The Defiant Titan's Fall

The three dragon eggs which Illyrio had so kindly gifted were brought to Aerion's quarters. Two remained in the chest to the side while the more 'responsive' black-emerald egg laid on the corner of his desk. In the middle of the desk laid a detailed map of Braavos which Aerion observed with great interest.

"Has anyone ever occupied it?" Jocelyn wondered.

Aerion shook his head. "Not yet... the city Braavos is simply one of a kind. The entire city is surrounded by a wall of islands leaving no room for any proper vessels which forces you to go through the titan. The titan itself can be used to rain down fire... even if you do manage to sail past it, the heavily fortified Arsenal awaits."

"Under these circumstances, taking Braavos by force would prove almost impossible. Unfortunately, for the Sealord, my invasion is far from just a fleet."

"He is just another fool." She remarked. "Why is bending the knee so difficult? He is pulling down everyone who supports him..."

"Some leaders are too prideful to admit surrender and serve another man. Perhaps he believes that surrendering would also mean failing the people who believe in him, especially those who wish to remain independent... which is understandable. Instead of kneeling to me, he would rather put up one last stand."

Aerion chuckled. "I am no different than him, in truth. I would sooner die than kneel to someone else... I believe the Usurper thinks the same way as well."

"One day, you will kill my father because of that, won't you?" Jocelyn replied with a tone of sorrow and some aggression.

Aerion looked at Jocelyn and replied honestly.

"After all the attempts he has made on my life... I can't forgive him even if he does bend the next time I see him. All this time, he was attempting to put an end to House Targaryen but failed with every step before it was too late to outright crush me."

"The only way to repent for these actions is not just death, however. It is a life of servitude."

"In my opinion, that is better," Jocelyn stated. "He will still be alive, won't he?"

"As alive as you believe Stannis and the rest of my knights are."

Jocelyn smiled. "Then I have nothing to worry about. If anything, your magic will make my father more tolerable. He used to dream about how 'strong' he was years ago... I don't believe that your magic would be much of a curse for him, it would be more of a blessig."

Aerion looked at Jocelyn with one of his eyebrows raised slightly, showing his doubt.

Did this girl just state that my Complete Rebirth would be a blessing for the Usurper?

He pondered upon it for a moment... yes, there was some truth to it. The only negative would be the hundred corpses required, the loss of free will and the ability to reproduce. After that, there were only great positives. Aerion also had the ability to leave a person's soul untainted meaning that their free will would remain... which would leave only two negatives.

"I see..." Aerion smiled, slightly relieved and amused at the same time. "Your view on this matter is unique, Jocelyn. I have even gained some insight from it."

Perhaps returning her to the Usurper isn't the only path...

However, I doubt Robert will think of my Complete Rebirth as a blessing... but his opinion does not matter to me in the slightest.

"Is that praise I hear?"

"It is." Aerion pat her head. "Now I suggest that you rest, it's late enough already. I hear that those who sleep late tend to grow less in height."

"But you always sleep late."

Aerion shrugged. "I'm tall enough as it is."

"Hmph."

Since she refused to sleep in any other bedchamber, Aerion had no choice but to let her take his bed. However, this issue was long resolved as Aerion had his chamber extended slightly to make space for another bed. Once the door to his bedchamber closed, Aerion compressed the map of Braavos into a scroll and sealed it.

He put the scroll to the side before resting his head onto the desk.

Will there ever come a day when one of my followers volunteers for a Complete Rebirth? Perhaps, the way that I was using it was wrong all along...

The first person that came to mind was Jaime Lannister, his greatest sword and shield before the emergence of the Soul Knights.

~

The Titan of Braavos roared to announce their invasion, alerting the Arsenal ahead.

"HALT."

Aerion commanded.

The Mad King stopped before the Titan of Braavos, out of range to avoid any fire. Since it was the flagship leading the fleet, the rest of the ships stopped as well. It was late in the morning as the sun shined upon the Titan of Braavos which resulted in the statue looking more heavenly from beneath. It was a wonderful sight, indeed... one that Aerion and the majority of his warriors had not had the pleasure of viewing.

Initiate Phase 1; the fall of the Titan.

The moment Aerion willed it, the Soul Knights sprang to action and jumped into the sea to infiltrate the chambers within the titan. Within minutes, almost two hundred Soul Knights were moving up the mountain of the left island which the Titan's left foot stood upon.

"The Titan's wrath is the reason why many do not even consider invading Braavos," Aerion observed as he watched countless arrows bounce off the steel-like bodies of his Soul Knights. Pots of burning pitch were dropped on them when they got closer... but to no avail.

In truth, the fire only made them stronger.

"Today, the Titan falls."

~

"How long before these fools stop firing arrows at me?" The archer complained as arrows bounced off his body. "It's a pointless struggle."

"They'll stop when they're dead or run out of arrows." Ser Robb did not waste much time, running towards the feet of the Titan where the entrance to the interior was built. He tried to open it with a slight push only to realised that it was locked from inside.

Ser Robb chuckled before continuously slamming his fists into the entrance with shocking force.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM... BOOOM.

However, the stone entrance was quite durable and did not give in so easily.

The largest of the Soul Knights, once a sellsword under the pay of the Free Cities, pushed Ser Robb aside and started to pummel the stone entrance himself. There was more progress this time around... though it would still take quite a while.

The archer shook his head. "How uncivilised... your barbarian-like strategy will take a while. I suggest we break it with our flames. If we combine our strength, this stone entrance will break within moments. There isn't a need to hoard all the glory for just one of us... instead, we should share it."

"I didn't think of it that way."

Eventually, the near-two hundred Soul Knights combined their flames for the greater good of their Lord instead of chasing personal glory. The flames created by them rose high into the sky... it was a terrifying inferno to witness from the side of the Sealord. Meanwhile, Aerion's fleet celebrated the symbol of fire in the sky.

The flames formed a giant sword which descended upon the stone entrance, cutting through it with great ease. Once the stone entrance incinerated, the Soul Knights withdrew the sword and the flames eventually scattered, returning to their respective owners.

Ser Robb smiled before standing at the entrance and turning to face his companions.

"Now, it is time to force the Titan to kneel and acknowledge our Lord! Storm the halls and chambers, slaughter all who stand against our Lord's rule so that He may sail past the Titan unopposed! This is the order that He bestowed upon us, His most powerful subjects, and we will complete it swiftly in His glorious name!"

"IN HIS GLORIOUS NAME!"

The Soul Knights roared, storming the hole that was created in the feet of the Titan.