Chapitre 72: The World Quakes
Daeron and Viserys set forth on their path towards the Valyrian city. The heat was scorching and smoke began to rise from the cracks in the road at an ever-increasing pace; Daeron worried for his uncle but in the end, there was not much to be done, they were too far and couldn't go back now, they would either reach their destination or they would die. It was only Daeron's vague belief in destiny that kept his heart firm and his legs steady.
"It is quite a sad sight is it not nephew?" Viserys breathed out as they looked at the ever-increasing number of statues that had started to litter the area as they got closer to the city. Lots of the statues were standing normally as if going through their everyday life while others were frozen in fear looking to the sky; Daeron couldn't imagine the pure terror they must've felt as the sky fell on them and sunk one of the greatest civilisations into the sea.
"Some say that the Valyrians brought this fate upon themselves, that it was their arrogance and vile nature that brought a punishment from the gods," Daeron replied.
"Do you believe that?" Viserys asked as he looked over to his nephew.
"I don't believe the gods are among us anymore, only remnants of an age long forgotten," Daeron said with a sigh. While he wasn't lying it wasn't the complete truth, but he did not want to burden his uncle with the truth. Most people would not take the knowledge that the gods are all dead well, this would only be made worse by the fact that the creature who did it still lives. If he had his way then his family would never have to worry about such matters; they could grow old on their own and keep being looked after by their children and grandchildren. That was what Daeron fought for, he wanted his friends and family to have better lives, but that meant he would need to shoulder the burden of creating such a world where they don't have to fight.
"You shouldn't say that Daeron, there is much to be thankful for to the gods, I thank them every day for keeping my Sister and Mother safe and bringing you to us," Viserys said in a light tone.
Daeron shook his head as he put his hand on Viserys shoulder. "You discredit yourself by giving praise to the gods for keeping your family safe. That was not the gods doing, but Viserys Targaryens, he was the one who worked himself to the bone and he was the one who tried to fight a Dothraki Khal to keep his sister safe," Daeron stated.
"Believe in the gods if you will Uncle, but don't forget that a man's actions are his own and your actions are that of an honourable man," He continued.
Viserys found himself speechless at his nephew's words. He had never done what he did to gain recognition, he loved his sister and mother, and that was all there was to it, he would work sixteen hours a day for little pay to feed his family, but seeing how beautiful and healthy they both looked made it worth it. "You give credit to the gods because you did not think yourself capable of protecting them, but you did uncle, you protected them for years against assassins, slavers and starvation, and I will always be grateful to you," Daeron said with a smile.
Viserys returned the smile "Thank you Daeron, I didn't realise how much I needed to hear those words..." he said gratefully as he wiped his eyes.
They continued walking for most of the day —or so they thought— as the dark clouds covered the sky letting very little light through it was hard to determine what time it was. Daeron and Viserys then came across something incredible; just off the road lay another statue that was similar to the others that littered the road, except it was not a man but a dragon who seemed to have been frozen mid-roar. "That is truly incredible..." Viserys said with an awe-filled voice as he approached the dragon, it was huge —even bigger than Shiera.
"The Golden Age of Valyria must've been a sight to see," Daeron commented as he placed his hand on the statue, he could still feel an immense heat coming from it; probably due to how hot and humid the air was.
Daeron looked for a moment longer before catching Viserys attention and gesturing them to continue onwards. They were getting close, in the distance Daeron could see their goal and he felt his heart start to beat; even from the distance they stood the city was a marvel. Daeron had seen the Hightower, and the wall but even those structures paled in comparison to the towers that were in the city. The towers had large flat disk-like roofs so that dragons could land and perch from above. Even the buildings below were larger than anything Winterfell had; Daeron had to constantly keep dragging Viserys along as he would get lost in the beauty of it. While some of the towers and buildings were damaged not all were and some seemed to retain their original appearance. The largest tower seemed to be made out of a polished white stone that seemed to glow like a beacon in the night.
Daeron looked at the tower in confusion as he had always believed that the Valyrians constructed their buildings out of black stone. When he looked around he could see that every other building apart from that tall tower was composed of black stone. 'What makes that tower different..." Daeron thought to himself as they got closer. Though their unease increased as the amount of statues increased, it seems closer to the city the statues were more deformed; some were missing limbs and others just looked wrong.
Daeron disregarded these thoughts as he only had one goal in mind. Nissa had told him to go to the tallest tower in the city which was the white tower. His whole body felt tense as he got closer, he had been waiting for this day for a long time and now that he was so close he felt as if everything could go wrong. "There are so many people..." Viserys said with a solemn expression on his face. Daeron nodded with the same grim expression; for so many people to die in an instant was a tragedy, both for the Valyrians and those they ruled.
Viserys breathing was getting incredibly ragged, the heat which would've caused a normal man to pass out and die was finally starting to affect him. "Not long now Uncle, just hold on a bit longer," Daeron said as he wiped his sweat from his brow, but as he placed his hand on Viserys to encourage him his uncle jumped back.
"Uncle? Is everything okay?" Daeron asked as he saw Viserys looking off into the distance.
Viserys who was breathing heavily didn't say anything at first but when Daeron touched him again he turned around "Sorry Daeron, I think the heat is affecting me much more now," he said before he started moving again. As they approached the outskirts of the city they found that they had to start manoeuvring through the statues that had become even more numerous.
"AHHH!" Viserys yelled out, which caused Daeron to snap his head back while putting his hand on the pommel of his sword.
"Uncle!" Daeron said as he approached Viserys. His uncle was acting strange; he was looking around rapidly as if searching for something that wasn't there.
"I-I keep seeing things that can't possibly be real, and now it felt like something grabbed me," Viserys said with ragged breaths.
Daeron frowned before taking his hand off his sword. Back in Sothoryos, the heat had managed to make him paranoid —though there were other factors why as well. Daeron took his water skin from his waist and handed it to Viserys "Uncle take a drink, I think the heat might be enflaming your imagination," He said.
Viserys took the offered drink and drank deeply from it before handing it back to Daeron "I'll be fine, let's keep going," He replied. As Daeron turned around to continue walking into the city, Viserys looked at his wrist only to see a red mark around it.
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The city of Oros was both a beautiful and tragic place. The architecture was magnificent, Daeron and Viserys had never seen the likes of it before and they probably never would again. Empty for hundreds of years and apart from the damaged buildings it mostly looked untouched; statues of people frozen in time littered the roads making the place look like a sad tribute to a once great empire.
Daeron looked on in awe as they walked towards the largest tower in the city. Except he had to keep looking back in concern as his uncle seemed to be getting more and more paranoid as if he was seeing enemies everywhere they went. "Uncle! You must pull yourself together!" Daeron snapped as he grabbed him by the arm.
His uncle who was breathing raggedly looked to Daeron —his eyes wide with paranoia, as if he were afraid of blinking. "Do you not see it, nephew! They move! The people move!" His uncle said as he gripped Daeron's shirt tightly.
Daeron looked around to where his uncle's eyes kept glancing except he didn't see anything, just stone statues and a dead city. "Uncle the heat and dehydration are making you see things, they are mirages nothing more," Daeron said trying to reassure him, but his uncle wouldn't be swayed so easily.
"I thought so too, but look!" He yelled showing his wrist which had a red mark around it. Daeron wasn't convinced, while he didn't want to doubt his uncle's word he had seen him rubbing his arms continuously as they got closer to the city.
"Uncle everything here is long dead, there is no life in these statues," Daeron said as he gestured to one of the statues beside him.
"Nephew I am not mad, I know there is more to this place than meets the eye," Viserys stated with certainty as he started looking behind him —checking his blind spots.
Daeron sighed "They are flesh turned into stone, and they will crumble all the same," he said as he went to push the one next to him only to nearly tumble over as somehow the statue was gone. Daeron quickly regained his balance and looked to where the statue should've been; he thought perhaps he was mistaken in where it was placed, but those thoughts were immediately discarded as dirt marks in the shape of footprints on the road stood where the statue was supposed to be.
"Do you see how Daeron!" Viserys said as he kept whipping his head around every time he looked around in the corner of his eye he could see something move.
Daeron felt a pit form in his stomach as he began to look around with a new perspective on the situation. Among the sea of statues, he was now seeing shadows dance and move in the corner of his eye. "Uncle, let's get to the tower..." Daeron said as he carefully drew his sword from its sheath.
*CRACK*
"Now!!!" Daeron said as they both started running down the road towards the large white tower that lay at its end. The sound of rock shifting sent shivers down both their spines as they both knew that something was chasing after them; as they ran Daeron could see a soft orange glow start to emanate from the hearts of the statues, as if signalling an awakening.
"Run faster!" Daeron shouted to Viserys who was a lot slower than Daeron.
The sound of what sounded like an animal crunching through bone sounded out from in front of them. Daeron could see men, actual men made of stone that walked like any other. Bringing his sword up in a semi-circle he attempted to decapitate the creature, but despite how strong and sharp Valyrian steel was it was not made to cut through stone, and so it only got halfway through before stopping and getting stuck. The stone man tried to reach out for Daeron, but he placed his foot on his chest and kicked him back making him stumble to the floor —which also managed to free his sword.
Daeron looked back and saw Viserys with his sword out intent on fighting several stone men, but based on how resistant they seem to be to their swords Daeron knew it wouldn't end well. He rushed back and grabbed Viserys by the arm "We need to go!" Daeron shouted as he pulled him away. As they ran towards the tower, more and more of the stone men started to shift and move, as if the city itself was coming back to life.
Multiple times they had to dodge and weave out of the grasp of the stone men. Daeron managed to cut one of the hands off a stone man who had managed to grab Viserys, though it was a lucky swing. They breathed a sigh of relief as the tower was within a few dozen feet, but while Viserys felt relief Daeron did not. The doors to the tower were non-existent which meant nothing was stopping the stone men from coming inside with them.
"Get inside quickly, I have an idea!" Daeron said as he pushed Viserys inside and turned around at the entrance.
Placing both hands on the floor frost spread from his fingers before shooting up in a large wall of ice that covered the entire doorway. Daeron gripped his chest after he was done as an incredible pain gripped him; he was warned not to use magic again or he would die, but he didn't have a choice, and with them being so close to their goal he decided to take the risk.
Viserys who was astonished at the display of magic finally snapped out of it when he saw his nephew fall over. "Daeron!" He shouted as he rushed over to his nephew.
"Take me to the top..." he breathed out weekly as indescribable pain wracked his body.
*CRACK*
Viserys looked up and saw the wall already being broken down by the stone men outside. Taking his nephew onto his shoulder he started to make his way up the tower, though this was no easy task. The tower was the tallest thing he'd ever seen and the stairs seemed endless; Viserys often thought about stopping to catch his breath but this was dismissed when he looked down to see the stone men climbing the steps to reach them both. Unlike him the stone men did not rest nor did they tire.
Viserys kept going for the sake of his nephew whose body seemed to be growing colder despite the scorching temperatures of the city. Viserys climbed up the final set of stairs, lucky there was only one room up here; Viserys pushed open a set of double doors —more like fell through— leading to one of the most lavish and opulent rooms he'd ever seen. It was a room made of white gold, the ceiling had some of the largest precious gems he'd ever seen embedded mimicking stars in the sky. And in the centre of the room was a pool that seemed to flow and contain swirling lights.
Viserys was snapped out of his awe by the sounds of footsteps. The stone men had reached the top floor and were right behind him; Viserys threw down Daeron and closed the doors, bracing himself against them. Daeron who had momentarily passed out was awoken from being tossed to the ground. He looked around with blurred vision, he could barely see his own uncle, but when he looked to the centre of the room and saw the pool his vision became clear and he started to crawl.
Viserys was terrified as he was constantly being pushed back. It was only a matter of time until they broke through, but the only thought on his mind was how he could protect his nephew, not his safety. "Daeron!" He shouted as he saw his nephew crawl and fall into the glowing pool seemingly disappearing.
It was at this moment the world shook and all the lights from outside disappeared during midday.
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(Sunspear)
Oberyn slammed the butt of his spear into a Dark Priest's face, though it did little to stop his approach. Ned sliced through one, shoulder to waist, and yet the priest kept on moving, Aegon was similarly having no luck. They had to slowly retreat down the streets of Sunspear as they were slowly being overwhelmed by these invincible priests that they encountered when they tried to approach the keep.
"Prince Oberyn we must retreat, whatever these creatures are our weapons do not seem to be effective against them," Lord Stark said as he stabbed through one's neck to no effect.
"I will not leave my brother to the machinations of these creatures!" Oberyn shouted as he decapitated one which seemed to be effective in pacifying them as they were unable to determine where Oberyn now was.
However, before Ned could reply they were all interrupted by an earth tremor. While not unusual, what was unusual was the lights going out during midday; all three companions looked up to see the moon eclipsing the sun.
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(Astapor)
*BOOM*
Hundreds of Catapults launched stones at the city of Astapor as it was in flames. The combined forces of Slavers Bay numbering 120,000 strong and containing some of the best siege equipment in the known world sieged the city. The only thing stopping them from attacking was the threat of the dragons that resided inside; they had brought thousands of scorpion bolts that they had set up at all times awaiting the dragons, but as commanded by Queen Rhaenys if the bolts got too close to the wall they'd be destroyed first to allow her to deploy her dragons.
Rhaenys stood upon the walls of the city overlooking the army in the distance with a grim expression on her face with Margaery and Myrcella. Myrcella bounced happily next to her giddy with excitement. "How many will it kill?" Rhaenys asked Myrcella.
"In that camp? Who knows? Maybe half before they realise what's going on," She replied.
"Rhaenys... I can't help but think maybe Sansa was right, this could have far-reaching consequences," Margaery said as he rubbed her hands.
"They declined my offer of peace, they choose to fight the emergence of a better world, they can die in their old one," Rhaenys said with a cold expression on her face.
"But to put her in the cells, that is going too far, she is Daeron's sister," Margaery said pleadingly.
"I am Daeron's sister! And she would not be in the cells had she not tried to sabotage us," Rhaenys replied.
"You worry too much Margy, the butterflies won't last long enough to spread the disease," Myrcella said as she held up a jar of black and white striped butterflies.
Their conversion was interrupted as the ground started to shake and the midday light disappeared behind the moon. Rhaenys looked up and smiled knowing it was a sign that her love was okay.
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Daeron gasped as he awoke, he immediately pushed himself up from the ground as he remembered the stone men, but he quickly realised that he was no longer in Valyria, in fact, he didn't know where he was. It was like he was in a forest composed of black soil and dead trees; not so far away he could see a green river that glowed brightly.
As Daeron walked he spotted something familiar in the distance. He rushed over his feet stepping on the hard black soil, until he reached a dim campfire. Daeron could barely contain his shock when he saw Nissa, gone was the beautiful woman with silky purple hair and tanned skin. The woman in front of him was malnourished, gaunt and pale to the point of being grey.
Nissa looked up at him and smiled "So you finally see me?" She croaked out in a dry voice.
Daeron approached her and fell into the seat next to her "W-What happened? To you? To this place?" Daeron asked as the enchanting forest that he had first woken up to was now gone.
"All a facade I'm afraid, I didn't want you to see me like this," she said with a weak smile.
"But as you grew stronger I grew weaker, and now that you've awakened you can see the truth," She continued.
"What's wrong with you? How can I help fix you? Where are you?" Daeron said a little desperately as he grabbed her hand.
Nissa gestured behind her and Daeron saw the shadow of an enormous castle made of a greasy black stone. "Stygai, the root of evil and where I have stood vigil for thousands of years," she explained.
"I told you once before that the Great Other was split into pieces when we managed to defeat him," Nissa said to which Daeron nodded.
"This piece was his soul, his mind, his essence, the very being of the Great Other, while the other aspects of his power took on personalities of their own, this piece has stayed the same," she explained.
"While what you may see is a castle, that is just how the Great Other presents his prison, in truth what lays behind those doors is a realm not connected to our own," She stated.
"If it's a prison why are you here?" Daeron asked.
"Because the Great Other is powerful, even if he's only a piece of what he used to be, the Father, The Warrior and the Smith constructed this prison, but died before they could truly lock him away," Nissa explained.
"What do you mean? If he's locked away surely they succeeded?" Daeron asked questioningly.
"Think of it as creating the prison and placing the Great Other inside of it, but not locking the cell door," She answered.
"I've been bracing the door for thousands of years, but soon I can close it," Nissa said with an expression akin to relief.
"What do you mean?" He asked
"I've been waiting for you this entire time Daeron, now that you are here the world need not be without a guardian and I can cross over knowing it won't end," She said as she cupped his face with a pale hand.
Daeron clenched his fists "You plan to sacrifice yourself..." he said.
Nissa nodded "There is power in the blood and the maidens run through mine, once I sacrifice myself the door will close permanently and he'll be locked away forever, but I can only do it from inside."
"I don't want you to..." Daeron said a little childishly.
Nissa smiled at him "Don't be sad for me my love, I finally get to take the trip that awaits all of us, my only regret is I must wait for you to join me."
"I'm not gonna let you go! You've saved me so many times how can you expect me to let you sacrifice yourself!" Daeron yelled.
"My love, you'll find that having great power is not the experience you'd like it to be, when I'm gone the world will only have you, when I was mortal and gods walked the earth it was a golden age, I trust you to make things right, make this world of misery into something better," She requested as she grabbed his face with her hands and placed her head against his.
"I promise I will, but I'm not going to let thousands of years of suffering end with your death, As I promise to make this world better I promise that I'll come for you, so hang on a little longer," Daeron asked as he placed a kiss on her head.
Nissa looked at him for a moment before giggling "You really are just alike in every way."
"It's time to wake up now, wake up and walk the earth not as Daeron Targaryen, but Azor Ahai."
———————————————————-
Viserys put the last vestiges of his strength into holding the door shut, but he knew it wasn't enough. His eyes were clenched shut as he tried to block out the pain of his aching muscles.
"Uncle it's okay, you've done enough."
Viserys opened his eyes and gazed upon Daeron, or at least he thought it was Daeron. His hair was a shiny black, his skin was a pale white that glowed and his eyes were a kaleidoscope of colours that were ever-shifting. "Daeron?" He said as if confirming that this was his nephew.
Daeron smiled at him "Thank you for bringing me here Uncle, I would've died without your help."
He then grabbed Viserys and pulled him away from the door which in turn let the stone men inside. "Daeron no wait!" Viserys yelled out still worried for his nephew.
Daeron raised one hand and in a blinding flash of light, the stone men were melted into puddles of molten magma against the ground. Viserys looked on in awe at this display of magic but the intense heat only made him feel worse.
"Uncle, drink this," Daeron said as he formed a cup made out of ice and poured some water in from his water skin.
Viserys looked at him with something akin to confusion and amusement, but he accepted the glass and drank deeply, he never thought he'd taste the sweetness of cool water ever again. Meanwhile, Daeron started to emit frost from his body to cool his uncle down.
"I think it's time we go home, you still haven't met my children have you?" Daeron said with a smile.
(AN: Daeron has regained his powers and is now a walking powerhouse, basicslly a small ice and fire dragon rolled into one. Pretty cool I think, anyway do you guys want Daeron to find some cool stuff in valyria or head straight home?)
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone