogations had not revealed anything. Dissatisfied, the healers were next. They could not be dealt with in the same manner as the handlers, for it would scare the rest from approaching with a possible solution.
It had not yielded any conspiracy either.
Some considered looking across the Narrow Sea for the culprits.
However, the Unified Kingdom had already moved beyond in most fields compared to the Valyrian Empire. The God-Queen had no reason to poison dragons unless she wanted to conquer Essos as well.
Unknown to the Targaryens, the culprits were much closer to home.
The Council of Nine had exhausted all available options in the Unified Kingdom. The men sent to the academy were caught and imprisoned; concealed attempts to approach the kingdom for support to overthrow the Targaryens had not worked.
In fact, the kingdom had gone as far as to inform House Targaryen of the offers made in the shadows. Several members of the council were lost as a result.
Brought to light as they were, retaliation had become necessary. The plague was brought from the Shadow Lands, where the dragons are said to originate. It had cost them dearly, both in men and wealth, yet the results were worth it.
It took months for the beasts to waste away, but as long as the eggs existed, the Targaryens could have dragons once more, given time. However, the plague was spread across the empire, with no way to be vanquished. Unless the Targaryens could develop a cure, the hatchlings would die as well.
—
The Unified Kingdom
Storm's End
"Huh, the Targaryen dragons are dying, it seems," Chiyo muttered, laying back down. She put the letter on the table, enjoying the sun.
"Dying? How?" Ei asked, coming out of her meditation.
"A plague," she waved her arm, "It affects humans of Valyrian descent too, though to a lesser degree."
Saiguu, who had risen upon hearing the word "plague," went back to sprawling on her hanging chair. "Eh, whatever."
"This is obviously not a mere plague. Sorcery from Essos must be at work. I'll order the cabinet to be on alert," Sasayuri, as the only one fully awake, said.
"Wonderful," Saiguu yawned. "We just needed a magical plague. As if the Targaryens weren't annoying enough."
"Could it be those Council of Nine—or something like that—be responsible?" Chiyo said. She had to deal with those inept nobles one too many times.
"Anything is possible."
—
Within days of receiving word on the plague in the empire, the Unified Kingdom released a decree forbidding ships of the empire from accessing the ports on Westeros. It would affect trade, but the decree would last until the Ministry of Health appraised the situation. If the plague presented a threat, the ban would last until a cure was developed.
The empire released a statement, protesting the decree. The statement was backed by banning the ships of the kingdom in a tit for tat. Busy as they were with saving the dragons, House Targaryen did not take any further steps.
The researchers of the kingdom were quicker to realize there was a magical side to the plague. Specifically targeting the dragons, it did not pose any threats to other sources of magic. The people gifted with the powers of a mage through the Goddess of Life did not suffer any ill effects.
The plague, a mix of science and magic, leeched the magic of the dragons and, to a lesser degree, the Valyrians. It could not find the blood magic from other sources and went inert before dying.
It became evident that this plague was being used as a weapon against the Targaryens.
The Ministry of Health released a report. Resuming trade with the empire did not pose any health risks for the kingdom.
House Targaryen saw this as an opportunity to fix the trade deficit. The empire would agree to reopening trade lines, but limited to how much the Unified Kingdom purchased from the empire.
It had not been done before only because the Targaryens did not wish to look weak. Now, there was a plausible reason to close the disparity between the continents.
The Unified Kingdom had contingencies in case the empire wanted to limit the trade. The cabinet agreed. With the solar engine-powered ships, the reach of the kingdom was greater than the empire. They could sell to different nations, starting with increasing the trade to Yi-Ti.
Each month brought news of a dead dragon. Dragonlords without dragons weren't such great threats anymore. The Council of Nine hoped to create discontent among the cities.
The old rivalries and wounds could be reopened to weaken the rule of the Targaryens, giving the Council the chance to rise to the top.
The nationalistic movement largely did not fall for it. The empire was great because the citizens were a part of it. The Targaryens, while capricious and sometimes unstable, were generally good rulers. Infighting would only hurt the people.
The council would resume their activities. Any opportunity that could disturb the Targaryen rule was taken.
Everything took a drastic turn when the High Archon Maelor died and Aenor took his father's place.
His first act was to take control of the Shadow Watchers. He tasked the organization to track down who could be responsible for this attack on the dragons. The knowledge of an organization that had attempted to contact the kingdom for support in overthrowing his house was already known.
The Shadow Watchers would unearth those conspirators, who could be responsible for the death of his dragon.
Records of the atrocities committed by the watchers over a century ago were well known. Aenor had to be careful to not repeat the mistakes of the past.
When the Shadow Watchers brought a member of the council before the throne, they were unaware of just how important the noble was. He was brought forth under the charges of treason and was hanged before a crowd.
Months later, the watchers realized they had lost a potential lead on something greater. Among the documents seized from the noble's mansion, there were references to a secret meeting. The lead had died with the noble himself.
Unwilling to give in yet, his associates were trailed for months. The watchers saw nothing out of the ordinary. There was a break in their investigation, which once again had trailed back to the Pentoshi noble that had been hanged.
Beneath his mansion, a tunnel was discovered by the new occupant. The merchant had bought the mansion in a fierce bidding. He had only won when the noble bidders had to leave due to an emergency.
Unknown to him, it was because the nobles realized they were under scrutiny and abandoned the bidding to throw away suspicion.
He had received offers to buy the mansion that offered sums as much as twice what he had paid. He considered selling to buy another dwelling, but his instincts had stopped him. If those nobles wanted this particular mansion so badly, there had to be some sort of secret in it.
His search had led him to the tunnel.
The tunnel was deliberately collapsed, and clearing it would take a long time.
The High Archon, upon learning that these secret meetings might take place in tunnels, had ordered the watchers to infiltrate the mansions of the previously trailed targets.
Attempts to put men inside as cooks, guards, and servants did not work. A certain number of nobles always traded workforces with each other, never allowing outsiders in.
The nobles, upon realizing their secret was about to be revealed, took a drastic action. At night, a small, elite force moved through the shadows to kill the High Archon and took his family hostage.
A fierce battle had ensued. The palace guards, aided by the watchers, managed to stop the assault with severe losses. The High Archon had been saved, but his pregnant wife had fallen to an assassin.
Aenor's response was like an erupting volcano. Every noble that had been under suspicion of working against the High Archon was arrested to be questioned.
Secret chambers were dug beneath the palace, and the nobles were tortured for answers. Aenor himself took part in the dungeons. Rumors that several of his guards could not handle the screams and had committed suicide quickly spread through the capital.
Unable to cope with his loss, he had ordered Melisandre of Asshai, the Priestess of R'hllor who had assisted Aegon the Conqueror, to come to the palace.
The still body of his wife, Naerys, was preserved in ice. He demanded that the priestess resurrect her, no matter the price. He would give as many sacrifices as R'hllor wanted, as long as both his wife and unborn child returned to him.
Melisandre had agreed after consulting her lord.
She claimed R'hllor had sent her visions of the boy's greatness as Azor Ahai. To resurrect the boy who would be a hero in the womb, along with his mother, required a thousand innocent souls.
Aenor did not even blink before ordering it done.
The most innocent souls were children. He ordered the watchers to kidnap healthy and beautiful-looking ones across the empire and Essos.
Remote villages in the empire and neighboring cities were targeted. Slaves from Port Yhos and Qarth were bought, and Aenor had the necessary sacrifices in quick order.
The ritual had taken place beneath the Temple of the Lord of Light. A thousand innocent souls had been sacrificed, and the deceased Consort Naerys opened her eyes with a gasp.
The child in her womb kicked as his heart started beating once more.
Aenor, unwilling to let this act be known by anyone, had gathered the watchers for a celebratory dinner. Over a thousand men had been poisoned that day, increasing the bloodshed.
Death left a mark on everyone, and the Targaryens were no exception.
Aenor had announced that the death of his wife and child was a carefully constructed lie to protect them from further harm.
Over the years, Consort Naerys had nightmares that slowly drove her mad. She could not bear another child, leaving her son, Maegor, as the only child of the High Archon.
Maegor himself was silent as a child. In the company of his father, he revealed that the voices inside his head were too loud, and he preferred the silence. Aenor had dismissed the concerns, too enchanted by the tales Melisandre had spun.
Without his mother, Maegor had spent days being told that he was destined for greatness. The voices in his head screamed at him about agony, pain, and fire.
—
While the House of the Dragon meddled with forces it should not have, the Unified Kingdom was facing a King-Beyond-the-Wall. Jorund the Mad had gathered the wildlings in a loose alliance to assault the Wall and cross into the North.
For years, the Wildling raids on Bear Island and the rest of the North were thwarted. Eventually, they had to stop to preserve their numbers.
Jorund gathered a hundred thousand wildlings, more than half of the available numbers. The rest had refused for one reason or another. Of the gathered army, only half were in shape to fight.
The remaining fifty thousand were the elderly, the children, or pregnant females.
When Jorund's army appeared before the Wall, two groups from each side met at the middle to parley.
—
"I am Aron Stark, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Take your people and leave." His voice was as frosty as his eyes were.
Jorund spat near Aron's feet. "Fuck that, you kneeler. You either let us pass or pull your sword to fight."
"I have only been…" Aron's sentence was cut midway when the sky tore open, revealing a regal purple color. Out of the tear, three figures emerged.
Aron and his men were stopped before they could kneel.
"Your Excellency, welcome to the Wall," he said, keeping his gaze down.
"Commander," Ei tilted her head down. "Is this the leader of the Wildlings?" She looked at the black-maned man draped in equally dark furs with a crooked face.
"Yes, Jorund the Mad, they call him."
"Who the bloody fuck are you?"
As they were parleying, smiting the disrespectful man on neutral ground would leave a bad taste in her mouth. Instead, she darkened the skies.
"You are speaking to Her Excellency, the God-Queen of the Unified Kingdom, the God of Thunder, Eternity, and the Supreme Ruler of Lightning," Aron sneered at the disrespect shown to his god.
The oni maiden and the tengu general merely watched with curled-up lips.
"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish here? Our new weapons will tear your army to shreds before you could even let a single arrow loose," she said. Her words were punctuated with a shot from the artillery as Sasayuri gave the command.
The explosion shook the trees. The snow gathered on the branches fell for miles. A crater was left on the ground after the black smoke faded.
"I…," Jormund began, lost for words.
"Turn back now, and you shall be spared," she ordered.
One of Jormund's companions pulled on his sleeve, furiously hissing something. The other nodded with clenched fists.
"We shall leave," Jormund said, stuttering each word.
"Before that, you shall call every respected leader here. We will have an agreement that the Wildlings will stay on this side of the Wall," she said.
His eyes widened. "They won't listen to me." He had barely convinced this many; now that he had to retreat, the rest would never listen to his words.
Thunder struck the land in the distance. "They will die then. Begone."
—
Notes: If you enjoyed Saiguu's blunt nature and Ei's power projection, you should checkArrival.
—
In the next chapter:
"Ei, bad news from Essos," she said, out of breath.
Saiguu trembled, taking a sharp, deep breath. She turned away, muttering something. Sasayuri, Kage, and Ei merely straightened their stance.
"What is it?" Ei asked.
"The new High Archon, Maegor, went off the rails. He had several nobles, along with their families, burned alive for treason."
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