Dragons and Dragon Fire

Swinging his sword around with a roar, Smalljon watched as his blade cut through the leather and flesh of one man, blood and mud splashing through the air as the man fell to the ground. He then spun around, sword coming crashing down, cutting through the leather armour of a Dornish man, almost bisecting him in two.

This is what he lived for, what he loved with all his heart.

A woman's flesh.

The sweet taste of ale.

Victory.

They all paled in comparison to the satisfaction and pleasure that resonated throughout his body when he killed a man. Here, in the thick of battle, blade caked in blood, the red liquid hot upon his cheeks, nothing could fill him with a sensation and pleasure like this.

Nothing.

"Lord Umber!" A man shouted, Smalljon ignoring the man, rushing forwards to grab a Golden Company infantryman, he had just killed an Unsullied and was taking a moment to give his surroundings a cursory glance. He had been looking the other way when Smalljon grabbed hold of him, spun him around and pierced his longsword through a gap in the man's armour.

The blood was still warm when it spilt out around his blade and onto his hand. But it quickly went cold and Smalljon threw the man to one side, stalking around, blade swinging and cutting through every man who came close.

"Leave him!" Garlan ordered, having finally managed to cut through, taking a moment to watch the Mad Giant just cut his way through the battlefield one body at a time. He would not deny that Smalljon terrified him when he became like this, he was impossible to reason with and was one reason why Robb had kept him from being the commander of the vanguard for so long. Lord Umber got caught up in the thick of the battle, his bloodlust often overtaking his sense of reason.

"The King and the Targaryen are converging the centre not far from our location," Garlan noted, having long since lost his horse and now down on the ground, surrounded by loyal men of House Tyrell, Stark and other houses. He honestly could not tell where many came from, blood and mud covering their house's colours. "Now is our chance, no doubt Aegon's commanders will have seen the same thing that we have and so we need to head there ourselves. This is the moment that will turn the tide of the battle in our favour."

Beside him, Dacey, Patrek and Eddard Karstark nodded their heads. "Alright, let's move!"

It was not easy, but fighting against the tide of men was certainly a much easier task now. Robb had been right, the three rallying points that the Targaryen had set up were the reason this insane tactic had worked out so well. By having those fixed points, Aegon was able to lead a cavalry charge that led them towards those points. Holding firm against the flow of men, it split the soldiers apart creating a knock-on effect that after some time, gripped the entire battlefield.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong, all it had taken was for just one point to fold, to break apart under the weight of the men that smashed against it for the entire thing to fall apart. But they hadn't, they held firm and that's why Aegon's tactic had been so devastatingly effective.

Yet like always, Robb had seen right through it.

To Garlan, he had always known that compared to Robb, he was a novice, to compare anyone to the King seemed impossible. But he had always been able to help the King, in every battle, Robb had been unable to manage everything and so he delegated, Garlan being one of those he trusted to help him. In this battle though, Garlan had never felt more useless and he imagined many had felt the same way.

But Garlan did not lose faith, Robb had been right, just like he always had. The points had broken down, or they had perhaps moved, Garlan could not say for certain. Waves that had once moved around the battlefield like the stream of a river that died down, returning the battle to a chaotic mess, but one that now seemed manageable and preferable compared to what it had been before.

It was for that reason, that as they saw the flags of House Stark and House Targaryen clashing up ahead, Garlan managed to push the men around him just a little harder, breaking through to the centre where Robb and Aegon and their respective forces should have been clashing.

But while the forces of Robb and Aegon were here, the two themselves were not.

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The air still stank of blood and death, he could still hear the clashing of men and the cries of men dying, but out here, Aegon took in a deep breath, feeling almost free. A battlefield like the one behind him was stuffy, men pressed against one another as they fought for their lives.

It was a crushing environment, both physically and mentally.

Pressed upon all sides, with no way to escape, it was like being trapped.

Yet now, out here, he was free.

But he was also exposed.

Out here, in the open, away from the crushing environment of the battlefield, Aegon was vulnerable to threats from above. From the beginning, Aegon's entire plan had been based on the idea, the theory that Daenerys did not wish to unleash her Dragons upon her own soldiers. Perhaps she would be willing to do so against Robb's, but against her own? Aegon had gambled everything on that slim hope and like always, it paid off.

He trusted his gut and everything fell into place.

Out here now though, Aegon was not afforded that protection and so he was short on time. Something that Robb knew, something that Aegon had expected from the very beginning. Both were so alike, they seemingly shared one brain length, two equals that clashed, able to read one another move and predict their next, responding accordingly. In their, though each move they took cancelled one another out, Aegon had been losing.

The difference in numbers gave Robb the advantage and despite stopping one another moves before they could change the tide, ultimately the superior numbers favoured Robb. He could keep fighting like that for longer than Aegon could and that was a simple fact.

It was why Aegon knew that he could not let it all come to a clash down on that battlefield, it had all been a distraction. Aegon also knew that Robb would know that and that he would plan for it. Both had the same idea.

Slip away from their flags, and take the long and difficult journey of cutting a path to escape from the battle and out into the open.

Because right there, ahead of Aegon, Robb Stark, urging his horse further and further away from the battlefield. No more than a dozen men at his back, a similar number to Aegon's own and with a smile, Aegon urged his horse on faster and faster. It was tired, just like him, but right before was Robb Stark and he could not allow him to escape.

Especially not when in the distance, in the same direction Robb was fleeing to, were the three Dragons. All coming straight towards him, it was a race against time, just like it had been since he first came to Westeros.

A race to see whether he could once again catch up to Robb Stark before he met with Daenerys. If he could he just had to hope that their alliance was strong enough for Daenerys to not just kill them both. He doubted it, but the battle behind him was lost, he knew that and this was the only option Aegon had available to him.

It was either this or just surrendering, giving it all up.

That was not something Aegon would allow and so he urged his horse on harder, heels digging tighter and tighter into the sides of his steed, his gaze focused purely upon Robb Stark. Aegon did allow himself to look upon the Dragons, just ignored them entirely.

Even as Robb approached the hill, Aegon still a distance away, Aegon did not look. He did not take a moment to check how close the Dragons were, he did not allow himself a chance to think for a moment that he would fail. If he doubted, so would his men, so long as he pushed forwards so would they. Aegon looked upon Robb's back, that his target and singular focal point, the thing that pushed him on further.

Just as his back was the thing his men looked upon as a guide.

Only for Robb to reach the top of the hill, curve around and come charging back down the hill, heading straight for him. This action left Aegon stunned, unable to think of what possible reason he could do this.

If they clashed before Daenerys and her Dragons reached him, then there was a possibility that Daenerys could kill them both right then and there. But there was also a possibility that she wouldn't and then it came down to an equal clash between them both. Why would Robb risk everything like that, was he truly so reckless?

It was not something Aegon would have done in his position which meant, neither would Robb. That meant only one thing, Robb had a plan in mind, something prepared for him and that's when Aegon spotted it.

At the top of the hill, men and horses by the hundreds and then the thousands came charging over the top and down, following Robb Stark. 'The cavalrymen under Tytos Blackwood and Rodrick Forrester, they're here already.' As he and his steed came to a halt, men coming to a stop slightly ahead of him, Aegon turned.

There in the distance, coming from the east, was the army under the command of Randyll Tarly. All this time, he had been fighting to win, so focused on that, he completely forgot about everything. He forgot about the reinforcements that Robb had on their way, he had forgotten to check the position of the sun and prepare for those reinforcements.

He had gotten so caught up in the clash between himself and Robb that Aegon had forgotten everything else.

As the cavalrymen charged down the hill, splitting into two, looking to be completely avoiding Aegon and his men by a wide berth. Aegon knew what was coming next and he just let his sword drop to the ground, chuckling weakly for, at that moment, Dragons rushed over the hill and came down towards him.

It was his loss, he was completely and utterly defeated.

There was just a moment, in which he saw the orange glow of Dragon fire illuminate the ground around him, the burning heat wash over him before he and his men were engulfed in fire. There was just a singular moment of pain that washed over him before it all went away.

He was nothing more than ashes at that point, standing directly in the epicentre of three concentrated streams of Dragon fire, Aegon was reduced to nothing more than ash in an instant. The wind carried him across the land, Robb's victory secured as he carried on, never once sparing a glance back over his shoulder as he and the cavalry rushed towards the battlefield.