#shen-zoan

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (Daenerys Targaryen / After GOT) Part 15

Westeros, The Neck

_ "Go, run, they are getting closer!" Brienne ordered in a state of real panic, pushing as far as possible Samwell and Tyrion in front of her to force them to run faster. But the marshy mossy and muddy soil of the Neck region made all progress more difficult, and the many trees around them rendered visibility almost nil in greyish darkness. The trio could have escaped from King's Landing in prey to chaos and death and had galloped without stopping for several, to the point of having killed their horses of exhaustion and being forced to continue on foot.

Unfortunately, death was starting to catch up with them. Lively grunts were heard and the silhouettes of four wights, dressed in rags of peasants or damaged leather armors, appeared out of the shadows, and like rabid dogs rushed towards the trio of humans to reduce them into pieces. Although slowed down by the sticky mud, the wights continued to get closer and closer. One of them found his leg stuck in a moving sand, but still stubbornly wanted to move forward. His rotten leg came apart in a crunch of flesh and bone.

Sword in hand, Brienne, her face sweating, constantly glanced back, seeing the dead creatures come closer to them, snapping their foul jaws and shouting their wild grunts.

After a stumble into a mud pool, Samwell fell backwards into a huge splash of water and slush, and struggling with panic, had Tyrion help him. Samwell continued to cling forcefully to the bag containing the precious grimoires he had taken from his library, which completely escaped Tyrion's logic.

_ "Sam, let those fucking books, they slow you down too much!!" the dwarf snapped in the stress generated by the situation. Samwell shook his head vigorously at this suggestion.

_ "Stop talking, keep running!!" shouted Brienne, slapping Sam's back to force him forward. One of the wights managed to reach them, throwing himself on the nearest person, Brienne. Thrown to the ground despite her size by the weight of the creature, Brienne struggled in hand to hand against the undead in the dripping water and mud, the latter having tightened his hands on her throat and trying to bite her face with his moldy teeth. While holding the thing and trying to breathe, Brienne with her other hand, struggled to grab her sword fallen to the ground next to her. She then saw Sam rush, grab the sword in his hands and pierce the skull with the tip of the blade. The latter froze, then fell lifeless. Brienne pushed the body away from her, helped by Sam and Tyrion to get up.

A gaunt hand then grabs Tyrion's leg, knocking him down in the mud. Another wight, the one who had lost his leg in the shifting sands and crawled now, was bent on pulling Tyrion toward him. The dwarf struggled with all the strength he could, held by the hand by Sam and Brienne.

_ "Hold on, my lord!" Samwell said frightened.

_"Easy to say!!" replied Tyrion, as he tried to kick the wight's face several times. The other two remaining dead had also come close, armed with old rusty swords, and were about to hit Brienne and Sam.

A stealthy whistle sounded suddenly in the air, and an arrow hit one of the undead in the head, piercing his temple and killing him instantly. A few seconds later, a second similar arrow killed the second undead, between the two eyes. Tyrion, Brienne, and Sam remained frozen in astonishment. Opening wide eyes, they saw this human figure, small and fast, run on the big branch of a tree and in a most agile leap, threw a grapple connected to a rope to slide to the foot of the trunk with a large speed. The stranger seized his bow, barking a new arrow and without the least pressure, fired. The projectile passed right next to Tyrion's cheek, the latter having almost felt the friction of the air, and saw the last wight crumpled, shot down in the forehead.

Once the undead were eliminated, Brienne and Sam were able to help Tyrion get back on his feet, while the mysterious person who had just rescued them, examined the corpses of the undead cautiously, kicking them, making sure that they were really out of order.

_ "Are you okay, sir?" Samwell asked as he looked at Tyrion to see if he was hurt. Out of breath and covered with water and mud, the dwarf just nodded in response. Brienne turned to their mysterious savior. Whoever he was, he was rather small, dressed in strange clothes looking like furs, old greenish brown leather, and even natural elements like woven leaves. His face was hidden by a hood and a scarf. He was well armed, in addition to his bow and arrows, possessed a dagger and a short sword at his belt.

_ "I don't know who you are, sir, but thank you." said Brienne sincerely as a good knight. Tyrion and Samwell, though saying nothing, joined her on this point. The stranger says nothing in the first place, just staring at them, one by one. Then, with a nonchalant gesture, he removed his hood, revealing black, semi-long and curly hair, as well as severe eyes. He then removed his scarf to reveal the bottom of his face. Brienne, Tyrion and Sam were surprised at the moment. He was not a man, but a young woman. Her hardened eyes showed she was used to fighting. She advanced a few steps towards them, crushing under her boot the skull of a wight, and in a rather reserved and neutral tone, presented herself to them.

_ "My name is Meera of house Reed."

Volantis, Essos Yara remained pensive for a long time. After washing her body and her hair, the young Queen of the Iron Islands was now looking herself naked in the glass of the small mirror of the room. Looking at her still wet brown hair, as well as the few remaining drops of water on her skin, Yara said nothing, just looking at her figure. For the last few days she had been thinking more and more about Queen Daenerys. She had followed her to the far reaches of the known world, in the lands of Asshai ... she had witnessed phenomena impossible to conceive for an average mind ..... she had been able to see the full power of the symbol that embodied Daenerys stormborn of house Targaryen .... a symbol for the oppressed, the heat of fire would crush those who claim to be the undisputed masters of all life belonging to them without any impunity ....

Although she belonged to a people who had committed many heinous acts in the past, such as looting and rape, Yara was ready to always follow her queen of dragons. She had already sworn to her, swearing to stop the looting and rape, and would be ready to swear anew if she had to .... At the thought of Daenerys in her mind, Yara's heart fell to beat faster and she was surprised to see herself blush a little .... But very quickly, she took the senses of reality, shaking her head nonchalantly in front of the mirror and grabbing his clothes ....

_ "My poor Yara, you must stop taking your dreams for realities." she says to herself. Basically, although her feelings for Queen Daenerys were more than obvious, she could not bring herself to believe it. After what the queen dragon had undergone, could she be able to once again trust a great love?

After wearing her clothes and her iron queen armor, Yara opened the door to leave the room, but was surprised to see Shen-zoan stand in front of her, and just about to knock on the door.

_ "Ah, Yara, I was looking for you." said the man of Yi-Ti, in a friendly tone. "Queen Daenerys sends me to fetch you, she reunites the council."

_ "A council meeting today?" Yara raised an eyebrow. Shen nodded with a smile and invited her to follow him.

_ "I prefer to warn you, she's a little upset." Shen warns, further emphasizing the ironborn queen's curiosity.

_"And for what reason?"

_ "A message from the slave masters of Meereen."

The atmosphere was already heavy when Shen and Yara entered the council room. Around a large stone table on which had been unfolded from side to side a very detailed map of the Slaver's Bay and its main cities, the other members of the council welcomed the last two comers, inviting them to join them. Grey Worm, Ser Cade, Shen-zoan, Yara Greyjoy, the Red High Priest, and of course Queen Daenerys, all were now present for this new council meeting.

The young dragon queen, dressed in her long white dress, was pacing, looking gloomily, holding in her hands a parchment unrolled which she was gradually crushing between her fingers. Around the table, everyone watched without anyone daring to say a word, until Yara, somewhat annoyed by this silence, decided:

_ "My queen ..... what are the news?"

Daenerys paused and turned to her ironborn friend before reaching the end of the table, abruptly placing her hands on the map, sighing heavily. Grey Worm then proposed to clear up Yara's question and spoke.

_ "A message from Meereen. The masters took the city by force, slavery is once again practiced, and a group of very influential masters now lead the city, making themselves known as the" Harpy Lords."

Daenerys bit his lip just to hear again the news having on her mind like the effect of a painful poison. Just at the thought of these men, women and children in need that she had saved, chained again, beaten, starved, killed for pleasure ..... and she had abandoned them, for her futile quest for the Iron Throne ..... Daenerys could probably never forgive herself, but all she could do now was fix her mistake once and for all. However, she raised another very important detail concerning the current situation of Meereen.

_ "They did not just take over the city ..." Daenerys explained, in a very morose tone, her throat knotted ".... they ..... they took Daario Naharis...."

_"Who?" Yara asked.

_ "He used to be a member of the second sons, and then joined me to serve me. A very devoted, competent man .... I had entrusted to him the regency of Meereen in my absence ...."

Every word that came out of her mouth was accompanied by that feeling of anxiety more than palpable. Daenerys then took in her hands a small wooden box bearing on its surface the golden symbol of the harpy. A gift sent by the masters with the message. Daenerys swallowed and opened it hesitantly, before showing the contents to others. All were more or less surprised, even disgusted. An eye, still bloody, was inside. On the box had been hung a little message, that Daenerys read aloud:

_ "This is a gift for the silver-haired whore - the eye of her godly commander who is so brave and dedicated - one eye to start, but more pieces will follow until there is nothing left. The dragon has fallen, and once again the harpy reigns over the Meereen sky, as it should be."

After reading this sharp message to her, Daenerys squashed it bluntly between her fingers, before letting the crumpled paper ball fall to her feet. Although she tried to remain calm, the others could see without problem that Daenerys was fuming inside, her fists clenching on the wood of the table and her eyes becoming darker than ever. Although angry, Daenerys was also worried. Was Daario simply still alive or had the masters made him their toy, inflicting the worst possible tortures while keeping him alive?

_ "They take the cities that I freed from their tyranny ... they kill children ... they tear the eye of Daario and dare to send me with an insulting message ...." she sighed with anger. Grey Worm stepped forward, joining his queen.

_ "We must make the masters pay, majesty, kill them to the last one." said the leader of the unsullied without hesitation. Although having given up the idea of ​​killing, Shen-zoan had to admit that this time, faced with such individuals deprived of humanity, other solutions would not be possible. Ser Cade, too, seemed to agree with Grey Worm. Yara, too, joined the others.

_ "However ...." Shen commented, trying to stay rational "... if the masters are not stupid, they will surely use the thousands of slaves present in the city as a human shield ... If we launch a frontal assault, it will be a real carnage, hundreds of innocent people will be killed."

Daenerys listened and agreed with her friend from Yi-Ti. She remembered the drama in King's Landing with shame, and would never want to reproduce such an error. She was a liberator, not a destroyer. Feeling somewhat tired with all the stress of the past few days, the dragon queen ran her hand over her face, blowing heavily.

_ "I ... I have to stay alone a few moments, my friends .... we will resume this meeting later ...." she said, before turning on her heels and leaving the room, followed by her maid Mira. All around the table, in the greatest silence, the others gave the same cautious glances, but understanding in what state of reflection their queen was.

Refugee in her quarters in one of the towers of the temple of Volantis, Daenerys took a few moments to breathe calmly, and walked to the small bronze table to serve a glass of wine. While taking a first sip, feeling the fresh drink pouring down her throat and doing her good, she thought about how to free Meereen without having to massacre the people she came to save. Not to mention Daario .... the masters would surely use him as a means of pressure on her to prevent her from taking over the city .... Daenerys gave herself a headache by thinking all of this. What a situation!

She then heard the door open and close.

_ "Mira, I had asked that I not be disturbed ...." Daenerys said turning around, thinking to see her young servant, but it was Yara who showed up at the door of the room.

_ "Yara? What do you want? I told you that we will resume the council meeting later ..." said the dragon queen, somewhat annoyed when she went to sit on the sheets of her bed, the glass of wine in her hand.

_ "I know ..." replied the ironborn queen, approaching the bed with a nonchalant step "... but I wanted to make sure that you're fine. I'm worried about you."

Without looking at her, Daenerys listened to the young woman, feeling very well the sincere tone in her voice. Dropping another sip of wine, she turned to her friend and with her hand, pointed to the place on the bed next to her.

_"Come."

Yara smiled slightly and obeyed, coming to sit on the comfortable silk sheets, right next to Queen Targaryen.

_ "Your concern touches me, Yara, really, but I assure you, I'm fine."

_ "It's not true," Yara retorted, looking straight into her eyes, "I can see it. You can hardly sleep at night, you moan in your sleep, and sometimes you shout. You don't eat much and you seem exhausted all the time... "

_ "You don't have to interfere with this! It is not your concern, understood?!" Daenerys suddenly got excited, surprising Yara at the moment. Realizing very quickly her mistake of being so stupid and unfair to her friend who worries about her, Daenerys sighed, putting her drink on the little bedside table and came to take Yara's hand in her own.

_ "Forgive me, I should not have spoken to you that way. It was silly."

_ "It's nothing, your grace ..." Yara told her to reassure her, perfectly understanding "... and then, you're the queen."

_ "You too are queen ..." Daenerys reminded her with a little smile "... and as such, I must respect you as you do with me. Between queens, we must help each other."

The two women exchanged a small laugh together, relaxing a little the heavy atmosphere that reigned. Yara looked at the dragon queen again, unable to stop herself from finding her so beautiful and attractive, feeling the softness of the skin of her hand in hers, her fine fingers intertwining hers ....

Without thinking and unable to hold back, Yara approached, leaning her head forward and delicately put her lips on those of Daenerys, in a very short kiss, but marked with a sincerity more than obvious. Pulling back her head after the kiss, Yara remained silent. Daenerys did the same, and showed a face somewhat caught off guard, but not outraged.

_ "I ..... forgive me, I should not have ...." Yara said very embarrassed and beating heart, cheeks red and without adding a word, got up to leave hastily from the room, leaving the Targaryen young woman alone. Daenerys sat there, brushing her lips with her fingertips, glancing over her shoulder, but seeing that Yara had already left.

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 9

In spite of the voices of her friends screaming to make her come back, Daenerys continued to run without stopping. She thought of only one thing: saving her last son, Drogon, who was being killed before her eyes. Indeed, the dragon of the shadows had put Drogon down, completely at his mercy, and hammered him with claws and fangs. With his talons, the dragon of the shadows scratched Drogon deeply in the abdomen, causing him to bleed profusely. Despite fierce resistance, Drogon barely reacted, growling heavily and barely moving, his body and head covered with bleeding wounds. The white-eyed dragon, also wounded, blocked Drogon's head with one of his paws to keep him from moving, and was about to finish him off by tearing the throat with his jaws. Seeing him do it, Daenerys stopped right behind him, her expression shifting from fear and sadness to fierce anger. _ "DO NOT TOUCH MY SON!!" she yelled with all her anger, clenching her fists and teeth, tears of rage streaming down her cheeks. Alerted by this cry, the dragon of the shadows stopped his action and turned his attention to this little human woman who stood about ten meters behind him, and who defied him with her eyes. The dragon emitted a scowl, saliva and Drogon's blood flowing from his jaw. Further on, the others had stayed away from the dragon fight, but watched, horrified, their queen facing this soulless monster. Kinvara had entrusted the eggs to Shen, and had run alongside Daenerys, the two women now facing the dragon. The latter grunted and opened his gaping jaw, whose interior began to glow with a reddish glow. Daenerys and Kinvara swallowed. He was about to spit his fire on them. Fortunately, Drogon, like a devil, jumped up, roaring with rage and closing his jaws on the dragon's throat, brutally crushing him against the wall of the cliff. Stunned by the brutal shock, the white-eyed dragon fell to the ground. Drogon did not give him time to recover, and unleashed his fiery breath on the shadow dragon's head, covering it with a coat of infernal flames. The smell of burnt flesh was felt as the dragon of the shadows roared with abominable pain, seeing his head burnt and his scales and flesh falling off his skull. Drogon stopped his blast, but did not stop there. Biting his enemy's throat again, he tore off the head, throwing it further and seeing it rolled to the ground in the dust. Immediately, ghouls came out of their hiding places and began to devour the still smoking flesh of that dead dragon's head. Daenerys, like Kinvara and the rest of the survivors, were relieved to see the fight finally over. Unfortunately, Daenerys quickly lost his smile, noting with horror that Drogon had not escaped unscathed from this terrible confrontation. The young black dragon limped a little, his body covered with bloody gashes and fang marks. But what shocked Daenerys most was to see that the left side of Drogon's head had been deeply scratched, the flesh being visible, and his eye had become veiled, blind. Drogon was breathing heavily, visibly exhausted, moaning, and seemed to be suffering from this deep wound. The dragons could survive wounds that would kill most other creatures, but Drogon really seemed to be in pain, so much so that he could not stand and fell heavily to the ground. Pouring a tear, Daenerys hurried to him, and the dragon moaned, reassured to see her alive. _ "My poor baby ... you risked your life again for me ... I'm so sorry for what happened to you ..." Daenerys sighed, snuggling against Drogon's snout, caressing him with love while avoiding touching the wound to avoid hurting him. The dragon closed his only valid eye, moaning under the caresses of his mother. Daenerys was looking at Drogon's blind eye, feeling so sorry for him. He would see only with one eye now, which could seriously pose a handicap. Standing behind, the others watched, letting the queen comfort her son after this hard fight. While caressing him, Daenerys could feel Drogon's slow, weak breathing. _ "Drogon, I beg you, you have to get up ..... I can not lose you too ... not you ...." Daenerys groaned in tears, praying in her mind so that the red god, in his mercy, does not let the young dragon die. Seeing her crying, Drogon was imbued with a new strength and a desire to live. He could not abandon his mother. He would never do it, no matter what would cost him. He had saved her from death, and now, in her turn, she was ready to do anything to save him. Dropping in his last strength, Drogon leaned on his wings and hind legs, lifting his massive body from the dusty ground. Seeing him do so, Daenerys resumed an ounce of hope, encouraging him to continue. It is not today that he would die. ********* Westeros, King's Landing Night had fallen for several hours on the southern royal capital. However, Bran was not sleeping. Standing in front of his desk lit by a lantern, he was focused on writing something on a parchment, and seemed in a hurry to finish it. But as he wrote, his hand holding the quill was seized with an uncontrolled tremor, which Bran managed to stop with his other hand. On his wrist, the mark of the King of the Night seemed to have grown larger, having spread a little more on his skin. He had noticed it for a while, and knew what it meant. Keeping a semblance of reason as much as he could, feeling that he was losing control of himself more and more, he finished writing the parchment, sealed it, and prepared it. _ "It's started ..... I could not hold it back any longer ...... It's going to depend on them now ..." he said still very calmly, casting his neutral gaze in the direction of balcony of his room, and the sky sprinkled with stars. ********* Westeros, Beyond the wall Although he tried to forget it, to think of other things and to accept the facts, his mind persisted in showing him every night the same vision of the past, as an eternal punishment for the crime he had committed. ... Jon never stopped seeing her again and again ... He and Dany, in the devastated room of the throne covered with ashes, himself promising that they would always be together, just before stabbing her in the heart, and seeing her face freeze in front of his .... Dany falling to the ground, life leaving her gradually, and he, powerless and annihilated of the gesture he had just committed, looking at her with nothing to do but accompany her in her last moments .... He expected Drogon to kill him on the spot for what he had done, but instead, the dragon was getting into a monstrous rage towards the iron throne and had it reduced to a melted heap melting with his fiery breath, before taking his mother's body with great precaution and disappear with her in the air, among the sea of ​​opaque clouds, under the look of Jon, destroyed. Jon opened his eyes, panting softly with the umpteenth and even nightmare he had just relived. Lying on the fur mattress, he straightened slowly, blowing and running his hand over his face and taking a few seconds to wake up well. He looked inside his little tent in animal skins and leather. The remains of the small fire in the center continuing to smoke and letting die the last embers. Ghost, his white direwolf, was still sleeping, curled up beside his master. Jon gave him a small caress without waking him. He almost envied him to be able to sleep so peacefully. Jon sat thoughtfully, unable to detach that vision from his head. He still blamed himself, and would no doubt do so for the rest of his life as an exile. He who was not so long ago had turned out to be Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Lyanna and heir to the iron throne. Knowing that he would not be able to go back to sleep, he got up, dressed in his outfit made of animal leather and furs to protect him from the cold. Even in summer, the lands beyond the wall remained perpetually frozen. Jon came out of his tent, greeted by the cool morning air that rubbed his face. The first sounds of animals came from the snow-covered pine forest below the valley. The sun had risen recently on this new day, and already, in the wildlings camp, a few early men were already up and dressed, lighting new fires to prepare meals for their families. Among them was Tormund, who, seeing his friend Jon awake, came to greet him. But the wildling quickly divined the morose and withdrawn look of his friend. _ "You still dreamed of her, is that it?" said Tormund, who, though being a wildling, was far from being a fool. Jon nodded nonchalantly, feeling his throat tighten every time he thought about it but was trying to stay strong anyway. Tormund invited him to sit with him around one of the campfires and the two men sat down. The comforting warmth of the flames brought a little comfort to the broken man that Jon was trying to bury in himself. _ "Well, listen ..." Tormund told him while preparing a piece of meat to cook "... You did not have a choice, it was you who told me. She had begun to destroy everything and you had to do it to stop the massacre once and for all. Now that this bloody throne has been destroyed, it's settled." _ "I know ...." Jon answered with a sigh "... but it's not that easy. Put yourself in my place for two seconds. Forced to kill the woman I loved, the blood of my blood.... A part of me tells me that I made the right choice, but the other tells me that I was wrong .... I don't know who I am anymore." Tormund did not like to see his friend whining like that, gave him a big friendly pat on the back and handed him the first piece of meat that had been cooked in the fire. The pleasant smell was felt and Jon politely accepted it. He was hungry, he had to admit it. _ "Try to think about other things, Jon ... with time, it will pass." Tormund told him. _ "Thanks Tormund, it's nice to worry about it." _ "Oh I don't, my little moron ...." Tormund replied with a mocking wink "... it's just that I want you to stay focused ... today, we're of hunting chores you and me." Jon guessed that Tormund was trying to make him laugh a little with this deliberately misplaced remark. He appreciated the gesture but just smiled, so Tormund laughed heartily, proud of him. But Jon, again, looking towards the flames of the little campfire, thought of a rather disturbing detail he had heard in his nightmare after stabbing Daenerys .... a sound that disturbed him and echoed in his head ..... cries...the cries of a baby ... *********** Essos, off Asshai Came back on the ironborn ship that this time left Asshai and slid back into the dark, silent waters of the end of the world, Daenerys had isolated herself in her cabin. Sitting on the bed, she held in her hands one of the two dragon eggs, putting it in the candlelight to better contemplate it in every detail. She had finally succeeded in finding them, but now she has to make them born. This is where Kinvara intervened and her analysis of the visions that her god sent her in the flames. Daenerys had told her about her strange dream, in those dark ruins, that runic circle and that sword that had appeared in the middle of the fire ... Kinvara had seen her too, and had revealed to the mother of the dragons that it could only exist a place similar to the one she described: the forgotten ruins of Ulos, a mysterious island located in the Saffron Straits, off the coast of the shadow lands. It was towards the island that was now heading the expedition. Drogon, although very wounded, had kept his strength and was flying through the air above the ship, although more slowly than before, having not recovered all his strength despite the extra two days spent at Asshai to allow the dragon to recover to be able to fly. On the deck of the ship, Grey Worm and the rest of the crew were preparing to prepare the ship for the arrival on the coast of the island of Ulos. In the hold of the ship, lit by a single candle, Shen and Yara were sitting face to face on wooden crates. Yara had been slightly injured on the wrist during the fight against the ghouls, and Shen-zoan had been shown to have some medical skills. Yi Ti's man placed a bandage of linen around her wrist with a shallow scratch, but still hurting Yara. Shen had impregnated the bandage with a lotion created by himself, from medicinal plants from the lands of Yi Ti, which Shen had learned the curative use from his master during his training. A good fighter, as he said, had to master the art of healing like fighting. Although Yara moaned in pain with the product coming into contact with her wound, she trusted her friend to treat her. In her cabin, Daenerys continued to carefully examine the two dragon eggs, checking that they were in good condition. Strangely, every time she put her hands in contact with the stone surface of the eggs, she felt like a comforting warmth in her belly. It was as if her future child, in that barely rounded belly, was also feeling the unique warmth of these stone eggs. Daenerys could not help smiling, and finding hope. This child growing in her belly would be a real Targaryen, the one who would save the lineage and prevent it from disappearing. Unfortunately, the threat of the Faceless men made her quickly return to reality and fear for the future. No, they will never have her life, nor that of her baby. She would never allow it, just like Drogon. After several hours of travel on the water, the ship had finally arrived in sight of the island, very large and also covered with this eternal worrying fog. Drogon arrived there first, landing heavily on the land, sniffing and looking around carefully and waiting for the arrival of the boat and his mother. Once the anchor was thrown, a rowboat brought Daenerys and her group of allies to the black sand beach, while the rest of the crew would remain on the ship and wait for them. Carrying her satchel with the two dragon eggs, Daenerys silently watched the landscape of the island that stood in front of her. She almost felt like she had been here before, even if it was only in a dream. The atmosphere of this island did not differ from the shadow lands, which did not really reassure the crew. But Daenerys, despite her mistrust and fear of these cursed lands, knew that she could not back down. Her destiny stood there, calling her and waiting only to see if she would be able to show herself worthy. _ "For my child ..... I have to do it for my child ...." she whispered softly to herself to give herself the courage to take the first step. Escorted by Kinvara, Yara Greyjoy, Shen-zoan, Grey Worm, as well as the two Fiery Hand warriors and the group of unsullied, Daenerys began her march and the group left the beach towards the interior of the island. Drogon would follow them as well, but went off to explore the other corners of the island, feeling the unhealthy and negative waves that permeated the ground. After a walk of several minutes on this island devoid of any sign of life, the group finally arrived in sight of the dark and very old ruins of a city that seemed to have almost merged with the rock of the island, the gnarled roots and thick of some black trees present having disemboweled the ground in slabs of stone. Daenerys recognized exactly what she had seen in her dream. Everything was in its place and as it was in the dream. The ark delimiting the entrance of the city .... the two statues of dragons guarding this entrance .... each ruin was in its precise place, in the state where it was to be. Arriving in front of the remains of the old temple, also being identical to the vision in the dream, Daenerys had a lump in her throat, apprehension growing in her. _ "There is no time to retreat, my queen ...... you must enter alone, and face the judgment of the angels of cinder and accept your destiny ..... especially, do not let them to guess your deepest fears .... they would use them against you." Kinvara warns in front of the old stone steps leading to the top of the entrance. Daenerys swallowed again. Were these angels of cinder the nameless entities she had seen in her dream? She should face them alone? The idea itself froze her blood, but this ultimate test of the master of light would allow her to be worthy once and for all. Yara, Shen, and Grey Worm did not show much comfort in letting their queen alone in such a sordid place. Just like Drogon, who kept on grumbling furiously against these ruins with the evil appearance. Strongly clinging to the idea that she was doing it for her future child, Daenerys climbed one by one, slowly but cautiously up the steps of the big abandoned temple, holding the two dragon eggs in her arms. The rest of the group remained at the bottom of the steps, watching her in a tension to cut with a knife. _ "At the slightest scream I hear, we run to help her, no matter what's in there." Yara warned Kinvara, who had no objection, too focused on watching the Queen Targaryen climb the steps of her destiny. Shen seemed to approve the idea of ​​the ironborn queen, just like Grey Worm. And it was in utter anguish that they saw Daenerys pass the dusty pillars of the temple and disappear little by little into the opaque darkness of the ruins. The biting cold and abnormal was back, coming encircling Daenerys from all sides and caressing her skin bare in an unpleasant sensation as invisible frozen fingers coming to palpate. She entered and took her first steps in an immense space which she also recognized as the main place of her dream. Indeed, the runic circle was in the center, painted on the stone, and in the middle, was dancing this mysterious flame. As she walked, Daenerys felt a slight crackling noise beneath his boots, and noticed that the entire floor of the room was covered with a carpet of ash of several inches thick. As she advanced on the carpet of ashes, Daenerys saw, with anguish, the same entities, seven in number, with skull masks and white bottomless eyes, draped with her tattered shadow togas and covered with ashes, their hoods hiding their heads. The angels of cinder, turning on her their inhuman glances and letting her come to them. Arrived near the runes circle, she stopped with a slight surge of surprise, an entity appeared in front of her from the darkness and barring the path. From the back of the shadow were spread dark shapes like black angel wings of a wingspan of three meters. Although impressed by the appearance of the creature, Daenerys did everything to stay calm, head held up and looking at the entity in the eyes. _ "Daenerys, of the house Targaryen .... you come here, facing those whose name was forgotten since the dawn of time, to revive the flesh that was changed into stone ..... however, fear that we perceive in you leads us to believe that you are not worthy to be granted the right to contemplate the sword that will be born from fire and ashes." Without being able to say a word in order to defend herself, Daenerys was again assaulted by painful visions hammering her mind relentlessly. Obviously, she had let this entity access her fears and her most intimate pain, and the latter had not hesitated for a second to use it for the test. She saw them again, all those she had lost in her life .... Drogo, Jorah, Missandei, Viserion and Rhaegal, all turning to her, their faces deformed by the pain and death that had carried them away of her arms. She saw their dead, one after the other, again and again .... Jon Snow also appeared, stabbing her in the heart and watching her die under the rain of ashes .... She saw herself, screaming at death in a most intense suffering, while his future child cried with all his strength, but made his last breath just born .... _ "We are dead ..... we are all dead for following you .... You killed us!!" the voices of Drogo, Jorah and Missandei were screaming in unison, with murderous contempt for her. A tear in their eyes, Daenerys heard them accusing her. _ "NO! NOOOO!" Daenerys screamed, falling to her knees in the ashes, under the eyes of the angel of cinder who did nothing to help her, just lowering his impassive eyes to her. Daenerys was shaking, a prey to her fears materialized by the will of this entity coming to put her to the test. Clenching her teeth, sadness and grief turned into anger, the young woman straightened her head, her cheeks bursting with tears and glared at the angel of cinder. _ "I am Daenerys stomrborn, of house Targaryen! The unburnt,breaker of chains and mother of dragons! I am from the blood of old Valyria and the fire of the dragon flows in my veins!! I am here in order to fulfill my destiny, and hear me that I will not let anything or anyone stop me!" she proclaimed with determination to the entities of darkness, who, neutral, arms crossed, listened attentively. After these words filled with a real strength, the angel of cinder standing in front of her stepped forward, handing her something he made appear one of his shady sleeves ... a dagger with a slightly curved black blade and a skull-shaped pommel. _ "In this case, prove it ...." said the entity in his unhealthy voice "... only the blood of the real dragon can revive the fire and reveal to the eyes of men and gods the one who was promised. ... if it turns out that you are not, then the punishment will fall on you ..... it's up to you now." Daenerys understood with horror what he expected of her. Taking the weapon that was stretched out to her, she hesitated a few seconds, her hand shaking slightly around the handle. Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing, she cutted the palm of her hand deeply with the sharp blade, emitting a whine of intolerable pain as the red blood ran down her skin and fell in several drops on the carpet of ashes. Stunned, she saw a reaction from the flame in the circle who gradually spread. At her feet, where the drops of blood had fallen, Dany saw the ashes incandescent, gradually giving birth to new flames. The angels of cinder had vanished, leaving the young woman alone with her two dragon eggs, while the carpet of ashes that covered the entire floor of the room flared up in walls thick with red flames. Panting, her hand aching and looking all around her with no way to escape, Daenerys squeezed the two eggs against her, hoping the master of the light had agreed to give her a chance. In the din of the flames, she thought she heard the tears of the baby dragons again, very close, while the heat was increasing on the eggs. Kneeling on the floor and seeing the walls of flames closing on her, Dany agreed to put his fate in the hands of the gods. And in the fire, she saw it too, appearing like a ghost between the flames, this shining sword of a thousand fires, flamboyant ruby ​​encrusted in the pommel..... ********* Outside the temple, the group and the dragon watched in amazement as the whole temple burst into flames. _ "DAENERYS!!" Yara yelled as she rushed to her aid, but Shen and Grey Worm held her back, not knowing what to do. Kinvara remained very focused, not moving an inch. Drogon, strangely, also remained very calm. And it was there, that all saw her, in the greatest silence .... at the top of the steps, slowly advanced a feminine and human figure, appearing from the wall of roaring flames and crossing it without any difficulty. All at the foot of the steps remained frozen, dumb and stupefied. Her clothes burned in the fire, Daenerys stood there, completely naked but alive and unscathed, her face high and reinforced. On her shoulder stood a small winged, reptilian shape, with metallic-blue colored scales and yellow eyes, which gave a shrill roar. In her arms, a second baby dragon, with beige and light brown scales, and orange eyes, snuggling against her belly. In her right hand she held a sword, whose blade covered with runes almost gave the illusion of being covered with flames licking its surface. Behind her, the fire continued without her being affected by the infernal heat that reigned. _"It's unbelievable ...." Yara stammered under the effect of fascination. _"Oh blood of my blood ...." sighed Kinvara, amazed, while kneeling with respect, just as the two soldiers of the Fiery Hand did. Yara, Grey Worm, Shen-zoan, and the group of unsullied also bowed, while Drogon, more than satisfied, uttered a loud roar and spewed a torrent of flames to the sky. Daenerys contemplated all this from the top of the steps, without saying a word, more determined than ever, having proved to all who she really was now.

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 10

Westeros, King's Landing In the capital of the six kingdoms, an atmosphere and an increasingly palpable tension had been felt over the weeks in the red keep. Tyrion had learned, through the mouths of the other members of the small council, that King Bran had recently been completely isolated himself, no longer speaking to anyone, and remaining permanently confined to his quarters. The servants said they were constantly finding his meals in front of his door, without him touching it, and that he had even locked his door from the inside. Davos, Samwell and Brienne had each attempted to knock on his door to get an answer, but the only one they got was a Bran order to leave him alone. Not liking it at all, Tyrion volunteered to try to talk to the king and understand what was going on, but Bronn, as the new master of coins, offered himself in his place, which Tyrion accepted. Bronn had arrived at the door of the king's personal quarters, and once again saw near the door the meal still intact and cold on a silver tray. Bronn knocked softly at the door, waited a few moments, but as he expected, no answer came. Sighing, the master of coins looked briefly at the fact that no one was in sight, and using the tip of his dagger, began to try to unlock the lock. Although it was not used to break into a king's apartment, Bronn was not one to wait and wanted answers now, admitting that he too did not like that taking. After long minutes, he finally managed to open the lock and pushed the door very slowly, noticing that the room was plunged into semi-darkness. _"Majesty?" asked Bronn, without an answer. Although summer was here, he noticed an abnormal freshness in the room, seeing almost steam coming out of his mouth with each breath. As he stepped, a small creak was heard under his boot, and Bronn was surprised to see a very thin layer of frost that had formed on the marble slabs. But before he could wonder how and why, he finally saw Bran, sitting in his armchair, standing with his back to him and standing still, contemplating towards the large window of the room whose curtain had been pulled out completely, preventing the daylight to enter. _"Majesty?" Still no response, or the slightest reaction from Bran except a very slight movement of the head. _ "Your majesty, what are you doing? What are you playing here? Everyone on the small council is worried about you ..... With respect, with all due respect, I will not leave before you tell me clearly what does that mean." Annoyed by the continued freshness and darkness of the room, and Bran's unresponsiveness to his words, Bronn sighed heavily and heading for the window, wanted to open the curtain to let in the sun and the day again. But as he passed, Bronn felt Bran's strong, icy grip grasp his wrist, stopping him and even tearing a grimace of pain. Bronn barely had time to turn around as the cold blade of a dagger pierced his heart, freezing him in the spot. Feeling his blood flowing over his tunic, Bronn could not express a cry of pain, while before him, Bran continued to stare at him, impassive. Bronn's expression, however, shifted into a sense of surprise and fear at the sight of the young king's face, who watched his master of coins stifle before him on the ground, in a pool of blood. Alerted by the noise, Tyrion ran as fast as he could, and reached the door of the king's quarters, which he found wide open. "Bronn? Majest ... ..." began to say the dwarf, but the horror of what he saw interrupted him immediately. Bronn lay, lifeless, on the marble floor, his floor flowing over the slabs, while Bran, very slowly and still standing from behind, rose from his chair. Tyrion was speechless. The fear increased even more when the young king turned to him, the bloody dagger still in his hand. In the dim light of the room, Bran's eyes glowed in a terrifying, icy blue, while the skin of his face and hands had gradually become covered with frozen venules, and his skin had become as pale than a dead person. Essos, Dothraki Sea 2 months later .... The huts in flames .... the bodies of men lying dozens on the ground .... women and children captured and enslaved ..... crying, moans, tears and the smell of blood ..... that's all there was left of a small fishing village in the south of the Dothrak Sea. The feared dothrakis, on their powerful horses were euphoric of such a massacre, was now heading for their new destination towards the East, taking with them their numerous prisoners in the middle of the great grassy plains dancing with the wind and under the overwhelming heat of the midday sun. The former khalasar of Daenerys Targaryen was now led by a new khal, Onro, the latter having self-proclaimed new leader after the death of the dragon queen and have eliminated a rival who also wanted to take power. Other dothrakis challenged this choice and after multiple conflicts that led to many deaths, the khalasar had dispersed into several, each headed by a new leader. Onro now led a khalasar of just over 3,000 riders, having managed to subdue other smaller khalasars after killing their khals in duels. He had survived the battle of Winterfell against the army of the dead, had followed Daenerys during her reconquest of the throne. But secretly, Onro had always been an ambitious warrior who dreamed of taking power and becoming the khal of the khals to rule Essos as a whole. Thus, after returning to the Dothraki Sea with his warriors, Onro had embarked on the project of extending the territory of the dothrakis, while continuing to attack the cities and villages that appeared to him. Advancing proudly at the head of his khalasar, Onro noticed something in the distance that caught his attention, and signaled his bloodriders to stop. He pointed to what he was seeing. In the distance, walking among the hills strewn with tall grass, was moving a human figure, alone and carrying on its shoulders a stick of wood. The lonely traveler hummed merrily, though he noticed the dothraki horde coming towards him, but remained astonishingly calm and smiling. Intrigued by this man advancing alone in the middle of the plains, Onro unsheathed his Arakh, brandishing it with force and ordering his best warriors to follow him. Shen-zoan stopped, without showing the least hint of anxiety, and saw these Dothrakis warriors come to him. But as they approached their new target, Onro and his blood-riders suddenly stopped their advance, seeing coming from the hills behind the traveler, a large troop of men dressed in armor and black helmets, and armed with spears and shields. Grey Worm arrived, followed by the remaining 4000 remaining unsullied he had managed to return to the Queen after announcing the return of the latter to life. With them were Yara, wearing her ironborn queen's armor, and accompanied by her troops who had come with her to Essos, brandishing the proud banner of the Greyjoys. Lady Kinvara also stood at their side, escorted by her warriors from the Fiery Hand. Shen-zoan looked over his shoulder at his friends, then smiled at the dothrakis facing him, making them understand that it was in their interest not to seek the conflict. A very important detail struck the khal Onro. The banners floating in the wind held by some of the unsullied had a coat of arms that Onro knew very well: a red dragon with three heads, on a black background. The bloodriders also noticed this detail and cast a wary eye on each other. Onro clenched his teeth, a bad feeling invading him. A colossal and powerful roar was heard piercing the heavens and thrilling the hearts of all. Looking up at the sky, Onro and his khalasar remained petrified with stupor and fear at the sight of a giant shadow appearing in the sky and covering them with its dark tablecloth, masking the sun. The villagers enslaved by the dothrakis also stared at the same terrified faces. Drogon, like a divine apparition, emerged from the clouds, and slowly but surely, landed on the moor, about ten meters from Onro and his bloodriders and facing them. Onro and his warriors had to keep their horses frightened by the arrival of the huge flying reptile. The stupefaction of Onro and the dothrakis grew all the more at the sight of the young woman who was sitting on the back of the dragon, wearing an elegant ebony dress with dark red hues, her silver hair combed in a tall braid falling on her shoulder, and on her shoulders, two baby dragons, emitting small, shrill roars. Around her waist was now a brown leather belt, and a sheath in which was the sword she had acquired in the fire by the will of the master of light, according to Lady Kinvara. Onro could not believe it with his eyes. Daenerys Targaryen was there, alive and riding her mighty black dragon. At the sight of their khaleesi that all thought dead, the dothrakis remained speechless. Drogon stepped forward, grunting ferociously, while Daenerys, her face closed, turned her gaze to Onro. She knew Onro and had already seen him fighting for her. He was a rather special dothraki, knowing his attraction for strength and power, and his desire to one day dominate others. It seemed that his opportunist side had finally revealed itself, judging by the khalasar he was now leading. Daenerys also glanced at the convoy of villagers who were prisoners, tied up, and forcibly taken away by the dothrakis. This view of prisoners was not to the liking of the Queen of Dragons, who did not hesitate to show her discontent, addressed the Khal Onro in the Dothraki language. _ "Onro .... I admit to being half surprised to find you at the head of my khalasar .... you have always wanted the place of leader." The khal tensed with anger and with his arahk, almost threatening young Queen Targaryen. _ "You should not be here, silver woman ..... your power and your reign are dead ..... it's me now who's ordering! Submit to your new khal, or I'll kill your friends to the last and would force you to look, before raping until your bleeding to death!" Daenerys had listened and sketched a half smile of irony. Was Onro so blind to utter threats in front of a woman riding an adult dragon? He had never been the most clever of the dothrakis, and she still had the evidence today. _ "As you can see ..." Daenerys replied in dothraki "... my reign is not dead, since I stand here in front of you. I came back to claim my place as a legitimate khaleesi of this khalasar!" Onro spat on the ground unrestrained by Queen Targaryen's injunction, and threatened her again. _ "Never again would I obey a whore like you .... I'm the new great khal!" Daenerys remained calm, but gave Onro a gloomy look. _ "I only knew one great khal in my life ..." she proclaimed in front of all the warriors who listened "... and his name was Khal Drogo!" At the mention of her first and late love and husband, Daenerys could notice, in the eyes of some of the bloodriders, that she also knew, a brief moment of hesitation to want the confronted, but the threatening look of Onro in their regard, made them change their minds. They were dothrakis, and would follow the strength of their leader, as their custom. _ "They will never follow you again ..... queen of nothing at all!" Onro spat again, without hesitation. Yara was fuming, feeling the urge to silence him with her ax, just like Grey Worm with his spear. For Daenerys, this time, Onro exceeded the limits and she decided to stop it, once and for all. _ "Dracarys ...." she said very calmly without flinching. Drogon reacted immediately and poured a torrent of roaring flames on Onro and his horse, who did not even have time to react and were both engulfed in the infernal whirlwind. The bloodriders just behind retreated very quickly with their horses, panicked. Onro's howls sounded among the crackling fire, and his horse, on fire, fled the wall of fire, before collapsing dead a few meters away, completely charred and smoking. Onro also appeared screaming and wriggling in all directions, his face and skin disappearing under the flames that licked and blackened his flesh and bones, disintegrating his long hair and melting his arakh like wax. In this vision, Daenerys saw for a brief moment all those whom she had watched burning in the flames of her dragons .... she shuddered with disgust. She had sworn not to do it again to the innocents, but Onro was not one. He had uttered serious but stupid threats against her, her friends, threatening to rape her to the blood while forcing her to watch her allies die, and insulted Drogo's memory, and that Daenerys could not tolerate it. Onro finally collapsed to the ground, the fire continuing to gnaw his body calcined and inert. In front of this, the bloodriders as well as the rest of the khalasar did not attempt anything, while Daenerys, on the back of her dragon, advanced towards them to speak to them. _ "You were my khalasar and have always stayed in. You have followed me beyond the poisoned water to the lands of the iron men and their stone houses! You risked your lives for me against the armies of the dead, and many have never returned! But I assure you, that I, Daenerys stormborn, swear on my honor as well as in front of the mother of mountains herself, that never again will you suffer by my fault! Help me free the peoples of Essos from the tyranny of those who claim to be masters of this world and your lives as they would be the masters of a beaten dog! Come with me, and together, may we built a more just and free world!" Daenerys proclaimed loudly and forcefully, unsheathing her silver blade sword out of her scabbard and brandishing it, shining in the sunlight above her, while Drogon stood on his hind legs, wings spread and uttered a triumphal roar coming to tear the air. Around the queen and her dragon, Grey Worm and the unsullied, struck their spears against their shields in unison, while Yara and the ironborns lifted their arms and howled loudly for their dragon queen. Kinvara and Shen watched with some pride. The khalasar had before him an army, certainly small, but already borrowed from a great force. Their old khal now being reduced to a pile of coal on the ground, the bloodriders, already well acquainted with the young Targaryen woman, gave her new allegiance, brandishing their arakhs and cheering the dragon queen, which then did everything else khalasar. ********* The first thing Daenerys ordered her Dothrakis warriors finally found was to release the many villagers they had captured during the previous looting, and allow them to return home, or to remain as men and women free under the protection of the queen. Daenerys had personally walked to the prisoners and removed the chains from the first of them, showing the others what she was doing for them. Yara, Shen and the unsullied had helped remove the remaining chains. Seeing the faces of these women and children freed from their chains, the spark of hope reborn in their irises and their thanks for taking them under his protection, brought back to Daenerys' heart an ounce of strength, a force she thought never to find again, and the satisfaction of knowing that the woman she had been before was not dead. After reconquering her khalasar, Daenerys was brought to the camp of these, located a little further north in the middle of a large clearing surrounded by hills. Onro's tent, larger and larger than the others, immediately became the new tent of Daenerys that settled there, and immediately released the slave woman she found chained inside upon arrival, and that Onron kept for several weeks as a sex slave. The poor 14-year-old woman from a farming village was abused and beaten. This reinforced Daenerys' conviction that at no time did she regret having put an end to Onro's actions. Lady Kinvara had reassured the former prisoners, telling them who was Daenerys of house Targaryen, and what she would do to make this world a better place, free from slavery. Grey Worm, Yara Greyjoy and Shen-zoan had organized the troops and guards around the camp, particularly reinforcing the number of guards near the Queen's tent. No other assassination attempt was made against her since two months, but caution was warranted. Having gathered the unsullied, the dothrakis and the ironborns in her one and only army, Daenerys had retired a few moments in her new tent, taking care of her two new children. The two baby dragons were standing on a large carved wooden perch, looking around curiously and sometimes making small, shrill grunts. Sitting on the khal's bed, made of comfortable fur and animal skins, Daenerys watched tenderly as the two little dragons discovered their new surroundings. In already two months, they had grown up, being now a little bigger than small dogs. The blue-steel scaled, yellow-eyed baby dragon was a female, with a rather mild temperament, but could sometimes be fierce towards her younger brother. Daenerys had named her Mirrandes, in memory of her deceased and loyal servant and friend, Missandei. Mirrandes was also distinguished by her sleeker and slimmer pace than her brother, but also by longer, curved horns, almost like those of a goat. As for the second baby dragon, with scales in a mixture of beige and light brown, and orange-eyed, had shown a strong character, but above all a faithful fidelity to his mother and sister. This loyalty reminded Daenerys of one particular person who had remained in her heart. She named him Joreas, in memory of the Andal knight Jorah. Joreas had also a little bone horn on his nose. These two new dragons, born also of the stone changed by the fire, and which by the price of the life of two friends and allies close to the queen, could come to life. In a new sense, Daenerys thought that the sacrifices of Missandei and Jorah had not been in vain, although she would obviously wished to have never lose them. Magic, no matter which one, always demanded a terrible price, and that, Dany knew only too well for her greater suffering. These two new children in Daenerys' life, however, was a joy she never thought she would ever live again, and she would relive it again with the arrival of the child who continued to grow in her womb. Drogon had very well accepted his new brother and new sister, although a little jealous of Daenerys' attention to them. Drogon was like that, but still remained faithful and protective of those he considers his family, Daenerys had the proof more than once. Seeing that his two new children seemed to be hungry, Daenerys got up to go and get a small piece of raw horse meat in a small bowl, made available to feed the baby dragons at any time. Seeing the little piece of meat in their mother's hand, the two babies came down from their perch, coming eagerly to her and starting to argue for food by trying to give small bites to each other. _ "No, no, no fight, ok? You will have your turn each." Daenerys said like a mother to her children. Mirrandes and Joreas listened attentively and calmed down a little. Smiling, Daenerys placed the little piece of meat on the floor, and with a simple look, made Mirrandes understand what she was waiting from her. The female baby dragon came forward, sniffing the meat with appetite, but dared not eat it raw. Daenerys knew what she had to do, as she once did with Drogon when he was a baby. _ "Dracarys," Daenerys said softly. Mirrandes had heard, staring at her mother with curiosity, but also with a certain glimmer of understanding. Joreas listened too. _ "Dracarys ...." repeated the young woman, encouraging her "daughter" to do so. After a few moments of hesitation, Mirrandes took a little breath, and at the end of several efforts, managed to spit a thin blazing breath, which began to lightly cook the meat. Daenerys cheers softly, congratulating her. Mirrandes could grab the little piece of steaming meat between her jaws and swallow it greedily. It was Joreas' turn, Daenerys getting up to get another piece. But suddenly, Joreas raised her head, taking by a bad feeling, and turned his head towards the back of the tent, growling slightly. The young dragon roared and jumped in front of Daenerys, who gasped with surprise and fear, saw Joreas leap just in front of her, before collapsing heavily at her feet, a dart in his neck. Mirrandes roared at seeing her brother as well. Daenerys, shocked, looked up and then saw a human shadow, hooded, running away behind the tent and disappearing in the distance. She also noticed the little hole that had been pierced in the fabric of the tent, as well as the wooden blowgun, left on the floor. Daenerys understood, her heart beating. Joreas had sensed the danger and interposed in the trajectory of the dart, thus saving his mother from certain death. Daenerys quickly returned to Joreas, whose breathing had become very weak. Mirrandes rubbed her head against her brother, moaning with concern for him. _ "HELP ME! GUARDS!!" Daenerys shouted desperately, helplessly beside her dying son. Without further ado, Yara, Kinvara, Shen-Zoan, Grey Worm and some guards rustled in the tent to see the facts. _ "Shit! What happened?" Yara asked, coming to the dragon queen and making sure she had nothing. _ "The .... the faceless men .... but Joreas .... he interposed to save me and ...." Daenerys stammered in her explanations, and Yara had to calm her down a bit so that she can breathe and think. At the mention of the faceless men, Grey Worm and Shen-zoan did not lose a moment. _ "Search the camp! Search everywhere! Find the killer!" ordered Grey Worm to his unsullied, who obeyed on the spot. Shen-zoan went with them to help them. Alerted by the cries of distress from his mother and the feeling of danger, Drogon arrived in front of the tent, and bending his head, could see Joreas on the ground, and Daenerys and Mirrandes in distress. Drogon groaned in worry, but also in deep anger, searching around him who was responsible for it. Yara wanted to remove the dart from the young dragon's neck, but Kinvara held her back immediately. _ "Do not touch ....." warned the red priestess, who volunteered and removed the tip, examining it carefully and coming to feel its surface. A slight grimace of Kinvara confirmed the worst. _ "Poison ..... venom of manticore ....." Daenerys was destroyed on hearing this, the tears streaming down hiercheeks. She leaned over her dying young dragon, who moaned faintly and struggled to keep his eyes open. Dany's hand gently stroked his muzzle. _ "Joreas ....." she sighed.

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 11

Westeros, King's Landing The fear ..... a fear so intense that it made any thought impossible, giving birth to a feeling of helplessness as palpable as the touch ... That's what Tyrion Lannister felt now, leaning against a wall in the one of the corridors of the red keep, while the glow red as the blood of the new twilight gradually covered the world, bringing with it icy winds chasing in no time the pleasant heat of this summer. The hand of the king, or rather of the former king, was panting, fear being readed on his face dripping with sweat, and his trembling hand holding a small dagger to defend himself. He could hear chaos and howling all over the halls nearby, while servants and guards, brought back to life as living corpses, jump like animals on all the living who crossed their path to kill them. The blood had impregnated the bricks of the red keep, as have the cries of distress and the inhuman screams of the growing undead. Tyrion could not conceive of it, having prayed that it was only a horrible nightmare .... Bran Stark had become one ..... he had become the Night King and had already transformed many of his subjects as slaves. How could that be possible?! The Night King had been destroyed by Arya Stark during the Battle of Winterfell! Not being an expert in ancestral magics and legends about creatures, Tyrion felt completely overwhelmed by events. A howl of a woman made him come back to reality and take a look at the corner of the corridor. A little further, a young maid in distress had been stuck on the ground with violence, while two guards changed into wights, like rabid animals, threw themselves on her and began to devour her alive, the blood spurting on the walls. A still-alive guard tried to flee in panic, but three undead minions grabbed him and killed him with great savagery. Horrified, Tyrion remained hidden, trembling like a leaf. He had to flee before being spotted by these things. A stealthy hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump out of fear, but was reassured to see Samwell Tarly, still alive, but he too was invaded by distress and fear. _"Maester Tarly ....." said Tyrion, but Samwell grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him with him in a frantic race. _ "No time, sir, we must run, quickly!" Samwell screamed in terror as he ran. Tyrion realized quickly why, at the sight of a horde of furious wights coming up from a corridor and rushing straight to them, in a concert of rattles and cattle roars. Among the wights in their pursuit, Tyrion recognized, with horror, Bronn, being no more than a corpse alive like the others. Arriving at the bend of another of the innumerable corridors of the red keep, the two men on the run crossed the path of Brienne of Tarth. The captain of the guard ended up killing a last wight by piercing him in the head with her sword, in the midst of several other corpses that she had eliminated on her own. Brienne gasped heavily, her sword, her armor, and her face stained with blood, and although very strong, showed Samwell and Tyrion an expression of distress as well. Without further ado, they took Brienne with them to take her away. Ser Davos, also pursued by several dead, joined them and the group of survivors was now running with a horde larger and larger in their pursuit, pouring into the corridors like a tide of living corpses. Samwell took his friends to the old Qyburn Lab, which he had built as his own library and workshop. Brienne and Davos occupied themselves in barricating the door with all they could, and already the first wights came up against the door, making it tremble with great violence. Samwell ran in all directions, grabbing several of his most important grimoires and throwing them into a bag. Tyrion watched him, cautious. _ "Samwell, why did you bring us here?! It's a fucking cul-de-sac!!" the dwarf snapped, more frightened than really angry with his friend. Other violent shocks and the many grunts of the dead were heard behind the door, which Brienne and Davos held as long and with all the force they could. _ "Quick! They'll come in! Hurry up, fuck!" shouted Brienne. Already, a wight's hand passed violently through the wood of the door, trying to grab her by the hair, but Davos cut her off with his sword. The hand fell to the ground, and although cut at the base of the wrist, still moved her fingers. Through the crack of the door, Davos could see, behind the many undead, Bran, or rather the new Night King, with his ice-skin and monstrous blue eyes, advancing slowly towards the door. _ "He's coming!! Bran is coming!!" warned Davos eagerly. This news made everyone's hearts leap with horror. This door will never be able to resist Bran and his strength has become superhuman. Samwell, having finished retrieving his important books, went quickly to the back of the room, and with his hand lowered a dislodged stone which, to the astonishment of all, opened a secret door in the wall. _ "I found out when I moved in ..." says Samwell "... She's driving out of town. Apparently, this Qyburn had everything planned for the case." Without further ado, Tyrion entered the secret passage first, while Samwell waited for the other two to come and close the passage behind them. Davos and Brienne looked at each other in unison, knowing that as soon as they let go, the dead would come in. _ "Hurry up, come on!!" intimates Samwell. _ "Go ahead, Ser Brienne, I hold them back!" said Davos, resolutely. The captain of the guard stared at him. _"What?" _ "You heard me well, you will better protect them than me! Go to Winterfell, warn them!! Go ahead, it's an order!" She saw in the eyes of the onion knight and felt in the tone of his voice, all the distress of the situation, but also the desire to want to protect his allies. Feeling cowardly at having to abandon a friend behind her, clenching her teeth and putting her hand proudly on Davos' shoulder, Brienne obeyed and ran towards the passage, leaving Davos alone to hold the door. _ "You will not be forgotten, Ser Davos Seaworth!!" said Brienne with all the sincerity she could express. Davos smiled under his breath, not regretting his choice. Wights fled to make room, Bran came right in front of the door, and with a violent blow of the blade, pulled her out of her hinges, throwing Davos back on the ground. As Bran entered the room, Samwell lowered the lever, allowing the passage to close, once Brienne inside. Bran noticed the back wall closing briefly, then Ser Davos, staggering on the floor. Bran went down the few steps while the old onion knight, gasping for breath, gave him a defiant glance, and in an attempted vein, tried to hit him with his sword. Bran easily stopped the man's arm, and pierced him with his own blade. Ser Davos, paralyzed, the cold steel in his flesh and blood flowing at his feet, could barely take a last look at Bran, before falling to his knees and collapsing dead on the ground, at the feet of this young man, a man who was once Bran Stark, then the three-eyed raven, had now become the new Night King. ********* Westeros, Beyond the wall _ "Gently, Ghost ..... very slowly ...." Jon was more than focused. Hidden in the thickets covered with snow, his white wolf at his side and a bow and arrows as weapons, the young man watched for more than an hour a prey of choice and rather rare in these countries. A reindeer, male, with beautiful woods, walked between the pines and searched peacefully in the snow looking for some grass escaping frost. An animal like this was the guarantee of several weeks of food for the whole camp. In another bush, a little further, Tormund had hidden himself, ready to kill the prey and had clear instructions. Jon, in the greatest precaution, prepared one of his arrows. The slightest noise could ruin everything, the reindeer seeming particularly alert to the sounds around him. Hiding easily in the bush snow, Ghost waited without moving, his red eyes fixed on the prey. Jon arched the bow very softly, taking a deep breath and firing the arrow that hit the reindeer at the thigh, taking him by surprise and preventing him from running properly. _"NOW!!" Jon said. Ghost darted forth at the command of his master, and like a snow devil, sprang out of his hiding place and closed his jaws on the neck of the prey, breaking it without effort and putting an end to the suffering of the reindeer. Tormund came out of his bush, his beard and his hair covered with snow, and exclaimed heartily at such a decision. _ "Not bad for a little southern nobleman. A little more training, and you'll be as good at reindeer hunting as I am." said the wildling with a mocking tone. Not a little proud of him, Jon also stepped out of his hiding place, laughing heartily with his friend. But without him being able to see it coming or having the time to react, Jon felt the ground crunch under his boot and in the second after, he found himself falling in a scree of violent snow, in a crevasse which was just below the white mattress. _ "JON!!" Tormund rushed at the sight of his friend disappearing in this snowfall, and Ghost, panicked too, screamed at death in the face of the disappearance of his master. For his part, Jon had landed on a kind of rocky slope covered with ice and had been slipping for several long minutes without being able to hold on to something. Then, the slope ended and Jon fell again and everything went dark around him without the feeling of touching the ground. Jon could no longer feel the limbs of his body, nor the cold around him, even his own breathing .... Was he dead again? He did not know anything about it. Opening his eyes with difficulty, he found himself in the middle of a large dark space that seemed to have no limit. In this gloomy place stood a barral, imposing, whose bark, like curdled milk, seemed very old and worn down over the centuries, just like the red leaves that filled its branches. The severe, menacing face carved into the bark of the trunk fixed Jon with his empty eyes, from which flowed a strange viscous, red liquid. Jon could not understand where he was. _ "TORMUND! GHOST!!" he called several times, but only the echo of his own voice was heard as an answer. And it was then that he thought himself alone and lost, that he saw them both. On his right came a dark figure with blue eyes shining, surrounded by an icy halo, and armed with a sword of ice. A mist of frost was gradually spreading behind him every step of his way, and a polar cold settled. Jon is also bewildered by the gigantic shadow of a crow coming to form behind the figure, unfolding wings black as the night and resounding his muffled croak through the place. A third blue eye then opened on the forehead of the human figure, also looking at Jon with a monstrous intensity that made the young former king in the north shudder with fright. A red glow attracted his attention to his left, towards a second form also advancing towards him. She had the appearance this time of a young woman composed entirely of fiery flames chasing the darkness around her and spreading a benevolent warmth. Her hair was silver and floating in the air, and in her hand she held a sword haloed in fire and as sparkling as a star in the summer sky. The flames behind her grew more and more, coming in the form of spreading wings and a gaping jaw of dragon letting out its fierce roar against the darkness. Jon was subjugated, unable to move in front of such a vision. Jon was now between the two appearances, unable to move. The two forms, one of fire and light, and the other of ice and darkness, stared at each other for long minutes, each element trying to gain the upper hand over the other in a struggle between light and darkness, heat against cold, fire dragon against a ice raven, all at the foot of the imposing barral, whose blind gaze was witness to the confrontation that ensued. Trapped between the sweltering heat waves and the biting icy winds, Jon could not act, trying to protect himself as much as he could and searching for some way to escape. It was then that, turning around, he found the woman of the flames standing right in front of him, and coming delicately to place her fiery hand against his cheek, without that hurting him .... The light became less intense and Jon could almost discern the features of the woman's face through the flames and her silver hair. His eyes rounded and his heart froze in his chest. A sharp pain seized him suddenly as he saw the blade of the woman's flames piercing his heart. He perceived in the eyes of the woman resembling Daenerys, an ounce of sadness and regret. Even larger and more powerful flames were born on the blade still buried in the chest of Jon, coming gradually cover him too, and causing him an intolerable suffering, screaming to death while the fire engulfed and hunted little by little the cold and the darkness around him and the woman of fire .... _ "Jon?! Hey, Jon!! Wake up!!" A strong slap on the cheek pulled Jon out of his sleep and he straightened up quickly, sitting in his tent on his fur. Tormund was there, kneeling beside him, and Ghost with him, emitting little squeals worried about his master. Jon was breathing heavily and looking frantically around him, but nothing unusual seemed to him. _ "What .... what ....?" _ "You were gesticulating like a maggot in your sleep ..." Tormund said to her "... did not stop moaning like a girl, and you looked scared as fuck...." Everything came back to Jon's mind now. The face of the woman in the flames, the harpooning of her eyes of embers .... the face of a woman he had known .... *********** Essos, Dothraki Sea Had fatality come to stomp on her? Daenerys was really starting to wonder. Not having been able to close her eyes for two days, she had fallen asleep and was resting in her tent, under the constant vigilance of Yara and Shen-zoan, remaining permanently at her side. Grey Worm continued to supervise guard patrols around the camp, while in another nearby tent, Joreas had been brought. Lady Kinvara stayed with the young dragon and tried to do everything possible to keep him alive. Joreas did not move, his eyes closed and his breathing was very weak. The venom of Manticore was reputed to have no cure. A human would have succumbed to this poison for a long time, but as a dragon, Joreas was more resistant, but if nothing was done, he would eventually die too. Kneeling at the side of the dying dragon and knowing that no medicinal remedy could relieve him, Kinvara thought for a long time, and came to the conclusion that there was only one thing to save the new son of the queen .. ..This had to be done ..... she was aware of it, but had been prepared all her life for that, and the time had come .... As Daenerys slept soundly, safe under her fur protecting her from the cool night, Yara sat on a chair, waiting without saying anything and, to pass the time, sharpened her ax. Sitting in front of her, Shen-zoan had been busy for almost an hour drawing something on a sheet of parchment. Yara had been watching him for a while, not daring to disturb him because he was very focused on his work, but finally decided to call him. _"What are you doing?" she asked, curious. Shen-zoan smiled, putting down his pen and revealing what he was doing. Yara was admiring and smiled too. A black ink portrait of Queen Daenerys, proud and triumphant, Joreas and Mirrandes at her feet, looking in the same direction as their mother, and behind them, Drogon, giant and majestic, roaring and spreading his wings. Shen gave Yara the picture so she could see it more closely and was amazed at the detail and precision. _ "I knew you were an artist, Shen-zoan, but not at this point." Yara complimented. Shen thanked her with a humble nod. _"Let's say that..." replied Yi Ti's man, "I try to find other talents than to inflict blows on others. I do not to be remembered as a warrior, but as a simple man seeking to live his passions and bring a little beauty and poetry to this world that badly needs it." Faced with this profound revelation, Shen unveiled other drawings of his bag, which he had secretly made during his journey with his allies. Yara saw them all, one by one .... a portrait of Lady Kinvara and the Fiery Hand warriors .... a drawing of Grey Worm and the unsullied .... drawings of the landscapes of Asshai, the Dothraki Sea .... and also, a portrait of Yara, proud and warrior in her armor and brandishing her weapons with force. Yara was personally touched, internally, while Shen offered her this last drawing, insisting that she keep it. _ "Thanks, Shen ...." Yara said as she rolled the drawing to put it in her satchel "... you're a good person. My brother Theon would surely have appreciated you." Shen felt in the tone of voice of the young woman at the mention of her brother, melancholy more than palpable. He guessed no problem that Theon was no longer in this world and she had suffered a lot. She still blamed herself for not having been with him at Winterfell, to help him. As if to change the subject, Yara, biting her lip gently, turned her attention to Daenerys, still asleep, carefully watching each line on her face and each strand of her silvery hair. _ "I really hope that her dragon will survive ..... she has already lost so much, it must stop." Shen nodded, agreeing with her, and silently praying that Kinvara could find a solution. He also felt the tone with which Yara spoke about the queen. A semblance of attachment, but much stronger than a simple friendship, even if she seemed to want to conceal it, as if she forbade to herself. _ "You like her, do not you?" Shen said to break the silence. Yara was a little embarrassed. She can not express it. It is true that during her first meeting with the mother of dragons, Yara could not help but find her very beautiful, and even told her that she never demand but was open to any proposal. Daenerys did not seem too insensitive to her, at least that's what she said to herself. _ "She is the queen to whom I have lent allegiance. Thanks to her, I was able to reconquer the islands that saw me born and take the throne that came back to me right ... and what have I done In return? I didn't know how to be there when she needed it, and she died of it ..... I don't want her to relive that anymore." A thin red glow suddenly appeared outside the opening of the tent, interrupting the conversation between the two. A fine smell of burnt wood permeated the air. _"Joreas ..." mumbled suddenly Daenerys, who had just come out of her sleep and rubbed her eyes, looked a little troubled. Yara and Shen came to her to make sure she was fine. Outside, Drogon seemed to be agitated and growling more and more. _ "My queen, you should ....." Shen started, but interrupted by Daenerys leaning on his shoulder. _ "I must see what happens ....." was the decision of the young Queen Targaryen. Obeying, Yara and Shen escorted her outside the tent, and what they saw confused them. In the middle of the camp, under the eyes of all, Kinvara had Joreas placed on a blanket of woven linen, and the Fiery Hand warriors were tracing all around him, a runic-like circle drawn with blood, the blood of Lady Kinvara who had just cut the palm of her hand with a dagger. With her thumb stained with her own blood, the red priestess traced a line on her forehead, while chanting between her lips a few words in Valyrian. Around her, Grey Worm, the unsullied and the dothrakis watched without doing anything, although the dothrakis showed some worrying in front of what was being prepared. Daenerys recognized this look, as well as this practice she had seen before. A ritual of blood magic, a magic considered prohibited and too dangerous. _ "Lady Kinvara ...... what are you doing?!" Daenerys asked expressly, stepping forward, still escorted by her two friends as interrogative as she was. Joreas moaned softly, still alive, but weaker and weaker. Kinvara turned to the queen, showing her a more than determined look. _ "There is no other choice, my queen .... You know just like me that only a death can redeem a life ...." Daenerys, Yara and Shen were afraid to understand what she meant by that. Daenerys shook his head in a formal objection. _ "No .... no, you can't ..... you saved my life! I need you!!" protested the Targaryen queen, holding back the priestess's wrist, who, though determined to go all the way, smiled at the compassion of her queen. Gently, she came to touch Daenerys's cheek. _ "This is the master of light you need, my queen, not me .... I was only a servant sent to serve his purposes and allow his chosen one to fulfill her destiny ... My role is now over." _ "I have already lost too much .... I don't want to relive that!!" Daenerys insisted, gritting her teeth. _"You'll never be alone again, Daenerys stormborn ..." Kinvara replied, looking for a moment at Yara, staring at her for a few seconds. The ironborn queen did not dare say anything, the eyes of the priestess of R'hllor harpooning hers. Not knowing what else to say, Daenerys let go and walked back to Yara and Shen, who came to support her. The dagger in hand, Kinvara turned to the blood circle and Joreas again, and continued her incantations, her voice coming louder and louder in the night without stars. The red stone of her necklace shone louder and louder, like a red flame rising inside. At the feet of the priestess, the young dragon groaned more and more, as it invaded from all sides by invisible waves and a great power. Once in the center of the blood circle with Joreas, Kinvara dropped a drop of her blood on the circle, which under the eyes of all, ignited, giving birth to a circle of roaring flames around the dragon and the priestess. The dothrakis and the ironborns back away, frightened, while Grey Worm and the unsullied and the soldiers of the Fiery Hand remained static, observing in silence. Clenching her teeth, Daenerys could not take her eyes off the ritual, seeing Joreas wincing more and more as if he were seized with violent convulsions and roaring with excruciating pain. Drogon was more agitated, still roaring and wanting to go to his younger brother. Daenerys reached Drogon and tried to calm him as much as she could, caressing his muzzle. While chanting the ritual words louder and louder, Kinvara lifted the dagger over her head, and in a final effort, cut her own veins, letting her blood flow laden with magic on the young dragon's body. At this point, the flames of the circle intensified, thicker, for several long seconds, before finally reducing themselves to disappear completely, leaving only a volute of gray smoke escaping into the air. Once the wall of flames dissipated, all could see what had happened. Kinvara had collapsed on the floor next to Joreas and was not moving anymore. Daenerys hurried to the middle of the circle, falling on her knees near the two bodies. With a beating heart, she was relieved to see Joreas opening his eyes, his breathing gradually returning to normal and giving a groan to his mother as he saw her. Daenerys then turned to Kinvara, who, although she had lost almost all her blood, was still alive, but hardly breathing anymore. Daenerys would have liked it to be otherwise, but once again, felt indebted to the priestess for what she had done. _"I ... I will make sure your sacrifice was not in vain, Lady Kinvara ..... I promise you ...." Daenerys said, her throat knotted. She took the hand of the priestess in hers, and would hold it to stay with her in her last moments. Kinvara smiled faintly, not regretting that gesture knowing in advance that she would have to do it by the will of her master. _ "Valar Morghulis ....." Kinvara said softly to the young queen, who knew what those words meant. _ "Valar Dohaeris ...." replied Daenerys. "VALAR DOHAERIS!" in unison, Grey Worm, the unsullied and the soldiers of the Fiery Hand, who all knelt to salute the sacrifice of the priestess. Shen and Yara stared without saying anything, but supported the sacrifice of the red priestess in their own way, kneeling down too. After a last smile, as if falling asleep, Kinvara closes her eyelids, letting her lips breathe what would be her last breath. Her hand stiffened in Daenerys's, indicating to her that it was over .... Kinvara, the high priestess of Volantis, had left, having gone to join her master in the eternal flames. Overwhelmed by the loss of the woman who allowed her return to life, Daenerys could only shed a tear, lowering her head and placing her palm on Kinvara's forehead as a sign of mourning, while Drogon, Mirrandes and Joreas, the latter now healed by the sacrifice of Kinvara, approached their mother and came to support her, uttering little rumblings of lamentations resounding in the night and announcing wherever they floated, the sacrifice of the high priestess of R'hllor.

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 14

Essos, Volantis

Another week had passed. After swearing his oath to the Queen of Dragons, Cade had returned to the Golden Company's encampment to announce the news to his men. Daenerys came in person with him, accompanied by Yara, Grey Worm, and Shen-zoan. She had to be present in order to leave a choice to the former mercenaries: join her or not. She promised them that no harm would be done to them if they refused to join the Order of the Golden Dragons, but in return they should not become obstacles to her. Among the 500 men of Cade, 300 accepted the offer and joined Cade to form the new order of knights created by Daenerys. The 200 remaining men were able to leave, as she had promised, abandoning once and for all their status as mercenaries of the now extinct Golden Company.

With the allegiance of the captain Cade and his 300 men, Daenerys also obtained the 10 war elephants, magnificent and powerful creatures with their own combat armors, which, according to Cade, could only be ridden by the most experienced men of the Company. Fortunately, 10 of the men who had sworn allegiance to all the remaining ones proved to be able to control the elephants. With this heavy cavalry, Daenerys knew that the power of her new army was again increased tenfold, reinforcing her determination to march against the slave empire and free Slaver's Bay again.

Unfortunately, with all the hardships since her return, Daenerys was more and more stressed, almost unable to sleep on certain nights, and still had some nightmares. It was Shen-zoan who humbly offered a cure from his country, Yi Ti, and Daenerys accepted, trusting her friend.

For this, Daenerys was now in a quiet little room of the temple, away from the places of rites so that absolute silence reigns. Having taken off her clothes, wearing only a white towel around her breasts and another to hide her crotch, Daenerys sits on a small wooden table, while Shen-zoan, standing in front of a small desk, took care of open a box taken in his travel bag and containing very small and thin needles. Daenerys shuddered a little as he saw them, raising an eyebrow. Seeing her cautious in front of the needles, Shen-zoan smiled and reassured her.

_ "Do not worry, majesty, it does not hurt."

_ "How do you name this .... special medicine?" asked the young queen.

_ "Acupuncture if I remember, but I think they decided to change the name."

_ "And, what will that do to me?"

_ "Let's say ...." Shen explained, "by punctuating certain specific places of the body, it is possible to realign the energies that compose us, in order to bring back a semblance of balance and harmony in our body. After all you've been through, majesty, I think it can only do you good."

It seemed almost like a kind of mystical rite in Dany's ears, but once again she trusted Shen, who more than once had proved his worth and devotion to her. He never stopped to surprise her. She watched him sometimes wander about his business. Yara, too, talking to Daenerys, sometimes said that Shen spent a lot of time contemplating the landscapes around him, sitting for hours without talking or moving. He was fond of drawing, writing, playing a flute he had brought with him from his country and which formerly belonged to his late master, as well as smoking a grass with a strong but pleasant odor in a wooden pipe.

She had also seen him training a few times, practicing alone this particular and fascinating art of combat, fast movements and incredible precision. She also understood why he was nicknamed "Windwalker" because indeed, the air around him seemed to accompany him and dance around him in his combat movements.

As indicated by the man of Yi Ti, Daenerys lay on her stomach, her bare back lit by the orange glow of the candles lighting the room. Shen first stepped forward, smearing her hands with a lotion of sweet almond scent that nicely caressed Daenerys' nostrils.

_ "A special oil from my country, specially made to increase the efficiency of the circulation of energies in the body during the process ..... Can I, majesty?" he asked again, very humbly. She looked at him and nodded. From the flat of his palms, Shen began to apply the oil to the soft skin of the queen's back. The sudden freshness of the oil made her shudder, but not in an unpleasant way. She also felt the muscles in her back relax slowly. Daenerys, out of the corner of his eye, watched Shen. The man was very concentrated in his task, not allowing himself to be disturbed for a single second by the vision of the half-naked body of the queen. Daenerys admired that also from Shen. His restraint and respect towards women's bodies. She wondered sometimes if he did not prefer men? Or maybe he loved both men and women? Where, then, had his particular teaching in this art of meditation and combat raised him above all this? Did he no longer feel the need for the pleasure of the flesh? So many questions....

_ "Tell me, Shen ...." Daenerys suddenly asked "... now that I remember it, during our meeting, you didn't show any surprise when you saw Drogon."

Shen smiled as he continued to massage the queen's back with the oil and answered with great candor.

_ "If dragons are often described as ferocious and destructive beasts, where I come from, they are seen as spirits with great powers, guardians of nature, both benevolent and capricious. Some of them can bring the moon and the night, others good weather and sun, perpetuating the cycles of days and seasons.... "

_ "Are there any dragons in Yi Ti?" asked Daenerys, her irises shining of a nascent fascination.

_ "I can not say, majesty, I have never seen ..... but some say they heard their singings resound beyond the Mountains of the Morn, in the lands of the far east of Yi Ti. Some even say they have seen them .... tall, majestic, wingless but floating in the air ... their long, slender bodies like snakes dancing over the peaks in the twilight, their scales shining like jade and reflecting the light of the sun and the moon .... "

While listening to this most fascinating story, like a tale, Daenerys set eyes on the little throbbing flame of a candle sitting in front of her, seeing almost the dancing silhouettes of Yi Ti's dragons, hearing almost the distant echoes of their songs in their ears .... Daenerys felt nothing around her, seeing only the candle, the flame forming almost the peaks of the distant mountains of the lands of Yi Ti, the distant and graceful forms great spinning and dancing dragons under the midnight moon ....

Shen-zoan after properly applying the oil, then began to implant the first needle in the back of Daenerys, who does not even react, feeling no pain.

_ "Tell me about Yi Ti, Shen ....." Daenerys said, being all ears and eager to hear more about this legendary but little-known country from the rest of the world. Shen smiled to see the dragon queen's curiosity and was happy to tell her.

_ "A long long time ago, The Maiden Made of Light and the Lion of Night gave birth to an only son, the God-on-Earth, who founded the Great Empire of the Dawn and thus becoming the first god emperor. The empire stretched from the Bones Mountains to the Gray Waster, from the Jade Sea to the Shivering Sea, and the Emperor was traveling in a large palanquin, carved from a single pearl, and carried by one hundred women, the hundred queens of the god emperor."

One hundred queens for one sovereign? Daenerys was more than surprised.

_ "The emperor reigned thus for ten thousand years ...." continued Shen-zoan "... before going to join his ancestors among the stars, and thus leaving his place to his eldest son, the Pearl Emperor, who succeeded him as the new ruler of Yi Ti."

Daenerys listened without losing a word, more than fascinated by what she listened to as Shen continued to place the needles, one by one, with delicacy and precision. A sovereign revered as a god, described as the child of a couple of deities and having reigned supreme for several millennia ..... It seemed too mystical to be true, but after all that she had seen in her life, and having herself been plunged into fire without suffering the least injury, brought back to life by the will of a god of flames and light, the boundary between the world of mortals and that of the magic had become more and more thin ....

_  "I'd like to visit Yi Ti someday ..." Daenerys said softly, feeling the relaxing effects slowly invading his body. Shen understood the young woman's desire, but suddenly seemed less smiling, as if remembering much less happy things.

_ "I'm afraid it's impossible, majesty ..." he said, almost apologetically for having to say "... our country was once a powerful and prosperous empire, but that time is now over ... Today, Yi Ti is nothing more than a war-torn land, divided into several kingdoms, each emperor wanting to establish his dominion over the others, creating even more conflicts...."

Daenerys was sorry for Shen on hearing this. Seeing that the subject had plunged Shen into darker thoughts, she chose not to say anything anymore, not wanting to make him feel more uncomfortable and let him continue his medicinal treatment.

********** That night, in the temple of Volantis now plunged into the utmost silence, Daenerys found herself somewhere again, in a place that seemed to her both unknown and familiar.

Dressed in her elegant and light white silk night dress fluttering in the breeze, Daenerys walked in the midst of an infinite field of grass and wild flowers rocked by the wind, under a clear sky without any cloudy presence. She felt good, light, as if freed from a huge weight on her shoulders. Stroking the stems of the grass with her fingertips while walking and feeling the sweetness of the earth beneath her bare feet, the young queen looked around her, wondering where she could be this time, this dream still appearing very real to her this time.

She then noticed, in the middle of this field, an isolated brick dwelling, very well maintained and looking more than familiar. Step by step, Daenerys felt her heart leap when she recognized the house at the red door, where she spent part of her happy childhood. This house so dear to her heart that she wanted to see again at any cost. A pleasant smell came to greet the nostrils of the young woman .... a smell also familiar ..... lemon ...... Looking to his left, she saw there the little lemon tree of her childhood, standing just under one of the windows of the house, that of her room of yore. Daenerys remembered. Every morning she would wake up early to open the window and admire the rising of the new sun while inhaling with interest the sweet smell of lemons growing on the branches. She had always loved this smell, just as she loved lemon to taste. Viserys did not care about all this, only dreaming of one day being able to reconquer the throne of the family. Daenerys, as a child, had never known all that and aspired only to lead a peaceful life. Daenerys sighed, immersed in all these memories as her palm touched the dry trunk of the tree. As she thought about it, she almost wished she had remained the innocent and dreamy girl, to stay away from all the conflicts and power games that had brought her so much suffering and led her to death. She picks a lemon on one of the lower branches, probing her skin and sniffing her scent. She wanted to eat in, to remember a little more of her happy memories ....

_ "Daenērys Targārien ....."

Daenerys froze as the echo of that disembodied voice in Upper Valyrian crossed her, wringing a shiver through her body, dropping the lemon at her feet. The wild grasses also shivered in the violent squall that suddenly arose. Daenerys turned to see anxiously the red door of the house slowly open in a loud grinding.

_ "Māzigon isse ...."

The ghostly voice came from inside and invited him in. Daenerys recognized that voice. She had heard it many times, the first was during the ritual that brought her back to life. While she was still in the arms of death, that voice had called her, pulling her out of the clutches of death. As if attracted by this voice and not being able to resist, Daenerys advanced to the red door and entered the enclosure of the house, in a room of darkness as opaque as ink. Once in, the door slammed shut behind her, making her jump, blocking any possibility of going back.

The darkness vanished and Daenerys was now standing in the middle of a totally different place and this time, plunged her into memories far more painful ... Winterfell! She was in the middle of the courtyard of the Winterfell castle, very much recognizing the place and feeling the biting snow beneath her feet this time. The beating and breathing heart growing louder and louder, Daenerys looked around her without seeing a living soul.

Winterfell was a ruin, swept by the winds from the north making crack the wood of the foundations and the snow gradually covering the buildings with its thick white coat. The only sounds heard were those of crows roosting on the rooftops and jabbering incessantly. Daenerys wanted to take a step, and felt under her foot the texture of a fabric. Looking down, she saw a more than recognizable banner, the Stark Wolf, half buried in the snow but also slashed in half. Daenerys swallowed, contemplating this ghostly domain. What could have happened here? An icy wind enveloped her, forcing her to curl her arms around her body to protect herself, her silk dress not protecting her from the polar temperature that reigned. Quickly, she ran to take refuge inside the first building, before finishing frozen.

She came in, barring the door to keep the cold out. But turning around, she gasped in horror, paralyzed on the spot. In front of her was the great Hall of Winterfell, devastated, the tables and chairs upside down, the slabs of stone walls and soil impregnated with pool of blood .... but most of all, several bodies, nailed to the walls like butterflies in the window of a collector, and around them spirals made with bloody human limbs. Among the dead bodies, Daenerys recognized them all .... Jorah, Missandei, the head of Rhaegal, Grey Worm, Shen-zoan, Cade, Jon Snow ..... there they were, dead, disemboweled like animals, their blood having spread at their feet .....

_ "NOOOOOO! NOOOOO! NOOOOO!!" Daenerys fell on her knees before them, screaming, shedding tears and pounding the ground with her little fists. She was tired of these horror visions, of all that, she could not stand it anymore. When will the gods stop tormenting her? What an odious message did they want to tell her?

The big chimney in Winterfell's room suddenly glowed in incandescent flames, surprising Daenerys who stopped crying, staring at something in particular. In front of the fireplace, the back in front of Daenerys on a large seat, a dark figure was sitting, the fingers of his shady hands gently patting the wood of the chair. She seemed wrapped in a sort of very long coat of shadows, a raised hood hiding the head. Daenerys felt immediately crushed by that presence whose aura had suddenly invaded the room, plunging it into a great darkness and only the flames coming to bring light.

Very slowly, Daenerys went to her feet, tears drying on her cheeks and without looking away from the shadow sitting in the seat and at no time seemed to pay attention to her. Daenerys wanted to take a step towards her, but was restrained by an immense and invisible force, preventing him from approaching this person, or rather, that thing whose mere physical presence was enough to make her shudder.

_ "Konīr ao māstan naejot nyke, ñuha kivio mēre."

You have finally come to me, my chosen one. Daenerys understood what he was saying, but recognized again the voice that made her eardrums and skull shake, much closer than before and even making the walls tremble. When he spoke, the flames roared, intensifying for a few seconds. Daenerys swallowed, feeling the slightest part of her body tremble, but remained straight despite everything. She knew who he was ....

_ "You ..... you are ...... the one the red priests are calling ....." she began to say.

_ "R'hllor!!" suddenly shouted out the cavernous and inhuman voice, interrupting Daenerys, who, surprisingly, stepped back, as the flames roared like a monster trying to extricate itself from the chimney.

_ "Naenie brōzāt sia tepagon naejot nyke, yn iksan iēdrosa keskydoso, Konīr's mērī nyke ..... se ao, Mirre se ra glaestan jemagon ao naejot nyke."

Many names were given to me, but I remain the same. There is only me ..... and you. All the things that you have lived until now have led you to me.

_ "What ..... what do you want from me? Why did you choose me?" asked Daenerys, anxious to finally get an answer to this question, and who better than the master of light himself to provide this answer? But would he? Intermingling the long, thin fingers of her hands with each other, without turning away from the fire, the entity did not answer at once, seeming to evaporate in the air and reappear every second that passed.

_ "Mērī kostā keligon skoros kessa massigon Skoros ao ūndegon iksis skoros kessa sagon lo ao qringaomagon se vōljes lēda hāre kasta laesi iksis māzis, is mērī mīre qilōni kostagon iōragon is egros ázma hen perzys kostagon keligon zirȳla."

Only you can stop what will happen. What you saw there are the consequences of your failure ..... the raven with three blue eyes is coming, and only the one who can brandish the sword born of fire and ashes, can stop it.

The sword born of fire? Daenerys remembered that sword she recovered in the flames .... A vision as clear as water appeared to her like a flash before the eyes ..... she and Jon faced each other, both standing in the middle of a field of snow and ashes, and Jon staggered, his face haggard, while the blade of the sword of Daenerys had just pierced his heart, impregnating the silver blade of the weapon that was being covered by a growing, glowing flame ... Daenerys drove this vision out of her eyes and fell back, panting and trembling. The shadow and the flames in the chimney had vanished in the darkness, only the seat remained, empty, and again the heavy silence reigning as master.

Daenerys decided not to stay here for a second longer and hastened to open the door of the Great Hall, preferring to face the cold from the outside. But when she opened it, she found herself again in front of the house at the red door, under the heat and light of the great sun, among the grasses and the wild flowers. She also saw the lemon tree, unchanged, but this time, two people stood at the foot of the tree, and did not seem to notice the presence of the young woman. Daenerys, once again, remained frozen on the spot, unable to speak or even to think about what she saw.

It was she .... she saw herself there, at the foot of the lemon tree, a little older, and dressed very simply in a long azure dress and a violet fine silk shawl. And with her, sitting on her knees, a lovely little girl, with braided silver hair, and black eyes, that the second Daenerys hugged, both enjoying themselves and watching the lemons together. They were close to her, but their laughter seemed so distant, like echoes fading into the air.

Daenerys contemplated this scene seeming to come from another time or perhaps simply from her imagination. A tear flowed gently on her cheek.

The vision Daenerys then wore what was surely her daughter at arm's length, raising her to one of the branches so she could pick a ripe lemon, which she did. Around her wrist she wore a silver bracelet, shaped like a three-headed dragon. The little girl laughed, holding the fruit in her hand, but suddenly became more serious, slowly turning her attention to another direction.

The heart of the real Daenerys leapt into her chest. The little girl was staring at her. She wanted to reach out to that little girl, come and touch her ....

But Daenerys suddenly opened her eyes, pulled out of her sleep and found herself in her bed, in the middle of her room in the temple of Volantis. The night was still here. Daenerys sat under the sheets, a deep melancholy overwhelming her, her throat knotted, and felt the trace of the tear she had shed earlier on her cheek, touching her with fingertips. With her other hand, she gently touched her belly that continued slowly but surely to round. Outside, in the distance, she suddenly heard the howl of an animal to the full moon .... the howling of a wolf ....

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 13

Westeros, beyond the wall

_ "Wait until I understand ... you want to go back to Winterfell to make sure everything is fine, just because you've had a nightmare?"

Tormund was more than perplexed as he saw his friend Jon, busy preparing a package in his tent, under the somewhat perplexed look of Ghost. Jon sighed as he rolled a fur so he could hang it from his bag and turned to his wildling friend.

_ "I know what I saw, Tormund ..." he said morosely "... It was not just a dream, I have the presentiment ...."

He kept thinking about it. Last night, a new nightmare than the perpetual assassination of Daenerys had come to fall in his mind, almost like a warning sent by some superior and invisible force. He had seen it as clear as crystal. Winterfell, reduced to the state of dormant ruin, black columns of smoke rising from behind the ramparts, the devastated streets and buildings, and above all, no survivors .... a real bloodshed, a bloodbath and tripe ..... and Sansa, cornered against a wall, isolated and helpless, in tears and trembling like a leaf, pleading with all her strength to a threatening shadow advancing slowly towards her, and coming to seize her cruelly to the throat .... a somewhat familiar shade, with two glowing blue eyes .....

_ "In this case, I'm coming with you." suddenly said Tormund, decided. Jon smiled but did not want to impose that on his friend.

_ "You don't have to come with me, I can do it alone."

_ "You know nothing, douchebag ..." Tormund laughed, giving him a strong but friendly pat on the shoulder "... I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not. And I'm not the only one.... "

He invited Jon out of the tent, to see outside a small group of other wildlings, all veteran hunters and warriors, having volunteered. Among the group was a particular member, especially in size. Mahr Gath Wuz Mahr Geth, or Mahr simply, a young giant, a female specifically, one of the few to have escaped the scourge of the Night King, and who joined very recently the group of wildlings when she had nowhere to go, her entire family having been killed by the white walkers. Her companion had also been killed by the ice creatures trying to protect her while their encampment was assaulted.

Dressed in animal leather clothing and furs at her size, sporting long, dusty black hair, small ears slightly twisted and pointed at the ends, a bony ridge above the eyes, and a hairless face and two wild brown eyes, Mahr looked almost like a giant teenager and was a little smaller than Wun Wun, whom she knew by the way and was very sad to hear about his death from Tormund's mouth. Jon had already met giants before, and had even made an alliance with the late Wun Wun, but it was the first time he saw a female of this people. He had however accept without problem the young giant in the camp. Mahr had quickly proved being a good huntress, despite her young age, knowing all the tactics to hunt in the best conditions, and her size and colossal strength were also very useful talents. Her equipment was not left out, constituting a bow made with a mammoth bone, arrows as large as javelins, and a sword whose blade as large as an adult man, had been forged by her with iron of poor quality but nevertheless very sharp, that she handled with a formidable force. Arriving to speak a few words of the human language, which she had learned while listening to the wildlings talk among themselves, Mahr had told Tormund to have learned how to handle weapons with Mag the mighty himself.

The wildlings departed respectfully as Mahr stomped forward, just ahead of Jon and Tormund, who nodded to her. On her shoulder, Mahr was holding a large sack of old cloth, containing her provisions and big enough to hold a whole adult man.

_ "Tormund .... Snow ...." Mahr pronounced in her feminine but still very cavernous voice, before showing a semblance of a smile and left to prepare for the departure. Jon accepted the arrival of this small group with him. Although trying to look pleased that his friends came with him, the young man was still haunted by this nightmare more than realistic, and that made him fear the worst for what was going to happen.

Essos, near Volantis

Good for nothing ..... shabby ..... garbage ..... these are the words he now heard every time he went somewhere to hope to find any contracts for him and his men. Cade was sick, furious, all mixed up in his mind in an invisible and foul molasses. At the age of 20, with his long, dark brown hair, green eyes and nascent beard. Inexperienced, he found himself hoisted one day to the rank of captain of the Golden Company, or at least some miserable remains that remained. As the second of Harry Strickland who trained him to become the new big captain of the company, Cade had heard of the fiasco that had occurred in Westeros, like many others. All the most seasoned and experienced men, killed in a few seconds, and Harry Strickland himself had not survived. The most powerful and prestigious army of mercenaries in the world, annihilated in a few moments like vulgar amateurs. Just thinking about it made Cade even more depressed and made him cringe.

After a final failure to seek contracts with Volantis, the disgraced young captain joined the wretched camp he and his men had set up in the midst of wild grass hills not far from the city. A little less than five hundred men, scattered in white tents, in a moribund silence that would have passed a crypt for a crazy party place. Locked in his golden captain's armor, Cade was walking among the tents, his men as depressed as he was, giving him brief glances and some reserved salutes. He also went to see the last ten remaining war elephants, locked in their pens and busy eating. Since they became increasingly degraded, the company had been forced to resell several of their war elephants in order to earn some money, but many of the remaining mercenaries had chosen to leave, considering that the Golden Company was dead. Only the most loyal had stayed with Cade, and he thanked them for that. He, the son of a slave, who at the age of six was sold to the company and in a way adopted by Harry Strickland, who saw in him the potential to become a leader.

"A leader?" Cade thought of it again, and seeing the miserable condition of the encampment of which he was the so-called leader, he almost wanted to laugh. Entering his tent in the middle of the camp, taking off his gloves and throwing them almost to the ground, he dropped into his chair behind his little desk, rubbing his eyes, blowing with fatigue. A man from the company entered the tent.

_"Captain?"

_ "What? What did you imagine?" Cade answered curtly, "... the same thing, no one wants to hire us, or even respect us!"

_ "Captain ..." the man insisted, not being offended by the almost aggressive tone of his captain towards him. "... you are summoned to the temple of Volantis, by the high priest himself, saying that a very important person must meet you."

_ "Who? And what can red priests want from me?" Cade asked, raising an eyebrow. The other mercenary shrugged slightly.

_ "I don't know, but he's asking you to come unarmed."

Cade was suspicious, and with good reason. Why should these strange priests and priestesses venerating a god of fire and light want to speak to him, a mere captain of a troop in perdition? He could refuse the invitation, but on the other hand, his instinct and curiosity drove him to go and see. And then, seeing what conditions he lived in, what more did he have to lose? He accepted the proposal and got up from his seat to get out of the tent and prepare his horse.

It took only a little less than an hour for Cade to reach the great temple of Volantis, after having crossed the city. The young captain, his white cape floating behind him in the light wind, set foot on the ground, to be welcomed at the entrance of the temple by two servants of R'hllor, one of them taking charge of driving the horse at the stable, and the other humbly demanding Cade to follow him up the many beautifully carved steps leading to the first imposing building of the religious building. As agreed, he had come unarmed, having left his sword at the camp, in his tent.

But as he climbed the steps in following the servant, Cade was suddenly surprised to see the light of day suddenly fall, and a giant shadow covering him. Looking up, he was flabbergasted by what he saw. A black dragon with dark scarlet wings, gigantic and uttering a titanic roar, was flying just above the temple, describing large arches in the air. Two more dragons flew with him, much smaller, but seemed to follow him as their leader. Cade remained paralyzed in front of this vision, which he thought at first to be a hallucination, but saw the servant also look towards the creatures, but did not seem at all surprised or intimidated.

_ "But .... but what does that mean?" Cade asked, unable to look away from the dragon.

_ "Come ..." the temple servant answered, bowing. "... she's waiting for you."

She? Who could be this "she"? Cade was more and more perplexed, but decided to continue. He followed the servant through many corridors and rooms of varying size, all bathed in that heavy and mystical atmosphere, as palpable as the air he breathed. He heard the echoes of prayers and other religious songs echoing through the walls of this giant temple, and it made him shudder.

Finally, the servant pushed two large doors decorated with flames and stepped aside to let the captain pass. Cade walked slowly and cautiously into this room, to find himself before another vision he never thought he would see one day and left him speechless.

In this large room with frescoes of flames covering the great majority of the walls, as well as two large braziers on each side, dancing with their scarlet flames, stood several people whom he did not know, all looking at him in silence.

At the foot of a large staircase of marble steps stood two men. The first was a thin man with a matte skin, very short hair and a stern face, standing upright like a statue, with his hands behind his back and wearing the very recognizable unsullied uniform, which Cade had seen many times before, knowing their reputation as great soldiers. The other man had a pale yellowish skin, slanted eyes, hair and a black goatee. He wore a dark blue tunic, a conical hat on his head, and held a large, supple wooden stick in his hand.

At the top of the steps was a bald, pale-skinned, tattooed-faced man with the characteristic outfit of a Rh'llor priest. Beside him, a young woman with brown hair and a warrior look, dressed in an armor whose symbol represented a kraken, a large gray coat, and a sword at the waist. A young female teenager with long, black hair, in a sky-blue dress stood straight and silent, and in the center, sitting on a chair, stood the person who caught Cade's attention the most. A gorgeous young woman with purple eyes and long, silver hair as a ponytail falling on her neck and wearing a long white silk dress and a silver dragon-shaped necklace around her neck. Her face remained closed, but she showed no sign of aggression towards Cade. Her gaze was filled with great strength and unparalleled determination, he could clearly guess it.

_ "You are in the presence of Daenerys stormborn, of house Targaryen ...." proclaimed the young teenager girl, who appeared to be her maid "... chosen one of the master of light, great khaleesi of the grassy sea, breaker of chains and mothers of dragons."

Daenerys Targaryen? Breaker of chains? The mother of dragons? Cade remembered having already heard of her, and of her war against the slavery empire of Slaver's Bay, which had been much talked about. He had also heard, through the mouth of one of the very few survivors of the company who had been able to join Essos after the massacre in King's Landing, that it was she and her big black dragon who had effortlessly swept the whole troop of Harry Strickland.

_ "You can approach, Captain Cade." Daenerys said without hostility. Cade swallowed, feeling a few drops running down his forehead and an irresistible urge to escape. But after reflection, he walked to the foot of the steps, between Grey Worm and Shen-Zoan, and having been educated, decided to bow respectfully to the mother of the dragons.

_ "I feel you're nervous, Captain Cade. Don't worry, I don't want you any harm." said Daenerys, having guessed on the young man's face, the stress that was invading him and that he was trying to conceal.

_ "It's just that ...." Cade replied "... your name is known to everyone now, ma'am, and in our company in particular, especially since what happened in Westeros, as you know. .... "

_ "Yes," Daenerys answered at once, without anger in her voice, "Queen Cersei had engaged the Golden Company to defend her interests, but unfortunately they were not very effective against Drogon. But very few creatures in this world can stand against the dragons in terms of power."

_ "Know, ma'am," said Cade, standing upright "... that Harry Strickland was a good man. He was like the father I never had and trained me to become the new captain after his death ... you imagine, I, a wretched little orphan from the slums of Braavos, destined to become the captain of the largest army of mercenaries in the world? It's true, the Golden Company has always sold at the most offering, this is the principle of every good self-respecting mercenary."

Daenerys felt the pride of those words when he spoke of this Harry Strickland and the Company. He was devoted to it, body and soul. Such determination for such a young man made her smile.

_ "It is true that you have destroyed our Company," Cade said, looking at the Targaryen girl straight in the eye, without fear "... but if your goal is to finish what you started, then kill me without further delay."

He seemed more than sincere in saying that, preparing for her to order Grey Worm to kill him with a dagger. But after long seconds of silence, she did nothing, just scratching her chin.

_ "You are mistaken, captain ...." she said simply ".... why would I want you dead? You didn't cause me any harm. I didn't bring you here to to kill you .... on the contrary .... I invite you and your men to join me."

_ "J .... join?" Cade raised an eyebrow, shared between the relief of not dying today and the curiosity of this request. Daenerys nodded slowly. Rising from her seat without a word, she walked down the stairs, escorted by Yara, to go down to Cade's level and stand right in front of him. She seemed to examine with her eyes the armor in pitiful condition of Cade.

_ "I got warned of your situation ..." says Daenerys "... the reputation of the Golden Company has gone up in smoke. No one wants to give you any contracts, and what remains of your army is agony .... I know that I'm the main one responsible, but what should I have done? Let the Golden Company decimate my troops and kill my dragon without reacting?... Captain Harry Strickland had the bad idea to sell himself to the wrong person ..... But you, Cade, I know you will not make the same mistake .... If you join me, you will never have need contracts to make a living and I'll make you the first captain of my new Knights Order."

Cade did not know what to say, shared between his attachment to what Harry Strickland and the Golden Company had brought him, and the desire to revive the army he had grown up in all his life .... The situation was more than critical he knew it ... Almost everyone was starving in the camp, and even the reserves for war elephants were falling dangerously .... If he did nothing, all would be dead at the end of the year. Hesitating between yes and no for long seconds, the young captain yielded.

_ "I accept your offer." was his answer. Daenerys smiled at that, and while Cade was about to kneel down in front of the Targaryen woman, she stopped him in his gesture and simply handed him a hand. Her goal was not to humiliate him, but to make a covenant. Cade then extended his arm, joining it to that of Daenerys, and both thus sealed this new covenant, under the gaze of the master of light. Yara smiled too, nodding to Daenerys that she had done well. However, Cade did not stay there, and placing his fist against the plastron of his armor and kneeling down, pronounced his oath.

_ "I, Cade, captain of the Golden Company, swear on my life and on my sword to serve you, Daenerys Targaryen."

Although she did not ask him, Daenerys was very pleased to see him do so, reinforcing her trust to him. Mira, the young maid, went down the steps and held in her hand a small box of carved wood, which Daenerys opened, revealing inside a small object: a gold brooch, to hung on a cape, and having the shape of a dragon spreading its wings. Taking the object between her fine fingers, Daenerys came to give it to Cade, who took it in his palm, admiring the magnificent work of the object.

_ "Get up ...." Daenerys proclaimed with a smile ".... Ser Cade, first captain of the Order of the Golden Dragons."

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 5

It was almost two weeks since the expedition had left Volantis and crossed the Summer Sea. After several stops in different ports, a new stop this time led the ironborn ship in the port of a city that Daenerys already saw before, and hoped never to see a day despite its legendary beauty: Qarth. The ship was now anchored in one of the many large wharves of this wealthy city. In the midday sun, from the deck of the ship, Daenerys, protected from the sun by her silk hood, watched in silence as life was in full swing in the harbor. Around them, other ships, mainly merchants, landed their goods, while other seamen took other boxes to carry them away. Objects of value, fabrics, glass and jewels, trade of spices and wines, animals, medicinal plants .... the trade had remained very alive in Qarth as she could see, and unfortunately, the practice of slavery too, as she could see a number of men and women, dressed in rags and wearing necklaces around their necks, being taken with chains by sailors, probably pirates who had captured them. Daenerys sighed at this sight, but remained patient, because soon, even the all-powerful city of Qarth should give up this immoral practice. At her side, Yara, Grey Worm and Kinvara also contemplated the great city and its buildings so large, so rich. Never in her life would Yara think of seeing a place like this one day. She remained speechless. _ "Qarth ...." Daenerys coldly commented ... "The first time I came here, a wealthy merchant wanted to seduce me to seize my dragons and a wizard wanted to keep me chained in a dark crypt for eternity, with my dragons, to strengthen his own power." She saw it as if it had happened yesterday. Chained against her will by this despicable Pyat Pree, assuring her that she would stay for long summers and winters. Her dragons, still babies, also chained like prisoners, finally saving the life of their mother with their fire, putting a final end to the wizard's actions. _"This place would make the Lannisters like penniless beggars ..." Yara said in her turn, stunned by the great towers of the city, saw some of the facades made of gold and inlaid with glittering precious stones in the sunlight. Daenerys gave a half smile after this remark of the ironborn lady. _ "Yes ..... a beautiful golden cage, that would be best suited to describe this city." Daenerys added before turning around and returning to her cabin, still escorted by Grey Worm and Lady Kinvara. The young woman Targaryen not wishing in any case to put the foot in this city, would decide to wait for the departure. On the deck of the ship, the Fiery Hand soldiers, as usual, stood guard, scrutinizing every person who passed too close to the ship. Drogon, meanwhile, had stayed a good distance and had taken refuge on one of the offshore islands, so as not to be seen. Daenerys had told him to stay there until the ship left. It was better not to attract too much attention, especially now. While some of the ironborn sailors had been assigned to supply food for the rest of the trip, Yara, knowing that she had a few hours to kill before leaving, decided to go explore a little around the city. After asking one of the unsullied to warn Queen Daenerys of her absence, Yara went down the platform and began her walk on the docks, amidst the many passers-by, sailors and tradesmen, most of whom sometimes threw curious glares to her. Surely they had never seen a woman wearing armor and weapons on her belt. Some merchants praising the merits of their stall goods tried to attract Yara to buy, but she was not swayed. Shopping did not interest her. She was an ironborn. What she wanted, she took if she wanted. For long minutes, and always overwhelmed by this overwhelming heat, Yara walked along the endless quays of Qarth, meeting ever more merchants and sailors of all kinds, nobles as poor. She also saw curious animals that she had never seen before, like big beige quadrupeds, with two bumps on her back, an elongated neck and head and a rather bewildered look. She also lives birds with plumage very varied and colorful, some even being able to pronounce semblants of words with their beaks. Men were engaged in all sorts of tricks to attract attention. One of them showed himself capable of swallowing swords to the hilt without piercing himself, and another, seated in the dust, produced a slow and melodious music with a great flute, making out of his wicker basket in front of him an undulating snake, hypnotized by the melody. Yara was looking at it with great fascination. If her late father had seen this city, he would have gone mad at so much wealth at hand. Feeling her throat dry by the heat, Yara decided to stop and entered what was a small tavern near the docks. The establishment, a little shabby, was rather crowded, people coming to take refuge inside to protect themselves from the bite of the sun. A strong smell of alcohol and perspiration permeated the place. Men and women, all more varied than the others, discussed among themselves, drank, others were half drunk on their tables after drinking too much ... in a corner, a group of bounty hunters celebrated their catch with their newly acquired premiums. Not really an establishment where the nobles came. With her quickdraw, Yara was rather noticeable at the entrance, several men, dressed as pirates or mercenaries, having turned their eyes not really friendly towards her. She stared at them too, but showed her hand on her ax, making it clear that it was better for them to not look for trouble. Besides, all she wanted was to drink and nothing else. Seeing no table free, and went to sit at the counter. The innkeeper, a rather round man with a bald head and sweaty skin, stood in front of her, wiping a cup with a napkin. At first a little intrigued by the appearance of the young woman, but what in the end did not seem to displease him, he resumed his role very quickly. _ "And what about you?" he said in his hoarse voice. His fetid breath came close to Yara's nostrils, who had to restrain herself from not wincing in front of him. She almost felt drunk by just breathing. _ "Do you have beer?" she asked. The man nodded and walked away to prepare the order. He returned a few seconds later with a glass in hand which he placed in front of Yara, who on her side, affixed a coin on the counter wood to pay. _"You need something else?" the innkeeper asked now, leaning on the counter, smiling, and even allowing himself to offer Yara a wink. I'm dreaming or this big pig is trying to seduce me? she said to herself, almost feeling his perverse gaze pass through her clothes. _"Yeah, leave me alone while I'm drinking." she allowed herself to answer in a tone to make things clear. The innkeeper, despite his great build, did not insist and returned to his other customers. Before drinking, Yara glanced at the beer, which did not have a very reassuring color, nor the smell that came from the mug. Obviously, here they were more like spitting in glasses to clean them. But while she was about to force herself to drink to cool off a bit, even if it made her sick, a shadow covered her just behind her, drawing her gaze over her shoulder. Two of the mercenaries who had stared at her earlier were standing there, looking at her with a rather perverse air. _"Well, my dear, what are you doing here, and what armor are you wearing?" asked one of them, a fellow with black hair in mess and a blind eye, closed by a long scar. Sighing a big blow, Yara put down her mug and turned to them, without showing any ounce of fear. _ "I'm going to make it clear, guys ..." Yara told them in a scathing voice "... we can settle this peacefully, and so you can get out of this tavern with your balls always at their place." Yara's respondent caught the attention of many people in the tavern, and a silence almost came. The two mercenaries gave the same expression of astonishment, but furious to see a woman resisting them in the way. The man with the one-eyed eye acts first and wants to grab his knife at his belt. But Yara was quicker, catching her short ax and with a violent blow, sending the edge of the weapon between the two legs of the man. The latter let out a horrible scream of pain as the blood ran down the floor, as if he was pissing red liquid at will. Seeing his comrade having the parts sliced ​​and collapsing on the ground, the second mercenary, a tall, slender, unshaven fellow with short, light brown hair, took his weapon, a curved-blade sword, and glanced assassin against Yara. _ "You will regret being born!" he spat with hatred. Yara gave him a provocative smile, also grabbing her sword in her second hand, preparing to receive her next opponent. All the other customers had gone, but obviously quite used to this kind of brawl here. But what Yara had not seen was a third mercenary, arriving behind her back and preparing to hit her on the back with his ax. Suddenly, the ax splitting the air to slice Yara's back, was stopped by a stick, made of solid wood but also surprisingly supple. The mercenary, caught off guard, had only time to see the same stick hit him in the face, hurting an eye and making him back off while letting go of his weapon. Yara turned to see what was happening behind her, and what she saw surprised her. The individual who had saved Yara from death was, to say the least, unexpected. He was thin and medium-sized, dressed in a strange but elegant tunic of a deep blue fabric and white at the ends of the sleeves and closed by a leather belt whose buckle was decorated with a small gemstone green. He wore black trousers, as well as curious wooden shoes, leaving his feet half in the open air. He had pale skin with a slight hint of yellow, slanted eyes with black irises, a face marked by the experience of life on the roads, long hair, a mustache and a thin pointed black goatee, with a few strands graying. The top of his head was protected by a strange hat shaped conic and woven with stems of dried plants. The wood stick he held in his hand was almost as tall as he was. He did not look like most locals at all, because he too, with his accoutrement and his appearance did not go unnoticed. _"Hey you, Yi Ti's man! This is not your buisness!" warned one of the two mercenaries by pointing to the stranger. The latter said nothing, just staring at the two men one by one in a calm manner, as if he were gauging them. The seers both approaching with their weapons, the stranger smirked, not at all worried. Yara remained puzzled and watched what was going on. The man with the strange hat began a series of fast and unbelievable movements with his long wooden stick, spinning all around him, passing from hand to hand, and freezing into a fighting position, ready to receive enemy attacks. Yara was speechless, like everyone else in the tavern. Never before had she seen such fluid and fast movements. The first mercenary attacked, easily stopped by the stranger's stick, which in turn, deviated the blade with a movement to the side, then struck him a violent blow in the face, then in the belly, and finally the chin all in a few seconds, and the mercenary fell to the ground, unable to act anymore but still breathing. Although his friend was knocked down so quickly, the third and last mercenary did not give up and, in turn, tried to inflict violent blows with his ax, attacks that the stranger managed to avoid with disconcerting ease, such as if he was seeing the blows come in advance. Having managed to pass in the back of his opponent, he slammed a stick blow at the level of the back, destabilizing the mercenary, who carried away by his anger, continued the random blows. The man of Yi Ti, once again, appears to be attacking with the same rapid and almost graceful movements. He gave the impression of being one with the air around him and making it dance with his wooden stick. Yara also notice that he was not trying to kill his opponent, but only to put him out of action while aiming for the vital points. This art of combat combining strength, speed and agility, and without putting to death ... this form of combat that she had never seen before amazed her. It's as if he's using his opponent's own strength and anger to better defeat him. The stranger showed extraordinary agility, leaping to run the length of the counter while avoiding the blows of the ax with other prodigious leaps, to press the end of his stick against a wall, giving himself thus a considerable momentum to leap over his opponent. The man of Yi Ti turned several times on himself quickly in the air before getting to his feet, in the back of his opponent, without the latter can have time to understand what was happening. The art of moving of this man impressed Yara a lot as well. He used the elements of the environment he was in to fight and dominate his enemy. Throughout the fight, he remained calm, focused on his movements and those of the mercenary, without anything disturbing him. The man of Yi Ti finally put an end to this confrontation and finished his opponent by a blow with the sharp of his hand in the neck, which immediately froze the mercenary who collapsed heavily face down on the floor. Without saying a word, under the eyes of all, the stranger went to his table, catching with the end of his stick what looked like a simple bundle and put it on his shoulder. Yara tidied her weapons and walked over to him. _ "Although I did not necessarily need help, thank you for intervening." she says. The man with slanted eyes smiled at her very friendly. _"Oh, but I do not doubt that you could have defeat them alone, but I could not tolerate the cowardice these men showed, especially towards a woman." His voice was a mixture of old and young with a very pronounced accent, kind and adding a semblance of confidence. _ "But ... you don't know me, why did you help?" Yara adds, a little circumspect. _ "Why would not I do it? Why should I focus only on myself? It is only by helping others that you can help yourself." Faced with this diction filled with a most palpable wisdom, but which she did not really grasp the meaning, Yara remained silent while after a salute, the stranger left the tavern not without having before throwing some coins on the counter to pay the damage. _ "Wait ..... tell me at least your name." Yara said trying to catch him up at the exit. But once outside, no trace of the man, as if it had vanished like smoke in the air. Yara looked around, but hhe was gone. The young ironborn queen was still more confused after this strange meeting, but time having passed, decided to return to her ship to inform Queen Daenerys. ********* Later, back on the ship, Yara told what had happened to Queen Daenerys and Lady Kinvara about this strange traveler. Sitting in a seat and having listened attentively to what her ally had just told her, Daenerys was at first reassured that Yara had not been hurt, or worse. Losing another of her allies would be too hard to bear after all those she had already lost. According to the words of the Iron Queen, the man was described as coming from a land named Yi Ti. Although she had never been there, Daenerys had heard stories about this country, the legendary Eastern Kingdom located beyond the Bones Mountains and bordered to the south by the Jade Sea, and who according to the many stories and rumors about it, was once home to one of the world's oldest and most powerful empires. _"Whoever this man is, I am grateful to him for having help you." Daenerys said with a smile "Whoever he is, I pray that the gods accompany him on his journey." Grey Worm arrived then in front of the women and standing upright, hands behind his back, bowed before his queen before speaking. _"Your grace, a man is standing in front of the boat. He is asking to meet you." Strange. She was not waiting for anyone here at Qarth. Who could it be? A bad feelinginvades Dany. Had the masters of the city been made aware of her presence? As Queen Targaryen was thinking, Yara came to the rail and spotted the man waiting patiently in front of the bridge and watched by two unsullied. The same traveler who had helped her. _"Majesty, it is he, the man I talk about." she warned immediately. _"So invite him to come up, I would like to personally thank him." Daenerys answered, reassured and smiling again. Grey Worm obeyed and signaled to the two guards to move to let the traveler pass. The latter, serene and silent, climbed the bridge and finally appeared at the sight of Daenerys who rose from her seat to go to meet him. He was indeed like Yara had described. Looking at the dragon queen, the man smiled amiably and withdrew his conical hat, bowed respectfully to her and the high priestess of Asshai standing by her side. _"It is a pleasure for me to meet the noble man who helped my friend. You have my gratitude." Daenerys said, motioning for him to get up. _ "All the pleasure is for me, your grace." humbly answered Yi Ti's man, straightening up and putting his hat back on his head "... I was looking forward to finally meeting the great breaker of chains." Daenerys thanked him with a nod to this compliment. _ "And can we know your name, my lord?" asked Queen Targaryen. _"Oh, I'm not a lord, my lady." replied the man with a humble little laugh "... I am only a traveler walking around the world and eager to help his neighbor when he can. My name is Shen-zoan "Windwalker". One of the most singular names she had to consider it, but found it quite beautiful and symbolic for a traveler. _"And what is a man from the ancient land of Yi Ti doing in the city of Qarth, if it is not indiscreet?" asked Daenerys more than curious. Shen smiled back at her with a clever eye. _"A few years ago, I was captured by pirates and sold as a slave to the city of Astapor, where I suffered and worked hard. Despite the beatings and chastisements inflicted by the masters, my soul never gave in. I can not say exactly how many men, women, and child slaves I saw die without being able to do anything. Then one day a young, silver-haired foreign woman arrived, and with her, three young dragons. By a clever stratagem, she bought the unsullied soldiers, had got the masters killed, and freed the slaves, of which I was a part. Having been seriously wounded on the eve of this, following a punishment too much inflicted by my master, I was then taken in charge by other slaves, now freed, who took care of me. Once recovered, I was able to leave Astapor, and swore to continue my journey, waiting for the day when I could finally meet the woman who had allowed me to regain my freedom, and to say her: thank you." Daenerys listened to his story and was touched in her heart. She saw it in his eyes, felt it in the tone of his voice, the sincerity he showed. She could not have forgotten that day when she was able to make her first blow against the slave empire of Essos. This testimony of gratitude was beneficial for the young woman. She wanted to become again the woman that this man described, for the good of all. A breaker of chains. Shen-zoan then dropped to one knee, his staff in front of him, and lowered his head slightly to the ground. _"I humbly ask the Queen breaker of chains to accompany her on her journey. I swear to serve you until my my last breath or when you'll decide to have enough of my services." Touched by this demand, Daenerys first turned to her close allies and advisers, Yara, Lady Kinvara and Grey Worm, all of whom seemed to show the same look of acceptance. Grey Worm, as a former slave, could understand Shen's point of view and his desire to serve the one who had freed him from his chains. Yara saw no problem welcoming the man who had helped her. And although Kinvara was the least concerned about Shen's story, she did not hesitate to accept, like if she had known from the beginning that this meeting would take place. Perhaps through another vision in the flames of the red god .... With the support of her friends, Daenerys delivered her verdict. _ "Shen-zoan "Windwalker", I, Daenerys stormborn of House Targaryen, breaker of chains and mother of dragons, welcome you by my side. I swear, from now on and before the gods, that you will have always a place at my table and in my house. I swear it by the old gods and the new." On these official words, and although not practicing the faith of old and new gods, Shen looked up, without saying a word, but the proud smile he showed was more expressive than any thanks. It was with a smile that Daenerys welcomed the newcomer to her ranks, just like Yara. _ "Shen ..." said Daenerys, however, "... Although I am glad I was able to give you back your freedom, you could have lived as you please. Why do you want to fight with me, in the risk to die?" Although personally touched by the woman's words about him, Shen showed no concern for himself and contented with a most eloquent response: _ "Some fight to protect their family, their home ... others to preserve the harmony .... But the real question, the one that my master asked me one day, is: what is worth fighting for? ... For a long time I have been looking for the answer to this question .... and today, I have it, in front of me."

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 8

Westeros, King's Landing Bran was alone in his royal quarters. Sitting in a large marble bath, the water covering him to the waist, he had dismissed the servants, wishing to remain alone for the next hour. The young king, still with a flat and inexpressive calm, remained without saying a word to wash his arms, watching the drops flowing down his skin to fall back into the water. His gaze lingered for a moment on the mark of frostbite still visible from the Night King fingers on his wrist. Although the monster was killed, its mark had remained, like a scar that would never heal. Then he looked down at the water in front of him, to see his reflection on the flat surface. However, it was not his face that he saw, but that of the Night King, looking at him with his cold blue eyes. For a brief moment, Bran's iris tinged with a slight bluish and icy color, and the skin of his face saw slight frostbite running down his cheeks. Bran's mouth, like that of the reflection of the Night King, showed at the same moment a semblance of a smirk at the corner of the lips. Bran suddenly seemed to recover, his eyes and the skin of his face returning to normal, and resumed his toilet, as if nothing had happened. ********** Essos, Asshai Daenerys, dressed in her fine white silk dress, had been wandering for ages through black hills, stretching as far as the eye could see under a dark sky streaked with a purple hue. In the distance, black mountains stood high and menacing like giant teeth of chipped stone. Sensing the cold, wet rock beneath her bare feet, the young Queen Targaryen walked slowly without really knowing where she was going. Reaching the top of one of the hills, a new vision presented itself before her: the remains of what used to resemble a city, and of which there were now only huge silent ruins slowly gnawed by the weather and the elements. Daenerys advanced to what was once a large stone arch, half collapsed and covered with black roots, which bounded the entrance to the city. She noticed the two statues on each side of the arch. Measuring more than six meters tall, they had the shape of dragons, sitting and roaring, like eternal sentinels of stone continuing to watch over these places. Penetrating into the ruins, Daenerys dared not say a word, looking attentively all around her, while feeling deep inside her the heavy atmosphere that reigned here. She came to what was left of an immense temple of which there was almost nothing left, and noticed, in the center of this vestige, painted in the very stone of the ground, a great runic circle, and at its center, a dragon with spread wings, painted too. But something else caught the young woman's attention. At the center of this painted circle was a fire, with dancing scarlet flames and spreading a powerful heat. Daenerys froze with fear. All around her, from the dark of the ruins, shadows had advanced, all identical to each other and similar to the one that came to meet her in the cabin during her sleep. Entities with skull faces and shadows stood motionless, forming a semicircle around the fiery flame, their bottomless white eyes shining in the darkness and fixed on Daenerys. And she saw it, with astonishment ..... In the midst of the flames appeared a sword, with a medium-sized blade, gleaming and dotted with runes, with a black pommel encrusted with a ruby ​​reflecting the glow of the flames. As if attracted by the beauty of the object, Daenerys wanted to advance a little closer, but the flames exploded in front of her, the infernal heat forcing her to step back several steps. She, who ordinarily did not fear fire, had been obliged this time to stay far away, to her astonishment. _"The fire can not kill the dragon ..." in unison shouted disembodied and frightening voices that seemed to come from the grouping of the motionless entities, tearing the young woman's eardrums, which was affected by the voices, the hands on her temples, fell on her knees in front of the flames, tense by an intolerable pain that rose suddenly from her belly. She heard again the cries of the baby dragons reverberating around her, but also the cries of another kind ... those of a human baby. In tears, Daenerys, on her knees in helplessness, was now encircled by the entities, staring at her their inhuman glances and pointing at her with their emaciated fingers. _"You are not a dragon ..... not a dragon ... not a dragon ... weak ..... weak ..." constantly repeated the creatures, like judges firing their sentence on one and same prisoner. The voices assailed the young woman from all sides, accentuating the pain in her. _"I am not weak!" she manages to say, straightening her head with defiance. _"Then prove it, or fall back into the limbo of death forever!" proclaimed one of the entities with authority. Daenerys felt weaker and weaker, seeing her vision slowly fuzzy, before sinking. ******** _ "My queen? My queen, wake up ...." Daenerys suddenly opened her eyes, to see Kinvara leaning over her, and shaking her gently by one shoulder. With sweat on forehead and panting, Daenerys sat up in bed to see that she was still in the small room in Heliora's bazaar. Although it was morning, outside, it seemed to be still dark. This was so in Asshai. Despite the assassination attempt she suffered last night, with too much fatigue, she managed to get back to sleep, not without being under the constant surveillance of Kinvara and the two warriors of the Fiery Hand, who, although having not slept, always remained vigorous. _ "It's time for us to get going." added the priestess of R'hllor, leaving Daenerys to get up and get dressed. Still marked by the nightmare that she had just made, Daenerys chose not to talk to the priestess, although she suspects that the latter was already aware judging by the look she had shown her. In another room, at the top of a small wooden staircase leading upstairs above the bazaar, Yara awoke in a bed, with Heliora at her side under the blanket, who had been awake for a while, but had watched Yara sleep. Knowing that Queen Daenerys was safe with R'hllor's followers, Yara had join Heliora in her room, but had not been able to fully enjoy that night, worried by the assassination attempt. Seeing her anxious, Heliora smiled, huddled against Yara and under the blanket, stroking the ironborn queen's naked breasts delicately with her hand, snatching her a nice little shiver and pulling her out of her thoughts. _ "The young dragon queen is strong, more than she can imagine herself ..... and I know you'll know how to protect her." Heliora said, while pecking Yara's neck with small kisses, what pleased to her. _ "I know ...." Yara replied with a hint of anger "... I was afraid it would happen. It looks like they are determined that Queen Daenerys remains dead. I knew they were stubborn, but not to this point." Heliora did not know who Yara could talk about, but it was obviously people she knew. Still sensing the merchant's pecks against her skin, Yara leaned over her, clasping her with one arm around her waist and the other in her neck. The two women kissed with sensuality, Yara then descending kissing the neck of Heliora, then her breasts, which she also massaged with one of his hands, tearing moans of pleasure to Heliora .... Hits behind the door interrupted the two women. Yara sighed, raising her head to look over her shoulder. _"Yara, are you awake?" Shen's voice came from behind the door. Although she wanted to tell her friend to come back later, Yara knew that Queen Daenerys would not have to wait. Heliora, although disappointed, seemed to accept it. _ "One minute, Shen, do not go in, I get dressed." Yara replied. _"Oh, all right. The others are waiting for us downstairs, do not be long too much." Shen answered, before his footsteps were heard, coming down the stairs. Yara, after a last torrid kiss to Heliora, got up from the bed and headed for her clothes and armor on a chair. Heliora stayed in bed, still admiring the thin but muscular body of the queen, with scars on her back and arms, memories of the battles she had experienced. Once dressed and saying goodbye to Heliora, Yara went down the stairs, where Shen was waiting for her, his staff resting on his shoulder. _"Believe me, I'm sorry I had to interrupt you with Heliora. You seem to like her very much." said the man of Yi Ti. At this sentence, Yara looked up at him, somewhat surprised and embarrassed. Shen gave a small laugh and reassured her immediately. _"Do not worry, I'm not judging you. My master has taught me to see well beyond appearances. Everyone is free to express his desires with whom he or she wishes, as long as it does not harm anyone." Shen's openness and wisdom would never cease to amaze Yara. If only more powerful men thought like him, this world could probably evolve and become better. She smiled as well, filing a strong but friendly tap on her friend's shoulder before following him outside the shop. Outside, they joined Daenerys and Kinvara who were waiting for them. Grey Worm had arrived too, with a group of unsullied soldiers who would accompany them in the expedition. Daenerys seemed to be looking for something in the sky, but could not find it, which seemed to worry her. _ "Where is Drogon?" the queen asked the commander of the unsullied, knowing that the latter was the last to have seen the dragon remained near the ship. _ "He left an hour ago, my queen ..." Grey Worm replied "He seemed upset by something, and he flew without waiting in the shadow lands." Daenerys's heart sank with fear. What could have caused Drogon to leave without her in these unknown lands? That worried her. _"We have to find him, let's go now." Daenerys ordered without further ado, starting to walk, followed by the rest of the group who took her part without hesitation. From the porch of the shop, Heliora watched the queen and her allies go north, towards the city's border, and the entrance to the shadow lands. ********** The shadow lands bore their name very well. The weather was like frozen here. For almost three hours now, Daenerys and her allies had left the security of Asshai's ramparts and walked amidst great hills of black and damp rock in the midst of a sea of ​​mist over the ground. No form of animal life was visible. No plant could grow here according to Kinvara, except a strange plant called the ghost grass, which Daenerys saw several groupings. She remembered hearing about this plant from Ser Jorah when she married Drogo. Plants with pale stems like curdled milk, shining in the night, and killing all the other plants around her. She also remembered this dothraki legend, who claim that someday this plant will completely cover the world, causing the extinction of any form of life. For Daenerys, it was strange to be here, knowing that Drogon was from this land, as were Viserion and Rhaegal. Other equally sordid and terrifying legends hovered over the shadow lands. Although no animals can live there, the caves that dot these abandoned hills and mountains are said to be inhabited by bloodthirsty dragons and infernal demons. One would also find the ruins of cities, so ancient that even the inhabitants of Asshai can not say by whom they were built. But the inhabitants of Asshai avoid exploring these ruins, claiming that they are cursed or inhabited by ghosts and other malevolent entities waiting only to leap upon reckless prey. All these legends worried Dany, especially for Drogon. Watching the sky to hope to see him, or listening to hear his roar, the dragon still had not returned. She prayed that nothing had happened to him. Daenerys was not the only one to feel the macabre air that reigned here. Yara, her two ironborn guards, Shen, Gray Worm and the unsullied, even Kinvara and her two Fiery Hand soldiers were a little affected, but still continued to walk, drawing their strength and faith in their god to guide them. _ "AAAAH, something touched me!" suddenly yelled one of the two ironborn soldiers, panicked, which took everyone by surprise. Yara immediately grabs her guard by the collar. _ "Stop agitating yourself and shut  your mouth!" she ordered. _"But, my queen, I swear, I felt a cold, clawed hand resting on my shoulder, I turned around, and there was nothing, and ...." he was interrupted by the violent slap Yara gave him a face, silencing him. _ "Do it again, and I'll stun you and leave you here, understand?" Yara warned, which the sailor fully understood and obeyed with a nod. As a result, Kinvara and Daenerys both halted at the top of one of the hills, and stared at something. In front of them, a little further on, was a little black mountain, whose very peculiar shape, snatched a shiver from the dragon queen. The skull-shaped mountain, whose mist seemed to escape through the cavities. _"It's here," Daenerys sighed, unable to look away from the mountain. "... it is in this mountain that I heard the baby dragons ...." _ "Yes, my queen ....." confirmed Kinvara smiling at her and supporting her by the hand "... it is here and today that your true destiny begins." Although the appearance of this mountain was not reassuring, the group approached, noting that the only possible entrance was through the gaping jaw. The guards redoubled their vigilance, watching over the queen and the priestess who entered the first under the stone teeth. A despicable scent of death stank the air, forcing the members of the group to put their hands in front of their mouths and noses. _"Yara. Grey Worm. You and your men, stay there and keep the entrance." Daenerys ordered, not wanting the whole group to enter, in case to be trapped in an ambush. _ "As you wish, but please don't be too long, this place gives me goose bumps." Yara answered, hands on her weapons. Daenerys understood well. She, Kinvara and her two guards, and Shen-zoan with them, descended along the somewhat steep rocky slope that descended into the depths of this giant stone skull. The walls were covered with sticky moldiness, causing a grimace of disgust on the face of the queen. The darkness being very important, and by an order of Kinvara in High Valyrian, the two soldiers of the Fiery Hand used of their power to ignite the blades of their spears, allowing to move without risk. The further she went in this cavern, the more Daenerys felt it in her heart and in her blood. The two baby dragons were nearby. And they finally arriving at the end of this slope, leading to the mouth of a wider space, she saw them. Half buried in the black earth, two eggs of dragons, changed into stone by the centuries, stood there. Daenerys, unable to prevent a smile from drawing on her lips, knelt and took one of the eggs in her hands, immediately feeling its heat through the stone, and can almost hear the call of the baby dragon, as she had once heard the call of her three children before they were born. The egg she held with a shade of a metallic blue, and the other egg had traces of beige and light brown. Daenerys could not realize it. They were there, finally, in her hands. _ "Let's get out of here now, my queen, better not linger here." suggested Kinvara. Daenerys listened. She was right. Opening the bag attached to her waist that she had brought with her, Daenerys put the first egg, then the second, all with extreme caution. _ "Let's move." said Daenerys once that did. The group prepared to climb the slope, but was frozen on the spot by the sound of a howl of a man at the entrance of the cave. The heart of Daenerys leaped. _ "Yara! Grey Worm!" she gasped. They quickly rushed to the entrance of the cave and out, to find Yara, Grey Worm and their men alive, but all in a fighting position, weapons in hand and frantically looking around for the mist. One of the two ironborn sailors had disappeared. Seeing this, Shen prepared his staff, invaded by a bad feeling. _"Yara, what's going on? Where is your guard?" Daenerys asked. _"I don't know! He was there two more minutes ago. Something came up and took him in the mist. It was too fast, we didn't had time to see what it was!" Yara replied, showing the dragon queen an expression of intense stress. She was afraid. Something took him? Daenerys shivered with terror, looking at the mist too. What kind of thing here could be big enough and strong enough to carry a grown man without leaving a trace? The group had taken a stand in front of the entrance to the cavern and made the utmost silence. Footsteps, numerous and stealthy were heard close enough, galloping in the mist, but without the group can see what it was, accentuating their fear. Suddenly, something came out of the fog and rolled to Yara's feet, horrified. It was the head of her guard! Bloody, his eyes torn out, he had been torn in the throat, not by a blade, but rather by fangs judging by the marks left on the flesh. _ "Seven hells!" Yara gasped, taking a step back. The whole group then saw them. Flying out of the mist some twenty yards ahead of them, creatures with an abominable appearance appeared, moving on all fours like animals. They had a human size and appearance, but with arched backs, translucent and pale skin, rachitic bodies, lean arms and legs, and hands armed with claws. Their heads were bald, their ears slightly twisted at the extremities, eyes without pupils, and filthy jaws filled with conical teeth. One of the creatures bore traces of fresh blood on the mouth and hands. Their rumblings and cries were strident, atrocious to hear, like rales of endless agony. The sight of these creatures plunged the group into horror, and retreated a few steps. _ "Oh gods ..... what is it?" said Daenerys, frightened. _"Ghouls ......" answered Kinvara, strangely calm and focused. Although surprised by the appearance of the creatures, Shen managed to remain calm, twirling his staff in agile movements, and taking a stand alongside Grey Worm, preparing his spear and his shield, and Yara holding her ax and her sword. The two soldiers of the Fiery Hand, following an order from their priestess, ignited their spears again, blocking to protect their mistress. Daenerys, not being armed, Kinvara stood before her as an ultimate defense. _ "Stay behind me, majesty, and above all, don't go away." said the priestess as an order. Daenerys listened without hesitation. The first ghoul jumped to the attack, to be immediately impaled by the spear of Grey Worm, who killed it on the spot. Stinking black blood spurted from the creature that fell to the ground, lifeless. The other creatures attacked these resistant prey. Seeing them coming on them, Yara pushed a war-scream and gave a violent blow of the ax, puncturing the skull of a ghoul in two and receiving a few drops of his disgusting blood on her face. Shen-zoan had advanced further without fear. With his swirling big stick movements, he almost make the fog dancing around him and used it to blind the ghouls coming on him by sending the smoke back on them. Once he had blinded them, he hit them, one by one, at the nape of the neck, to neutralize them. One of the unsullied was caught by surprise, thrown to the ground by two ghouls who dragged him and disappeared with him in the meanders, without Grey Worm can intervene to save him and saw his brother in arms carried away before his eyes. A second unsullied was also killed, receiving a violent claws blow that lacerated his throat to the bone, spilling blood. Feeling helpless, Daenerys remained there to see her friends and allies fight and die protecting her. Knowing she could not do anything made her sick. Drogon, where are you, she thought? Yara and Shen acted as duets, Yi Ti's man taking care of hitting and straying the attacking creatures on the right, and Yara killing the ones coming from the left. Yara heard a scream and saw her second ironborn guard, caught on all sides by ghouls, who began to devour him alive, the screams of the man mingling with the tearing of the flesh and the abundant gashes of blood, a ghoul pulling an arm violently to start devouring it eagerly. Yara wanted to intervene, but Shen held her to stay close to him. _ "We can not do anything for him anymore!" Two ghouls managed to pass the unsullied, but the two soldiers of the Fiery Hand stopped them, piercing them and burning them alive with their flaming spears. Kinvara did not sit idly by, and also drew on the power granted by her god. Putting a hand on the ground, she mumbled a few words in Valyrian, her eyes catching fire. Flames leaped from the ground as if by magic, swallowing swarms of ghouls in approach and reducing them to ashes. Daenerys was more than admirable. Yara too, seeing that. But despite the resistance of the group, the creatures continued to arrive, more and more numerous. Suddenly, the earth was shaken by a violent tremor that made the hills and mountains roar. The ghouls stopped in their attack, and shrieking in fear, fled in all directions, under the eyes of the group, also surprised. Suddenly, what appeared before like a rocky hill began to move and rise slowly, raising clouds of dust. Two huge dark wings unfolded, as a massive body covered with scales like black rock rose, as did a massive, elongated head, adorned with four bony horns and opening two bottomless white eyes. A gaping jaw opened, letting out a loud roar. _"DRAGON!!" yelled Yara. All remained paralyzed, especially Daenerys, by the sudden appearance of this white-eyed black dragon who, waking up by the sounds of battle and the smell of fresh blood, turned his imposing body towards the group of humans, seeing them there as prey. He was the same size and wingspan as Drogon, but it was not him. They had no chance against such a monster. Was it the end? Another bestial roar echoed through the air, raising everyone's eyes, even to the dragon of the shadows. Daenerys resumed hope, having recognized the sound. It was with joy that she finally saw Drogon emerge from the night sky, spreading away the clouds of fog with his wings and landing in front of the other dragon to protect his mother. The two giant reptiles looked at each other in the eyes, each roaring furiously to try to intimidate the other. Without further ado, the two dragons threw themselves on each other, entering into a violent and brutal wrestling fight, inflicting bites and blows of violence at the height of their size. The ground was shaking, the rocks were shattered in front of the fight. Shen threw himself on Yara to make her move and both rolled to the ground, avoiding a piece of rock thrown into the air. Shen found himself on the ground on his back, Yara leaning over him. _ "T... thank you." Yara said, a little embarrassed by the position. Shen blushes a little too. With tears in his eyes, her hands in front of her mouth, Daenerys was destroyed in the sight of her child fighting and bleeding from his first wounds. Drogon bit deeply at the dragon's neck, piercing the scales and trying to strangle him, but the other dragon struggled, roaring in pain and managing to free himself, succeeded to bite Drogon around his neck. Drogon bit one of the dragon's wings, hoping to make him let go. But the shadow dragon pushed Drogon back, and the Daenerys dragon's back hit the wall of a rocky cliff violently, causing it to shake and crumble a few pieces. Drogon was in trouble, fell to the ground after the shock. He tried to get up, but the other dragon, made furious by the wounds, jumped on him with all his weight, blocking him on the ground and gave him other scratches and bites. Drogon roared with pain, unable to stand up or defend himself properly. _ "Drogon!!" screamed Daenerys in tears, starting to run towards him. Kinvara could not hold her back while the queen quickly gave her the bag with the two dragon eggs. _ "Majesty!" said the priestess anxiously. Yara, Shen and Grey Worm also saw her too late, unable to do anything. Daenerys was not listening anymore. She had already lost too much. She would not let her last son die without acting.

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 7

The ironborn ship had finally reached the mysterious city of Asshai and anchored on a deserted dock, where dozens of crates of abandoned merchandise and some abandoned fishing nets were dragging. Having dressed in her ebony dress and black cloak, Daenerys, accompanied by Kinvara and two soldiers from the Fiery Hand, descended from the footbridge and stepped on the crackling wood of the dock. Finally, on the mainland, she said to herself breathing a great blow, after almost a whole month at sea. Yara then went down, also escorted by two ironborn warriors, and also accompanied by Shen-zoan who volunteered to accompany them. Grey Worm and the remaining of the crew were appointed to guard the ship during the group's absence, who would come back for them tomorrow morning for the start of the inland expedition. Indeed, being too late to leave, Daenerys had decided that they would spend the night in Asshai. The young queen was still too tired to take a long walk, and had to sleep a little. Kinvara made no objection, and guiding Daenerys, offered to show her a safe place she apparently knew and where they could spend the night. Far too big to be able to follow his mother in the streets of Asshai, Drogon was forced to stay on the docks, bigger. The dragon gave a worried, almost childish growl when Daenerys came to him, caressing his muzzle with love and kissing him on the nose. She saw that Drogon was concerned, that he did not like at all the heavy and macabre atmosphere of this city. _ "I'll be back tomorrow, my sweet boy, don't worry. I'm in good hands." she said with all the affection she could have for her last son. Drogon moaned again, seeing her leave with the others, but had to resign himself to obey. Drogon looked around him, growling suspiciously against the shadows he thought he saw moving in the recesses of some dark alleyways. Shen-zoan, while walking, came alongside Daenerys. _ "Your relationship with this dragon is very surprising, my queen." he commented without passing this for a reproach, quite the contrary. _"Drogon is more than a friend, dear Shen ..." she replied, "he is my son, born from the fire, just like me." The traveler was interested in the story, and looked for something in his bag. Something he found and handed to the dragon queen, as a gift. A parchment, on which was drawn in black ink, a very detailed and beautiful portrait of Drogon, in a posture of majestic flight. Daenerys was impressed by the sense of detail and the elegance of the drawing, as if it were almost moving in front of her eyes. _ "It's .... it's beautiful." she said, thanking her new friend for this gift, compliment he received with a humble bow. _ "The beauty and majesty of certain things are such that they deserve to be immortalized forever ... Who knows ..... would you ever want me to make a portrait of you, one day, majesty?" he asked very modestly. Daenerys smiled, a little embarrassed, and blushed slightly after what seemed like a compliment to Drogon but also to her, keeping the drawing close to her. Shen suddenly looked a little embarrassed too, seeing her blush. _"Forgive me if my remark causes you embarrassment, my queen, I assure you that my attention was not ..." he apologized, but was interrupted by the thin hand of Daenerys coming gently take his. _ "I would be honored ..... thank you, my friend." was the answer of the young woman, to the great pleasure of Shen who was reassured. The queen and her escort left the wharves to finally enter the first street of Asshai, between two large black houses with closed shutters. Draped from her red coat with the hood on her head, Kinvara walked in the lead. Behind her, Daenerys, escorted on either side by the two warriors of the Fiery Hand. Behind, closing the march, Yara Greyjoy, her two ironborn guards and Shen-zoan. While walking, Daenerys could finally contemplate with her eyes the city of shadows. The immensity of this city was disconcerting. It was much larger than King's Landing. But despite its size, it seemed almost abandoned, few houses being lit, and the light of the few torches seemed to be absorbed in the darkness of the night. All the buildings were built with black stone, with a disturbing and greasy appearance. The mist had invaded the streets and alleys and snaked on the ground, forming a disturbing carpet of smoke. The architecture of the city was very strange. Palaces built next to brothels and other shabby establishments, and also many temples and other places of worship more or less frequented. According to legend, in Asshai, all religions and cults are allowed, such as the obscure and poorly known cults of the Black Goat and the Lion of Night, or a religion better known as that of the god R'hllor. All kinds of entities were venerated here, such as the moonsingers, the necromancers, the pyromancers, the bloodmages, or the most dreaded of all, the shadowbinders, who were said to be capable of giving birth to demons made up of shadows during very special rituals. The group met a few people, all of whom were hiding under the porches of the houses or in the recesses of the aisles, waiting in silence and watching the group go by without saying a word. Daenerys could see that the inhabitants were all very dressed, hiding the smallest part of their bodies, and were all veiled, wearing masks or hoods. Daenerys could almost feel their eyes on her, and did everything to try to ignore them and kept going, although they did nothing to try to harm her. It was almost as if they were waiting for her coming. Was that the case? Daenerys' group passed by the entrance of what looked like a temple. Daenerys take a fast look as she passed, she saw, with horror, a crowd of worshipers, chanting incomprehensible words and venerating an idol in the shape of a humanoid goat. One of the worshipers, the leader of the ritual, had covered himself from head to foot with blood, and seemed to be in a trance, convulsing while waving his arms. Yara swallowed when she saw that, just like Shen, and both continued without stopping. Everywhere, they seemed to hear like ritual songs and other incantations coming from the interior of the houses, all in languages ​​as varied as strange. What could be happening in this city? _ "What is this city of demons?" Yara sighed, notch, just like her two guards. Shen remained calm, but showed his distrust of what was happening here. Kinvara remained calm as usual, and stopped in front of a building in the center of a small deserted square. The sticky sign hanging over the entrance seemed to indicate a bazaar. _"Here we are." said Kinvara, who without hesitation, pushed the door to enter the first, and inviting the others to follow her inside, which they did, after a few seconds of hesitation. A smell of spices, but also a mixture of incense and other medicinal products came to rub their nostrils as soon as they entered. The place was of average size, but full of objects of all kinds. Small dead animals hung on the ceiling. Pots containing various medicinal products or for any other purpose. Many objects made of bone, wood and other natural elements apparently used for ritual purposes, and even sinister dolls. A little monkey, with red eyes, walked freely between the shelves, emitting curious little sounds against the visitors. Kinvara led the rest of the group to the bottom of the bazaar, where behind a counter, was a person bent to examine the inside of a dead black rat's corpse and extract its vital organs. The woman behind the counter looked up, and smiled at Kinvara, seeming to know her. _"My dear Lady Kinvara .... finally we meet again after such a long time ..." said the woman from the bazaar in a honeyed and deep voice with an almost seductive tone. She had pale skin, but looked as if she was wearing makeup all over her body and was tattooed on almost the entire face. Long dreadlocks fell on her shoulders, and she was dressed in a strange dress made of animal leather and wore around her neck a pendant made of skulls of sparrows. Her smiling gray lips revealed behind a teething as white as her face. Kinvara greeted her with a nod. _"I greet you, Heliora. I bring you some visitors to spend the night, and they will leave tomorrow morning with me." The strange young woman named Heliora listened, then her gaze was drawn behind Kinvara's shoulder towards Daenerys, who was looking around with an edge of suspicion. Heliora's face seemed to clear, as if she had seen a messiah appear before her. _"You ..." she whispered between her lips as she walked towards Daenerys, who remained frozen in front of the woman staring at her. Yara wanted to intervene, but Shen held her back, making her understand by the look that it was better not to interfere with the people of Asshai. Heliora, with her blackened-fingered hands, felt a little the face of the young dragon queen, examining her from head to foot. Kinvara let her do, knowing her merchant friend well. _ "You, so young, but already having suffered so many trials, beyond the very veil of life and death .... You, who have long been lost in a quest doomed to failure, but destined for something so much bigger ..... Daenerys of house Targaryen." Heliora spoke very slowly, mystically, every word seemed to materialize out of her mouth. Daenerys could almost feel her blood-red-iris eyes piercing her mind, as if reading inside her. _ "Y .... do you know me?" Daenerys said a little confused. Heliora smiled at her, with the same seductive air as towards Kinvara. Obviously, she preferred women to men. She also glanced at Yara, whose young ironborn queen did not seem to be indifferent and smiled her back. _ "The reputation of the breaker of chains and mother of dragons has reached the ears of Asshai. Everyone here knows who you are, even those who have no ears to hear or eyes to see." confirmed Heliora returning to Daenerys. Heliora, whoever or whatever she was, gave her goose bumps. _"Your friends can stay for the night, Kinvara, but you know you have to pay." Heliora announced, returning to her counter, while giving a small caress to her monkey who come join her. _"Of course." Kinvara kindly replied, telling one of her Fiery Hand soldiers to come forward, to give her something wrapped in a rag, which she put under the merchant's eyes. The latter removed the rag, revealing a special dagger. Daenerys gasped as she sees the weapon. It was the dagger with which Jon had killed her. Kinvara had kept it after extracting it. Daenerys felt bad and had to turn away from the sight of the weapon, backed by Yara and Shen. Heliora could not contain her joy at possessing this dagger now, the very one whose blade had been impregnated with the blood of the dragon. _ "Your payment is honest, my dear Kinvara." Heliora told her, confiding the object to his monkey, who went to hide it somewhere in the shop, out of sight. "You are welcome in my humble abode, my good lords ..... tonight you can sleep .... But beware, young dragon queen, because at every moment the night is dark and full of terrors." warned the merchant in a silly little sneer. Uncomfortable, Daenerys chosen to move and guided by Kinvara, goes to the room where she can sleep, while Heliora focuses again on her dead rat on the counter, tearing the heart with forceps. ******** A little later in the night, Daenerys, despite the gloomy atmosphere of this bazaar, had managed to fall asleep in a room at the back of the shop. The two soldiers of the Fiery Hand, by order of the priestess, would remain all night as sentinels in front of the door of the room. The two ironborn sailors had gone to sleep in the bazaar reserve too. Kinvara, who was not sleepy, had settled into a kind of living room, and was patient, sitting watching the flames dancing gently in the hearth. She was not alone because Shen was there too, sitting with his eyes closed, meditating. Also unable to sleep, Yara had gone outside, under the porch of the shop. Her water bottle in hand, the ironborn queen was nervous and alert, listening to each sound that was heard in the surrounding streets and looking constantly looking for any suspicious movement. The mist, however, did not help to see the area around the store. _ "Nervous?" suddenly said Heliora, who like a ghost, had arrived behind Yara, who jumped in surprise and sighed with annoyance. _"You should be careful, I could have put my ax in your head without wanting it." Yara warns, taking a sip. Undaunted, Heliora continues to smile and comes closer slowly but surely to Yara, who noticed it well. _"Oh, but I don't doubt it, a proud warrior like you," commented Heliora, her eye sparkling with a certain lust. Yara guessed it, and she liked it. Their faces are closer to each other. _ "You know ...." Yara sighed as she came to touch one of the dreadlocks with her fingers and pushed it away from the merchant's handsome face "... you're the most weird and crooked woman I've ever met in my fucking life, but I like this." Heliora did not wait anymore, coming to snuggle against Yara's chest, blocking her against the wall, their mouths meeting in a kiss more and more sensual. Without interrupting the kiss, Heliora rubbed her hand along Yara's body, then her thigh to finally come and touch the crotch, which made Yara smile naughty. _ "You're interested by what's in store from what I see, it's good, we're open all night." Yara quipped, eager to go further, as did Heliora. Having never done this with a woman in armor, it excited her even more. Both decided to go back inside, Heliora knowing a room where they would be quiet to continue without risking to wake the others. Meanwhile, in the room at the back of the shop dipped in the dark, Daenerys was lying in a single bed, but nevertheless clean and comfortable to sleep peacefully. However, the queen, asleep, did not notice the furtive figure silently approaching the window of the room, looking out onto a deserted, misty street. The form, dressed entirely in black and wearing a hood, glanced quickly through the window, catching sight of the sleeping young queen in the middle of the room. Still in the greatest discretion, the masked individual began to cut the glass pane with a blade, managing to make a hole in the glass large enough to pass a hand. However, he did not try to open the window from inside, but passed something through the hole. A manticore, a deadly venom insect from Essos. The deadly insect began to crawl toward Daenerys' bed, and slowly began to climb the sheet to hoist itself to the top of the bed and come up to the young woman, who does not suspect anything. From the wharves, Drogon, who was sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes, filled with a sense of danger and fear for his mother. In the living room of the shop, Shen-zoan abruptly came out of his meditation with the same strange feeling and turned to Kinvara. _"Yes ... I saw it too ..." she confirmed. Without further ado, Shen grabbed his wooden stick, jumped up and as fast as he could, ran to the room where the queen was sleeping. Alerted by the commotion, Yara and Heliora, who did not have time to start their night together, came to see what was happening and saw Shen pass in front of them like an arrow. The manticore had crawled and was now standing very close to Daenerys's face, getting ready to sting her neck with his hooked dart filled with a more than poisonous poison. The door to the room suddenly opened and Shen burst into the room, and without further ado, with a nimble stick blow and without touching Daenerys, pushed away the poisonous insect that crashed against the wall. Daenerys straightened up, panting and awakened by the noise, to see Shen armed with his staff and looked around the room vigilantly, while Kinvara and the Fiery Hand soldiers came in their turn. Kinvara sat down beside Daenerys on the bed. _ "My queen, are you all right?" asked the priestess. _"I ... yes, I believe, but what's going on?" asked Daenerys, more than confused. Shen looked everywhere, and that's where he saw him. The dark silhouette behind the window, which was starting to flee. Without saying a word and under the dumbfounded gaze of Daenerys, Shen rushed and jumped quickly and agilely through the glass of the window, breaking it into pieces and landing on his feet in the street, in defensive posture. Without further ado, he set off in pursuit of the man dressed in black who was running away with extraordinary speed. Yara and Heliora arrived in the room, noticing the facts and the broken window. Yara came to make sure, asking Daenerys if she was okay. Kinvara leaned forward and gently picked up the crushed corpse of the poisonous insect to reveal it in plain sight. Daenerys felt her heart beat. _ "A manticore ..." she says. She had already seen one of these insects, which had also wanted to sting her once. A trap set by the warlocks of Qarth. Were they them again? Did they come to take revenge? Perhaps. A few minutes later, while everyone gathered in the living room with Daenerys, still under the shock of this assassination attempt and supported by Yara sitting next to her. Shen ends up coming back to the shop, empty-handed. _ "He was going too fast." he said, "I could not catch him and he seemed to know the streets of this city like his pocket, but he dropped that." Shen threw a small object, a sort of small piece of iron that Kinvara caught in the palm of her hand and examined closely. Her worst doubts seemed to come true. A very special coin, from Braavos. _ "Whom does it come from?" Yara asked. Kinvara looked at them one by one, hinting at the worst of all. _ "The Faceless Men." confirmed the priestess. Daenerys was only more shocked. Like many, she knew the terrifying reputation of those assassins and their mysterious powers. For Shen, it also confirmed something more disturbing than he shared with others. _ "The Faceless Men never act alone. Someone wants you dead, my queen."

[mathiaskillmaster]

Here is a drawing of Shen-zoan “Windwalker”, an OC I imagined and created for my Daenerys resurrection fanfic “Rebirth of the Dragon.” He’s a traveler, coming from the land of Yi Ti, and fighting by using a unknown and impressive art of combat. He’s nicknamed “windwalker” because of his fast and agility, and his ability to make like if the air was dancing around him when he fights. Yi Ti is a very interesting, but pretty unknown land from the GOT world, and I wanted to make Dany meets a character from this land. He is very calm even in fight, humble, always ready to help, and can’t tolerate injustice. 

Height: 5 feet 10

Age: Nobody can guess it exactly (he looks young and old at same time)

From: Yi Ti 

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 6

Westeros, Winterfell Although summer had fallen, temperatures in the independent kingdom of north had remained rather low, although the snow had disappeared to give way to the green heaths and coniferous forests rocked by the wind. In Winterfell, capital of the northern kingdom, life had resumed and gradually recovered from the terrible battle that had taken place against the Night King and his army of the dead, now a threat from the past. In the courtyard of the castle, servants and other occupants were engaged in their daily tasks, while patrol guards proceeded to their usual rounds. Standing in front of the big fireplace in her personal office, the young queen in the north, Sansa Stark, dressed in her big black dress and her warmly fur-covered shoulders, was pacing, circling, her hands behind her back, and seemed to be waiting, looking moribund. On her desk, among the many documents, was a letter whose seal, that of the hand of the king, had been broken. Sansa had read the letter sent recently by Tyrion Lannister, and what she had read there had more than disconcerted her. Daenerys Targaryen is .... alive? Just thinking about it made her shudder again. Just the idea that she can return to Winterfell on the back of her dragon to seek revenge. Despite having archers, Sansa did not know if all of Winterfell's garrison, no matter how large, would be sufficient in the face of the devastating anger of an adult dragon who had proven himself capable of destroying an entire fleet of war ships and ravaged half of King's Landing. Sansa did not know what her brother Bran was going to do about it, but knowing that her kingdom no longer depended on the king's orders, she decided to do something for her. She would not take the risk of seeing Winterfell and the north be burned to the ground if she could stop it before it happen. Returning to her desk, Sansa took her pen, dipped it in ink and began writing a missive. She had heard from her sister Arya about the existence of this sect of dreadful assassins at Braavos. ********* Essos, approaching Asshai The end of the journey was approaching for the ironborn ship which had been flying on the sea for almost a month now from Volantis. Already, the first signs of Asshai's approach were noticeable. The waters, usually of a natural blue, had gradually faded to become dark, gray and opaque. Glancing over the rail, Yara shivered. She, who had participated in many expeditions at sea, showed for the first time a little doubtful. Sometimes she could see weird fishes, phosphorescent, appearing and disappearing like ghosts under the surface. She dared not imagine what kinds of creatures could haunt these waters. A thicker mist had risen, snaking over the surface of the water like snakes of smoke. In order to avoid any risk, Yara had reduced the wing, the ship now slipping more slowly in these sinister waters of the end of the world. On the deck, the ironborn sailors had lost their proud and harsh airs, and could not prevent the doubt from expressing themselves on their faces, although the unsullied and the soldiers of the Fiery hand remain strangely calm despite the macabre atmosphere. Among the most superstitious sailors, some came to dread that the ship would reach the end of the world and fall into the great void. Others were convinced that these black, silent waters would eventually lead them into the other world. An ironborn, scared to death, swore on his head that he had heard a disembodied woman's voice whispering his name from the depths of the mist, and even felt an icy breath on his neck. The poor fellow, yet a strong fellow, was found hidden in the bottom of the hold, curled up and shaking like a scared little girl. Daenerys had been forced to stay in her cabin for a good part of the day. For several days now, she had felt more and more tired, despite the nights of rest she was able to take, and also felt, more and more regularly, some sharp pains in her stomach. She could hardly eat, but had to force herself anyway not to lose her strength. Navigating in these haunted waters did not help her much, she too, sometimes having the impression of hearing whispers calling her and hearing something like nails scratching behind the window of her cabin, whose window was now completely fogged. Two nights before, Daenerys had woken up in the middle of the night, screaming in terror so loudly that she had woken up the entire crew, and had been found by Yara and Grey Worm, trembling, tears in her eyes and sweat in her bed. Daenerys had explained to them that she had been awakened by a strange noise in her cabin, and as she opened her eyes, she had seen Jon Snow, standing at the foot of the bed, staring at her with a furious gaze. He had jumped on her, taking a dagger at his belt, blocking her on the bed by grabbing her to the throat and trying to stab her in the stomach, vociferating with a degenerate voice. _ "You should be dead! DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?!" _ "NOOOO JON, STOP! LEAVE ME!!" His voice was his own, but monstrous, and blood began to flow from his eyes, as Dany described, still in shock. She had screamed, struggled with all her strength, but after opening her eyes, Jon had disappeared without leaving any traces. Kinvara explained to Daenerys that the waters surrounding Asshai were filled with the most ancient and obscure magic, and that these forces haunting it take pleasure in tormenting sailors and adventurers daring to venture there, guessing and giving life to their the deepest fear into more than realistic illusions. As a result, Daenerys slept only during the day, and at night remained awake and in the company of a soldier from the Fiery Hand appointed by the priestess to watch over her. Although they are not talkative, she felt reassured to not be alone in her cabin. Face digged by fatigue, Daenerys was lying in bed in her white silk night dress. Kinvara was with her, the priestess sitting beside her on the bed, and examining her to make sure everything was all right. For Kinvara, there was no sign of illness or poisoning of any kind by food or water. Kinvara thought for a moment, turning her attention to Daenerys' aching belly. And if .... a hypothesis crossed her mind and she wanted to check. Delicately placing the palm of her hand on Daenerys's belly, Kinvara seemed to be examining more. Daenerys watched her, quite concerned. After long minutes, Kinvara changed her attitude, her shining irises showing a truth that had just appeared to her, and which seemed to satisfy her. _"Lady Kinvara, what's going on?" Daenerys asked her emphatically. _ "Daenerys stomrborn ...... you are pregnant." the priestess of R'hllor then revealed to her in all honesty. This news fell on the young woman like a flash, making her heart leap in her chest. _ "What ... how .... you .... are you sure and certain?" Daenerys really insisted on this, looking at her belly in turn and feeling it delicately. The priestess was formal and nodded. The young Targaryen was pregnant. Daenerys was more than confused. _ "But ... it's impossible ..." she said with conviction "... I could no longer have children, at least not be able to give birth, because of this witch ..... "and suddenly she froze, remembering to have shared her bed with a particular man, the one who before her, was brought back from the dead by the magic of R'hllor: Jon Snow, the man who had killed her. "... Jon ..." she sighed painfully, a tear pouring down one of her cheeks. "... But .... he killed me .... how can I still be pregnant?" The young fallen queen could not understand anything, but Kinvara made it her duty to explain her, taking her hands in hers. _ "This is the great power that our master has ..." explains the priestess "... his purifying fire not only brought you back, Daenerys stormborn, but also saved the life of this young soul who grows up inside your belly, for such is his will. Rejoice, your grace, that the Lord of light has given you such a miracle. A child born from the union of ice and fire." Ice and fire ..... Did she mention Jon and Daenerys through this symbolic definition? Was it true? After all, Jon had been brought back by the red god too. Jon, through this resurrection, had he been granted by the god the power to free Daenerys from her curse by unite to her? But in that case, why did Jon killed her? Was it also the plan of the red god? Once again, everything was very confusing. She wanted to rejoice, of course, she who for years had thought herself condemned to remain last and see her dynasty disappear with her. But on the other hand, the idea of ​​carrying this child, Jon's, plunged her into a terrible melancholy, and made her relive for a few moments that awful illusion of Jon leaning over her and trying to kill her. How could she look this child in the eyes without thinking of Jon and what he had done to her? No, she dismissed this idea from her mind. It was out of the question for her to judge her future child for the crime committed by his father towards her. She would no longer act like that, she had sworn. ******** Elsewhere on the ship, Shen-zoan had isolated himself in the small corner of the hold that had chosen him to settle during the journey. Although he was offered a more comfortable place to sleep, a simple hanging hammock suited him perfectly. As he had said, after sleeping at the bottom of a well and in a wet cave in the middle of winter, this hammock was for him like the room of a palace. The Yi Ti traveler did not sleep, however. Sitting on the floor of the ship, he was leaning over a wooden box that served as a temporary table, on which he had placed a large sheet of parchment and lit with only a single candle placed beside him. Yara, after reassuring her sailors, had come down to the hold to check that everything was going well and made her way to Shen. Looking over his shoulder without saying a word, she could see the strange letters he had been writing in black ink for a while, like symbols she had never seen before. Shen looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. _"What is it?" she asked, rather intrigued. _ "Oh, that .... it's a poem from my country, in my native language .... I like to write .... it helps me to never forget where I come from." was his answer, shrouded in a touch of nostalgia in his voice. Yara sat next to him, reading the symbols one by one even though she did not understand any of them. The fine line of the pen and the perfectly asymmetrical forms of the letters were almost like art. How was he managed to write with this precision despite the slight pitching of the ship? Shen did not stop surprising. Just yesterday, during the meal, Yara and the others could see him eating with small wooden sticks, which caused the hilarity of some sailors a little morons. Despite such mockery, however, Shen remained very calm, not offended, and simply continued his meal. Daenerys did not really appreciated the mockery about the newcomer and asked Yara to seriously reprimand the men, which she did. In this new free world that would become Essos by her will, Daenerys would also advocate freedom and tolerance of cultures. As he continued to write with that delicacy and astounding precision, Yara stared at Shen's fighting stick for a moment. _ "Your way of fighting ..... how do you do it? Who taught you?" she asked. She then perceived, in Shen's expression, that she had touched a new chord of his past, but yet made him smile. Placing his pen, he decided to tell Yara some of his past. _"All my knowledge, I owe it to my master, Dzian-owan. When he was a child, Master Dzian was puny, shy, constantly persecuted by other children. He was the son of a former soldier, a very hard man, who kept on telling him that the weak had no place in this world. But Dzian refused to brandish a weapon, the idea was repugnant to him, so he decided to create his own way of fighting. At the age of 15, following the death of his father and now alone, Dzian exiled himself to the lands of the north, beyond the plains of Jogos Nhai, where he lived as an hermit. During all these years, Master Dzian developed his new art of combat, the art of fighting without giving death, spending days and nights, training in all weathers. In the wind, the rain, the snow of winter and the overwhelming heat of summer...He added to his art of combat the meditation, and he managed to do so, after spending ten days and ten nights meditating under an old willow, to the perfect union of the mastery of his art, unifying combat and concentration in one and same body, one and same soul. Then one day, while he was looking for wild grasses, he found me in a wicker basket on the edge of a river. I was still a baby, abandoned by my parents and delivered to the wilderness. Having pity, he gathered me and raised me as his own son. When I was old enough to understand, he taught me his art, imposing on me the same conditions, the same trials and the same suffering that he himself had to endure in order to form himself to face this world. He always told me: The characteristic of the warrior is humility. He must think as much about others as about himself. There are strong and weak people in this world, Shen, and it is the duty of the weakest to become stronger, to prove to them this: if you can, they can too. I swore to my master to perpetrate his art wherever I go, and to become an example to the poor. Shortly after, my venerable master died without suffering, in his sleep, carried away by his old age. After having buried him with dignity at the foot of the ancient willow, where he had spent most of his life, I began my journey around the world ..... " Yara had remained silent, having listened to everything in this story. She noticed Shen's wet eye as he recounted, reliving through his words what were the best memories of his life. Abandoned from birth, raised by a stranger who trained him to become a good person. Yara was rather touched by this story and patted the man's shoulder. _"Your master seemed to be a very good man, Shen-zoan, and a great warrior too. I would have love to know him." Yara said frankly. _ "He would appreciate you, I think." Shen replied, "he has always admired women with a strong character, just like you." Yara felt rather flattered by the compliment and both together shared a small laugh. However, Yara's face darkened, looking pensive, and Shen noticed it. _ "Something is disturbing you." _ "It's about Queen Daenerys ..." Yara said without keeping a secret for her new friend "... according to Lady Kinvara, she would be pregnant." _"Well, I do not see how that would be bad news." Shen answered without really knowing why she was showing that worried look. _ "I know ..." she said "... that's not the problem. I'm just worried about her and the baby. When those who killed her will learn that she's alive, I don't think that the life of a mere baby to be born will stop them in their attempt to eliminate her again.They will not take the risk of seeing her return to Westeros with her dragon and a new army to get revenge." Shen-zoan fully understood what Yara meant and reassured her by patting her on the back of her hand. _"We will do what it takes to protect her, because that is the oath we have spoken." _ "PORT OF ASSHAI RIGHT BEFORE!!" suddenly shouted the voice of a ironborn sailor from the deck of the ship. Alerted, Yara, followed by Shen, went back up. Daenerys, also warned by voice, came out of her cabin with Lady Kinvara, covering her shoulders with a purple silk shawl. Grey Worm has advanced to the bow to see the facts. In the misty sky, Drogon's roaring figure appeared, sliding between the clouds like a giant ghost. In front of the ship reducing her sail a little more, the opaque mists of a dark gray dissipated more and more, revealing to the eyes of all in the permanent twilight of these accursed waters and in the light of the full moon, the forms recognizable of fuzzy towers and other strange buildings, all built of black stone. Daenerys swallowed, but remained upright, her head high, while in front of her, came from the fog the legendary and mysterious city from the deep of the world, Asshai, emerging little by little from the mist like the monster coming from a horror tale. Faced with this vision seeming straight out of a nightmare, the sailors remained speechless, eyes round, and some even began to pray the drowned god to protect them. _ "Welcome to Asshai, Daenerys stormborn." proclaimed Lady Kinvara to the young dragon queen. Finally. She was there, supported by her allies and her son, ready to face the new trials of the red god.