Chapter 121: Growing In Number
"And what is it that you will do?" Helia's face suddenly relaxed as she smiled. "What pain can you do to a dead person?"
"That is a very good question, my dear." Aerion nodded, stroking his chin. "Is is true, in your current body, little can be done. At best, I can warp your soul to my wishes... but that wouldn't result in any pain."
"You've stripped me of my free will before..." Helia chuckled. "So what if you do it again? Your Ser Jaime is dead while you've gained nothing."
"I've lost as I gained." Aerion did not disagree, walking around Helia. "I've found love again, I've enjoyed myself, I've seen the past. I've grown in power... once again, with the death of countless people."
"Classic Aerion. You're just the finest butcher to live, aren't you?" Helia tilted her head.
"Yes, there's no man that is finer in that aspect." Aerion chuckled, looking down as he kept walking. "And yet, I've lost so much more. Isn't it amusing? I have the power to return any being of minor significance at the flick of a finger from across all of time and yet I can't see Jaime again. No matter how much I sacrifice, it will forever be beyond me... all thanks to my own ambition. Or is it the fault of being who gave me the illusion of power? Who deluded me to such an extent that I thought that I would never lose again?"
"Why are you asking me that?" Helia scoffed. "I could not care less."
"I'm not asking you." Aerion's eyes glowed violet as he clenched his fists. "There is nothing in that head of yours but sheer stupidity and lack of wisdom. If your skull was not hollow, you would have used your power to aid my cause. I could have rewarded you... and you would have been able to live freely."
"Yes, I'm sure, Dragon Emperor... I'm sure that you would be kind enough to forgive me." Helia raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"
"No, I am just a bitter man." Aerion chuckled, nodding. "Bitter with you... bitter with the world, bitter with the greater beings above and... bitter with myself. Despite all the songs of a walking, breathing, legend, despite the entire known world swaying Targaryen banner and despite me having the power of a supposed 'God', I am bitter."
"Aye. A man like you is never ever satisfied." Helia nodded, shrugging her shoulders. "Who can you blame but yourself?"
"If I lacked ambition, the world would be frozen in eternal winter."
"Is that your excuse?"
"Yes, it is. I always want more and more... and usually, it leads to some good." Aerion suddenly laughed, turning away. "Ah, who am I to whine at loss? I've caused so much of it and yet I can't take it myself. Heh... isn't it amusing, Helia? The blooded, evil, devilish King of the Dead himself, he who stands on a colossal mountain of corpses which touches even the skies... cannot take the loss of a single man! One man is enough to cause him such great pain... while he has killed millions with so little remorse!"
"..." Helia raised an eyebrow, observing him take a deep breath. Even she began to feel unsettled by his change of attitude.
"Sometimes... I wish I could truly be noble." Aerion looked up at the dark sky, eyeing the stars. "Like a true knight, upholding all the principles wholeheartedly. Brave and just, the shield of the innocent and those who cannot defend themselves, a faithful servant of the Seven. How I'd ride around in shiny armour with a shiny sword and a shiny white horse beneath me. A beacon of chivalry and a hero that the songs would sing of for thousands of years."
"Alas, I was not fated to be so... instead, I've become the tyrant of the world." Aerion recalled Bu Wu, shaking his head as he chuckled. "I am someone else's Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister. I am Maegor the Cruel, Aerys the Mad and Aegon the Unworthy... and, in the end, I am also the person that I hate the most."
"You sure do love hearing yourself talk." Helia remarked. "Go on, I have all day."
"... I am beyond saving." Aerion turned slowly to face Helia, his eyes turning into a cold emerald. "Yet... I am in the belief that the world needs someone like me as its sovereign. That this world would be better with me than without me... and so, I will not change into something I am not. I will be the bringer of a golden age that no one has ever seen before, bloodying my hands and corrupting myself as much as I need to. That is my way."
Aerion smiled, tilting his head.
"And... in the end, through this bloody and dark path, I will create a better world for all my descendants."
"It's a shame that only I will ever hear this speech." Helia chuckled. "You should've given it to your court instead."
"There's some solace in plainly speaking to a person who cannot share what you've said." Aerion shook his head. "Equally, I'm certain someone far closer to me would've served better to comfort me. But... comfort is the last thing that I want now. I want vengeance."
Helia smiled. "Well... how will you go about your vengeance? Ravage a corpse?"
"And who said that you will be living inside of a corpse?" Aerion's lips curled into a grin. "Who decided that you will be unable to feel pain?"
"What do you mean by that? You've found a way to fully resurrect the dead?" Helia's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No... not quite." Aerion walked closer, raising his hand to grab hold of her chin as he made her look into his eyes. "Oh, you will feel pain and lots of it... Helia. You will feel shame, humiliation and every damned form of pain imaginable. You will live hundreds of lives of nothing but pain. I, Aerion Targaryen, swear it on the honour of the Knight of the Realm and the Kingsguard that you once killed."
Aerion's smile unsettled Helia... before he drove his gauntlet into her chest and dragged out her soul, turning the Soul Knight vessel into nothing but ash.
"Soon, Helia Malitheos."
~
Aerion stood over his two newest acquisitions and observed them with curiosity. Bu Wu had awoken first, his eyes flashing red as he forced them open. They soon returned to a dark brown and the first thing he looked at was Aerion. He frowned deeply, trying to get up... but couldn't.
"At ease, little prince." Aerion smiled. "You would be dead if it weren't for me giving away my own magic vitality to substitute the amount that you overused."
"Ah... of course." Bu Wu chuckled, dropping his head. "Out of the kindness of your own heart, you healed me. Next you'll make me fight for you."
"Quite so." He nodded in reply. "Is there an issue with that? You owe your life to me."
"I'd rather die than live a life under you..."
"How unfortunate... that's not a choice for you." Aerion shook his head. "Alas, most rulers are not as forgiving to rebels. I have given you the chance to live again... for me, yes, you are right. But you can also benefit the world through your own actions. Your own lands and people. Instead of being a rotting corpse in the ground or a mindless slave to my commands, I offer you the chance to do good under me."
"... What of my brother?" Bu Wu glanced around, seeing no signs of him. "Where do you keep him?"
"I gave his soul away to a better place."
"Nothing you ever do is for someone else." Bu Wu frowned deeply. "There was a reason... what is it?"
"It does not concern you." Aerion's glare grew ever so sharp. "All you need to know is that he is gone... and, if you continue to be so troublesome, he may very well be gone forever."
"So you're going to string me along?"
"I am not making any promises." Aerion rolled his eyes. "You know what... I'm a firm believer of learning through actions. Stand up and slap yourself as hard as you can."
BANG.
Bu Wu obediently, as if a spirit had taken over his body, stood up and slapped himself to the point that he lost several teeth.
"What the..."
"Bend the knee, call yourself a hopeless idiot and smash your head into the ground afterwards."
Bu Wu bent the knee.
"Forgive me sire, for I am a hopeless idiot."
He proceeded to smash his head into the ground.
"Rise."
Aerion grinned slightly, looking down at the prince. "Did that give you a better idea of your current situation, Bu Wu?"
"Damn you..." He grit his teeth.
"I think you'll get used to it." Aerion chuckled, nodding as he grabbed hold of his shoulder with assurance. "Won't you, Bu Wu?"
"Yes, Sire. I will serve you with honour from this day forward until my last." Bu Wu nodded, although his facial expression was saying the opposite. "I... hat-... love you Sire. It is my life's greatest pleasure to serve you."
"Good." Aerion removed his hand. "Why don't you do a dance and sing in celebration for your new master?"
"No-... as you wish. But what song?"
Aerion shrugged. "Whichever you wish."
"Once, there lived an exiled prince with endless ambitions."
"Silver was his hair and fire his heart."
"His sharp sword and raging heart carved a kingdom from the seas and isles, its great seat lying between the east and west."
Aerion raised an eyebrow as he watched Bu Wu dance. 'What song is this?'
"Before he could sail west and reclaim his homeland, he was lost in the Storm cast by God himself."
"He woke in a new land where powerful, god-like, men could shatter mountains with a clasp of their hands and soar the skies at will."
"It was there that the prince spread his wings and grew, spreading to the stars beyond the skies."
"He found many loves, enemies and lands... conquering all until he stood unmatched under the heavenly sky."
"And yet, the more he conquered, the more troubles God brought before him."
"He had a deep grudge in his heart, for it was the Gods who denied him of eternal peace."
"And so, he climbed and climbed... higher and higher, surpassing all but Him."
"It was then that he challenged God, his mightiest subjects who had become gods themselves right behind the dragon."
"In a battle that shook all of existence, the dragon fought and fought until the end."
"And yet... it was not enough for God's power was vast without limit."
"So...?" Aerion questioned, raising an eyebrow. "The dragon died?"
"He embraced death... and rose again, his raging fire engulfing the universe."
"The Dragon rejected his endless power, slaying God with his divine blade... and became Him."
"The wheel of eternity would forever spin onwards, finding a new God at its head and yet spinning all the same."
"And so, once again... God would seek an equal to light the fire in his frozen heart."
Bu Wu stopped speaking, shaking his head. "Forgive me Sire, that was not quite a song... was it? More of a story, I'd say."
'That's the end...?' Aerion questioned, frowning slightly. "Who wrote this 'story'?"
"I don't recall..." Bu Wu shrugged his shoulders.
"Hmph... enough, go practice your magic and make sure that girl doesn't do anything stupid." Aerion glanced away. 'An equal? Give me the power and I'll tear you apart with my own hands.'
~
Aerion and Daenerys would sweep the known world atop Vermithor together, putting down rebellious undead and mages across all of the Empire's territories. Aerion chose to make use of every last mage even if all they could do was light a small fire, turning them into vampires loyal him by blood pacts. For in most cases, undead could not grow their magic... while a living person could. Though vampires had a weakness to the sun, it could be lessened via various methods available to Aerion. One such method would be altering the weather through magic.
"I still do not understand... why do you spare our enemies?" Daenerys questioned as she rested her head on his chest. "The prince, most of all. What if the same happens and your control over them breaks?"
"The world is changing, Dany." Aerion smiled slightly. "And we must change with it, to ensure the Targaryen dynasty's growth. I am a single man and I cannot be protecting every territory in every moment. It's simply impossible, no matter how powerful I might grow. There must be others... strong mages, all wholeheartedly loyal to House Targaryen."
"Are they truly... through your blood rituals?"
"I am not the sole pillar of their loyalty this time." Aerion kissed her forehead before looking into her violet eyes. "They are bound to be obedient and naturally compliant by my blood, the blood which all of us Targaryens share to some degree. That is to say... even if I were to disappear, my descendants, you and Viserys... would be more than capable of keeping them in line."
"The only problem with that... would be a rogue Targaryen." Daenerys stated, tilting her head. "Am I wrong?"
"A rogue Targaryen..." Aerion chuckled. "We've never failed to cause our own downfall, have we?"
"So...?"
"Naturally, it would be my duty to slap some sense into them..."
"And if you're not there?"
"Then my heir will have an opportunity to prove himself... for once, it would be good to only have one son." Aerion smiled slightly before sighing. "Alas, I hope it doesn't come to that. Having such disputes with my own kin is not something I'd ever want."
"That is your one weakness." Daenerys remarked before changing the subject. "While you were away, did you find a way to aid us in having a child?"
"... Yes." Aerion pursed his lips. "Though I knew of it before the failed conceptions of my children."
"You knew… and you didn't say a thing?" Daenerys sat up, her eyes slowly igniting with fire. "Why… why would you allow yourself and I to go through such pain?"
"I wanted you and our children to be free from the curse." Aerion looked away, sighing. "I despised craving blood like some wild animal. When I looked into the mirror and saw that crimson-eyed beast… I wanted to be the sole of its kind. I wanted to find a cure for it so that I could be a proper man once more."
'Nor did I wish for my dynasty to be under Bellona… though, if she had ill will, would she have not acted by now?'
"Drinking blood… fear of sunlight?" Daenerys scoffed, shaking her head. "What about the 'curse' you speak of? Every one of those curses can be lessened by your magic. We could have had a son! He may have been different from normal children, but… he would have been alive and strong. Even if you, I and he came to despise it… you could have found the cure AFTER. Instead… he is buried in the ground without ever seeing the world."
"... I was a stubborn fool." Aerion did not deny it. "It burns at my soul knowing that I was the reason why five of my seven children never truly lived. Even so… vampires rarely have children. The more powerful they are, the greater a rarity it is. If we were both vampires… it may take decades, mayhaps upwards to the hundreds-"
"But… when they do have them, do they live?" Daenerys questioned with a deep frown.
"... Yes."
"I can't believe you." Daenerys turned away from Aerion. "When you make a decision, you don't ask for the advice of anyone else. You keep these secrets to yourself, even from the people closest to you. Aerion… it's beyond selfish of you and I truly feel betrayed."
"I am as disheartened as you are, believe me" Aerion sat up, looking away as his vision grew blurry. "Do you think that I wished for my children to be dead? Me? I would have done anything for them… absolutely anything. That's precisely why I didn't want them to live a life like mine full of blood, fire and darkness. My children, most of all, deserve peaceful and bright lives full of happiness free from my corruption."
"I'm the only one who should be fighting. The only one suffering. None of my descendents… not a single one, should ever have to go through what I had to." Aerion sniffled, shaking his head "Don't you see why I did what I did?"
"... Make me a vampire." Daenerys took a deep breath. "It can't happen again. Regardless of what you want, your children would have been dragons. Even if you shelter them in endless sunlight… they will eventually spread their wings and explore the darkness themselves. They need to or they will be weak forever. Would you have wanted your son to be weak and protected all his life?"
"..."
"The Aerion I know would never!" Daenerys shook her head. "The Aerion I know does not accept dragons who are weak and feeble. Look at Viserys… look at me. Were we when you found us in Pentos? Mayhaps. Are we now? No! Along with that, what would you have done when we, your wives, grew old and unsightly? Used our corpses? Found other, younger, women?"
Aerion recalled his conversation with Visenya about vampirism… and, as he looked at Daenerys, he saw plenty of similarities. The old Daenerys which he first met so many years ago would scarcely rise up to him in such a manner. That shy, grateful, girl… had become a dragon queen.
"Very well." Aerion took a deep breath. "I will turn you into a vampire and… I won't deny such a request to any of my other wives."
After all, he had grown to accept and even favour his vampiric state. If anything, a cure would make him weaker, less effective and simply inferior. As he was, he was the strongest living version of himself. Only if he were to stab himself once again and become undead could he possibly be superior.
"Then do it." Daenerys closed her eyes. "Perform the blood ritual."
And so, he did.
With a guilt-ridden heart that still remained suspicious of the potential consequences… he turned Daenerys into a vampire.
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