Chapter 537: Chapter 537: The Executioner's Justice
"Strike!"
With a battle cry, the knight from the Riverlands, sword in hand, lunged fiercely, aiming his blade at Khal Cago of the Bloodriders.
At that moment, Khal Cago had discarded all his weapons, unarmed and unarmored, but he moved with an agility that seemed almost supernatural against the armored knight from the Riverlands.
Whoosh~
Ser Garlan Tyrell's strike met only air as Khal Cago deftly evaded the blow. His long braid, adorned with bells, whipped behind him, the bells jingling with each movement.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
The Riverlands knight pressed forward, sword swinging, determined to bring down this arrogant Dothraki. But Cago dodged each strike with ease.
Whoosh~
As Ser Garlan unleashed another sweeping strike, Khal Cago used his braid to distract and swiftly moved behind him.
"Come!"
"Kill me!"
"They live if you do!"
The Dothraki warrior taunted in broken Common Tongue, having learned some of the language during his time in Westeros accompanying Viserys.
Cago pointed to a fallen Mace Tyrell and Garlan's younger brother, Loras, who wasn't yet the renowned Knight of Flowers but merely a terrified boy.
Khal Cago's challenge was clear: if Ser Garlan could defeat him, the two would be spared. But if he failed, all three Tyrells would meet their end together, in accordance with an ancient Dothraki custom. The prestige of a Khal was often built upon one-on-one duels.
"Brother, save me!"
"I don't want to die!"
Loras' desperate cries added pressure to the already tense duel.
"Loras."
Sweat beaded on Ser Garlan's brow, his grip on his sword dampening. His rapid breaths and palpable anxiety betrayed his state of mind.
"Die!"
Seeing an opening, Ser Garlan lunged again, aiming for Cago's heart. But the perceived vulnerability was a trap set by the experienced Dothraki warrior.
"Strike!"
Yet again, Ser Garlan's sword met only air. In a swift move, Khal Cago tackled the knight, knocking him off balance. The heavy armor of the Riverlands knight couldn't save him from the ground.
"Brother, watch out!"
Loras' plea only heightened Ser Garlan's desperation.
"Back off!"
With great effort, Ser Garlan pushed himself up, sword in hand, ready to defend himself and his family.
"It's alright, Loras. Trust me."
Exhausted, Ser Garlan tried to reassure his younger brother, but the surrounding Dothraki, their arakhs raised, continued their jeers.
"Lajat!" Khal Cago roared in Dothraki, opening his arms wide, inviting an attack.
"Ah!"
Enraged by Cago's audacity, Ser Garlan charged once more. But in his haste, he fell into another of Cago's traps.
"No!"
Before he could react, Cago's powerful grip held his wrist, rendering him powerless. A punch sent the knight reeling, and in a brutal move, Cago gouged out both of Ser Garlan's eyes.
The blinding pain was unbearable. Ser Garlan's scream echoed across the battlefield.
"Ah!"
Khal Cago, triumphant, picked up the fallen knight's sword, holding it aloft to the cheers of the Dothraki.
"No, no."
Lord Mace Tyrell, witnessing his son's demise, felt a cold dread.
"Stop!"
"Please, spare him!"
His pleas fell on deaf ears. The Dothraki's code demanded a victor and a vanquished. With Garlan defeated, Cago approached, his intention clear.
And so, under the sun's unforgiving gaze, Khal Cago thrust the sword through the gap in Ser Garlan's armor, ending his life.
The cheers of the Dothraki grew even louder. In their world, duels ended only in death.
On the walls of Highgarden, the crippled heir, Willas Tyrell, watched in horror as his family met a brutal end. He, captured by the Dornish, ironically became the luckiest of the Tyrells.
The next day, as the dust settled, a dragon appeared on the horizon. Viserys, riding Balerion, arrived from Dragonstone.
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