27 The War of The Stepstones

[Corlys Velaryon POV]

I stared at the vast expanse of the Narrow Sea in front. How long has it been since I first arrived here? How many years have passed?

During this time, I have lost an eye... a son, and have not seen my wife and daughter. Clutching my fist, I glanced at the rising sun with hate. When will this end?

The Crown definitely does not care.

Tyland probably even relished the opportunity to seize my position as Master of Ships. A bitter sigh escaped my lips as I turned away from the sea.

*Shff...*

The soldiers are awake and getting ready for another round of war. However, all of them look dead, devoid of emotions, and unmotivated. Maybe... Craghas Drahar has already won this in a spiritual manner.

I bit my lips. No, I can not let the Triarchy succeed. I have sacrificed too much for this war and worked too hard to let it all go to waste.

All these years of sweat and grime will be for naught. I will return home with glory.

But.... how? The Crown had refused to send reinforcements, despite my pleas. Further begging, would be beneath me.

"Sir! Sir!" A soldier came running towards me from behind. "A ship just appeared out of nowhere." He pointed at where we were standing on the cliff overlooking the ocean. We looked down and saw a small boat approaching our location.

I rushed to the helm, it was a lone boat traveling the murky water lit by the rays of dawn.

As the fog lifted, more the sunlight peered across from behind the boat with an armada of ships behind.

Oh, shit.

"IT IS AN AMBUSH! RAISE THE MAST, NOCK THE ARROWS!!!"

I looked around but to no avail. Slow, all of them were slow. Some even froze in their steps staring into the distance praying to their gods, awaiting death.

*zzzzzzZZZZZOOOOOOMM!!!"

A shower of Ballista arrows went past, striking into the ship. It sank like a rock before crashing into the hull below. The crewmen fell over each other trying to escape while others ran back to the deck and continued to load.

A few splinters of wood had pieced through my nails but I was safe, nevertheless. Gritting my teeth, I looked forward.

"FIRE!!!!"

The bows fired non-stop as the enemy ships charged closer and closer. The Triach bastards were soon in view, all of them prepared swords and spears in their arms.

A rain of arrows charged across the sky as if birds of prey. My eyes widened instantly, the arrows were covered in flames as they threatened to land down on us, illuminating the sky.

"FIND FOR COVER!"

My men did not budge. They stood there, frozen stiff. What am I supposed to do if they don't move? With one hand holding the wheel, I grabbed a shield in my other and swung it above my head doing whatever little that was possible to hide from the arrows.

"GO! GO! MOVE!"

I slid from the wheel and towards my men, pushing them with all my might. Several stumbled onto the deck, while the rest ran toward the rear of the ship.

The screams of my men mixed with the roar of the fire as the flames tan across the woof until the entire ship was covered in a blaze of an inferno.

As if the instinct of an animal, I jumped off the stern and into the cold deep water of the Stepstones as I floated awake witnessing the destruction of my ship, eaten by fire.

*Splash*

With one last breath, I opened my eyes and closed them again, waiting for the end. It was relaxing, almost comforting. At this moment, I did not care about the Iron Throne nor about status or power.

*Splash*

A few gasps escaped my mouth as I used ny arms to climb onto the muddy shore. The once-blue sky was filled with smog as darkness covered every inch of it.

I coughed and spat up a layer of black bile. *Sppp...*

It hurt, I could taste blood inside my mouth. But I was alive, I was still breathing.

From my waist, I drew the Valryian Steel sword of my great house, 'Seascale'-

"AAAAAAAAAAAUGHHRTHHHHHH!!!!!!"

-and charged amid the dust to where my men were fighting the Triarchy.

The chaos was deafening. Waves of steel clashed against each other, hitting the ground in loud thuds. My eyes spotted the backs of several Myrish soldiers who were charging in my direction.

I raised my sword high and shouted, "For my HOUSE!!!! AND ALL THE DEAD MEN UNDER MY COMMAND! The OLD, the TRUE, the BRAVE!!!"

All of a sudden, my men rose from the ground as if they were trees; raising their swords to block the attack.

We blocked the attacks and retaliated with a barrage of our own.

"GRRRRRRRAARRRGHHHHHH!"

The clang of metal echoed within the valley. Our bodies crashed together in unison, hacking, and slashing, trying to knock the enemy off balance.

"OOOHH SHIT!"

An arrow pierced through my shoulder and hit the ground. I grunted and swung my sword to the side, cutting a Myrish soldier's arm. Blood gushed out as the soldier fell to his knees.

My vision blurred, but I refused to give up. My sword flashed in the air as I struck down a Triarchy soldier.

All I could focus on was the fight, the need to keep going no matter what. My body ached, my lungs burning for air but I was alive, and that was all that mattered for now.

I shoved a Triarch with all my strength as he tried to grab my leg, tripping me. As I landed on the ground, a soldier came at my head with his spear.

Before he could impale my face, I pushed him away and stabbed the bastard in the chest.

The black blade in my palm dripped with blood with every step I took, bathing in it ever so frequently. Still, it did nothing to dull its sharpness, it cut through everything in its way as a hot knife does to bread.

Another arrow flew past and directly into my back as I kicked a Triarchy soldier in the gut.

I found myself laughing as I felt my heart beating faster and faster. If this is where I die, let this be the last moment I enjoy.

In this battle, I had killed dozens of Triarchy soldiers, slicing and hacking their heads from their shoulders. Blood, guts, and viscera covered my hands, arms, and torso with a thick layer of gore.

I tried moving further however my knees fell to the ground, trembling every time I commanded them to move as so did my fingers, my arms, and everything else other than my face.

"Is this the end?" I could not help but murmur. Through the ashes and smoke, a lone figure walked through. It would be hard to not recognize him.

"Prince Drahar," I whispered, he was silent as he clutched my braids tight. He then pulled it with such force, that I felt my skull crack open under the pressure.

He smirked, "You're going to regret all of this soon enough Corlys Velaryon."

I groaned with pain as my brain was struggling to remember how to breathe. I looked around at the fallen bodies of my men, some lay dead while others lay motionless.

One, by one... he put a crab on my body as piece by piece they clawed into my skin however not a whimper escaped from my mouth... I could no longer feel my lower body.

The Crabfeeder nailed my body as he turned around to walk away. I could hear the sound of his steps, stumbling on the rocks.

I glanced to look at the smoky sky, it was dark, maybe nightfall, perhaps even morning. I wanted to see the sun rise again... and every day to come, I wanted to watch it kiss the ground... but I knew that was impossible.

In the end... life has no meaning.... we worry about material things, blood purity, bastards, and lust for what we do not possess often forgetting that they truly do not matter for we are but an ant in reality with lives oh so short.

I smiled at the thought of being insignificant, lifeless, knowing this was how my story would end.

However before the flame inside could dampen completely, the crabs on my body froze halfway, struggling to run away from it.

The sky was black but darker this time than ever before... I knew I was not dead because next what I felt and saw next from the little vision I had left remaining was extreme heat and an infernal violet flame with streaks of red in it.

The light grew stronger with each passing moment until it illuminate my entire vision.

The light slowly began to fade, only then did I realize something was missing. The crabs which had been stuck onto my body were gone.

As the last shreds of violet faded away into nothingness, I noticed from the corner of my eyes in astonishment, all the humans... be it my remaining men or the Triarchy soldiers... all of them had knelt in fear praying in a particular direction.

Following the angle, I saw an enormous big black-furred valyrian steel dragon, larger than the Black Dread itself. The wings of the dragon destroyed ships with a gust as it glided across the sea, controlling the waves below as a fiery burst of infernal violet blazed out of its mouth, razing everything below as a lone silver-haired rider sat atop.

At that moment, I realized, I was more alive than I ever had been.

~

Hey! It's been a while. My deepest apologies, I have forgotten formal medieval English in the past month so it may take a while for format to become that good again.

That aside... power stones?