18 Going North

After a good well-deserved nap, Kael woke up to see the dark sky outside, enhanced by the flames of the rivers of lava all around his lands.

"I still can't believe that I am here… it feels…" he could only sigh "This place is gorgeous… I am still feeling bad about the whole doom thing…"

After standing up he went to bathe himself, he washed his long platinum-colored hair, the journey would take a while and he doubted that he would have the comfort of these facilities anywhere outside of Valyria, at least for now.

He wore his black Valyrian silk pants, and comfortable black leather boots that covered three-quarters of his calf. After that, he opened a trunk that had a thick black coat with silvery patterns extended through every inch of it and a dragonhide gambison that reached his knees, with long sleeves that reached his wrists.

After tying his coat on his waist with a sword belt that was attached to a long-scaled scabbard on his right side he walked out of his room.

As he reached his solar he saw his sister waiting while reading a thick leather tome, and Valanar checking his provisions to see if he was carrying everything he might need… 'this guy is like a mother…' Kael couldn't help but chuckle.

"You took your time Kael, that was some long nap there… " Vaela gave her brother a sweet smile and a hug after closing her book and setting it aside for now. "I will miss you…" she said softly after giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

Valanar decided to fetch his Lord's armour and give the couple their own time, but he didn't make any effort to hide the teasing smile on his face, which made Vaela blush a little bit and made Kael retort "What? Jealous that I have a girl?" No way in hell Kael would let Valanar off with those teases, the man was unscrupulous! You give him an inch he takes a mile, people like that must be put in their place!

Valanar just avoided his gaze and coughed "I will bring your armour, my Lord, take your time…" he said while walking out of Kael's solar.

"Why do you pick on him so much?" asked Vaela once Valanar left.

"I don't know… I just feel that I can be myself around him, he is a good friend, a true friend… I don't have to be cunning; I don't have to plot or backstab… I can tease him and take his teasing." Replied Kael with a smile.

Vaela giggled "What about me? Do you need to be cunning and scheming with me?" she asked teasingly.

"Why of course! How else would I steal your heart without my crafty trickery!" he replied while kissing her soft plump lips. "I want to say that once everything is settled, we should get married… but honestly I am scared," he said with a wry expression.

"Why?" she asked cutely, actually confused.

"Every time someone says stuff like 'When I get back, we will do something' or 'When we meet again, we will talk about something' it ends badly, it's almost like a curse…" he could only chuckle 'damn red flags… and to make it worse this is Planetos, the flags here are not just red, they smell like blood…'

Vaela laughed out loud "Don't worry about it, we will settle things when we get there, my armour will be done by next moon, I followed your advice and requested a helmet that followed your specifications…"

Kael nodded and gave her a hug that lasted almost a full minute. After letting go of her soft embrace he walked towards an ornate chest on the corner of his solar, opened it and took out a beautiful sword that was an exact replica of Dragonheart, but the blade wasn't red, it was the regular Valyrian steel blade, even the sapphire dragon egg on the pummel was similar.

He then grabbed a scabbard that was also inside the chest and sheathed the blade before turning around and handing it to her. "I requested some of our blacksmiths to alter and reforge one of our old swords into this one, it's a replica of the Regallyon ancestral sword."

Vaela grabbed it and unsheathed a few inches of the blade, the steel was so shiny that she could see her perfect reflection almost as if it was a mirror, the Valyrian steel patterns didn't bother it at all.

"It's beautiful Kael… "She said while staring at him with tearful eyes "Thank you…" she whispered as she sheathed the blade and hugged the sword "Does it have a name?"

Kael stared at the frail yet determined girl in front of him and touched her cheek "Yes… I named it myself… it's called… Queen's Hand."

"Queen's Hand" she mumbled softly.

"My Lord" Valanar's voice came from the door, completely ruining the mood… 'fucking cunt…'

Behind Valanar came four more assistants that carried all the pieces of his armour. All of them helped their liege to equip the armor, the shoulders were the toughest part because it was attached to a somewhat heavy dragonhide cloak with a velvet red layer on the inside, the shoulders also had silvery dragon scales on the back, it was unique armour by all means.

[Picture here]

"Here my lord, as you requested," Said one of the servants while handing him a small dagger-like weapon, it was a sheathed small rondel dagger made of Valyrian steel, which Kael attached to his belt, on his back, hidden by the cape.

Valanar came afterward, kneeling in front of Kael and presenting him with Dragonheart, the red blade of Regallyon.

"…This is the most beautiful yet… dangerous… looking blade that I've seen…" said Kael while grabbing the handle and sheathing it inside the scaled scabbard attached to his belt.

"Because it is my Lord," said Valanar "It's red for a reason…"

Kael nodded but then mumbled words that no one but Vaela, who was by his side, heard "… for now…"

Kael then gave Vaela and Valanar one scroll each, saying right after "These are the instructions for when I am gone, Vaela I will be taking a glass candle that is exclusively linked to another candle inside the hidden room… make sure to keep it by your side at all times in case of an emergency, once your armour arrives and you and Valanar settle things in the Freehold, you will be flying to the North as well, Valanar you will be in charge of our lands in the Freehold while we are gone."

"My Lord!" exclaimed Valanar "I should be the one going North, the Lady…"

"Don't underestimate me Valanar" Replied Vaela with a solemn look on her pretty face "I am no frail woman; I am a fire sorcerer and a Dragonrider."

"She is right Valanar," said Kael "You are a strong swordsman, but she has the power of magic on her side, you can send two of our family's Dragonriders to escort her, I don't know how the situation outside the Freehold is."

Valanar nodded reluctantly.

Kael ordered his men to bring the huge leather bag with them as they walked down the stairs toward the yard.

There were no stars in the sky, it was a dark cloudy night "Ominous..." Kael muttered, but proceeded to the open area and shouted "NELTHARION!"

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAR

A loud roar echoed through the area as a massive crimson beast landed in front of Kael, no Dragonspeakers were needed anymore, ever since Kael tamed and properly bonded with the dragon it was like they could communicate telepathically, well not quite… but close.

After ordering his personnel to attach the bag to the back of the enhanced saddle, Kael walked to his sister, grabbed one of her hands gently and gave the back of her hand a gentle kiss, sadly he couldn't feel the softness of her skin anymore now that he was wearing gloves "We shall meet soon, My Lady" he said softly.

To which she replied "I shall await for it, My Lord" offering a gentle, loving smile.

Kael climbed the dragon and sat down comfortably on the saddle, he held the middle handle with his left hand and turned to his people, shouting "Oh and Valanar!" he said out loud "Don't burn down the house while I am gone!"

The Dragon gave a final roar before flapping his massive wings, soaring high in the skies and leaving the freehold behind.

As the Dragon disappeared in the night sky, Valanar turned to Vaela and said exasperatedly "Why can't he be nice?"

Vaela chuckled "Did you want a kiss on the back of your hand as well, Valanar?"

The poor sworn sword almost choked, before turning around muttering "… Even you… my Lady…" but then laughed. 'The late Lord would be so proud of them… to think the meek and studious Kaelarys turned into such a fine, scheming and strong-willed man after losing his memories…' he then looked at the moon, that could barely be seen "... a blessing in disguise…"

In the skies, taking advantage of the cover of the night, a massive beast was crossing Essos, following the shore while moving North. Without a compass, and without stars to guide their direction, the wisest decision would be to use the land.

'I need to figure out how to make compasses… we do have lodestones that are used in the mines to separate iron, nickel and cobalt from other materials… I might be able to craft a rudimentary one eventually… but I don't quite remember how to do it, who would've guessed that those high school lessons would become so useful!?'

"Alright buddy, we have a long trip ahead of us, it might take eight to twelve hours if we encounter no storms… can you handle it at full speed?"

Neltharion grunted and small wisps of green smoke came out of his snout.

"Good!" Kael held both side handles and leaned forward to stay as close to the dragon's body as possible "Naejot!" The dragon instantly exploded forward at extreme speed, turning the landscape below into a blurry mess.

It was already past dawn, the sky was cloudy and the land of Skagos was covered by an ever-present frosty fog, a small wooden fort was built by the beach, with many tents inside. At this moment the soldiers wearing black armor with red and silver tabards were defending themselves from an army.

It's been three days since the siege started, the houses that currently rule Skagos took notice of them after House Crowl just disappeared. The Magnar of Kingshouse and Stane of Driftwood joined hands to strike the wooden fort that they recently discovered through their scouts.

"Push Forward! We have five times their numbers!" Shouted a massive man with a scarred face, long ginger hair and a thick beard, his eyes were blue and he held a steel battle axe with both hands.

"My Lord, we already lost a thousand men since this siege started!" said one of his men in return, this one was also tall, strong and hairy, he wore pelts, furs and low-quality iron swords with Dragonglass daggers.

The battle axe man snorted and spat on the floor "Valyrian bastards! I knew it was a matter of time for them to expand to our lands! But it matters not, they are probably running low on food and water. It won't take long until they either decide to fight us head-on or escape!"

The group of five thousand men was currently trying to break through the wooden palisade that was raised by the soldiers, but they were having no luck. Every time they tried to come close, they would be pierced by spears, having no actual armor was their greatest weakness. The ground below was covered in a mixture of white snow and red blood.

'Those Valyrian bastards don't even seem to sleep, be it morning, afternoon or night… they are always on high alert…' the ginger man narrowed his eyes "They are not just some weak noble soldiers…"

It was then that the sky seemed to turn dark, as if a massive shadow was cast over the battlefield.