The night sky was no longer dark as silhouettes of many buildings fell on different parts of the city as it burned. The screams of men and women chased away the silence in the city. As seconds ticked by, the intensity of screams only started to increase in the city of Myr.
If the intensity of screams increased, so did the intensity of flames that were devouring flesh, stone and mortar.
"I'm usually a merciful person, Magister Aelux. That's why I never retaliated against your first few assassination attempts." Harry said noncommittally while looking out into the burning city, sitting on his conjured chair.
"But this latest attempt…that was in poor taste. Your assassins managed to kill a few of my servants." Harry said with a sigh.
"They were honest people. Hardworking and loyal. I know some of their children. And now, when I return home, I'll have to see those children despair for the loss of their parents."
Harry twirled the Elder Wand between his fingers as he directed his gaze back at the man who sent the assassins.
"Nothing to say?" Harry raised his eyebrow while staring at the magister.
Harry frowned when the man just stared at him stiffly. He eyed Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen. Viserys was also sitting stiffly on a chair while Daenerys Targaryen was looking at everyone with palpable fear in her eyes.
That was when Harry realised he had yet to lift the spell on Magister Aelux and Viserys.
"Oh, where are my manners? I completely forgot that you are under a body-bind spell." Harry said with an awkward smile.
He lifted the spell on the magister and Viserys Targaryen with a wave of his wand.
"How dare you assault me? Do you know who I am? I am…" Viserys screeched.
Harry put the idiot Targaryen princeling in exile under the body-bind curse once again.
"Charming fellow, isn't he? As deranged and idiotic as his forefathers." Harry said with an amused snort before his eyes shifted to the magister, who was now sitting on the edge of his seat.
He could see the realisation dawn on the man's face.
"I seek forgiveness, my lord. I plead for mercy." Magister Aelux fell on his knees and bowed his head low.
"It's a little late for that. I take attacks on my people seriously. In my eyes, a Northman's life is worth a hundred freemen of Myr."
"I…my lord. Please…I beg of you…" the magister stuttered.
Harry raised his hand to stop, and immediately, the man fell silent. There was a rush of footsteps that were getting closer, and sure enough, when Harry looked to the balcony entrance, his brothers came in. He was not surprised to see their swords drenched in blood. Jon even had his new wand out in his left hand.
He hoped Jon earned some battle experience with the wand. After all, waving around a sword was not much of an important skill when magic could be weaponised to decimate entire armies. The present situation was the best example of how much of a terrifying weapon magic could become when used properly.
Myr was by no means a defenceless city. It had high walls and enough wealth to contend against the other Free Cities of Essos for dominion over the Disputed Lands. It had also been a principal belligerent polity that brought about the end of House Targaryen's influence and dragons during the Targaryen civil war. The city had even emerged as a victor during the Century of Blood.
But now, Myr was burning for the first time in its recorded history. All because the city had no defence against Harry's magic. What dragons and massive armies couldn't do, Harry did in the span of a week. He all but defeated Myr and brought them to heel. Or at least, he would in the following week.
"We seem to have some guests. I believe introductions are in order. The red-haired one is my older brother Robb, and the other is my younger brother Jon." Harry introduced his siblings to the Targaryen children and the kneeling magister.
Harry conjured two chairs from thin air and welcomed them to take their seats. Other men also started to fill in on the balcony.
"The manse is secured. All the Unsullied guards are dead. The rest ran away into the streets once the slaughter began." said Jon, wiping the blood off his sword on a piece of cloth.
"So much killing." Harry shook his head sadly.
"I beg for your mercy, my lords. I… we were wrong. I was taken hostage by emotions and poisonous words of my fellow magisters."
'The man was good with words and acting. I'll give him that.' Harry thought with amusement, watching the magister mustering up a face of deep disappointment and sadness.
The magister even mustered a stray tear to roll down his left cheek, for Merlin's sake!
"We wolves are a peaceful lot. We hardly care about anything else that happens outside the borders of the North. But we do not have it in ourselves to forgive those who harm our pack." Robb growled, glaring down at the magister.
"My brother speaks true. You should've known better, Magister Aelux. After all, your guests would've reminded you of what happens to those who harm the wolves of the North." Harry said, nodding at the Targaryen children.
"Or you could cast your eyes further north from your city to the desolate lands of the Andals. There, you'd have found the old enemies of House Stark living in a broken land as slaves in all but name." Jon said firmly.
Harry was slightly surprised that his brothers were getting in sync with his outlook.
'Perhaps the attack in Pentos was a blessing in disguise. They seem enthusiastic to make an example of the Myrmen.' Harry mused while observing his brothers.
"I…I could be useful, my lords. I have wealth beyond your wildest dreams." Magister Aelux offered, his desperation evident in his hopeful gaze.
"We have all the wealth we need in the North." Robb said, looking down at the magister with disgust.
"I… I can offer you, women. The most beautiful women in the world could be yours, my lords." The magister offered.
Harry nearly broke into fits of laughter at the magister's presumption that he could buy his safety by offering women.
"You dare try to bribe us with your slaves!" Jon snarled.
If it weren't for Robb, Jon would've cut off the man's head in one fell swoop.
"I think you've severely underestimated us, magister." Harry said rather blandly.
"I beg for your mercy." Aelux floundered, looking at each of them in panic. "I can be your messenger. I can spread the word of your demands to the rest of the magisters of Myr. They'll know the danger of turning hostile towards House Stark."
Robb scoffed upon hearing the offer.
"Enough with this nonsense. I'm taking his head.." Robb said, climbing to his feet with a sword in hand.
"No, please. I… I can be useful…" Aelux pleaded as Jon pushed the man towards the block of wood Harry conjured for the occasion.
"Please don't worry, Magister Aelux. You'll be our messenger to Myr and all our enemies." said Harry as some of the men forced the magister's head on the block.
Robb took the man's head with a single swing of his sword. When the head of the magister fell from his shoulders, Daenerys Targaryen screamed and scooted back in fear. Viserys remained seated on his seat without a muscle out of place thanks to the body-bind spell.
Harry lifted the spell on the Targaryen prince in exile. This time, the princeling kept his mouth shut while staring at them in horror.
"What should we do with them?" Jon asked, staring at the children of the Mad King with a frown.
Robb looked at Harry for his opinion, but he just shrugged his shoulders in disinterest.
"Leave them be. They're of no threat to us." Robb said after a brief moment of consideration.
The airship suddenly came out of the invisibility spell and lowered itself closer to the balcony before rolling out a flight of stairs.
"If I were you, I'd stay in the manse until the fire dies down in the city." Harry gave a small piece of advice to the Targaryens.
"We are dragons. Dragons needn't fear fire." Viserys said rather pompously after regaining some semblance of courage.
"I see no dragons." Harry made a show of looking around. "Do you see any dragons, Jon?"
"No, brother. There are no dragons here." Jon said with a chuckle.
In the background, their men were stepping into the airship one by one.
"We're the blood of the dragon. Sooner or later, we'll reclaim the Iron Throne, and all traitors will have their heads on spikes at the Red Keep." Viserys threatened while Daenerys tried to make her brother shut up.
"You seem to have more sense than your brother. Staying with this idiot guarantees your death or worse. We can give you a safe place in the North to live if you want." Harry offered, looking expectantly at Daenerys Targaryen.
"Thank you, my lord. But I'd like to stay with my brother." Daenerys said demurely.
'That's unfortunate.' Harry thought.
He could sense an unusual magical energy from the Targaryen princess. He suspected Daenerys had some potential for magic within her. Perhaps it was her extended stay in Essos that developed her latent magical powers. Either way, that was going to do nothing good for her. Having the potential for magic was useless when no training was available to nurture that power.
"That's a shame. Your brother looks more and more like the second coming of the Mad King." Harry said, eyeing the Targaryen princess.
"Lies! My father was a great king betrayed by the Usurper and his dogs." Viserys screamed.
Harry snorted but otherwise didn't entertain the foolish princeling. He could understand why the Martells abandoned their little plan to marry Arianne to Viserys.
"I give you the best of luck with this mad fool. You'll need it if you're staying with your brother." said Harry while staring into the lilac eyes of Daenerys.
"Last chance." Harry pointed to the entrance of the airship, but the Targaryen princess didn't budge.
Harry shrugged his shoulders and wrote off the girl as a lost cause. Once he climbed onto the deck of his airship, he powered a runestone and let it drop into the city as the airship climbed high to be among the clouds.
"Now the world will know – the consequence of earning my enmity."
Pockets of wildfire ignited all around the vast and beautiful city of Myr. But unlike the green fire produced by the alchemists, this one was a tad different.
Bright white fire lit the city in an ethereal light. The white flames never left anything it touched to remain in a solid form. There won't be even ash as residue. It was one of the tweaks Harry managed to introduce into the substance. From the sky, Harry could see the enormous rings of fire forming within the city's walls.
It was not a good sight to watch, and it reminded him of the muggle armies using carpet bombings in a circle to destroy a city. He took a page from his old enemy's handbook and used the same trick on Myr. While his wildfire didn't have the explosive power of a thousand incendiary bombs, it made do with the most dangerous flame and the lack of any firefighters in Myr also helped.
Harry wondered whether his actions in Myr would become a catalyst for change in the city. He had targeted the affluent portions of the city. No doubt, his attack would cripple the wealthy magisters of Myr who survived the fire. The weakening of the magisters offered the slaves who outnumbered the freeborn a rare opportunity to take their destiny into their own hands.
'I suppose that depends entirely on the people below.' Harry thought as his ship cleared the city and moved further south towards their next destination – Tyrosh.
****
Harry smiled when the mirror before him flickered to life, projecting the image of Maester Marwyn.
"My lord."
"Maester." Harry nodded in greeting. "I hope everything in Avalon is running smoothly."
"Of course. On that note, there is some good news, my lord. We finally managed to track the slavers and pirates that preyed on our shores. Captains Black Chuck and Simeon destroyed the pirate ships and captured their lair."
Harry was suitably impressed by the news. They had been trying to pinpoint the exact location of the Tyroshi and Lyseni pirates operating near the North's western shores after Jorah Mormont's dealings with them came to light.
"Where were the pirates based in the Iron Islands?" Harry asked curiously.
"They were not based in the Iron Islands as we suspected, my lord."
Harry blinked back in surprise when he heard that.
"They were not?" Harry asked incredulously.
"As difficult as it is to believe, they were based on the three unnamed islands close to Blazewater Bay."
Now, Harry openly gaped at the claim put forth by Maester Marwyn.
"That's… our fleet searched those islands for pirates."
"Well, our ships didn't do a good enough job the first time around." said Maester Marwyn.
Harry could only sigh at all the wasted hours of searching for the pirates in the Iron Islands. The invasive methods he had been using to stifle the ports of the Iron Islands in the hopes of squeezing the pirates out of their lair. At one point, he even suspected the Lonely Light to be the pirates' base despite the island being the farthest known settlement in the Sunset Sea from mainland Westeros.
"What did our men find, and what happened to the pirates?" Harry asked.
"These pirates had a neat settlement going in one of those islands. It was revealed from questioning the inhabitants that they had been living on those islands for centuries."
"Do you believe their claim?"
"It's possible they're speaking the truth." Maester Marwyn said with a thoughtful look. "The western shores have been subjected to Ironborn raids from the time of Winter Kings. These people may be the descendants of escaped thralls."
Harry frowned in consideration as there was no easy way to confirm the story of these people without paying a visit to the island.
"What does House Fisher and Ryswell have to say about this? After all, they are closer to these islands."
"We haven't informed them yet. But I suspect they have no idea what goes on these islands. They've never attempted to settle people on these islands, and they've never made any claims on them either. So…" Maester Marwyn trailed off and looked pointedly at him.
"Place a few ships on those islands and place my banner on them. From now on, Avalon guards and commands these islands until my father says otherwise."
"As you wish." Marwyn nodded.
"Now, what about the pirates?" Harry asked.
"We've taken some prisoners. Some were killed in the fighting. We've captured two intact galleys and four damaged galleys. Three pirate ships were destroyed in battle and sank to the bottom of the sea. Captain Simeon also found a small reef where the pirates kept their loot."
"I see." Harry nodded. "Have you informed Winterfell?"
"I have sent the raven to Lord Stark. Undoubtedly, he'll be thrilled to learn the pirates and slavers were apprehended."
"I doubt he'll be satisfied until Jorah Mormont's head is on a spike." Harry said with a sigh. "Send these pirates to Winterfell and double the pay of the captains and give them half the share of any loot they recovered as promised."
"Is that wise? Perhaps, it'll be better…"
"Maester Marwyn." Harry said firmly.
"Yes, my lord." The old maester sat up straight upon hearing his authoritative tone.
"I promised the reward. Split the loot evenly between Captains Black Chuck and Simeon and double their usual pay."
"As you wish, my lord."
"Good. How goes the work at the Neck?"
"Slowly, I'm afraid." Maester Marwyn said with a sigh. "Constructing roads in the area is very difficult. The ground is not hard enough, and periodic rains have only damaged and hindered the work there."
"That's unfortunate." Harry muttered.
He was not that surprised to hear work was lagging behind. He knew from experience how difficult the Neck could be. He had spent more than a week with Lord Reed at the Neck and seen how difficult it was to restore Moat Cailin. Even after three years, the restoration of most towers of the old stronghold remained unfinished because of the unpredictable weather and the difficulty of transporting building materials into the area.
"There is one other thing, my lord." Maester Marwyn said tentatively.
"What?"
"Lord Eddard has ordered that you immediately return to the North. He has heard rumours about a foiled assassination attempt on your person."
"Tell father that I'm alright, as is Robb and Jon. Also, tell him that the men responsible were dealt with, and they'll never dare to send an assassin again against a Stark, at least for a century."
"Oh!" Marwyn looked intrigued. "If I may ask, my lord. What did you do?"
"I burnt Myr to the ground but left their dockyards intact so the other Free Cities won't be that much aggrieved. But please inform Winterfell about what happened, and if any idiots from Essos try anything in my father's court, inform me."
The last thing Harry saw before he cut the connection to the two-way mirror in the captain's cabin was the stupefied face of Marwyn. He didn't think Marwyn's conversation with the Lord of Winterfell would be pleasant. But that was Marwyn's problem.
Now, Harry pushed such silly matters aside and looked at the map of the North.
His eyes fell on the three unnamed islands near Blazewater Bay, wondering whether there were other abandoned islands in the western seas, undiscovered all this time. He wouldn't put it past his countrymen to forget all about such small islands when their domain was so vast compared to the southern kingdoms.
Either way, he knew interesting times lay ahead.
****
Daenerys followed her brother quietly through the blackened streets of Myr. She was sad to see the lively streets become vacant and left with nothing but burnt-out husks. Her favourite street with the fountain of seashells was no longer in existence. It was decimated like all the beautiful places in the city. The brightly painted buildings were now blackened, with their roofs caved in.
It was a sorry sight that greeted her eyes as she exited from Myr with her brother. Even the grand building made of Valyrian architecture of fused stone was not spared from the attack of the Demon Wolf. She now understood why some people used that moniker to address Harrion Stark.
Once again, she was forced out of a place she'd not hesitate to call home. Magister Aelux's manse was not her birthplace, nor was it built by her ancestors. But it was a place that offered her and her brother safety from those who'd do them harm.
Even if they were leaving, there was some relief in her mind. Unlike other times, they were not leaving the city empty-handed. Her brother had taken command of all the wealth in the vaults of the magister's manse and used a portion of it to buy slaves and Unsullied guards. The rest of the wealth was being carried inside her carriage. Their destination was Pentos, and she hoped she'd never meet Harrion Stark again.
Sliding the curtain away from her carriage window, she shot one last look at the manse. The banners of House Stark could be seen as clear as day, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind who was responsible for the city's burning.
Daenerys fleetingly wondered whether the people of the Rhoyne and the Ghiscar felt the same empty feeling after the dragonlords of Valyria burned down their cities. It was a queer thing to compare a Stark to the dragonlords of her ancestral city, but at the moment, she couldn't help but compare.
AN:
For artwork related to the fic:
https://discord.gg/Nw2JH25fJf