Chapter 31
The battle between King Rhaegar and Daemon Blackfyre would mark the end of the Blackfyre rebellion. The battle of Grey Gallows would be the last major battle of the rebellion and would mark the end of the year-long campaign that had begun with the death of King Aerys Targaryen.
Many historians believe that the Blackfyre rebellion was a result of King Aerys's actions when he sent assassins after Daemon and Saera Blackfyre, the last two Blackfyres that had taken refuge across the Narrow Sea. And while many historians accept such a position, the truth is that even today, we have no evidence that King Aerys even sent those assassins.
On the other hand, we do know about the greedy and ambitious nature of the Cheesemongrer, Magister Illyrio Mopatis.
A minority of historians believed that it was he who sent assassins after the two Blackfyre progeny, hoping to gain influence over them and later use them to fuel his ambitions. Who really sent those assains is a mystery that shall remain unanswered for years to come, and people shall continue to debate over it.
The end of the war, however, was rather tragic. King Rhaegar, injured from his Dragon's fall, faced Daemon Targaryen in single combat and bested the man, ending the war. The Royal Army would triumph over the rebellion forces who would lose their morale after seeing their commander fall and would collapse instantly.
And so, with the battle concluded, the King would make a round of the enemy encampments and, in the largest tent, find the dead body of a woman, cradling a small child in her arms.
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RHAEGAR TARGARYEN
Dust covered half the battlefield obscuring his view, as he fell to the ground. Rhaegal's feral roar sent a shiver through him as his vision blackened momentarily, and his tail whipped right above him as he continued to roar in agony. The sound of a horn continued to rippled through the air, making Rhaegal feral before suddenly the sound stopped.
"Roarrr!" Rhaegal roared as the sound lessened, and opened its maw and let out a firestorm, before it opened its wings and began flapping them, making the dust rise up as it took to the skies.
"Rhaegal! Umbagon!" yet his dragon paid his words no heed, as Rhaegar struggled to his feet, as sound of men screaming filled the air.
"Naejot nyke!" yet no effect as Rhaegar saw its feet lift off the ground as it began to fly away, leaving him, there.
"Rhaegar Targaryen!" he heard his name getting called out, and turned towards the source and found a man staring at him. Clad in Black armor with the sigil of his House forged into it, his helmet was off and showed Rhaegar his face, the face of the man who was behind this whole rebellion.
"Blackfyre! You and I both know that you have lost. Surrender, and I shall give you an easy death!" Rhaegar said through gritted teeth as pain seared through his leg, and the man nodded.
"No, I would rather die than bow to someone like you," said the man as he took out his sword, a blade of Valyrian Steel, and Rhaegar did the same as he began to slowly approach him. His pace increasing with each step.
Rhaegar took out his own sword and ground his feet into the sand as he got ready to face the instigator of this rebellion.
"AGHHH!" Blackfyre charged at him, his sword coming down for his head. Rhaegar grit his teeth and parried the strike. Metal struck against metal, and the dance of death began. Our movements were a blur, with each of us aiming to end this whole war with one strike of our blades.
Rhaegar gritted through the pain as he used all his experience to parry his strikes and watched as Daemon became more and more desperate. The world around him became a blur, as he continued to defend against Daemon's onslaught.
In the end, he struck. Feigning weakness around his injured leg, Rhae set the bait, which Blackfyre took. He swung his sword at an awkward angle, giving him enough time to duck and plunge his blade into the man's thing.
"AGHHH!" Daemon screamed and lashed out with a wide swing of his sword, which Rhaegar barely dodged, the sword cutting a slice of his helmet, yet he didn't stop and pushed himself forward, tackling the man to the floor.
"GUMPH!" they both fell to the ground, their swords sent clattering as Rhaegar settled on top of him and clasped his hands around Daemon's neck.
"AGHHHHH!" He screamed as Daemon struggled under his weight. He struck him in the ribs, in the chest, in the side. Yet Rhaegar bore the pain and watched as his face became flushed as he struggled to breathe.
"No…you….fr…." he tried to mouth, yet Rhaeagar was not listening and simply watched as the life was drained from those amethyst eyes, right infront of him. He struggled a lot, in the end, yet in the end, his body became lifeless, as Rhaegar finally took a deep breath and fell to the side, heaving as he took off his helmet and gulped down a mouthful of air.
Blood dripped from his head and reached his eyes, dying his vision red, as he heard men surround him.
"Your grace1 King Rhaegar!" he heard them call, and saw as men of the army surrounded him, brandishing their swords, as someone clad in golden armor reached for him and helped him sit up.
"Are you fine, your grace!" Jamie questioned, and Rhaegar nodded as Jamie helped him to his feet.
"Yes, I am fine," he said as he looked towards the lifeless form of Daemon Blackfyre right by his side, and walked towards it, picking up the sword. He cleaved his head right off it with a single strike, before he picked it up and raised it as high as he could as he shouted.
"DAEMON BLACKFYRE IS DEAD!" he shouted and saw the men of the golden company halt at his words as they saw him raise the head of their leader.
"YOUR CAUSE IS LOST! SURRENDER, AND I SHALL SHOW YOU MERCY! OTHERWISE, THIS ISLAND SHALL BECOME THE GRAVE FOR ALL OF YOU!" he shouted and saw the men shift nervously as they began to look at each other before suddenly swords began to hit the floor, as men of the company began to run, leaving their weapons as they left the battlefield.
The Battle was won. The Rebellion was over!
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JAMIE LANNISTER
Jamie Lannister watched as the Royal army rounded up what was left of the rebellion forces. After the death of Daemon Blackfyre, the rebellion forces had collapsed very quickly. The Royal army now rounded up what was left of the rebellion forces, as the healer tended to King Rhaegar behind him.
Besides Rhaegar stood Ser Arthur Dayne, as the King's dragon flew around the island.
"It's finally over. We have received a missive from Lord Tarly that all those who escaped on the ships, have been apprehended by Lord Tarly and his forces. All the commanders of the Golden company have been captured," the captain of the Kingsguard informed them, and he saw Rhaegar sigh in relief at this news.
"Good. That is good," said the King, as he saw two men from the army walk towards the King.
"Your grace, you need to see this," and he saw Rhaegar frown as he stood up as he and Arthur made to follow him. The men led them through the Blackfyre encampments before they came to a halt near the main camp.
The two men stood to the side and made way for King Rhaegar and them. They stepped into the tent and stilled as they saw the scene inside the tent.
"No, it cannot be," Arthur mouthed as Jamie looked away and they saw the floor was wet with blood as. There on the chair sat the unconscious form of a woman clad in fine silks. Her hair was smooth silver blonde, just like the King's, and in her arms was a child.
King Rhaegar was the first to step forward as he slowly moved towards the woman. And suddenly, as if sensing their presence, the child began to wail.
"AWWWWWW!" the tent was filled with the cries of the child, and they were all startled by the cries of the child.
"It's alive. It's alive!" he gasped and saw the King nod as he shouted at the two army men.
"Go and get a septa!" the men rushed away as the King walked towards the table and picked up a piece of parchment placed there.
"She is Saera Blackfyre, Daemon Blackfyre's sister, the wife of the magister," the King spoke, and he frowned as he looked towards Ser Arthur Dayne. Magister?
"Illyrio Mopatis, he was a magister in Pentosh. We believe that he had a major role in the organizing of this rebellion," the commander of the Kingsgaurd informed him, and Jamie nodded.
Two septas then suddenly entered the tent, huffing as they bowed towards the King.
"You called for us your grace," and the King nodded and pointed towards the child.
"Take the child and nurse for him. Do not let it out of your sight. The two men outside will be with you at all times," the King ordered, and the Septas were quick to bow. And Jamie didn't miss how their faces paled as they saw the state of the dead woman.
They hesitantly reached for the crying child and moved out of the tent as the King continued to read through the piece of parchment with a frown.
"What is it?" Arthur Dayne questioned King Rhaegar.
"You became a Kingsguard quite early in my father's reign, didn't you, Arthur?" the King questioned, and Ser Arthur nodded.
"Yes," he answered and saw the King frown.
"Did my father send any assassins after the Blackfyres," the King suddenly questioned as the whole room stilled at those words? He saw Sir Arthur frown and slowly shook his head.
"No, not from what I could recall. And if he had done anything like this, wouldn't he have told you as well, your grace," he saw the King nod as he folded the piece of parchment and placed it in his pocket.
"According to her, she believes my father sent assassins after her and her brother, robbing them of their childhood, forcing them into slavery, yet he never mentioned it to me ever," the King said with a frown.
"There is only one person who can answer this," and at this, the King looked towards him, making him frown.
"My father?" he guessed, and the King nodded.
"Yes, Lord Tywin was part of the council after the First uprising. If anyone is to know anything about this, then it would be him." The King said, and Jamie nodded.
"I will have him come to the capital," he said, and the King nodded.
"What about the child?" the leader of the white cloaks questioned from the side, and he saw the King frown as he chewed his lips.
"I don't know. I will have to talk about it with the rest of the family, but I don't feel comfortable condemning a child to the sins of his parents," said the King, and Arthur nodded.
"But you do know what that child represents, your grace," and he saw the King chew his lips as he nodded.
"I do,"
"Then end it. I know that this is not the most honorable thing, but that one child could one day grow up and become the corner point of another rebellion. We cannot take a chance on this," Jamie pleaded and saw the King shake his head.
"Not right now, Ser Jamie. We have spilled enough blood today. We will talk about this later," have the men rounded up, and have them chained.
"The war is over! It is time that the realm sees peace again!"
0000
On the other side of the world, across the Wall in the castle of Hardhome, a man sat on one of the towers his eyes white as milk as he sat there shaking as a crow ventured the skies of the true North, and as it flew across the skies the bird quivered as it saw the storm of blue assembling in the lands beyond the Wall.
The man sitting on the tower shook as his irises regained their color before he shot to his feet and rushed inside the castle, running towards the main solar. And then, without a knock, he would enter the room and shout.
"They are on the move!"
0000
The Last Blackfyre rebellion would end with the death of Daemon Blackfyre and Saera Blackfyre on the island of Grey Gallows. And many consider this to be the end of the lineage of the Black Dragon, yet that is not the truth.
While it is often thought that Haegon Blackfyre, the son of Saera Blackfyre, was found dead by the victorious forces of the Targaryen empire, we would later learn through the diaries of Lady Daenys Targaryen that the babe was, in truth, alive after the war, and was claimed dead to discourage the enemies of the Royal family from searching for him.
Many believe that this boy was the silver-haired apprentice of Tyrion Lannister, Saerys, who would go on to become a rather prominent figure in the religious wars that would happen in the later part of the year 450 AC. History books fail to provide information about the man's wife and children. However, House Greyhelm, ennobled by King Rhaegar III in 512 AC, claims to be descendants of Saerys the Godless.
Many would believe that the Blackfyre rebellion would be the greatest battle of King Rhaegar's reign, yet years later, the realm would gear up for war once more, this time their enemy, an ancient evil whose victory would mean the end of mankind itself. An enemy whose eventual rise is said to have been the main reason behind Aegon's conquest through a prophecy aptly named the Song of Ice and Fire.
"From my blood come the prince that was promised, and his will be the song of ice and fire."
0000
Cue GOT opening!
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