[a/n: regarding the last chapter, I have something to say; do not fret. My intention is not to make MC into a villain or anything of the sort. Aerion Targaryen, at least mentioned in the Black Lord, was an honorable and good man till his dying breath. That is just a seed I planted for his character arc and relationship with his Father. Sooner or later, that character arc will come to a conclusion and I hope people will be satisfied with the result. As for this unknown character that is whispering to his ear, well, all of that will be explained in the future. It's confusing, right? that is the pont.]
(Aerion's POV)
I stood on a rock, overlooking the shore, watching the waters hit against other rocks as the rain poured hard on me and around me.
"What....." I said as I felt my head was in a haze, "What was all of that?"
That was the second time I saw the woman in black, whispering in my ears. I've heard tales of magic from Viserys, but I never once experienced it myself. I read stories in Runestone about how those in the Riverlands practice magic as well, something to do with their Old Gods. I never once bothered to care for it.
I believed it, to an extent, considering that Halaena was a dreamer. I knew magic was real, but obscure, and somewhere out there. I mean, House Targaryen is a family of foreigners that bond and ride with Dragons, so of course magic is bound to exist.
It was nothing short of confusing. My entire head hurt, but other than that, I felt fine. I was more taken aback at what was said.
My anger will warp me? Into my true self?
I felt a pit in my stomach as I clenched my fists, "Will I....?" I started before shaking my head, "N-No....lies.....filthy lies. I will not turn into him. I must keep my head about...."
I turned around and began to walk, seeing Vaemond and his sons approaching me.
"My Lord." Vaemond said as he covered his head from the rain, "We must return to the castle for shelter, the rain is picking up and starting to get harder."
I nodded, "Agreed." I said, "Did you find anything?"
"No." He said, "I trust that the storm will pass in a few hours, we should wait until then."
"That's fine." I said as I looked around, "Wherever the culprit is, he's not going anywhere in a storm like th-"
I head a loud screech resounding in the air.
Vaemond and his sons immediately placed their hands on their swords as I turned around and looked up.
Through the thick rain, I was able to make out a large shadow flying in the air, the loud flapping of the wings, cracking like whips. There was a deep rumbling as the shadow shot straight for us.
"Get down!!" I shouted as I pushed them down to the ground
As we fell, I felt the gust of wind hit us as a dragon's roar deafened us. As I face hit the mud, I immediately got to my knees to look up and see the shadow of the dragon. It circled around and went for another sweep.
"Run!" Vaemond shouted as he and his sons got up and began to take off in a sprint
"Shit.." I said as I saw a glow of red
I got up and jumped away as I felt scorching heat, the dragon had fired off his breath at where I stood.
"Lord Aerion!" I heard Vaemond call
I got to my knees and saw that he and his sons were in a building, at the doorway, waiting for me to go towards them.
I then looked behind me, saw a small pillar of smoke, the flames were immediately doused by the rain.
"What the hell...." I said as I stood up and saw the dragon landing in front of me
The force of the landing trembled the ground and caused me to stumble a bit as the dragon roared loudly.
I squinted, seeing that it was the dragon that we were just talking about. Charcoal grey scales with white stripes and icy blue eyes.
"Greyfiend...." I muttered as the dragon looked at me
It had two curved horns that jutted outwards and behind its head, they were larger than I imagined, seeing it up close.
It bared its fangs as it crawled closer to me, growling deeply.
I drew Lamentation almost immediately as it lifted its head up, opening its maw slowly, a bright red glow appearing.
"You...." I said
Almost immediately, I heard another loud roar in the distance. I recognized it; Vermithor. He was fast. I expected myself to struggle for a bit before the old boy jumped to my defense. That and this dragon was in his and Silverwing's territory.
Greyfiend looked up as it growled, seeing a massive shadow above us as Vermithor roared.
Taking the opening, I rushed forward and underneath the dragon's throat, swinging my sword up at it, and felt it was able to cut through its scales.
The dragon let out a pained shriek as blood splattered all over me, feeling the boiling sensation of dragon's blood all over again. This was just like the Cannibal all over again.
"Fuck!!" I said, "Stupid impulses!!"
I rolled out of the way as it tried to avoid its stomping, hearing Vermithor roar again.
I looked up to see Greyfiend bleeding a bit, taking off into the air to avoid the Bronze Fury's attack.
Vermithor landed next to me as he growled viciously, watching the other dragon roar as it flew away, disappearing in the rain.
Vermithor looked around, snorting as he walked to me, getting his wing over me to shelter me from the rain.
As I felt the pouring stop, I got to my knees, feeling my entire body boil due to the dragon's blood. I slowly felt it subside as I sheathed Lamentation, wiping the blood off my face and arms.
"Why the fuck did I do any of that?" I said as I looked up at Vermithor
"Without you, I would be dead multiple times, Old Boy." I told him in High Valyrian
He vocalized loudly, snorting loudly.
"Tch...." I said as I straightened up, "I was able to cut that dragon.....just barely...but that's good."
"What was it doing here? Everything is too strange...."
***********************************************************
"It is too dangerous to continue." Vaemond said as I sat in the chair, wiping myself down with a towel, "To think that the dragon would attack us so close to the Dragonmont."
"It was not random, father." I heard Daeron say, "The Dragon targeted us."
"Did you see a rider?" Daemion asked me
"No rider." I said, "It was just the dragon."
We were back in Dragonstone, sitting next to a fireplace to dry off. I had taken Vermithor to flight and escorted Vaemond and his sons back to the castle and then I did a few patrolling laps around the castle, fishing village, and dragonmont. The Greyfiend was nowhere in sight and I had told the Maester to keep tabs on its sightings.
"What was that all about..." Vaemond said as he paced around, "What should we do now?"
"You can return to Driftmark." I said, "I'll escort you on Vermithor if you wish it. I cannot have you three dying on a wild chase. Sooner or later, the man will surface and I'll hand him over to you."
Vaemond sighed, "That...." He said, "That is a wise choise."
"Let the storm pass and you can leave." I said standing up, "In the meantime, your rooms are prepared. Rest as much as you want."
"Thank you, My Lord." He said as he nodded
"Hm." I said walking past them, "Send for me if there's an emergency...."
"I have things to discuss with my wife."