Dragon Of The Field

Aerion's Kingsguard seemed as lively as ever, if not more. Ser Barristan and Oswell no longer bore the appearance of elderly men, looking to be around their middle to late twenty's. Complete Rebirth brought out the physical peak from a person so this effect was to be expected, although it was still quite strange to see his Kingsguard look so young. In the end, Aerion was glad to know that his Kingsguard were pleased with their new-found strength. They could now display their brilliance to the greatest degree possible and be his most formidable guards once more... as they had been before the Soul Knights.

The matter regarding who would attain the Blessing was difficult to decide for Aerion. After some pondering, he reduced the number of potential candidates to two; Ser Arthur and Ser Barristan. It was quite difficult... extremely difficult to choose from those two. However, it was very likely that he would stumble upon quite a number of these fragments after several more trials. The system had said so beforehand, after all.

Aerion believed that whichever he chose, the other would only have to wait slightly longer to receive the blessing. He showed some favouritism to Ser Arthur, who had stood by his side since the Tower of Joy and taught him many lessons in the art of duelling, among other things, throughout the years. Ser Arthur was the gleaming golden standard of what a knight should be in Aerion's opinion.

And so, he was to be granted the Blessing of the Lord. Beforehand, however, Aerion asked if Ser Arthur was willing to use the dark art of Necromancy in his name.

"If it serves you and the good of the realm, I will not hesitate."

"That is good enough for me." Aerion nodded.

Ser Arthur bent the knee to his Emperor while Aerion casted the mighty spell. After the star-like fragment was absorbed by emerald flames, the now black-emerald flames engulfed Arthur and burned into him. This process was quite painful... as suggested by the knight's sounds of agony. This process lasted a whole minute before the flames waned and scattered into the air.

From the ritual emerged Ser Arthur Dayne. His emerald eyes did not glow like most of the undead... no, they were more life-like. Not only that but his pupil was also more visible than the other Soul Knights. Although a normal person wouldn't see the difference without looking closely, it was there. It was as if the colour emerald had become his natural eye colour.

"Now you may rise... as a Lord of the Undead, Ser Arthur."

~

After the destruction of Oros, it was only a matter of days before the news would reach the rest of the Valyrian Freehold. Those who had escaped the wrath of the undead led by Helia routed to the Fourteen Flames and the city of Tyria. Once the dragonlords in those regions were informed, they flew to Valyria atop their dragons at great speeds.

It was then that the dragonlords united their strength and forces to destroy this magical threat before it could cause more damage to the Freehold. The destruction of Oros had enraged quite a few of them and was a clear act of war so the proud dragonlords sought vengeance. It became known that a few dragonlords had already fallen to this threat which made even the most arrogant dragonlords take this seriously (that and the loss of a city so close to home).

If 3 dragons could conquer the Seven Kingdoms... then what could hundreds of dragons accomplish?

United, all forty dragonlord families could shake the world.

As the Valyrian Freehold prepared to crush Aerion by gathering every dragonlord available, he sent a message to Valyria. It was an arrogant and humiliating letter denouncing the weakness of the Valyrian Freehold and stating that he was waiting for the dragonlords to bite back with their broken teeth in the ruins of Oros. This letter produced the desired result, with the furious dragonlords flying to Oros with their armies marching on the ground.

While they did this, Aerion took his valuables and strongest warriors atop all nineteen dragons and fley deep into the sky. He then flew wide left of Oros to avoid the dragonlords who were likely to take the route straight towards Oros from Valyria. He had left a formidable force of five-hundred flaming skeletons and ten Soul Knights led by a 'willing' Helia and Soul King to keep the attacking dragonlords pre-occupied in Oros. Of course, with the absurd number of corpses at their disposal, the two Necromancers were able to strengthen their defences further with more undead.

This strategy worked out perfectly... to Aerion's favour. So perfectly that it was strange, in truth.

While the forces of the Valyrian Freehold fought against the formidable Helia and Soul King, Aerion was razing other lands and growing his undead army (and inventory of souls). With the Soul King's Gauntlets in hand, he absorbed countless souls and created over forty Soul Knights while his vanguard of greater undead dragons burned through several towns. Once his undead force had grown to a sizeable amount, Aerion returned to Oros to crush whatever remained two days after he had left.

~

The ruins of Oros had turned into an even larger graveyard as the number of corpses piled up. Facing the combined strength of both Grandmasters, the dragonlords did suffer devastating losses. So did the Grandmasters... in fact, they had paid with their lives once a certain individual descended. It seemed as if victory was possible for them until he had arrived.

Monstrous demons forged from fire, flesh and blood emerged within Oros followed by the descent of a most terrifying crimson three-headed dragon. With its three breaths of fire, Helia's and the Soul King's resurrected dragons were completely incinerated. Then it turned its heads to the forces below and glared down with malicious intent.

The dragonlord seated atop the middlemost head was quite intrigued by the magic that he had witnessed so they were not killed immediately. Instead, he wished to take them captive for a few experiments.

Although they resisted, the dragonlord's servants started to make short work of their defiance.

"Is that thing real?" Viserys was bewildered as he looked upon the dragon that could easily dwarf every other dragon in size.

"It seems so."

I have seen so many absurd things in my life... it's quite difficult to be surprised anymore.

Aerion, looking from afar with his Myrish spyglass, was not too fond of the thought of having to face such a dragon. Even if its breath could not harm him, it could very easily kill him via several other means.

There was no doubt that the person riding that dragon was related to the Tome of Hematomancy in some way, if not the wielder of it. To have it so close... the thought of taking it now by any means necessary was almost irresistible.

He looked at his force of twenty-five greater undead dragons and almost a hundred Soul Knights. Then, with great reluctance, he realised that it would be best to grow his magic for a good amount of time rather than strike now. However... before leaving, he would take the two souls that were important to him. Not important as people but as weapons, of course.

Aerion focused on Helia and the Soul King, aiming to retrieve their souls. Although the distance between them was far, he made up for it by exhausting a greater amount of magic vitality.

"What's this?" The Grandmaster of Hematomancy frowned as he watched the vessels of Helia and the Soul King break apart and burst into emerald flames which soared into the sky.

"To think that such a formidable opponent would emerge while I was at my weakest..." The Soul King sighed in his ghastly soul form. "I'm afraid that retreat is the only option."

"That was precisely what I had in mind." Aerion nodded and turned to Helia. "It is as you said, one of the dragonlords has the Tome of Hematomancy in hand."

"It was very wise of you to leave us as bait to see whether or not he would emerge," Helia spoke with a tone of sarcasm.

"Indeed, it was." Aerion chuckled. "I avoided possible death while witnessing Hematomancy in action."

"The dragonlord holding the Tome of Hematomancy isn't quite as formidable as I thought," Helia remarked. "If you really tried, defeating him is not out of the question."

"Oh?"

"Most of his strength comes from the tome, which he uses to create creatures from the blood and flesh around him. While the dragonlord holding it is likely to possess greater physical abilities than the living, he is most certainly inferior to our stronger undead. His magic, too, is inferior to our own. In fact, without the tome, he seems to be insignificant."

"Is this opinion or fact?" Aerion frowned. "I will not stake my life on 'likely' and 'seems'."

"As your undead, lying to you isn't an option. This was my observation... take it as you will."

"How much magic vitality do you two have left?"

"Around a fifth." The Soul King replied.

"Ten-percent... at best," Helia added.

"We retreat, for now." Aerion grabbed their souls and returned them to himself.

Immediately after, his force turned around and flew away from the outskirts of Oros. But... the dragonlord had other plans. His massive three-headed scarlet dragon ran across the ruins of Oros, crushing all the buildings beneath, and gathered enough force to fly in the air once more before giving chase.

"The three-headed dragon is coming after us at great speeds," Viserys stated. "It will not be long before it will catch onto us."

"I can see that this particular dragonlord isn't too fond of living."

Aerion turned to the monstrous crimson dragon and channelled his Aeromancy. Once they were away from the flesh haven that was Oros, Aerion formed a Hurricane that would put the one against the Dothraki to shame. And where did he form this weapon of destruction? At the very face of the dragon.

BOOM.

The surrounding lands rumbled as the hurricane began to tear apart the three-headed dragon cut by cut, piece by piece. Although the dragon wasn't entirely torn apart after several minutes, it suffered great wounds and was forced to land onto the ground as a result.

It looked quite strong... but my winds were ever stronger.

Aerion turned his dragons around and flew towards the broken three-headed dragon to see what remained. As he neared, the entire three-headed dragon turned into a vast pool of blood. It was not long before this pool of blood began to form smaller creatures, similar to the demons he had seen in Oros before.

All of the dragons descended onto the field under Aerion's command, leading to the Soul Knights dismounting a good distance away from the blood demons.

"This is no fight for you." Aerion reminded Jaime as he attempted to join in. "Stay mounted on Cerraxes with Viserys and fly further away."

"I am your Kingsgu-"

"That is an order and you will follow it." Aerion coldly interrupted Jaime's protest.

"... As you wish, my Emperor." Jaime remained on the dragon Cerraxes.

Aerion and his Soul Knights marched towards the blood demons, supported by twenty-four dragons in the sky. As he neared, it became clear that the dragonlord had survived due to a strange barrier emitted from the tome in his left hand. The Tome of Hematomancy... Aerion felt its presence and the system reassured him that it was true.

Eventually, both forces met face-to-face but did not charge... not yet.

"This power of yours will soon be mine, dragonlord."

Aerion looked down on the dragonlord while he rested the Tyrant's Blade on his left shoulder.

"I find your magic quite impressive, much like those other two. It is unfortunate that, despite bearing valyrian features, you stand against the Valyrian Freehold. Such an act of defiance only has one punishment... and that is death!"

"If so, why did you not slay my two servants from before?" Aerion wondered.

"I thought that I could control them with time... but, alas, it seems that you were the one to stand in my way."

Who does he think he is?

"Control my servants?" Aerion spoke in a mocking tone. "You overestimate yourself, dragonlord."

"I have practised the ways of blood magic to a far greater degree than every other dragonlord-"

"That is the merit of the book in your hands." Aerion shook his head. "Put it away and I will show you the difference between us as mages."

"That is precisely what you want, isn't it? Hmph, only a fool would follow through with that offer."

"Do not be afraid to speak of the truth... the truth that you fear me. This fear manifests the cowardice out of you, dragonlord."

"I would rather be known as a coward than a fool." The dragonlord replied.

"Hmph... you have no pride, no confidence, no bravery and no strength. I have slain hundreds of warriors greater than you." Aerion's violet gaze focused on the dragonlord. "If you are no fool, then you would use this moment of peace to submit to my will."

"Submit to you? I would sooner die... go on, my servants, crush this overconfident mage and show him the error of his ways!"

"So be it."

Aerion lifted the Tyrant's Blade off his shoulder and pointed it towards the dragonlord with a single hand.

"Burn them all!"

The runes on the Tyrant's Blade shined emerald as Aerion's scarlet flames engulfed it. The Soul Knights released their flames and charged onwards, led by no one but their Lord. A thunderous war-cry rumbled as the Soul Knights advanced onto the blood demons.

"FOR THE EMPEROR!"

Aerion wasted no time reaching the retreating dragonlord, cutting through every blood demon in his path with blinding speed. With the flaming Tyrant's Blade in hand, he was the Warrior among men even more than before... as a matter of fact, even the creatures blocking his path stood no chance. With every slain blood demon, a flaming skeleton rose and the amount of blood in the dragonlord's possession decreased.

With his three Kingsguard and Soul Knights protecting him, he didn't have to worry about his back or sides... only what was in front of him.

As the dragonlord turned to see Aerion swiftly approaching with a set of determined yet terrifying eyes, he opened the tome in his hands and forced the remaining blood demons to form a larger beast. The tome followed his demands, doing exactly that. A blood dragon began to farm, one with flesh... much like the last. However, this one was clearly going to be smaller than the last.

Aerion channelled Aeromancy to throw himself into the air and onto the dragon that was close to forming. The Tyrant's Blade then immediately burst with the last of his magic vitality as he aimed for the dragon's neck.

"BEGONE!"

BOOOOM.

Aerion cut through the dragon's neck, causing the forming blood to combust in his flames and scatter back onto the field.

"Impossible..."

The dragonlord hesitated in fear as he witnessed Aerion stand in the lifeless pool of blood. Then, he composed himself and willed for the blood to enter Aerion's body and destroy him from the inside. But... the tome did not answer his wills as the blood remained lifeless.

"No... no..."

Aerion turned to face the dragonlord, walking towards him slowly at first... before accelerating to a thunderous dash within a moment. With every step, the dragonlord's heart beat faster as his death was approaching. Then, once Aerion suddenly began sprinting, the dragonlord fell to the ground in fear.

Within seconds, Aerion closed the distance and aimed the Tyrant's Blade towards the dragonlord's heart.

As the blade neared his heart, it was stopped by an invisible barrier.

The dragonlord smirked as he embraced the tome of Hematomancy as if it was his own son. "I never had my doubts... I knew it! You wouldn't let me fall to that brute, now would you? Now... pretty please, for your master, finish this bastard!"

Aerion clenched the Tyrant's Blade twice as tightly as before, his rage growing immensely as he looked upon the care-free expression of the dragonlord. He would not tolerate such mockery... not from any person... and especially not from a man who relied on a book to protect him.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Slash, after slash, Aerion began to strike the barrier with all his strength, fury and remaining magic all fused into one.

"Your efforts are futile... quickly now, finish him!"

Are they now!?

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Every strike was like thunder, crashing against the barrier.

Aerion continued to tirelessly smash his greatsword against the barrier while the dragonlord remained confident in the tome's abilities.

Then...

Crack... crack...

Cracks began to emerge within his invisible barrier.

The dragonlord laughed as he feigned confidence. "You see now? No matter how hard you try, your sword and magic cannot penetrate the tome's barrier! You may be a far greater warrior and mage than I, but I have a shield that you cannot break defending me! What use is any of that now!? Yes, in front of this barrier, you are no more significant than a common slave!"

Crack... crack... crack!

PIERCE!

Aerion's greatsword shattered the barrier completely and pierced through the dragonlord's mouth. Then he slashed to the right side, cutting open his mouth. Aerion grabbed him by the neck and raised the poor victim onto his shivering feet. Afterwards, he stabbed the Tyrant's Blade onto the ground and drew his knife.

Aerion brutally cut apart the dragonlord's eyes with his knife following that. Then his nose, then his ears... then his fingers... Aerion continued to ruthlessly cut apart the dragonlord, piece by piece. He used a slither of Light Magic to keep the dragonlord living until the very end. Then, once his knife was no longer useful, he withdrew the Tyrant's Blade from the ground and cut off the dragonlord's limbs, starting from the legs to the arms.

Then he cut off the dragonlord's head and kicked it across the bloody field.

Only after that, was his burst of rage satisfied.

"Humph... humph..."

Aerion leaned against the Tyrant's Blade, breathing rather heavily. He was completely exhausted... physically, in terms of magic vitality and even mentally... to a degree. Once his burst of rage began to diminish, even he could not believe the brutality that he had used against the dragonlord. It was surprising... but he wasn't very concerned. After all, the dragonlord had earned it with his mockery from before.

Once Aerion's violet eyes turned to the tome of Hematomancy, the words on its cover began to glow a luscious and inviting crimson.

"The Ancient Tome of Hematomancy."