Chương 38: The Stepstones III
(Third Person POV)
[Bloodstone, The Stepstones]
As Aerion cut his way up the hill, Vermithor unleashed a stream of dragonfire on any dornish that got in his way.
"Out of the way." Aerion said as he swung his sword and cleaved the limbs off anyone that got in front of him
It was a terrifying sight, for the Martell Princes, watching a lone swordsman clad in armor, cutting down through their men by the second as a dragon unleashed hell upon the land. Aerion would merely parry any sword strike with ease and in a swift and fierce fashion, he would counter with a stroke and everyone would watch as blood splattered into the air, followed by a limb or two.
The moment Aerion reached the top of the hill, the Martell Princes were surrounded by a crowd of their soldiers, to shield them. Vermithor would roar loudly as he crawled upwards slowly, looking at both his sides. The sound of the dragon's crawling gave chills to any dornish soldier who heard this. They could not retreat easily, as the slope behind them was caught in flames caused by the dragon's first sweep.
Aerion flicked his right sword, Lady Rhea, throwing any fresh blood off it as his left sword, Lamentation, pointed downwards, dripping with blood.
"Prince Qoren, I presume." Aerion said as he stood before them, "I did not expect you to personally be here."
Qoren, barely visible by his massive shield of men, scowled, "You....." He said
Doren pushed himself through the crowd, "Let me through!!" He said as he got to the front, "YOU!!! How dare you!!!"
Aerion took a step forth and all of the soldiers assumed a stance, readying their spears and swords.
"Let us end this farce, Prince Qoren." Aerion said, "Either you retreat and break your alliance with the Triarchy or you die. It is as simple as that. I will grant you and your men mercy should you do so."
"You got some fucking balls." Doren said, "We will not retreat! I will take your head, Targaryen!!"
"If you make this more difficult, I shall burn every single one of your ship." Aerion said, "Leaving your fleet nonexistent. And I will only stop if you bend the knee instead."
Qoren scowled even more, "What did you say?!"
"Or maybe I should just end the two of you right here right now." Aerion said seriously, "The choice is yours."
"Even if you kill me." Qoren said, "Or both of us.....Dorne will not submit. My heirs will ascend to the Seat and will rule....and we will return our wrath to Westeros a hundredfold."
"Sure." Aerion said, "If that's what you want, so be it. But for now, the Dornish will back off the Stepstones....and well, you won't have any ships to even attempt to aid the Triarchy while we crush them."
"You're a stupid shit, aren't you?" Doren said as he took a step forward, readying his spear, "We are House Martell!! Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken!!!!"
Doren charged forwards, thrusting his spear at Aerion who merely parried it and stepped to the side, swinging Lamentation straight down at the shaft, cutting through with ease.
Doren widened his eyes, "What?!" He said
"That looks Broken." Aerion said as he swung Lady Rhea down low
Qoren widened his eyes, "Doren!!!" He shouted
Aerion's blade cleaved through Doren's leg, above the knee and bent Doren over and caused him to crash onto the ground. Everyone watched in horror as their prince's leg was cut off, blood pouring out of the wound profusely.
"You look pretty Bent right now." Aerion said, "Or something similar to it."
Doren, who was in shock at the sudden blow, tried to get up but was only able to get on his other knee, completely weakened by the sudden blood loss. He looked like he was prostrating on the ground as his eyes were wide open, completely shocked.
Aerion placed his blade right next to his neck, "As close to Bowed as you can get." Aerion said
"You imbeciles!!" Qoren shouted, "Save my brother!!"
The dornish charged forward, letting out war cries as they reached the Targaryen Knight.
In a swift motion, Aerion simply spun around, slashing through their spear and flesh, the dornishmen's blades bouncing off the Valyrian armor like nothing. Aerion cut through them, avoiding unnecessary blows and deflecting swords, countering with ease as blood and limbs flew all around.
Qoren had not seen a view like this; a lone man causing so much slaughter like it was nothing. He merely stood there frozen, in shock.
Aerion then cut through the last of the soldiers, walking slowly towards Qoren as his armor was soaked in blood.
"Y-You...." Qoren said as he drew his sword
Suddenly, Vermithor appeared from behind, growling viciously as he bared his teeth.
Qoren swung his sword but Aerion merely blocked it with Lamentation, swinging Lady Rhea at his neck but stopping at the last second.
"Yield." Aerion said, "There is no need for needless carnage."
Qoren furled his eyebrows, "You..." He started
He was dwarfed by Aerion's imposing figure and completely dwarfed by Vermithor behind him who glared at him.
"I..." Qoren said
"You only get one chance." Aerion said as Qoren saw his serious eyes through the helm's eye slits, "Do you want your family to bury you solely for a stupid escapade like this?"
"You killed my brother...." Qoren said
"He may still live." Aerion said, "Should his wound be treated quick. But that will only happen if you yield and retreat. Cut off ties with the Triarchy and leave the Stepstones alone. Refuse and you and your brother die. I'll make sure that your body is returned safely to your Family."
Qoren scowled, "I will not bow." He said
"I don't give a shit if you don't." Aerion said, "I want you out of this conflict, that is all! If you would rather die instead of sparing your brother and more men, then I should not have wasted my breath on you!"
"Fuck..." Qoren said, "F-Fine!"
Qoren dropped his sword to the ground and slowly backed up as Aerion pulled his blades away.
"Good choice." Aerion told him, "Now, help your brother. If he dies of his wounds, I apologize."
"He should not have been that reckless."
***********************************************************
[A Few Hours Later]
"How many Triarchy ships have been seized?" Corlys asked as they stood in their own council table in the middle of the encampment on the coast
"We count at least 15 ships that are in good condition." one of his men said as Aerion approached, "The rest were destroyed either by our assaults or dragonfire. As for the Dornish ships, most of them were destroyed but those that were seized, we took their supplies and food, even confiscated their Scorpion ballistae."
"House Martell had signaled a full-retreat." Corlys said, "The ships that escorted the Princes shall not be attacked, but be followed only. The majority of their infantry was obliterated by Vermithor and our defensive tactics. As for the Triarchy, Aerion was able to scatter them but they still have a full sized attacking force that we should be on the lookout for. In the meantime, we should be able to rest and resupply."
Aerion nodded as he stood next to them, taking off his helm, "Lord Corlys." He said as he looked at them
Lord Corlys looked at him, "Aerion." He said with a slight smile, "Well done, lad. Your tactic work, I am impressed. And to think that you would be able to fully repel the Martell forces, it is amazing."
Aerion chuckled, "I do my best." He said
They all heard Vermithor's rumbling as he laid in the sands near the waters, allowing to be splashed by the waves.
"You have my thanks." Corlys said as he patted his arm, "Without you, who knows how much we could have lost."
"What about what we have already lost?!" Vaemond walked up to him, "It is because of this boy's stupid plan that we've been in a reckless formation, sacrificing good men and ships to stall them just for him to show up heroically and get all the glory."
"Vaemond, enough." Corlys said, "If it were not for Aerion's plan, we probably would not have crippled the Dornish fleet and completely repelled them. They will break their deal with the Triarchy, who we have in shambles."
Vaemond ignored him and glared at Aerion, "I watched as good men died, ships go down, and much more on the account of your....absurdity.." He said as he walked up to him, "Why? All for your wife to get all the credit?! What about those who lost their lives, eh?!"
Aerion's face hardened, "Watch your tone." He warned, "What was that....emphasis on wife? Do you have something to say to me Lord Vaemond?"
Corlys looked at Vaemond, "Enough, Vaemond."
"I will not sacrifice my dignity as a warrior, as a sailor, as a Velaryon!" He shouted, "At the account of a stupid and foolish little girl like her!"
Aerion took a step forward, "Hm..." He said as he looked away
Then, in a swift motion, he smacked Vaemon across the face with the back of his left gauntlet, dropping him to the ground.
"Guhh!!" Vaemond grunted in pain
Several soldiers immediately got in between them, trying to push Aerion away as they picked Vaemond up who covered his bleeding nose and mouth.
Corlys got in the between them, "Are you two mad?!" He exclaimed
Aerion raised his hand up, "Get off me." He told the soldiers who reluctantly obeyed
Vaemond glared at Aerion who stumbled back and was caught by a few of the men, "Y-You dare?!"
"Vaemond, what has gotten into you?!" Corlys said seriously as he walked up to his brother, "You dare insult Princess Rhaenyra?! In front of our men?! In front of her husband?! If it were not for her leave, we could all have been dead!! If it not for Aerion's plan, none of this would have been possible! People die in wars! Everyone here knows that! Your men, your ships, they did not fall in vain!!!"
Aerion took a step forward, "I understand your frustration, Vaemond Velaryon." He said seriously, "But you should not let your emotions dictate what you say. And let it be known!! To all of you!!! Should any sort of insult leave your mouth about Princess Rhaenyra, I will not be so merciful. Either you lose a tongue or a limb of your choosing."
Everyone shifted in nervousness, knowing well that this was a serious threat. It was not like they had the dumb idea to loudly insult Rhaenyra in any setting.
"Well said!!!!" a voice bellowed from above, "Now...That is a true Dragon."
They all looked above and saw that on a hill, Daemon Targaryen stood, clad in his full black armor. Suddenly, The Blood Wyrm appeared from behind him, letting out his trademark nasaly roar. This alarmed Vermithor, who slowly got up and let out a roar of his own, returning Caraxes's call.
Corlys widened his eyes, "Daemon?!" He said, "What in the seven hells are you doing here?!"
"A favor for Prince Reggios." Daemon said with a smile, "And I got one of your annoying letters, Corlys. I came with the intention of reliving our famed past, but I suppose my son here has beat me to it."
Aerion did not react at all, he merely looked up at him with a serious expression.
Corlys walked forward as he looked up at Daemon, "So you've come to help?" He said
"Yes, well, I did have a deal with the Pentos Prince." Daemon said, "Permanent residence in his Manse in exchange for using my dragon to crush any Triarchy threat. And since most of the Triarchy activities are here, well, I might as well burn some ships and some cunt Tyroshi Pirates."
Corlys laughed, "Well, you are most welcome to stay here if you need to." He said, "But considering how crippled the Triarchy is and the Dornish are retreating, we can only hope that this conflict will not last much long."
"I came all this way." Daemon said as Caraxes lowered his head, "I might as well shed some blood."
Corlys looked at Aerion who merely stood there, unfazed, "Well, Lord Aerion." He said, "You have my utmost thanks. We, the Velaryon Fleet, are in your debt."
"Of course, Lord Corlys." Aerion said as he looked at him, "I do this for the good of both of our Houses. You are my Sisters' Grandsire, after all."
He added a bit of emphasis on the word "Sisters". Something which both Corlys and Daemon caught.
Daemon chuckled, "What say you, Aerion?" He said with a smile, "Care to fly alongside your old man and burn some Triarchy scum? Who knows, we might find another Valyrian steel amidst the Tyroshi treasures, they have come in groves, I hear."
Aerion turned around, "No thanks." He said as he began to walk away, "I will fly back to Dragonstone. Lord Corlys, I take it you have it from here."
"Y-Yes." Corlys nodded
"Are you not going to speak to me about her, then?" Daemon called after him
Aerion stopped and glanced back at him, "Who?"
"What are you? Dense?" Daemon said, "My granddaughter, of course."
Aerion turned back around and kept walking, "Hm." He said,
"What do you care?"
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