13 Reform

295 AC, a week later.

Aerion's pirate fleet neared Tyrosh. The Tyroshi, however, were not worried about a direct invasion as Tyrosh was a fortress-like city protected by high walls. The sellswords, merchants and nobles merely evacuated into its high walls beforehand, believing that the pirates would not be able to penetrate the walls. The archon left some of the residents outside... why? He could not care less about them as they were all slaves.

Along with that, they were to serve as a distraction for the pirates.

Aerion's forces post-battle had decreased to about a thousand, which he raised to eleven hundred within five days. Currently, his army consisted of five hundred undead and six hundred men as he looked towards conquering Tyrosh.

Jaime confronted Aerion an hour before they would reach the port of Tyrosh, catching Aerion's attention by grabbing his shoulder. "A small conversation, my prince?"

Aerion turned to face him. "Sure."

"In private."

Aerion nodded and walked down to the lower deck. Following that, he entered his quarters and Jaime closed the door. "I wonder what it is you wish to speak about."

"Truth be told, I have a slight distaste towards these pirates. They are outlaws who plunder the seas and nothing more... siding with them would only serve to tarnish your reputation."

"My reputation?" Aerion chuckled "There was nothing to tarnish in the first place. My very existence was all but forgotten outside of Dorne."

"Jaime, allow me to remind you... these pirates are nothing more than my stepping stones towards the greater goal of retaking the Iron Throne. Once Tyrosh is mine, their use will be fulfilled and they will be disbanded. Those that remain will be reformed into a proper army and my so-called reputation will be restored within time as I rule Tyrosh."

"That is good to hear." Jaime nodded. "But what if the Usurper decides to strike now that you are no longer in Dorne?"

"I dare him to try. I do admit that I would be a fool not to fear the Demon of the Trident in the field." Aerion stated.

"But the sea? The sea is my domain."

Jaime smiled. "As usual, I will protect you on the battlefield along with the other Kingsguard. I'm quite certain that this conquest will be successful on the first attempt."

As he was about to leave, Aerion sat down and spoke. "Come and sit with me. We still have much to discuss."

"And what may that be?"

"The Lord Commander of my Kingsguard is still uncertain as I saw no need in naming one. And... in truth, it was quite difficult to choose between you and Ser Arthur."

"Oh?" Jaime turned around and sat down. "Who will it be?"

Then, he smirked. "You would not choose Arthur over me, would you?"

"Of course not," Aerion replied. "I admire you more than Ser Arthur. Yes, he is the Sword of the Morning... but you risked everything to protect me. Your reputation, House and life were all at stake. For now, in the eyes of the Usurper's supporters, you have lost two because of me."

House Lannister has forsaken you and the rest call you Kingslayer... hmph, not for long.

"And I will return both to you. The day will come when you will be the golden lion of House Lannister once more. This, I promise."

"You are silver-tongued, my prince." Jaime chuckled. "I, however, do not need any more promises from you. I have already promised my sword to you until death, unlike these pirates you keep around. They only serve the gold you distribute."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. There are some who follow me because I am... well, who I am. Those who only care for gold and plunder will be weeded out after this siege."

"We will see how many remain."

"Indeed, we will."

Aerion nodded.

~

The archon looked at the ships from his tower in Tyrosh. "Fools... they will never breach the walls. Hahaha, they do not even have siege weapons!"

his advisor nodded. "Pirates are not the wisest bunch in the Narrow Sea. That is why they always fail at once point or another."

Unfortunately, they did not know the siege weapon that was prince Aerion Targaryen himself.

...

It was night and the emerald flames of the undead glowed like no other flame.

The first few ships docked with the port of Tyrosh as dozens of pirates and undead landed. The port itself was relatively empty of ships due to the navy's heavy losses and some merchants sailing away from the free city in fear.

Aerion grabbed his shield.

He stepped onto the port first and led the very first group of men into Tyrosh. The gate was closed off completely, leaving them with only a dozen or so buildings to scavage and a thousand old slaves to get in the way.

"Tch, what is there to plunder?" One pirate remarked as he looked towards the gate. "We do not have anything to break through that."

Aerion frowned as he looked onto the high walls.

Fsh... thunk!

Arrows descended onto the port, only a metre away from Aerion.

"We will have to storm the city," Aerion remarked before giving his command. "Ignore the slaves and lower-class residents, we will only plunder from the nobles who rule Tyrosh as they have the great majority of the gold. Am I understood?"

"Aye!"

"Good."

Aerion's left palm exploded with a powerful wave of wind which was sent towards the gate. It crashed into the gate, releasing a mighty howl and breaking through. Not only was the gate forced open, but it also no longer was recognisable as a gate. It was ruthlessly torn apart by the wind as if it were a lamb to a pack of wolves.

"Strike like thunder!"

Aerion's previous display had also torn through several slaves who stood in the way. Now, they had all scattered away from the gate in fear and left it wide open for the pirates to storm inside. Aerion raised his shield to protect himself from the arrows as he led the pirates into Tyrosh. The pirates were followed by the terrifying horde of undead. Unfortunately, a few pirates were lost in the first two volleys of arrows but they would certainly make up for it soon enough.

"They got in... the pirates have breached the gates!"

"Slay the archers on the walls!"

Aerion sent a large group of pirates to take the walls while he continued the charge through the city. A hesitant sellsword stood in his way but Aerion slashed through him with staggering speed. He fell onto the ground, the massive slash on his chest spilling blood like a fountain as Aerion walked past his body.

The remaining sellswords gathered in the city to face the pirate and undead threat. Aerion had an easy-going with his three Kingsguard around. They ensured that he would never be surrounded by multiple sellswords which was a great benefit. Along with that, their skill was greater than that of any sellsword so you could imagine that they killed quite a few. The pirates more or less looked out for themselves as they weren't quite bodyguards. They looked towards killing their own man, not protecting someone else.

Aerion's forces annihilated the remaining sellswords and stormed the centre of the city, where the Archon and most of the nobles resided.

"Bring out the nobles... but do not kill any one of them. Do not plunder either as I intend to occupy the city first."

He kicked open the Archon's hall where nearly half a hundred men sat. The man who held the title archon stood in the middle of the hall while the others stood to his side.

"What do you truly want, pirate King? I can give you all the gold you wish as long as you do not cause further harm. Perhaps we can get on better terms... no?"

Aerion looked to the side, at Jaime and chuckled slightly.

What kind of offer is that?

"Do you not see the state your city is in?" Jaime remarked. "This would have been a commendable effort before we stormed your walls. After... well, it is quite the jest."

Aerion nodded as that was exactly what he thought.

"I want the city, archon."

He looked back at the nobles and they seemed less hesitant than expected. The archon then nodded. "You may succeed me as the archon and rule the city if you do not cause further chaos. With that, you will also have to abandon your pirates and take a more honourable path."

Aerion frowned.

"Succeed you as the archon? I am the prince of the Seven Kingdoms... why in seven hells would I want to succeed you as the archon!?"

"I..."

"The archon is elected by the people beside you." Aerion laughed. "Aerion Targaryen, the Archon of Tyrosh... I find your offer quite insulting yet amusing at the same time."

"Do you not understand that at this very point it is I, Aerion Targaryen, who holds absolute power in Tyrosh? Does the Archon hold absolute power? No, he can be easily replaced when those who elected him decide to choose another. I can take everything that I desire from this city. Your life, gold, treasures, ships, the city... everything."

Aerion smiled.

"And so, I declare myself the Dragon Prince of Tyrosh!"

"My dear nobles... if you wish to live, bend the knee." Aerion walked closer and pierced the unarmed archon's chest with his blade. "Or join him."

The pirates from behind looked eagerly towards what would come of this event. They did not know of Aerion's grand plans but they would follow nevertheless. They viewed Aerion as the pirate king who would lead them to endless gold. However, that was not what he was.

"Kill those who stand."

"My pleasure!"

The majority of the nobles bent the knee and Aerion ordered the deaths of those who remained right after.

~

"Ehehehe. Fuck the pirate king and his commands! I'm going to make a fortune, unlike the other fools who follow his every command!"

A pirate captain rubbed his hands as he plundered one of the more luxurious houses with the assistance of his crew. They all were in a state of great joy until the doors to the house creaked open and a pair of emerald eyes looked towards them.

"Who was that?"

"One of the undead." A pirate replied.

It was not a mere undead skeleton. Those eyes belonged to one of the greater undead.

He walked inside, staring at the nearest pirate with his frightening emerald gaze.

Behind him stood a dozen flaming skeletons.

...

"Gahh..."

The entire room was covered in the blood of the pirates and their scattered corpses. The last one standing was the captain, whose neck was being choked with frightening strength.

"Our king's command is supreme."

The greater undead stated coldly before breaking his neck.

~

After briefly dealing with the nobles, Aerion gathered his pirate army at the port of Tyrosh which was an act they did not expect. They were at the port, where they had started, and without any loot to boot!

His undead stood behind the pirates, waiting for further commands.

"What is the meaning of this, my king?" Sallello Pahren inquired.

"It is time for reform!"

Aerion announced.

"No longer will I be a pirate and neither should my men. If you wish to be a part of this reform, you must abandon the thought of plunder and instead serve for a greater purpose. That purpose is to serve me in my path of conquest no matter the amount of gold you gain, whether the number is none, few or great!"

"If you do not wish to be a part of this reform, then you may stand at the port. To those that are willing, come into Tyrosh."

Aerion waited for the pirates to decide. After a few minutes, the lines had been clearly drawn. Out of the remaining four hundred, three hundred decided to remain as pirates while the rest stood with him. The promise of few or no gold at all was highly distasteful for them.

Sallello Pahren smiled. "As you can see, the majority of your forces favours gold, ruler of Tyrosh."

"Now, where is the plunder that was promised? We have nothing yet."

"You are no longer my men." Aerion chuckled. "What I asked of was absolute loyalty... and you failed to provide, Sallello. You and the pirates who stand beside you are no more than common outlaws who will only cause troubles for me in the future..."

Aerion's cold violet eyes looked down on the middle-aged pirate captain.

"And so, you will die."

Aerion turned around and the undead charged the pirates who remained at the port from behind.