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112 AC
Lys
Daeron Nymeros Martell
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The heat from the flames almost makes it hard to breathe as Gaelithox lets loose the stone-melting fire. He glides over the wall with a grace that is odd to see in a dragon so large but I am sure the onlookers are seeing anything but grace. I hear men scream amongst the sound of stone exploding under the almost explosive green flames.
I look behind us as we soon reach the end of the west wall and I see less damage than I was expecting but I am honestly glad for it. The Dragonlords built the high walls with fused stone and Gaelithox destroyed everything built on top of them in the times after. The wall will easily be repaired and I feel much more assured about burning the top of the whole thing now. If it was a wall commonly found in Westeros and not crafted by the Dragon Lords, I would expect the whole thing to be slag for the most part.
""Keep going let's get the whole thing!"" Gaelithox banks wide and is soon headed straight for the wall once more.
I can already spot fewer men as they flee for the staircases to escape the dragon's flames, but a brave few stay. I see bolts fly up at us but harmlessly bounce off his scales with only one or two puncturing the leather of his wings. I suppose that is the true weak point of a dragon this big, if they all aimed for his wings he would be full of holes and we would fall to the ground. I will have to see about healing it when I get the chance so he won't tear them more by using his wings and putting pressure on the holes.
I see the sails with the Martell sun on them getting closer to the port and I notice the gate on the wall above the port shut tight.
""Hit the big door!"" My big scaled friend snaps his mouth shut cutting off the flames before looking around, his head locks onto the gate and I sigh in relief that he figured it out.
Sometimes he seems smarter than a person and other times he seems as dumb as a rock, thankfully this is not a rock moment. I would look like a fool flying in circles trying to point out the damn gate to him, it would ruin the moment.
Gaelithox glides over some big palaces and beautiful gardens as he heads straight for the gate. I look around Lys and see the panic in the streets and am glad I gave orders to immediately get things under control once my men get into the walls. No looting or raping was my biggest point to put across, men get wild in war and I understand that but it will ruin my image and hurt my chances of success if the Dornish act like horny mutts with spears. But I trust Lord Uller and Lord Vaith to lead the men competently.
The men will be expecting spoils and there will be plenty to go around, I am sure some Magisters will help out in that regard by acting a fool and needing to be made into an example.
""Burn it down!"" Gaelithox closes in on the gate and let's loose a wall of green flames that blows the massive doors straight off the wall with chunks of fused black stone following after it.
I can already see men disembarking onto oar boats and oaring themselves to the shore. I look back to see Gaelithox's tail flicking through the air and smoke rising from the walls we have already hit. Two or three more passes and Gaelithox will be done with the walls and we can move on to the ground.
""Back to the walls!"" I shake my head hearing a trill of happiness at more things to burn.
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"My prince." Lord Vaith greets me as I approach him while pulling off my gloves to better grip my spear.
"How are we looking on the ground?" I look past him and see spear men forcing half-naked women back into their pillow houses.
"The whores are making a run for it and cutthroats are out trying to grab some coin purses. We are having to stop the city from attacking itself, they are acting more savagely to their own people than we are." He is quick to clarify it is not our men breaking into places as I start looking around at smashed windows.
I spot silver-haired men and women along with children watching from windows, an odd sight with how rare Valyrian looks are everywhere else I have been. Some thuggish-looking men are trying to combat my men with nothing but knives and short swords but are effortlessly run through by spears. I shake my head at the chaos, I am disappointed but not surprised at how people are quick to step on their neighbors to try and get ahead. 'Invaders' come and the first thing some of them want to do is rob their own people, pathetic.
"Let's keep the men capturing the streets and killing any problems that jump out at them, I want to take one of these buildings and fortify it. When we get something resembling order up and running I want any and old Magisters brought here to me. I will speak to them all as one and then I will call them individually to get a more accurate feel on who is really running things. The Rogare Bank needs to be secured as well, it should be the richest location in the city and owned by one of the most powerful families. I don't want to see it attacked unless I am the one to order it." House Rogare is one of the biggest players in the Free cities at this point in time, their bank is only second to the Iron Bank.
I need to really get a feel of who is in charge among the Magisters but I have a feeling it will be some with the name Rogare. In my many different ideas on what to do with Lys, the Rogares and their bank is a key factor.
"At once my Prince." Lord Vaith turns and heads off to deal with my commands and I take in the city around me once more as I grip my spear.
It is not nearly as bad as I was prepared for but it's not what I hoped, the fires died out on the wall and the city is in one piece. But that does not stop the people from panicking and like a stampede they destroy the things around them. I can't blame them, dragon fire can be quite the motivator to get moving and quickly.
A hush fills the area as I start walking forward spear in hand and an escort of House Martell finest with their dragon bone spears. Even with some smoke in the air, the sweet smell of perfumes is thick in the air. I wonder just how much of the stuff they go through to make it so strong, almost enough to make my nose feel like it's burning.
The beautifully carved streets with fountains and flower bushes lining them are something entirely different from Westeros. There are some bodies on the streets but it does not take away from the beauty that is 'Lys the Lovely'. Instead, it adds a unique taste to the sights as I walk and take in everything around me.
"Let's help out with fortifying a position before I have the Magisters brought out." I turn to my escort and make sure they heard me before heading to a spiraling tower made of marble and covered in patterns and artwork.
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I sit back in a well-cushioned chair as I am served some food by a serving girl dressed in fine silk with half her ass hanging out. I sent the first woman away because she was literally naked and the next was half naked and finally, I get one with some semblance of real clothes.
I stopped counting the days of separation from my wife because it was driving me crazy but the longing still builds in my heart. It would be easy to just bend this Valyrian-looking woman over this table before me and vent but that seems... cheap. If I am going to enjoy the tastes of Lys I will bring Rhaenyra here to enjoy them with me, I am sure I could convince her. But until then I will restrain, something about 'longing makes the heart grow fonder' or some shit.
"My Prince, Lysandro Rogare is here at your summons." I nod and wave for the guard to let the man of the hour in.
"You can go, and from now on put on some real clothes during my stay here as you serve me in the future." The poor girl who likely has no choice in the matter blushes furiously before heading for the servant door on the side.
I suppose she must be new, if she was broken in I would not expect her to act like she was. The entire time she was shifting in place like a child about to be scolded, I expect they picked her after I sent the two more confident women away. They probably thought I was not interested in them because I wanted an inexperienced girl, I will try and pull her out of their clutches if that is the case. I very well could 'save' all the women of the city that are enslaved and have them 'set free'. But I do not have the time for it now, but I can help the one that came before my eyes at this very moment.
Slavery will have to go if I am going to claim this city and this meeting with this man will be how I judge if it's worth the effort. I do not intend to rule from Lys, nor do I think it will stay under Dorne, in the long run, should I make it bend to the Prince of Dorne. But capturing it and installing a 'Lord' over a council of Magisters who will bend to 'Me' could work. The goal would be for Lys to pass to my firstborn, the same firstborn who will inherit the Iron throne.
That would put it under the Iron throne upon my Child's ascension and that is much more stable than having it under a Prince of Dorne. So long as Dorne has dragons they could hold Lys, but my little pet project is not stopping at Lys so I need to think long-term. Everything that I want to do and that I plan to happen will not work if I am stacking Dorne up to be more powerful than the entirety of the other Kingdoms. With force, it could work, but that would involve a civil war and House Martell usurping House Targaryen and becoming Kings of Westeros.
I do not plan for my actions to sow the seeds of future civil wars, I have to play my cards just right to make things work out the way I want though. I can already see how it will be a problem with the future Martells getting jealous of their Targaryen 'cousins' but that is what the Rhoyne will be for. The return of Nymeria's blood to Mother Rhoyne and how much effort it will take to rebuild everything lost will take hundreds of years. Years and years that they will spend not caring about their 'cousins' on the Iron Throne as they rebuild what was lost. They then will be too proud of what they accomplished to worry about what House Targaryen is doing in Westeros, maybe a marriage here and there to keep the peace.
But either which way, my blood hundreds to thousands of years from now will still be ruling and kicking ass... is that not all that matters in the end? I can already see the stories fashioned for the 'Child of Valyria and Mother Rhoyne' and how my descendants will say I rode dragons and slung water around.
I can not plan thousands of years in advance, at some point, I need to live my life and do what I want within reason and pray for smart descendants. None of this will even matter if my descendants turn out to be dumb fucks and I won't live my life expecting that to be the case. I will prepare for the worst and hope for the best while achieving the goals I set out for myself.
"Prince Daeron... it is nice to meet you." Lysandro Rogare sits when I motion to the chair before me, his face slightly pained likely not wanting to be here.
"Let's talk business." I lean forward hands on the desk while the Lyseni man tries to get comfortable surrounded by Dornish spearmen.