บท 10: Look On My Works, ye Mighty, And Despair!
(Tyria)
Valar was blind, his vision was nought but a field of white, it reminded him of the stories that Daerys told him about the lands that were covered in white sand that would freeze you to the touch, and that men covered in hair roamed the land on their large direwolves that were capable of tearing a horse in half. Valar often wondered if such a land existed, for how could such a place exist when the mighty Dragonlords riding atop their beasts of fire burn all their enemies to cinders.
Valar wasn't concerned for his lack of vision for it never belonged to him in the first place, all of his being from the moment he was born belonged to someone else and if the Dragonlords decreed he no longer have it then his vision would be taken away such was their power, and yet in these few beautiful moments of pure white it allowed him to think of the world Daerys had told him of and imagine that he himself had managed to escape his own existence for even in his dreams he was plagued with visions of fire and blood.
But his fantasy of being in a different world soon came crashing down as his vision cleared and he saw the sun shining across the sky. He didn't know how long it had been since he had seen the sun, he and the others had been kept in the dark for so long that he'd almost forgotten about the ball of fire in the sky, some of the older slaves believed that the Dragonlords didn't come from here and were gods sent from the sun to on top their dragons. Valar wasn't sure whether this was true or not but in the end, it didn't matter if they were gods or not, he and the others belonged to them so they might as well be gods to them.
Valar walked behind the Dragonlord who had taken him from the cell he looked down at the ground as was expected of him, however, he stopped when he saw that the man had turned around "Come now Valar, you do a great service to House Belaerys so today you can walk tall beside me" the Dragonlord said with great enthusiasm.
Valar looked up and saw the handsome man with silver hair smiling "Come I've been told you want to see your friends again? I can make that happen" he said making Valar perk up slightly 'I can see Daerys and the others again... I thought they were gone forever" he thought to himself.
"I can see Daerys again?" He croaked out as his mouth and throat were dry. The Dragonlord snapped his fingers and a slave stepped forward holding a water skin "You must be parched my dear boy, here have some water" he said as the slave offered him the drink. Valar reached out and took it before putting it to his mouth he felt pure bliss feeling the liquid go down his throat, it was one of the few moments he felt alive as water was rare and not to be wasted on those such as them. He drank deeply before pulling the water skin away from his mouth "Thank you Great Dragonlord" Valar said as he struggled to go to one knee.
The Dragonlord chuckled before snapping his fingers once more, Valar felt himself being lifted from the ground by a large slave "No need for such formalities you may call me Lord Balerion" he said before turning back around and looking to one of the other slaves in his entourage "Make sure he doesn't slow us down, drag him if you must but make sure he remains undamaged" he whispered before clapping his hands, a group of slaves brought a large throne made of what looked to be gold and smokey metal he took a seat and then throne which was on a platform was lifted "Let us go we have no time to waste" He said and the slaves and guards accompanying them moved immediately, with the one behind Valar pushing him forward making him almost fall to the ground.
Valar looked ahead and saw the wide busy streets of the majestic Valyrian city but it was mostly busy with slaves a sea of those with hair ranging from black to pale blonde but rarely silver, for it wasn't seemly for a Valyrian Lord who was part of the forty to travel on the ground where the masses were, though this often meant that those without dragons would often never leave the towers they were born in. Even lesser houses often did not travel on the roads and when they did it was in a grandiose manner.
"Lord Balerion..." Valar asked as he limped and stumbled to keep up with the man on the throne the man looked down at him a smile still plastered on his face "Yes boy?" He replied as he leant on his throne "Will I really be able to see my friends again?" Valar asked with a hopeful voice, he'd thought that they were gone forever and that he was condemned to spend his life alone.
Lord Balerion grinned at him "Well that depends on you Valar, will you be able to follow my commands and complete the tasks I give you" he asked, Valar stumbled forward grasping the platform that the throne was on "Yes Lord Balerion I'll do anything!" He said desperately.
Lord Balerion smiled before looking away "Many of the other great families believe mongrels such as yourself should be imprisoned and killed, but I and some others like me believe we can make use of you. You are half breeds of the forty houses so magic still runs through your veins, it is my belief we should make use of it rather than leave you to rot" he explained as they travelled through the main road towards a large mountain in the distance.
"Look around Valar, we stand in the greatest empire that ever was and ever shall be, our towers shall stand until the end of time itself, but that can only happen if one family takes control, we can no longer settle for having forty families fighting for power, Valyria needs a God-Emperor just like in the Great Empire of the Dawn... it needs me," he said as he basked in his own radiance.
"But my power needs to be a lot greater than it is for me to claim the throne and shape this world into perfection," he said as he looked up at the sky. However, he was interrupted when a slave carrying a large amount of building materials dropped them in front of Lord Balerion causing the slaves carrying him to stop and make him jolt "Dragonlord!! I apologise for my carelessness please forgive me!!!" The slave shouted as he dropped to his knees.
Lord Balerion lost his smile and looked to a guard "Kill him" he simply said and the guard walked forward stabbing his spear through the slave's neck and dragging him out of the way. The slaves quickly started moving again, Valar felt his feet splash against the blood that pooled on the black stone, he felt bad for the man who had his life taken away but his thoughts were consumed with the idea that he might see his friends again "I'll do anything you command Lord Balerion" Valar said.
Lord Balerion looked at him "I know you will" he said as he held out his hand and a cup was quickly placed there by one slave and another poured a deep red liquid into it. He said nothing more to Valar as they walked the long journey towards the large mountain, Valar however was entranced by the splendour of the city, the dragons that flew above them landing on towers made of black stone 'I wonder what the world looks like from up there' he thinks to himself as he continues to limp next down the road. He remembered one time one of the older slaves had said Valyrian cities are so grand with beautiful towers so tall that you hardly notice the bodies at their foundation. Valar wasn't sure if he understood such words but looking up the towers certainly were beautiful.
As they walked Valar witnessed things he hadn't ever seen before and it was all wondrous but he also had to stop himself from throwing up. In the short time they had been walking Lord Belarion had ordered the deaths of more than a dozen people, some for getting in his way and others for merely daring to gaze upon him, Valar's feet were soaked with blood as he stepped through the bodies left in their wake, it made him feel sick but he couldn't say anything, it wasn't his place too and at the moment the only thing he focused on as reuniting with his friends.
They left the city and continued down the road, the large mountain became closer and closer until they were right at the foot of it, there was a large entrance at the cave and Valar for the first time that day felt unsure about continuing onwards. His heart started to beat fast and he started to sweat, everything in his body was warning him not to continue onwards, but he had no choice as he was shoved onwards by the guards behind him "Welcome Valar to a sacred place amongst my people, one of the Fourteen Flames" Lord Balerion said as they entered the mountain.
They went deeper and deeper into the mountain, and the deeper they went the more Valar struggled to breathe as it started to become unbearably hot, however, it seemed that the guards and servants were having a much more difficult time than he was some even passed out. Lord Balerion didn't seem to notice or care but when he saw Valar start to struggle he lifted his large stuff and muttered something until his staff started to flow brightly he then hit it on the ground and a large dome surrounded them. Valar felt like he could breathe again as the beat that felt unbearable before was now gone, all the slaves and guards started to thank Lord Balerion who bathed in their praises.
Valar felt his heart about to beat out of his chest as they continued to go deeper, at this point he thought they might end up in a different world if they kept on going but eventually, the incline stopped and they entered a large chamber. The entire chamber was filled with molten lava but what Valar noticed straight away was the large creature whose head nearly took up the entire room, he immediately fell backwards as he saw it and started breathing heavily "Do not be afraid Valar, it will not hurt you it is asleep" Lord Balerion stated.
"W-What is that L-Lord Balerion" Valar stuttered out as he was lifted back to his feet by a guard.
Lord Balerion stood from his throne as he stepped off the platform and down to the rocks below "This my boy is the heart of every one of the fourteen flames" he said as he gestured to the creature's large head that looked like a flower that had yet to bloom "This is the fate of every Fire Wyrm, they never stop growing and they never die from old age, however, there comes a point where they can no longer sustain their massive size with a food source and so they enter a sort of hibernation, their body heats up and it starts to absorb the rock around it by turning it into a liquid" he explained.
"Everyone of the Fourteen Flames has a Fire Wyrm at its heart but this one is the most special, Fire Wyrms are solitary creatures but they can also only be spawned from a Queen, it is something that has puzzled us for years. But most Queens never live to grow to a large size, this right here is the largest Queen to ever exist" he said with excitement in his voice.
Valar was certainly awed but he didn't understand why he was here, he was shoved forward as they followed Lord Balerion to the Fire Wyrm "This Valar is how you will service the new empire, you will be reborn into one of my new soldiers and together we shall make this world anew!!!" He shouted as he gestured grandly.
"A-And I-I'll get to see my friends again right?" Valar asked tentatively as he limped forward, Lord Balerion waved a hand dismissively "Yes Yes of course you'll see them again" he said making Valar feel excited once more. They walked to the creature where Valar was grabbed by Lord Balerion. Valar saw a runic circle that was drawn onto the creature "Stand with your back against the Wrym" Lord Balerion commanded, however when Valar looked to be nervous and looked like he might not do it he grabbed him by the shoulder "You do want to see your friends again don't you?" He asked and Valar snapped out of whatever daze he was in and nodded resolutely before walking to the circle and leaning against it.
Lord Balerion once again drew his staff in front of him and began muttering and incantation before slicing his wrist with a dagger and drawing a symbol on Valar, he then carved another bigger symbol onto Valar's chest. His chanting got louder and louder as his staff brightened, the runes around Valar brightened and so did the ones on his body, Valar thought that maybe this wouldn't be so bad but then the pain hit him "AHHHHHHHHHHHH" he screamed as his whole body lit up in pain, however, when he tried to move he found that he couldn't as his body was sinking into the Wyrms body, he wanted to scream for help for anything but the pain was so immense that he couldn't do anything else apart from scream, and soon he couldn't see as his whole body was engulfed.
Valar couldn't breathe, he couldn't see and he couldn't hear, all he good do was feel pain as his body felt like it was crushed and broken, it felt like things dug their way into his body. After what felt like an eternity he once again was able to see as he fell out of the Wyrm into what looked like a pit. He breathed heavily as he recovered from the intense pain he had felt, he tried to push himself up but he slipped on something. When his eyes came into focus he realised he was in a large pile of dead bodies, all of them seemed to be nightmarish creatures that resembled people, but there was one that made his heart stop 'Daerys' he thought to himself as he saw a horribly mangled creature with broken wings and half her jaw missing "Valar? Are you alive boy" Lord Balerion asked from the top of the hole.
His eyes widen in excitement when he sees Valar stand up "You survived! Just like I knew you would, only one from my bloodline could possibly survive this process as I suspected" he said with a loud laugh.
Valar looked at his body, it had lost its pale colour and turned black, he had claws on his hands and his mouth was now like a Fire Wyrms head, he didn't even know if he could speak anymore. But he could also hear things in his head, he could hear lots of speaking "You lied to me..." Valar said as he climbed out of the hole, he realised he was now two heads taller than Lord Balerion.
Lord Balerion snickered "I did no such thing, your friends are right there, they only have themselves to blame for not surviving the process," he said callously before bringing his hands to Valar's arms.
"But you my boy have surpassed all expectations, look at you!" He said in excitement but was soon taken back when Valar pushed him away. Valar fell to his knees as a plethora of memories assaulted him, it was memories of all of his friends being merged to the Fire Wyrm and being left to die in that pit as they came out horribly deformed. Valar felt his blood start to boil as the rage he felt at Lord Balerion overcame him "I will kill you..." he rumbled softly as he stood up.
Lord Balerion stood back agape "Guards!" He shouted as he ran back, the guards accompanying him stepped forward to kill Valar, however as they stabbed at him he grabbed the shaft of their spears and with superhuman strength crumbled them into splinters, he then lunged at them instinctively biting their throats with his new mouth, he felt something leave his body and enter theirs as he did. After dealing with the guard he looked to see Lord Balerion was gone but as he tried to go after him the rune that was inscribed on his body lit up as did the one that was on the Fire Wrym.
Valar screamed in frustration and as he struggled to get past some invisible barrier he noticed new voices inside of his head, he turned around and saw the guards were now standing up, their bodies were black and cracked and they said nothing. He sent a mental command to them and they obeyed, unlike himself they were able to come and go so he sent them out of the mountain after Lord Balerion. He however walked towards the Fire Wrym and placed his hands on it, he started to fall back into it as if merging , however this time it didn't feel painful but rather pleasant 'I won't forgive any of you... you all deserve to die' he thought to himself as he sent a mental command to the Queen who was also linked to the other fourteen Fire Wyrms.
"Awaken!!!"
———————————————————-
All of this information flashed in Jace's mind as he seemed to drift around in a sea of memories, he then started to fall thinking he might lose himself forever.
"JACE!!!"
Jace woke up once again breathing heavily he wasn't where he was expecting to be though, instead of Valyria he was once again in Kings Landing "Jace!" He looked to his side and saw a teary-eyed Helaena who was holding his arm "Helaena? What happened" he asked as he was still trying to process everything he saw.
Helaena looked at him with relief "You were infected with one of his creatures, they attempted to take over your mind" she told him.
Jace's eyes widened as he got out of bed "Am I going to die? Will I end up like those things!!!" He shouted as his voice was filled with fear. However, to his relief, Helaena shook her head "Not yet, with my help we managed to stop him but it isn't forever" she said solemnly
Jace frowned "What do you mean?" He asked with slight concern in his voice.
"You are now connected to him, eventually he will be able to take over your body" she replied.
Jace felt himself start to tremble as he remembered the creatures he saw with cracked black skin "Do not worry Jace you won't turn out like that, you are perfectly compatible that's why he wants you so badly" Helaena said though Jace wasn't quite sure if she meant to reassure him.
Jace breathed out to calm himself and looked at Helaena "What can I do to stop it?" He asked. Helaena wondered for a moment before turning back to him "I imagine if you escaped Valyria then you'd be far enough where he couldn't reach you, either that or you could attempt to kill him" she replied.
Jace laughed "I think I'll stick to escaping" he said as he stood up.
*Knock*
*Knock*
Jace turned around to the door to his room and frowned "Helaena what was that, I thought we were the only ones here" he asked with confusion.
Helaena shook her head as she stood up "Kings Landing is supposed to represent your mind to some degree, it's all rather confusing, before he couldn't get passed the walls but now he's inside you, he can go anywhere" she explained.
Helaena then grabbed Jace by his face and turned him to face her "I will tell you this warning once Jace, if he manages to touch you even once while you are here then it is over and you will die" she said ominously sending a shiver through Jace's spine.
*Knock*
*Knock*
*Knock*
(AN: So there's a bit of history about the main antagonist of this arc, I kinda made a lot of stuff up especially about Dragonlords who breed with those who aren't pure, their children are imprisoned as I imagine Valyria doesn't want anyone else getting dragons. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter, we are getting into the endgame now so then we can finally move into Canonish events)
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