Chapter 11: Setting the Stage

121 AC

"Join the Army, they said, see the world, they said, it will be an adventure, they said," Aegon grumbled as he shoveled up more dirt under the burning sun of Dorne. They were supposed to be soldiers yet here they were digging canals for farmers on the Greenblood. No doubt his uncle's sadistic idea for him.

"Oh, cheer up, this is our last week. We are on the verge of finishing our four-month training course," Jeff Smiles next to him replied as he shoveled up the dirt.

"Last week, not the last day," Edmund Tollet groused opposite him as he wiped his face.

"Better that it is our last week and not our first week," Halder Flowers remarked.

He was right it was the final week of his hell. For four months, he toiled in the deserts of Dorne to join the bloody Royal Army. All thanks to his blood Uncle and Grandfather.

For four months, Aegon had to endure marches that stretched him to his limit, the surprise forced marches in the desert were the worst. And after that drilling relentlessly in the desert under the blazing sun and in the chilly nights. He had to build camps, roads, bridges, and dig canals. Stone breaking and furnace stoking were his first jobs in the Army and after that, he had to clean latrines. Finally, for some reason, all city boys had to help during the harvest when the farmers needed extra hands.

He had to swim for his life on the Narrow Sea in waters infested with sharks. He had to sleep on hard beds, eat bland food, and drink the most watered-down beer, wine, and rum ever made. It was so watered down that Aegon wondered why they didn't just give them water.

Then an angel from the gods arrived, a little girl with two wineskins came toward them and chirped, "Hello, my mother said to give you these and to thank you for your help."

"Seven blessings on you and your family, girl, and give your mother our deepest thanks," Jeff gratefully said to her as he took the two wineskins and gave one to Aegon.

Aegon opened the wineskin and drank deeply of it, it was a true Dornish Red and not the watered-down shit that they got back at Fort Hell.

"Oi, that's enough Eggsy, we need to drink as well," Ben Storm remarked as he took the wineskin from his hands.

Eggsy, that was the name his uncle chose for him, Eggsy Waters from Dragonstone. The reason why a Dragonstone boy would go to Dorne to join the Royal Army instead of going to Dragonstone Castle to enlist was pretty much the same. His mother and grandfather sent him off to Dorne to live with his uncle who upon his arrival in Dorne promptly kicked him off to Fort Hell.

It seemed that for every recruit, they had to have their hair shorn off and it would be repeated every week. So his silver hair was never seen and even if people might have noticed his purple eyes or silver eyebrows, they assumed that he might be a dragonseed.

"What's your name girl?" Aegon asked the little girl who brought the wine. She would have been no more than eight.

"My name is Violet Smith," She cheerfully replied as Jeff returned an empty wineskin.

"Tell your mother, that we are grateful for her kindness," Dannel Dirk said to her as he returned the other wineskin.

Whenever they were stuck with building something or the other, the people living nearby would give them wine, water, and bread. Most of them were families of soldiers themselves which was one of the few reliefs from his miserable life.

The girl nodded and left. Almost immediately after she left, a coarse voice was heard, a voice that Aegon was long since accustomed to, "Are you ladies done chatting or will you get to work." It was the voice of their drill sergeant Luke Greysteel.

The grizzled old man was a squire who found delight in making their lives as miserable as possible to the point that most people chose to quit. There were a hundred and twenty-six men at the beginning of the four months of training. Now, there were fifty men left including Aegon and Aegon was a still boy in his eyes.

After they dug the canal the builders opened the end toward the Greenblood and the water began to flow through. It was near sundown and Sergeant Greysteel ordered everyone to form up for their march back to Fort Hell, a dreary place that lived up to its name. It was once called Lemonwood but now it was Fort Hell, the main training camp of the Royal Army for soldiers recruited from the Southern parts of Westeros.

As they formed up, Aegon put on his armor, unlike in King's Landing where the soldiers wore red brigandines with black pauldrons and greaves. Here in Dorne, the soldiers wore lamellar armor with mail. But the weapons were the same as for soldiers of King's Landing as were the long kite shields.

Every unit of men was broken down to ten men called a squad, in his squad with Aegon, he had Jeff 'Smiley' Smiles from Horn Hill, Edmund 'Goose' Tollet from the Vale, Halder 'Oxmaul' Flowers from Longtable, Ben 'Bean' Storm from Caron, and Dannel 'Hangman' Dirk from Cuy. The remaining four men including the squad leader dropped out of the training within three months for it was too difficult for them. Aegon would have dropped out on the first day as well if he had a choice.

Edmund Tollet became the next squad leader by being the oldest in the group though in reality nobody wanted to be the squad leader for it meant answering to Greysteel for every infraction from the rest of the squad.

Aegon thought about what he would do after the training course was completed. Uncle Maekar promised him that he would only be in the Royal Army for four months of training.

For most of the soldiers, they intended to settle in Tyrosh, there was enough and more land in the now Tyroshi-occupied part of the Disputed lands. Many of them hoped to be given a plot of land to live on after the twenty-year service was completed.

"SOLDIERS, SHOULDER ARMS," Sergeant Luke roared. At this point, Aegon knew all the commands by heart. His arm raised his spear before he knew it.

"FORWARD MARCH," The lines trudged forward. Five lines of ten men as they marched up the same road to the village that they had built.

"LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT," Sergeant Luke barked to maintain the marching rhythm.

As they marched on what could be their last march of training, Aegon thought back to the time when he first marched.

Flashback:

Aegon's legs were on the verge of falling off. He had been marching for eternity. He wanted his mother, he wanted to sleep, he wanted to stop and sleep right then and there on the sand though the fear of scorpions in the sand kept him from falling. He had been carrying nearly forty pounds of stones on his back. He wasn't even supposed to be here, the age of recruits was meant to be from six and ten to five and thirty, not boys who were barely four and ten.

It was after joining that Aegon was told that marchings were mandatory, twenty miles in six hours while forced marches were twenty-five miles in six hours. Aegon couldn't imagine walking that much much less fighting after that.

"ALRIGHT THEN MAGGOTS, THIS IS THE SPOT," The Torture master barked as they reached the middle of nowhere in the fucking desert.

Aegon almost immediately collapsed on the ground and he was not the only one, nearly everyone fell into exhaustion.

"OPEN YOUR BAGS MAGGOTS, I NEED TO SEE THE STONES," Greysteel barked and Aegon slowly brought himself up to his feet. Aegon was starting to loathe the man.

Aegon opened the bag, it was filled with stones painted red to ensure that no one would remove and replace the stones during the march. Greysteel passed by him, took one look inside his bag, and then left to inspect the next person without a word.

Once he was satisfied with everyone's bags, he called out, "MAGGOTS, ATTENTION."

Aegon mustered up his last drops of strength as he stood at attention, Greysteel continued, "MAGGOTS, YOU WILL NOW BUILD A CAMP, RIGHT HERE IN THE DESERT AND THEN TOMORROW AT FIRST LIGHT, WE WILL BREAK CAMP AND MARCH BACK TO FORT HELL."

Aegon turned his head to Greysteel as many began to murmur, standing next to him Jeff looked shocked, "Did he just say build a camp?"

"Better yet, how do we build a camp, and with what?" Edmund asked incredulously.

Greysteel continued his rant, "SILENCE, STEWARD HARROLD IS HERE WITH THE NECESSARY SUPPLIES AS IS BUILDER HALDON. WITH EACH SQUAD YOU WILL TAKE YOUR SPADES, AXES, AND SHOVELS AND GET TO WORK. THEY WILL TEACH YOU WHAT TO DO AND YOU WILL DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY TELL YOU. IF YOU FAIL TO UNDERSTAND YOUR ENTIRE SQUAD WILL BE PUNISHED."

Builder Haldon spoke after that, "FIRST, WE WILL SET THE PERIMETER FOR THE CAMP USING THE SAME STONES THAT YOU HAVE CARRIED, WE WILL BE DIGGING A DITCH AROUND THE CAMP AND THEN WE SHALL SET UP THE TENTS. THE LAYOUT OF THE TENTS WILL BE EXPLAINED. EACH SQUAD SHALL SHARE A TENT AND A LATRINE. THE JOB OF KEEPING THE LATRINE CLEAN IS UP TO THE SQUAD. DURING INSPECTIONS IF EVEN A SINGLE THING IS NOT UP TO STANDARDS, THEN THE PUNISHMENT IS FIVE HUNDRED PUSH-UPS FOR EACH MEMBER OF THAT SQUAD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND."

Aegon hated those wretched exercises they were made to do on the first day, push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. And then it was running fifty laps around Fort Hell.

"Hand out the equipment boys," Greysteel then commanded to the other soldiers who were marching with them. They had carried all the equipment on their backs and yet they weren't tired.

As they began to hand out the supplies and equipment for building the camp, it seemed that some of the noble-born members of the group couldn't handle the disgrace of working like this. Even Aegon couldn't have handled something like this but he knew what would happen if he made a scene.

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS, I DIDN'T JOIN THE ROYAL ARMY TO BECOME A FUCKING FOOT SOLDIER AND A BUILDER," One of them shouted, Aegon recognized him as Roger Crone.

Poor man, he should have known that it was better to be a nameless knight than a soldier in his uncle's army. Even in court, there were many reports that in the Royal Army, the notion of nobility was thrown away and everyone had to work their way up. Some decried it as an insult to all of the nobility of Westeros and requested his father to stop Uncle Maekar from engaging in such barbaric acts as if anyone could stop him. Others who passed the four-month training course called it a true test of manliness, strength, and endurance and mocked those who couldn't as weaklings and women.

For a moment nobody said a word as everyone looked at both Roger Crone and Greysteel. With a single flick of his hand, two soldiers came behind Roger Crone grabbed him, and brought him down. Aegon noticed that another three men were quickly setting up the whipping post. Aegon had a feeling that this was not the first time Greysteel had to deal with recalcitrant nobles.

They quickly set up to the post all the while Roger Crone tried to threaten them but upon seeing a soldier place a whip in Greysteel's open hand, he realized his mistake but it was too late.

"IT IS GOOD THAT YOU ARE ALL HERE TO SEE THIS FOOL'S PUNISHMENT, IN THE ROYAL ARMY YOU WILL FOLLOW ORDERS WITHOUT QUESTION, YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE A NOBLE-BORN OR BASEBORN, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE RICH OR IF YOU ARE POOR, YOU ALL START FROM THE SAME PLACE AND YOU WORK YOUR WAY UP. IN THE ROYAL ARMY A MAN GETS WHAT HE EARNS WHEN HE EARNS IT. NOT A MOMENT BEFORE OR AFTER."

Then proceeded the first ever flagellation that Aegon had ever seen, it was more brutal than words could have described it. Aegon lost count of how many were dealt but in the end, the skin on Roger Crone's back had been peeled off as rivers of blood dripped down to make the sand red.

Ever since that day, no man ever complained though many quit.

Aegon went to work digging the trench with his squad, it seemed that most of them were shaken by the act as well. Except for one on the other squad, Amaury Peake.

"The Master-at-arms in Starpike does the same, Ser Gareth Long," He revealed. "He would punish any boy severely for not meeting his standards

"Then why the fuck are you here?" Edmund asked back as they dug.

"Because my uncle has commanded me to join the Royal Army for the sake of my house. My great-uncle is a Captain in Tyrosh. He sent word about everything that makes up these four months and the months after. It is not meant for the faint-hearted." He answered.

Sure enough, after two months, Amaury quit after the incident at sea where he nearly died. Last Aegon heard about him, he had joined the Night's Watch in disgrace after being disowned by his family for his failure to finish training.

Present:

As they approached Fort Hell, Aegon saw the new batch of soldiers learning how to build and operate trebuchets while another was learning how to build siege towers and how to storm the battlements from the siege towers while others tried to scale the walls with rope.

Learning how to build and use the trebuchets and the ballista was easy, that week was a week of rest. As for siege towers and scaling walls, it was easier and safer to build the towers than to storm the battlements.

Drilling on how to stab and thrust was easy, and so was drilling on how to use a spear and a pike for Aegon already knew how to use them. Aegon was already trained beforehand so he was far better than most of the others while he managed to pick up on new skills.

Aegon saw another batch drilling on pike formations. Aegon thought back to the time when they were drilled on all the formations but it was learning how to operate the schiltron effectively to counter a cavalry charge that was one of the most memorable for Aegon.

Flashback:

"WHEN THE ENEMY HORSEMEN CHARGE AT YOU, YOU DO NOT RUN, YOU WILL STAND YOUR GROUND AND YOU WILL PLANT YOUR SPEARS AND PIKES INTO THE GROUND AND THRUST AT THEM," Greysteel commanded the entire batch. They were arranged in a square called a schiltron, the first line was shields and the next two were spears.

"THE CAVALRY CORP WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THIS EXERCISE, NEVER BEFORE HAS THE INFANTRY EVER LOST AND YOU MAGGOTS SURE AS HELL WON'T BE THE FIRST ONES TO LOSE, NOT UNDER MY WATCH, SO GET READY BECAUSE FROM ALL FOUR SIDES WILL THEY ATTACK AND YOU BETTER HOLD YOUR SHIT."

"WHEN YOU THRUST BACK, BE SURE TO SCREAM, THAT WILL SCARE OFF THE HORSES."

"THERE WILL BE ARCHERS AND CROSSBOWMEN INSIDE THE SCHILTRON DURING A REAL BATTLE, IT IS YOUR FUCKING JOB TO PROTECT THEM IF ANYONE DIES INSIDE THE SCHILTRON THEN IT IS A SHAME TO THAT ENTIRE SCHILTRON."

They held heavy wooden shields and long wooden spears, Aegon was on the second line. He looked at the other end to see at least fifty heavy horsemen ready to charge. And he realized that there were fifty horsemen on each side of the schiltron. Their faces were obscured by the metal face masks and they looked terrifying upon their horses.

As the horsemen began the trot towards them, Greysteel informed them, "DON'T FORGET, THEY HAVE LIVE STEEL, YOU DO NOT."

"What the fuck?" Aegon muttered in shock as the trot became a canter.

"We are going to die," Goose fearfully muttered as he gave a quick prayer.

"HOLD STEADY YA MAGGOTS," Greysteel encouraged them.

The canter became a gallop as the ground began to shake.

"HOLD."

The horsemen lowered their lances and the sunlight glinted off the metal.

"STEADY."

Aegon began to feel his heartbeat itself out of his chest as he felt the ground around him shake.

"NOW, SCREAM AND THRUST," Greysteel gave the order.

"HYAHH," They screamed as they trusted forth their wooden spears, and just like that the horses shied away from the spears before the horsemen could crash into them.

Present:

As they sat down for dinner at the mess hall, Hangman informed them, "Have you heard, tonight Greysteel is going to announce our postings for the specialized training."

Aegon merely nodded as he broke the bread and dipped it into the stew, the food in the barracks was never the rich food he ate at the Red Keep, just simple food meant to provide nourishment to the body. Though Aegon did hear that the officers ate quite well.

"I will get the Builders as a mason, no question about that," Oxmaul remarked as he poured beer for everyone. It wasn't surprising, he grew up in a stone quarry, and his father was a stone cutter. He had the build of an ox hence Greysteel called him Oxmaul.

"And I will get the archers as a huntsman perhaps," Bean said nodding his head. Bean was a natural with a longbow then again most people from the Marches tended to be good archers and Bean was no exception. Coming to Fort Hell, he had been long and lanky so Greysteel commented that he was as long and thin as a beanstalk.

"I have applied to be an artilleryman, hopefully, I will get that, it is safer." Goose said as he took another loaf.

Goose was from the Vale, a noble family called Tollet, he was a squire to a knight who was killed during a trial by combat over accusations of rape. After that, no one would take him as a squire to finish his training as a knight.

So he decided to join the Royal Army and he went to Gulltown, he took an RTC ticket for a ship to King's Landing but he missed the ship by sleeping in late. So a sympathetic RTC employee gave him a ticket to Cape Maekar on a ship headed for Volantis. The crew dropped him off in Cape Maekar with directions to Fort Hell. He was fat with a pot belly when he first came to Fort Hell which made Greysteel comment that he was fat as a goose. Though now he was as thin as everyone else.

Jeff Smiles then revealed, "I talked with the lieutenant in charge of the trumpeters, and he said I have been accepted to join." When Jeff came to Fort Hell, he didn't have a surname, so the recruiting sergeant gave him the surname Smiles. Greysteel found it hilarious and ridiculous and named him Smiley.

They congratulated Smiley for being the first to get a posting and a commission, Goose remarked to both him and Hangman, "I am assuming that the two of you will get the comfy positions of clerks eh, the two of you know how to read and write. I mean I know as well but you haven't applied for anything else."

"I have and I assuming that I will get it," Hangman replied. He came from a long line of executioners who have served House Cuy, he was the second son of the current executioner so he chose to join the Royal Army. Upon learning that he was the son of an executioner, he was given the name Hangman by Greysteel.

"And you, Little Boy?" Bean asked pouring the second round of beer. Little Boy was the name given to him by Greysteel, Aegon wasn't sure if that was better than Eggsy. Being the youngest and the smallest of the entire lot meant that he was naturally the little boy.

"I took the test for the cavalry a few days ago and I passed," Aegon revealed which was received with shock by the others, even by the ones from the other tables.

"How did you pass? Not even nobles pass the cavalry test, that too at first try," Goose asked with his eyes wide as plates.

"I am good with horses," Aegon simply replied. And it was true, he knew how to ride a horse and before coming to Fort Hell, he practiced jousting under Ser Criston's tutelage. He was also good at polo a sport that his uncle popularized amongst the nobility by starting it as a training exercise for the cavalry.

Flashback:

"Alright then, now Little Boy, you may be good at jousting a quintain and you may be good at polo. I am assuming that your father was a Master of Horse or something for some lord," Greysteel said to him as he prepared for the test. It was in the polo grounds.

"Grandfather, actually," Aegon pointed out as he put on the great helm. It was ill-fitting but he would have to make do with it.

"Don't care," Greysteel brushed it off, "What matters most as a horseman in the Royal Army is your stomach for killing. For you will be the one who will be flanking the enemy, the one who will deliver the final blow if a dragonrider is not there to finish the job. The one to cut down the running enemy which is why you need a stomach to kill them."

Greysteel pointed to a man who was tied up on a saddle atop a horse and three other men who were released into the polo grounds. They looked haggard and fearful but when they opened their mouths only animal sounds came out. They were bronze-skinned men but Aegon doubted whether they were Dornish or Westerosi.

"Here you go," Greysteel said giving him a proper war lance. "You will spear down the man atop the horse with this lance and then you will chase and cut down the other three. They will remain inside this enclosure do not worry feel free to use any weapon that you like, axe, mace, or sword, it's your choice. And yes, if you are wondering they cannot speak because their tongues have been removed."

"But why should I kill them? What have they done?" Aegon asked with confusion.

Greysteel chastised him, "What was the first thing I taught you Little Boy, It doesn't matter what they have done, they can be innocent people from the streets that we have picked up to die, they might be petty thieves, it doesn't matter, what matters is that I have ordered you to kill them and you will do that, no questions asked."

Aegon nodded and rode out into the field with a lance and a mace. He remembered what Bean had told him, captured slavers were used as live targets for practice during the archery tests, and the same could be true for the cavalry tests as well.

Aegon put on his helmet with the face mask and dug his spurs into his steed as the horse thundered toward the captive on the horse, he tried to run by urging his horse away with his legs but Aegon followed him and he drove the lance into the back of his head.

Aegon then took out his mace and turned around to see the three men desperately trying to escape the polo grounds only to be sent back in by the soldiers guarding the grounds.

Aegon once more dug in his spurs as he thundered down at the weeping captives.

Present:

As everyone gathered at the barracks to hear their postings, the mood was for the first time calm and jovial. They were past the main hurdle. Everyone was given a bunk bed, Aegon had Goose as his bunkmate above him.

"Alright then soldiers, gather around," Greysteel said as he entered the main barracks. That was another way of knowing that Greysteel respected them, he no longer called them maggots but soldiers.

"As you all very well know, there is a war that is about to begin, already begun in some cases as in Pentos, and make no mistake. You will all be fighting, Prince Maekar has activated all available units for combat which includes you lot. Don't forget what I have taught you, do not forget your basics and stick to it. You will never be sorry."

Greysteel was experienced in war, he was one of the first to join the Royal Army when Uncle Maekar established it for the War in the Stepstones before Aegon was born. After participating in the War for the Stepstones, he was a member of the army that occupied Tyrosh and after that the Conquest of Dorne. Even though he was still a sergeant, it was obvious that he was held in high regard by the officers and by the soldiers who passed out under his tutelage for good reason.

"Most of you might know where you will be posted as the results of your tests have been published but just so that there is no misunderstanding, I will be listing off all the postings once more," Greysteel said as he began to read of the list in his hand.

Aegon let his mind wander off to the gossip he heard about the Royal Court, his father had accepted Rhaenyra's marriage to Daemon and they had a son whom they also named Aegon, he doubted that his mother would be pleased with that. Last he heard, Daemon had raised an army from Crackclaw Point and the Crownlands and invaded Pentos.

The Prince of Pentos, Reggio Haratis was a friend of Daemon, he quickly surrendered and accepted to become a vassal of the Iron Throne just like Tyrosh. In exchange, Daemon slaughtered all the magisters of Pentos and their families just like what Uncle Maekar did in Tyrosh.

Aegon didn't blame the Prince for choosing to become a vassal of the Iron Throne for with any failed war or harvest, the magisters would cut his throat. So in a way, Reggio Haratis got a better deal, he could become an actual Prince of Pentos give the title to his children, and rule Pentos on his own instead of fearing for his life from the magisters.

And all he lost for it were the slaves whom he would hire back to work for him. As for Daemon, he was marching toward Myr while the army in Dorne, the Stepstones, and Tyrosh would march and sail toward Lys and Volantis.

Then as Greysteel came to their squad, Aegon paid more attention.

"Oxmaul, you go to the builders."

"Bean, you are off to the Archers."

"Goose, you got that artillery job that you wanted."

"Smiley, I hope your lungs are strong because you will now be a trumpeter."

"Hangman, will you become a Fatman with your cushy job as a fucking clerk."

"And of course, we have Little Boy, the first and youngest person ever to join the Cavalry Corp right after basic training directly."

As everyone in the barracks cheered for him, Greysteel approached him and whispered into his ear, "Come with me Eggsy, the Commander wants to meet you."

The Commander of Fort Hell was Ronnel Thread, a stern and fierce man who was like Greysteel a long-time veteran. Aegon wondered if he knew his real identity.

As he approached the Commander's office, he saw him standing outside, "Your Uncle is inside."

"Wait, you knew the whole time," Aegon asked with a puzzled look.

"Of course, we did," Greysteel revealed, "It's not every day that I get to go around barking orders at a Prince." Aegon was even more surprised upon learning that Greysteel was who he was all along.

Commander Thread then said, "We are your Uncle's men, first and foremost. He told us to treat you like any other fool who joins the army but if you ever try to bring up your rank then we can go ten times as hard on you."

Aegon snorted and asked, "That's my uncle alright, Who else knows about me?"

"The two of us and Quartermaster Cray," Commander Thread revealed. The top three main officers of Fort Hell knew who he was and pretended as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Aegon knew that his uncle's men were loyal as fuck but this was the first time that he saw that loyalty.

"Go on, he is waiting," Greysteel said pointing to the door.

Aegon opened the door and entered the Commander's solar which was for now his uncle's solar.

He was looking over a few maps when he turned around to see him enter. He smiled, "You passed the Cavalry test, impressive, Little Boy."

Aegon snorted, "You are the only one who is crazy enough to make living men targets for a test."

Uncle Maekar scoffed, "Don't tell me that you are shedding tears for those slavers."

"Of course not," Aegon shook his head.

Uncle Maekar then sat down and asked, "So what have you learned during your time here in Fort Hell, Little Boy."

Aegon replied, "In the Royal Army, a man gets what he earns when he earns it. Not one moment before and not one moment late."

Uncle Maekar nodded, "And why do you fight?"

Aegon thought about the little girl who gave him the wine and everybody else who gave some form of relief or the other to them while they worked, "We fight to protect our people. We fight to protect all the people of Westeros, be they Dornish or Northmen, Reacher to Ironborn. We fight for the Iron Throne that protects them all."

Aegon continued, "Regardless of birth, when we bleed we all bleed the same. It's not the circumstances of your birth, it is what you do with your life that matters more."

Uncle Maekar nodded got up and said, "Good, you have learned your lesson. I am proud of you."

Aegon felt tears in his eyes before he hugged Uncle Maekar.

"It's okay to cry though I would expect more from the person who survived a sinking on the Narrow Sea," He japed.

"Hey," Aegon remarked after withdrawing, "That day on the ship was pure torture nothing more."

Uncle Maekar countered, "And yet it is something that both Greysteel and Thread experienced at Bloodstone."

Aegon thought back to the time when he almost died at sea in the name of training to swim.

  Flashback:

    For the past two days, they had been learning to swim in the pool at Fort Hell. Aegon did not know how to swim before coming to Fort Hell but he quickly learned how to swim. He knew that swimming was a necessary skill when fighting at sea, especially if one's ship had been sunk but never in his wildest dreams would Aegon have ever imagined that he would undergo that.

"ALRIGHT THEN, RECRUITS, THIS IS THE TEST OF ALL TESTS. IT IS THE TEST THAT WILL SEE IF YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO BE IN THE ROYAL ARMY OR NOT." Greysteel roared as they sailed into the Narrow Sea.

"THIS SHIP THAT WE ARE ON IS A SLAVE SHIP, SLAVERS USE THIS SHIP WHILE HUNTING FOR ESCAPED SLAVES. THE ROYAL FLEET CAPTURED THIS SHIP AND IT IS NOW USED AS A RAMMING TARGET FOR PRACTICE FOR THE ROYAL FLEET."

For a moment it felt like Aegon misheard him and so too did the others, Amaury Peake asked "Wait did you just say ramming practice?"

Greysteel nodded, "AYE, RAMMING PRACTICE FOR THE ROYAL FLEET." He then pointed to a dromond bearing the Royal sigil that was sailing toward them. "SEE THAT DROMOND, THAT IS ONE OF THE NEWEST SHIPS IN OUR FLEET, KING AEGON'S POWER, TWO HUNDRED OARS ON THAT ONE AND IT IS COMING STRAIGHT AT US. IT PLANS ON RAMMING US."

For a moment nobody quite grasped what he said before Aegon blurted, "What the fuck?"

Greysteel looked at him and said,  "WHAT THE FUCK INDEED LITTLE BOY? BECAUSE ALL OF YOU WILL HAVE TO SURVIVE THIS RAMMING AND SWIM TO SAFETY."

He pointed west and said, " LAND IS THAT WAY. I WILL BE EXPECTING TO SEE YOU ALL AT DINNER TONIGHT."

All the while he was speaking, the actual sailors got off the ship and on the longboats before cutting off.

"IF YOU ARE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO WEAR ARMOR AT SEA THEN I SUGGEST THAT YOU TRY TO BOARD THE ENEMY SHIP AND DIE BY THE BLADE WITH SWORD IN HAND INSTEAD OF DROWNING BUT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ARMOR AS MOST OF YOU AT THIS MOMENT, I SUGGEST THAT YOU SWIM TO SAFETY."

"What the fuck will you do?" Aegon's squad leader a man named Eddie Longshanks asked.

Greysteel merely replied, "Me, I will be leaving abroad that ship." He said pointing to the dromond that was currently charging toward them.

"You are mad," Amaury Peake said aghast.

"You got that right, dumbass," Greysteel snorted before looking back at the dromond that was charging at them with no sign of slowing down.

"He is bluffing," A person in their batch remarked.

"Surely the oarsmen will stop before they smash into us, it must be an exercise for the oarsmen." Another said trying to convince themselves.

Greysteel merely shrugged, "Feel free to believe whatever you want but I suggest that you stay away from the area of contact, the wooden pointers are quite dangerous."

And then as they watched with bated breath the dromond didn't stop or slow down one bit before it crashed into their ship with such force that all of them were thrown off their feet. Those on the edge of the ship's railing were thrown overboard. Wooden splinters began to fly all over.

As Aegon brought himself up with the others he saw the madman Greysteel swing aboard the Dromond before shouting at them, "I WILL BE EXPECTING ALL OF YOU AT FORT HELL BY SUNDOWN. YOU BETTER START SWIMMING RIGHT NOW. AND BE GRATEFUL THAT THEY ARE NOT USING THIS SHIP AS TARGET PRACTICE FOR THEIR FLAMETHROWERS."

He then turned behind to the oarsmen and the sailors aboard the dromond and commanded, "REVERSE."

As the dromond went back, water rushed into the gaps as the ship began to tilt to starboard and the floorboards of the ship began to crack. This ship was done for.

Eddie Longshanks then shouted, "ABANDON SHIP."

Suddenly it was a struggle as they tried to jump overboard from a tilting and breaking ship. Everyone began to scream as the floor underneath Aegon's legs started to tilt down and some began to slip while the others climbed over the other side of the railing to jump over the ship.

Aegon felt himself slip and before he could crash into the water, a hand grabbed him, he looked up to see Bean holding him while Dirk held on to him and he held on to Ox who was holding onto the railing firmly and on whom Goose and Smiley were holding on to.

"WE ARE GOING TO DIE, WE ARE GOING TO DIE, WE ARE GOING TO DIE," Goose began to cry out.

"Oh shut up Goose, we need to do something," Smiley said as the ship began to slide even further into the water.

"Do what? Even if we survive the fall into the water, there is no way in fucking hell that we can swim to safety. The land is miles away and there are sharks in these waters," Goose shot back.

"Greysteel said safety, not land," Aegon then remarked looking at the dromond that was a short distance away from the sinking ship. Greysteel was watching them.

"What the fuck is safety if not land?" Hangman then asked as he felt his hold on Oxmaul slipping.

"That is safety," Aegon said pointing with his free hand at the dromond.

Bean immediately understood, "Ox, let go of the railing."

Before Goose could protest, Oxmaul left his hand off the railing and all six of them fell into the sea screaming.

"Why was the water so cold?" Goose asked as they were covered in blankets aboard the ship King Aegon's Power.

"Who cares? We are still alive. That is what is important," Smiley replied as Greysteel walked toward them.

He remarked upon seeing them, "For the first time, six recruits managed to have the brains to swim toward the ship instead of trying to swim toward land. Usually, it is one or two and in some cases, not a soul has the common sense for that."

Present:

"So, are you ready for a war?" Uncle Maekar asked.

Aegon nodded, "I am."

"Good, a Volantene and Lyseni fleet is heading our way. The Fleet is mobilized and the command for the Army to mobilize has also been given. We will break their fleet first and then we shall capture Lys before heading for Volantis," Uncle Maekar nodded.

"So will I be a dragonrider during this war or will I be a cavalryman?" Aegon asked. It had been four months since Aegon last saw Sunfyre.

Uncle Maekar asked back, "Which one do you want?"

A Week Later

The Volantene fleet did not stand a chance against the Royal Fleet. The Volantene dromonds were larger than the dromonds of the Royal Fleet and more numerous but they were outmatched. The captains of the Royal Fleet were battle-hardened while the Volantenes were coming off a long period of peace. They did not have the flamethrowers like the Royal Fleet and neither did they have dragons.

It was by far one of the largest naval battles in history, six hundred ships fought in this battle. It would be called the Sea of Fire, in an ode to the Field of Fire.

The Royal Fleet was outnumbered five to one but it also made the Volantene fleet struggle to maneuver and coordinate with the Lyseni and in the chaos, three separate battles emerged across the huge battle space.

One was where the main chunk of the Royal Fleet fought against a quarter of the Volantene fleet, and the second was where Aegon fought the Lysene fleet on Sunfyre while Uncle Maekar took care of the remaining Volantene fleet on Vermithor.

The Volantenes covered their ships in animal hides soaked in vinegar and sand to counter the wildfire but they weren't effective. The sails, the rigging, and the masts easily caught fire as did the men, the Royal Fleet did not even bother to board enemy ships to capture them, they merely took charcoal and pitch and catapulted them over the enemy ships with flaming arrows to set them on fire. Those on the lower decks were trapped suffocating in the smoke while those on the upper decks were burnt alive or lept into the water where they drowned or were picked off by archers and crossbowmen on the ships.

Before long the Volantenes start to surrender but they are the lucky ones, the Lyseni and the Volantenes who face Aegon and Uncle Maekar are given no mercy.

The Lyseni ships that Aegon faced were not warships but rather cogs, transport ships for soldiers with a handful of warships. There were around fifty such transport ships and they were easy targets for Aegon and Sunfyre.

Aegon rose above the clouds before descending straight for the transports. He felt the weightlessness that comes with diving on a dragon but he couldn't enjoy it as he used to. As he and Sunfyre descended rapidly out of the sky, Aegon turned Sunfyre to the largest warship that was leading them. A hail of arrows, crossbow bolts, and scorpion bolts whistled up towards Aegon but Sunfyre was faster as he weaved through them with the few hits not hurting him and bouncing off his underbelly.

As the warship loomed closer, Aegon screamed, "DRACARYS" and Sunfyre opened his maw and began to shoot hot golden flames. The flames struck the deck and began to burn everyone and everything on the deck as agonizing screams of the burning sailors and soldiers exploded from the ship. Sunfyre let loose another stream of his golden flames which smothered the deck and the rigging, the masts, and the sails were set alight by the heat.

The burning and shrieking sailors threw themselves into the water only for Aegon to turn his flames to the water making it boil and steam. The guttural screeches of the dying did not move Aegon.

Aegon then turned to remain transports, those on the rear were already changing course to flee while others were abandoned by their sailors and soldiers as they jumped overboard while others tried to raise the white flag of surrender.

But Aegon remembered his Uncle's words, "No mercy, No surrender." He cracked his whip over Sunfyre to turn him over to the next ship.

Lys

Aegon looked on as Lysandro Rogare bent the knee to Uncle Maekar and accepted the suzerainty of the Iron Throne. He would become another vassal like Odorys and Haratis. And if reports were true, Myr was soon to follow.

The nobility of Lys was like Tyrosh and Pentos, wiped out while the Rogares now ascended as the only great family of Lys. Lysandro Rogare was now the First Magister of Lys, for life and it was now a title that would pass on to his oldest son.

The slaves of Lys were freed while a new map was drawn up by Uncle Maekar dividing the disputed lands between Tyrosh and Lys with the agreement that the soldiers of the Royal Army after retirement would be given plots of farmland on the mainland. In exchange, Tyroshi and Lyseni citizens will be allowed to join the Royal Army as auxiliaries.

After that, as tradition dictated gifts were given to the officers and the other high-ranking employees of the Royal Trading Company. Nearly everyone received gold, silks, and valuable blue and white porcelain from Yi-Ti. It seemed that Aegon would not receive a Valyrian steel as he would have expected for it turned out that most of the wielders of Vlayrian steel were dead along with their blades while other families foreseeing the fall of their city fled with their blades to Volantis.

But it was no matter for Aegon to receive gifts that were worth nearly three hundred thousand gold dragons while Uncle Maekar took around five hundred thousand gold dragons. There was so much gold that Ser Tyland quipped that his brother would have to stop mining any more gold from Casterly Rock to save its value.

But Uncle Maekar replied, "That value of gold will further decrease for we have Volantis to deal with."

Volantis

The Flagship of the Royal Fleet was the Fiery Drake. The Volantene delegation met on the ship with Uncle Maekar to negotiate a peaceful surrender.

The Volantene emissary fell to his knees, "We beg of you, Prince Maekar not to invade Volantis, lawlessness is already rampant now in the Western half. Please we beg of you, we will give you anything you want, just do not attack."

"I have two demands, if you meet them, the Royal Fleet will return and the dragons will not attack and the Royal Army will march back," Uncle Maekar began.

The Volantene vigorously nodded his head, "Anything, anything at all."

"First I want the head of that cunt Maegyr who thought he could blackmail me," Uncle Maeakr stated and the man agreed immediately, "Yes, done, we shall send his pickled head to you by sundown. And the second."

"Volantis will pay an indemnity to the Iron Throne for this war that you have imposed on us," Uncle Maekar said to which the man agreed, "Of course. How much?"

"Ten thousand talents of gold," Uncle Maekar declared and for a moment Aegon did not understand while the Volantene paled.

Aegon thought back to his lessons, he had heard of something called a talent before, that was not Westerosi, not that was a Valyrian weight.

Uncle Maekar then said as if understanding his thoughts and to explain it to the emissary who was about to die of shock, "A Vlayrian talent weighs around seventy pounds and I need ten thousand of it. To be paid in ten years. I will be expecting to take this year's installment with me."

Once the Emissary left the ship, Ser Tyland who was standing next to Uncle Maekar said, "It is official, gold is now worthless in Westeros."

Uncle Maekar then turned to Ser Robert Rowan and said, "Send a raven to King's Landing. Tell Lord Lyman to stop all the minting and circulation of gold from the Treasury immediately. Stick only to the promissory notes which can now be reclaimed by the holder of the note and not by the person to whom it was issued."