Battle's Aftermath

[Right After The Battle of Summerhall...]

(Rhaegon's POV)

"Where the hell did Stannis take whatever he had in his hands?" I said as I pointed my blade at Thoros of Myr as he leaned against the tree, clutching his bloody arm, "Answer me, Thoros!!" 

He chuckled as he coughed up blood, the sounds of screaming men were heard all throughout the air, "Hehe...." he said, "It is too late now, Ser. You might as well kill me, send me to my Lord, bathe me in his chosen's flames." 

It was right after Father's army had reached Summerhall, that I had fought my way towards the burning room, finding that Stannis had walked out, his skin burning and smoking as he held some jars with strange glowing light in them. 

I tried to confront him but many men attacked me, all wielding flaming swords. Thoros was one of them and while I cut them all down, Thoros was able to survive long enough to take the fight to the outside. While he and I fought, many of his men were swarming me and I had to deal with them as I heard Morghul's roaring in the distance. 

In the end, I defeated Thoros, who only made it that long due to the constant swarming of screaming zealots who delayed the inevitable. 

Now, he leaned against a tree on a hill next to Summerhall, looking at me with a wicked grin on his face. Stannis had managed to escape Summerhall, most of his army retreating with him as Father's forces pushed in. A good portion of them clashed with them as a sacrifice and the ones that stayed outside of Summerhall were being finished up by Morghul. 

"Too late?" I said as I pushed my blade against his shoulder, slightly piercing it, "How so? Speak!" 

"The Embers of Light!" He shouted, "The Rebirth of The Dragons, the magic in that room, that caused the intense heat.....He will consume them....and with that, he will rise and descend upon the Realm." 

"Who?" I asked

"Zaldrizes Jaes." He said, "The Dark Order, The Lord of Light, it's all interconnected...." 

"You see, I always thought of all the Red Worshippers, you were the decent one." I said with a scowl, "You fought alongside my father in the Greyjoy Rebellion, Thoros. You had some of my respect. But as it turned out, you were just another lunatic, worshipping some buffoonery!!" 

"Buffoonery, Ser Rhaegon?" Thoros chuckled, "It is all real, it's Truth!! It was the Lord of Light that brought back the Dragons, you know that! Deep in your bones, in your soul, you know it's true!! And the Lord's Light is the reason Zaldrizes Jaes exists, it's the reason he has so much power. And he's coming, Ser Rhaegon. When the Cold approaches, The Dragon God will spread his wings and will fill the Realm with his warmth, his raging flames." 

I had no clue what to make of this, but if he's so willing to spit out whatever he believes is true, then killing him is not an option. He has more use to me alive, not rotting in the ground. 

"You truly are a lunatic." I said as I pulled my sword away, "Thoros of Myr, what is your Cult planning?" 

"Hehe...." He said, "It doesn't matter if I tell you or not...for now, our Cult will do nothing but lurk in the shadows, along with them, the Dark Order. We are mere pawns to Zaldrizes Jaes, that much is clear to me. It matters not if my flesh is destroyed, my soul, my essence will burn and pass along to the other side and my warmth will merge into the Lord's Light. I see it, in the flames, the path forward....." 

"Who is this Zaldrizes Jaes?" I asked, "You speak like you know all about him? You Cultists have a champion that'll fight for you when the inevitable happens?" 

"A champion?" He said as he slowly got to his knees, "Not a champion, he's a God! A Herald of Power! The Dragon's Power!" 

"You're confusing me, do you worship the Red God or the Dragon God?" I asked with a frown

"I only serve my Lord, that is all. Zaldrizes Jaes is merely his extension." He said with a scowl, blood coming out of his mouth

"Who is he? What does he want?" I asked, "All of this, it's his doing, isn't it? The Pretender gathering an army, forcing Bloodraven to manipulate the entire Realm to rely on me. Who is this Dragon God?!" 

He smiled, his blood-soaked teeth showing, "You will not want to know." He said with a chuckle, "The truth will be too much to bear on you, your lineage. All of you have no idea of what's coming, Rhaegon Baratheon. There is so much truth that is covered, waiting under the sheets of ice in the North. How about you return there and seek answers?" 

He looked down and began to chant in a foreign language, it wasn't High-Valyrian or anything I recognized. 

"Wait..." I said as I felt a strange heat emit from his body, "Thoros!" 

Suddenly, his entire body burst into flames as he let out a disturbing yell, "The Realm will either freeze or burn, Rhaegon Baratheon!!!" He shouted into the air as he collapsed to his knees, "The path forward is to choose either of the fates. Zaldrizes Jaes will choose! He will save humanity from damnation!!" 

His entire body collapsed to the ground as it was set ablaze, the scent of burning flesh hitting my nostrils as I stepped back. 

"Fucking maniac....." I said, "Only left me more confused than anything....curse you, Thoros...." 

"Rhaegon!!" I heard Father's voice bellow

I looked over to see him walking up to me, followed by several of his men, "Father." 

"Are you alright?" He asked as he reached me, "What in the hells happened?" 

"I'm fine." I said gesturing to the burning body, "He...did that to himself..." 

"Was that Thoros of Myr? I should've know a red cultist should not have been trusted." He said, "What did he say?" 

"I don't know...." I said, "Only that Zaldrizes Jaes will come..." 

"What the fuck is that?" He said

"I don't know yet." I said as I clenched Fury's handle, "But you....." 

"We need to talk."