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The Magician and the dragons (An ASOIAF/Legend of the galactic heroes crossover
- Thread starter Alenco98
- Start date
Tides of Bloodstone
Alenco98
Getting sticky.
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2022
- Messages
- 70
- Likes received
- 4,279
He never thought he'd be back in the Steptones, let alone rule over those gods forsaken islands after the war of the Ninepenny Kings ender. Now here he was, High Lord of the Stepstones and lord of Bloodstone. He'd sailed off from Kings Landing a few days after Serra's wedding with only his family and the levies of the narrow sea houses. Only the queen, Serra and Rhaegar were there at the port to send him off, the king being supposedly at a council meeting.
Just like he predicted, Tywin was now hand. The realm was his problem now, he on the other hand had to handle cleaning up a hive of scum and villainy that even the Valyrians had problems dealing with when they were at their height. He at least had somewhere to start, The Veil and Dustspear, the two Westernmost isles were cleared of pirates and had strong ports and castles where he could base his fleets out of and his sons were the official lords of the isles so he had them as his own powerbase.
The islands themselves were somewhat wealthy, though the Stepstones didn't have too much in terms of land to harvest crops, they were rich in gemstones, minerals, and various ores which had allowed him to establish a nascent mining industry, even the sea snails the Tyroshi used for their dyes were found all over these isles, and with the civil war in Tyrosh having devolved into a full on war between Tyrosh and the nearby free cities around it, they had buyers and the potential for their own dye making industry.
The main problem though was the pirates, with the constant warfare plaguing the island, they'd be unable to fully exploit its wealth until they cleared out the pirates. Fortunately they had a few advantages, Dorne was willing to provide men for this venture, he just needed to wait for princess Loreza to bring her men and hopefully negotiate a favorable agreement with her. As for the free cities, Tyrosh was indisposed until they took care of all their enemies on land and sea, and given how every one of free cities save for Braavos and Pentos were either at war or supplying aid to their enemies they were out of the picture as well.
They'd stopped at the veil, setting up camp then he sent out a detachment of around 1000 men and 10 ships to an island between The Veil and Bloodstone. Their mission was simple, clear the island out from every pirate that used it as shelter, then build a castle and fortify it. It would be a slow and steady campaign, he didn't have dragons like the rouge prince or half of Westeros sailing behind him like his father did a decade ago.
He had to work slow and steady, take every island one by one, then build it up and fortify it and move on to the next one. He didn't know how long it would take, probably half a decade if he tried taking 2 islands a year. It all depended on how the situation in Tyrosh was, as long as they were too focused on the east he would be ok, if the war reached a stalemate or seemed to slow he would have to stop and get ready to face them.
He was in his office on the main castle they'd built in The Veil, Dragons Point, not the most original name but his house was all about dragons. The report he was reading from his detachment spelled good news. The port they'd built as well as the fortifications on the island were proceeding along nicely. Dorne was being cooperative, sending materiel and even some men to help build up his outposts as well as The Veil and Dustspear.
He could now afford to turn his attention to the main prize. Bloodstone, as the largest island, was the one all pirates lords fought and died over. And if his reports were correct, he was soon going to be dealing with a certain family he didn't wish to deal with again. The most pressing issue today was Dorne, princess Loreza was set to make landfall in about an hour with 5 thousand men and 50 ships she had behind her back, with another 50 to arrive soon with more men.
He finished going over some documents as he stood up and made his way to the port, escorted by his retinue as well as his son Aemon. He didn't wish to involve him in affairs of state so soon, but with his unpredictable life and death were as well as Westerosi politics, his wife's arguments won out and he now followed him to most meetings.
Within a few hours, princess Loreza and her fleet arrived, docking in their port, with her making her way to him and his own retinue on the port. They exchanged courtesies and she was given the usual bread and salt, once that was done, they were back in his office.
It was 4 of them in total, himself, his son Aemon, princess Loreza and her second born son Prince Oberyn Martell. He was a boy of only 13, but there was already a fire in his eyes that reminded him a lot of Julian. Unlike Julian however Oberyn had a reputation of being a hothead who loved to pick fights and was popular with the ladies at his age.
"Apologies for the delay prince Jaehaerys." Princess Loreza broke the silence between them. She was a somewhat heavy set woman, but like Oberyn there was a fire in her eyes, as well as the same lustrous black hair, sharp nose, thin eyebrows and brown almost black colored eyes. "With the Steptones you can never be too cautious, especially now that every pirate and their mother smells blood in the water thanks to what our Blackfyre friends in Tyrosh have done."
"Tell me about it." He shrugged. "No matter, your support means everything to us, we were going to wait a few months to get everything ready for an assault on Bloodstone. But with your contingent now here, everything has changed, we'll begin the assault right away and secure our rule on the island, il-"
"Before you continue my prince, I have some questions. And I have my own terms for this aid of mine."
"What do you ask of me?" Let's see what she wants to haggle from me.
"What exactly is your plan on capturing the Steptones then holding it? Any man can capture these gods forsaken isles, hells Daemon Targaryen was once king of these rocks was he not?"
"He was," he nodded, "our plan is to establish a permanent castle and settlement on every major island in the Steptones as well as a port. We've already established this in the Veil and Dustspear as you can see. We'll move island to island, setting up our outposts then building them up until we have a stable position. Once done we will encourage industry and settlement on the island, our surveyors have found that each island is rich in ores and gemstones as well as the same crabs Tyrosh used for their Dyemaking industry. With continue-"
.
"Ok, ok." She cut him off. "You have a solid plan from what it looks like. Do you have any contingencies? What if the Tyroshi finish the war, what about the pirates?"
"His grace has seen fit to provide me with a good fleet, and the arsenal I commissioned is set to be finished in a few months. Once done we can count on a steady supply of reinforcements. I am also receiving a subsidy from the crown and can hire more sell-sails if I need to." I won't need to.
"Fair enough," she nodded. "There is more I will need of you however if you want my support on your little venture. While I do trust your capabilities. I'm sure the support Dorne is willing to give you will be invaluable."
"What do you have to give?"
"10 thousand men and 100 ships. With another 100 to spare should you need them?"
"What would it cost me?"
Princess Loreza smiled. "Your eldest son Prince Aemon. He would ward in the water gardens with me and my family. And he would marry my daughter Elia."
Oberyn looked at her as if he wanted to say something. But his mother only glared at him and he held his tongue. "And my son Oberyn would serve as your squire. As you can see he's a bit of a troublemaker, but he has a good heart, and he is more than capable with a blade."
He looked at his own son who hadn't said anything so far. "Would my wife and children be allowed to come as well. I only took them here to escape the atmosphere at court."
"But of course, family should always help each other." She smiled as she leaned back on her chair.
"Very well then. My son Aemon will be betrothed to Elia, and I assume I'll get my ships soon?"
"Most of my men will stay with you. I'll take some ships back and bring your family with me. Once we're back in Dorne I'll send the rest of them to you. You can consider the assistance I'll be giving you as my dowry." She smiled once again.
"Very well princess, I accept your terms." He stretched out his hand and they shook on it. Though to be fair he had no choice in the matter.
--
Off the coast of Bloodstone was a small bay, the waters were shallow, but not so shallow that he couldn't get his ships into them. He had 25 ships with him at the moment, and facing him were over 70 ships led by Salladhor Saan.
He hadn't realized it at first, but by taking Samarro Saan and his ship captive he had turned the entire Saan family into his enemy. The Saans had a price on his and his family's heads according to the reports Rosby sent him. And by the time he was established on the Steptones Salladhor established himself as pirate king, his uncle Samarro it seems died a few years ago due to an illness and left everything to him.
Unfortunately for Salladhor, he bit into his trap and was soon to fall for it. The bay had very strong currents that flowed in one direction towards the coast, then in the opposite direction, after a few hours. Thanks to how narrow the bay was, Salladhor's fleet couldn't outflank him as easily, and the battle had devolved into a melee.
It was a reckless plan, but he needed to move quickly if he wanted to secure the Steptones. Right now Salladhor was the most powerful pirate lord. If he dealt a severe blow to him, then even the other pirate lords in the Stepstones would be scared off and he could deploy more men to the surrounding islands and properly secure them. It was easy from there, once he identified a good place to make a stand, he allowed information on his location and patrol routes to be leaked, then he adapted a patrol routine. It wasn't long before Salladhor Saan took the bait and his chance for vengeance and engaged him.
As the battle raged on, he kept his eye on the waters around him. Oberyn stood at his side, leading his personal guard and making sure no boarders got near him. A few had tried boarding his ship, but once they got on the ship they were easily cut down.
Oberyn was catching his breath, wiping sweat from his brow after he finished repelling another wave of boarders. "Are we just meant to sit here as targets? Or are we going to do something?"
"It's almost time." He reassured him.
"That's what you've been saying for the last hour. At this rate we'll soon be overwhelmed."
"Not yet." He shook his head, "the narrowness of the bay has granted us a force multiplier, Saan can't bring his numbers to bear against us. And he can't pull back due to the waves pulling him towards us."
"Whatever you say prince Jaehaerys." He shrugged and kept glancing out towards the battlefield. As he made his way to the edge of the deck to get a better look he felt the waves shaking under him, almost knocking him off balance. He realized the time had finally come.
"All ships! Push forward at full speed!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. While the enemy was confused and being pulled out to the ocean, it was his chance to overwhelm them.
The crewmen around him ran towards the main deck, pulling down the flags and raising up new ones, all while beating the drums on the ship and raising their anchors.
A few minutes later, the ship he was on began to move forward, as did the other ships around him. Ahead of him the enemy ships fell into confusion, the changing currents were pushing them out towards the sea while they continued to attempt to charge at his ships. The pirate ships began to drift backwards and seemingly collide into each other.
As the enemy fleet attempted to regain their footing his own ships were ready. They rammed through the enemy ships, having their archers shoot fire arrows at them. He could see the enemy ships break apart and sink into the depths of the sea as his fleet broke past the pirates. Once again, those feelings he felt during every battle returned.
The guilt he felt at ordering his own men to throw away their own lives, and the guilt of seeing the enemy have their own lives be cut short by his actions. They were bad men, he understood that, they were pirates, slavers, men who inflicted cruelty on others for their own sake. Yet at the end of the day they were men like his own men and his sons, men with hopes, dreams and aspirations.
Did he have the right to pursue happiness? He asked himself as his fleet fully broke out of the cove. He thought about his sons, and daughters, of his wife Daena. Did he have a right to have them as his family, to feel joy at seeing his son's grow up to be men as he inflicted death and cruelty upon others thanks to his orders? He knew the answer to this question, he had come to it in his last life after finally reciprocating Frederica's feelings. But even though he knew he could, the guilt still plagued his soul.
His fleet sailed back to the Veil, the pirates not daring to pursue him as he joined up with the main reinforcing fleet from Dorne. When they finally pulled up into the port he was hailed by his men. Of the 25 ships he'd bought with him he'd lost none, only 1 of them had been lost and another 5 of them had sustained any damage. In total they lost 200 men, 200 men who'd never see their mother, lovers, sons, and fathers ever again thanks to him.
But in return, the pirates had lost 30 ships, almost half of their fleet. Even now he still recalled how he saw many of them jump overboard and be swallowed up by the waves. Compared to the battles he fought against the galactic empire the amount of lived lost was small, though they still added to the pile of bodies he'd been responsible for across two lifetimes.
He withdrew to his chambers once the men let go of him. Opening up a bottle of Arbor red he'd kept in a chest along with a cup and pouring one out for himself. "I'm sorry." He said as he drank it and felt the sweetness of the drink wash down his throat. A sweetness none of the men he'd led to their deaths or whose deaths he caused would never taste.
--
Salladhor Saan slammed his fist on his desk in a rage. "That son of a bitch!" He'd never felt this much humiliation in his life. He was Salladhor Saan, heir to a legacy of over 200 years of piracy. His fleet was the Scourge of the Steptones. Lys, Myr, Tyrosh, Volantis, Westeros, none of them dared to strike at him so easily.
Yet here he was, he had 73 ships, 73 ships he'd slowly gathered from years of fighting and killing over wannabe pirate kings, and robbing ships from every kingdom and lord that dared to pass through his domains without paying homage to him. And in one day years of hard work was destroyed, all by the same man that captured his uncle and disgraced his family.
He still remembered the words his uncle told him on his deathbed. "Salladhor, my boy, promise me. Promise me you'll avenge the stain of dishonor from our family. Promise me you'll bring me the head of Jaehaerys Targaryen and lay it on my grave."
He promised him that day, that one day he would strike down the prince and revenge himself on him. Instead he turned the tables on him. He did admit, a part of him admired his bravery. Not many would dare to do battle against a pirate family of his repute. He met his challenge, bringing his fleet to bear against him. He chased him into the cove, having seemingly cornered him.
He should have realized then that he'd been the one cornered. The battle was starting to turn in their favor. One of Jaehaerys' ships had gone down and the others seemed to be on the verge of breaking. Instead, the tides turned on him, causing his ships to ram into each other and even damaging his own ships. He planned for all this, was what he realized, he knew the waves would turn at that moment and he'd lured him.
He tried to order a retreat, his ships tried to turn and pull back, but by then it was too late. Prince Jaehaerys' ships rammed into his fleet and broke through them, causing his fleet to be decimated. Next time, next time I won't be so foolish.
Right now however wasn't the time for vengeance. He needed to rebuild, he needed to get more ships, more men, restore confidence in his own men. Even now he heard the whispers, the magician, that's what his men called Prince Jaehaerys. A part of him believed it too, this hadn't been the only victory Prince Jaehaerys won in the Steptones. Various other pirate lords had fallen to him as well, using sophisticated and unorthodox tactics. Not even the hit and run attacks seemed to work, the populace in the islands Prince Jaehaerys ruled seemed to turn to him now as well, and what support base he and the other pirate lords had was seemingly pulled out from underneath them.
He looked to the map of the Steptones he laid out. His eyes were set on Tyrosh then he shrugged his shoulders. The enemy of my enemy as they say.
Just like he predicted, Tywin was now hand. The realm was his problem now, he on the other hand had to handle cleaning up a hive of scum and villainy that even the Valyrians had problems dealing with when they were at their height. He at least had somewhere to start, The Veil and Dustspear, the two Westernmost isles were cleared of pirates and had strong ports and castles where he could base his fleets out of and his sons were the official lords of the isles so he had them as his own powerbase.
The islands themselves were somewhat wealthy, though the Stepstones didn't have too much in terms of land to harvest crops, they were rich in gemstones, minerals, and various ores which had allowed him to establish a nascent mining industry, even the sea snails the Tyroshi used for their dyes were found all over these isles, and with the civil war in Tyrosh having devolved into a full on war between Tyrosh and the nearby free cities around it, they had buyers and the potential for their own dye making industry.
The main problem though was the pirates, with the constant warfare plaguing the island, they'd be unable to fully exploit its wealth until they cleared out the pirates. Fortunately they had a few advantages, Dorne was willing to provide men for this venture, he just needed to wait for princess Loreza to bring her men and hopefully negotiate a favorable agreement with her. As for the free cities, Tyrosh was indisposed until they took care of all their enemies on land and sea, and given how every one of free cities save for Braavos and Pentos were either at war or supplying aid to their enemies they were out of the picture as well.
They'd stopped at the veil, setting up camp then he sent out a detachment of around 1000 men and 10 ships to an island between The Veil and Bloodstone. Their mission was simple, clear the island out from every pirate that used it as shelter, then build a castle and fortify it. It would be a slow and steady campaign, he didn't have dragons like the rouge prince or half of Westeros sailing behind him like his father did a decade ago.
He had to work slow and steady, take every island one by one, then build it up and fortify it and move on to the next one. He didn't know how long it would take, probably half a decade if he tried taking 2 islands a year. It all depended on how the situation in Tyrosh was, as long as they were too focused on the east he would be ok, if the war reached a stalemate or seemed to slow he would have to stop and get ready to face them.
He was in his office on the main castle they'd built in The Veil, Dragons Point, not the most original name but his house was all about dragons. The report he was reading from his detachment spelled good news. The port they'd built as well as the fortifications on the island were proceeding along nicely. Dorne was being cooperative, sending materiel and even some men to help build up his outposts as well as The Veil and Dustspear.
He could now afford to turn his attention to the main prize. Bloodstone, as the largest island, was the one all pirates lords fought and died over. And if his reports were correct, he was soon going to be dealing with a certain family he didn't wish to deal with again. The most pressing issue today was Dorne, princess Loreza was set to make landfall in about an hour with 5 thousand men and 50 ships she had behind her back, with another 50 to arrive soon with more men.
He finished going over some documents as he stood up and made his way to the port, escorted by his retinue as well as his son Aemon. He didn't wish to involve him in affairs of state so soon, but with his unpredictable life and death were as well as Westerosi politics, his wife's arguments won out and he now followed him to most meetings.
Within a few hours, princess Loreza and her fleet arrived, docking in their port, with her making her way to him and his own retinue on the port. They exchanged courtesies and she was given the usual bread and salt, once that was done, they were back in his office.
It was 4 of them in total, himself, his son Aemon, princess Loreza and her second born son Prince Oberyn Martell. He was a boy of only 13, but there was already a fire in his eyes that reminded him a lot of Julian. Unlike Julian however Oberyn had a reputation of being a hothead who loved to pick fights and was popular with the ladies at his age.
"Apologies for the delay prince Jaehaerys." Princess Loreza broke the silence between them. She was a somewhat heavy set woman, but like Oberyn there was a fire in her eyes, as well as the same lustrous black hair, sharp nose, thin eyebrows and brown almost black colored eyes. "With the Steptones you can never be too cautious, especially now that every pirate and their mother smells blood in the water thanks to what our Blackfyre friends in Tyrosh have done."
"Tell me about it." He shrugged. "No matter, your support means everything to us, we were going to wait a few months to get everything ready for an assault on Bloodstone. But with your contingent now here, everything has changed, we'll begin the assault right away and secure our rule on the island, il-"
"Before you continue my prince, I have some questions. And I have my own terms for this aid of mine."
"What do you ask of me?" Let's see what she wants to haggle from me.
"What exactly is your plan on capturing the Steptones then holding it? Any man can capture these gods forsaken isles, hells Daemon Targaryen was once king of these rocks was he not?"
"He was," he nodded, "our plan is to establish a permanent castle and settlement on every major island in the Steptones as well as a port. We've already established this in the Veil and Dustspear as you can see. We'll move island to island, setting up our outposts then building them up until we have a stable position. Once done we will encourage industry and settlement on the island, our surveyors have found that each island is rich in ores and gemstones as well as the same crabs Tyrosh used for their Dyemaking industry. With continue-"
.
"Ok, ok." She cut him off. "You have a solid plan from what it looks like. Do you have any contingencies? What if the Tyroshi finish the war, what about the pirates?"
"His grace has seen fit to provide me with a good fleet, and the arsenal I commissioned is set to be finished in a few months. Once done we can count on a steady supply of reinforcements. I am also receiving a subsidy from the crown and can hire more sell-sails if I need to." I won't need to.
"Fair enough," she nodded. "There is more I will need of you however if you want my support on your little venture. While I do trust your capabilities. I'm sure the support Dorne is willing to give you will be invaluable."
"What do you have to give?"
"10 thousand men and 100 ships. With another 100 to spare should you need them?"
"What would it cost me?"
Princess Loreza smiled. "Your eldest son Prince Aemon. He would ward in the water gardens with me and my family. And he would marry my daughter Elia."
Oberyn looked at her as if he wanted to say something. But his mother only glared at him and he held his tongue. "And my son Oberyn would serve as your squire. As you can see he's a bit of a troublemaker, but he has a good heart, and he is more than capable with a blade."
He looked at his own son who hadn't said anything so far. "Would my wife and children be allowed to come as well. I only took them here to escape the atmosphere at court."
"But of course, family should always help each other." She smiled as she leaned back on her chair.
"Very well then. My son Aemon will be betrothed to Elia, and I assume I'll get my ships soon?"
"Most of my men will stay with you. I'll take some ships back and bring your family with me. Once we're back in Dorne I'll send the rest of them to you. You can consider the assistance I'll be giving you as my dowry." She smiled once again.
"Very well princess, I accept your terms." He stretched out his hand and they shook on it. Though to be fair he had no choice in the matter.
--
Off the coast of Bloodstone was a small bay, the waters were shallow, but not so shallow that he couldn't get his ships into them. He had 25 ships with him at the moment, and facing him were over 70 ships led by Salladhor Saan.
He hadn't realized it at first, but by taking Samarro Saan and his ship captive he had turned the entire Saan family into his enemy. The Saans had a price on his and his family's heads according to the reports Rosby sent him. And by the time he was established on the Steptones Salladhor established himself as pirate king, his uncle Samarro it seems died a few years ago due to an illness and left everything to him.
Unfortunately for Salladhor, he bit into his trap and was soon to fall for it. The bay had very strong currents that flowed in one direction towards the coast, then in the opposite direction, after a few hours. Thanks to how narrow the bay was, Salladhor's fleet couldn't outflank him as easily, and the battle had devolved into a melee.
It was a reckless plan, but he needed to move quickly if he wanted to secure the Steptones. Right now Salladhor was the most powerful pirate lord. If he dealt a severe blow to him, then even the other pirate lords in the Stepstones would be scared off and he could deploy more men to the surrounding islands and properly secure them. It was easy from there, once he identified a good place to make a stand, he allowed information on his location and patrol routes to be leaked, then he adapted a patrol routine. It wasn't long before Salladhor Saan took the bait and his chance for vengeance and engaged him.
As the battle raged on, he kept his eye on the waters around him. Oberyn stood at his side, leading his personal guard and making sure no boarders got near him. A few had tried boarding his ship, but once they got on the ship they were easily cut down.
Oberyn was catching his breath, wiping sweat from his brow after he finished repelling another wave of boarders. "Are we just meant to sit here as targets? Or are we going to do something?"
"It's almost time." He reassured him.
"That's what you've been saying for the last hour. At this rate we'll soon be overwhelmed."
"Not yet." He shook his head, "the narrowness of the bay has granted us a force multiplier, Saan can't bring his numbers to bear against us. And he can't pull back due to the waves pulling him towards us."
"Whatever you say prince Jaehaerys." He shrugged and kept glancing out towards the battlefield. As he made his way to the edge of the deck to get a better look he felt the waves shaking under him, almost knocking him off balance. He realized the time had finally come.
"All ships! Push forward at full speed!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. While the enemy was confused and being pulled out to the ocean, it was his chance to overwhelm them.
The crewmen around him ran towards the main deck, pulling down the flags and raising up new ones, all while beating the drums on the ship and raising their anchors.
A few minutes later, the ship he was on began to move forward, as did the other ships around him. Ahead of him the enemy ships fell into confusion, the changing currents were pushing them out towards the sea while they continued to attempt to charge at his ships. The pirate ships began to drift backwards and seemingly collide into each other.
As the enemy fleet attempted to regain their footing his own ships were ready. They rammed through the enemy ships, having their archers shoot fire arrows at them. He could see the enemy ships break apart and sink into the depths of the sea as his fleet broke past the pirates. Once again, those feelings he felt during every battle returned.
The guilt he felt at ordering his own men to throw away their own lives, and the guilt of seeing the enemy have their own lives be cut short by his actions. They were bad men, he understood that, they were pirates, slavers, men who inflicted cruelty on others for their own sake. Yet at the end of the day they were men like his own men and his sons, men with hopes, dreams and aspirations.
Did he have the right to pursue happiness? He asked himself as his fleet fully broke out of the cove. He thought about his sons, and daughters, of his wife Daena. Did he have a right to have them as his family, to feel joy at seeing his son's grow up to be men as he inflicted death and cruelty upon others thanks to his orders? He knew the answer to this question, he had come to it in his last life after finally reciprocating Frederica's feelings. But even though he knew he could, the guilt still plagued his soul.
His fleet sailed back to the Veil, the pirates not daring to pursue him as he joined up with the main reinforcing fleet from Dorne. When they finally pulled up into the port he was hailed by his men. Of the 25 ships he'd bought with him he'd lost none, only 1 of them had been lost and another 5 of them had sustained any damage. In total they lost 200 men, 200 men who'd never see their mother, lovers, sons, and fathers ever again thanks to him.
But in return, the pirates had lost 30 ships, almost half of their fleet. Even now he still recalled how he saw many of them jump overboard and be swallowed up by the waves. Compared to the battles he fought against the galactic empire the amount of lived lost was small, though they still added to the pile of bodies he'd been responsible for across two lifetimes.
He withdrew to his chambers once the men let go of him. Opening up a bottle of Arbor red he'd kept in a chest along with a cup and pouring one out for himself. "I'm sorry." He said as he drank it and felt the sweetness of the drink wash down his throat. A sweetness none of the men he'd led to their deaths or whose deaths he caused would never taste.
--
Salladhor Saan slammed his fist on his desk in a rage. "That son of a bitch!" He'd never felt this much humiliation in his life. He was Salladhor Saan, heir to a legacy of over 200 years of piracy. His fleet was the Scourge of the Steptones. Lys, Myr, Tyrosh, Volantis, Westeros, none of them dared to strike at him so easily.
Yet here he was, he had 73 ships, 73 ships he'd slowly gathered from years of fighting and killing over wannabe pirate kings, and robbing ships from every kingdom and lord that dared to pass through his domains without paying homage to him. And in one day years of hard work was destroyed, all by the same man that captured his uncle and disgraced his family.
He still remembered the words his uncle told him on his deathbed. "Salladhor, my boy, promise me. Promise me you'll avenge the stain of dishonor from our family. Promise me you'll bring me the head of Jaehaerys Targaryen and lay it on my grave."
He promised him that day, that one day he would strike down the prince and revenge himself on him. Instead he turned the tables on him. He did admit, a part of him admired his bravery. Not many would dare to do battle against a pirate family of his repute. He met his challenge, bringing his fleet to bear against him. He chased him into the cove, having seemingly cornered him.
He should have realized then that he'd been the one cornered. The battle was starting to turn in their favor. One of Jaehaerys' ships had gone down and the others seemed to be on the verge of breaking. Instead, the tides turned on him, causing his ships to ram into each other and even damaging his own ships. He planned for all this, was what he realized, he knew the waves would turn at that moment and he'd lured him.
He tried to order a retreat, his ships tried to turn and pull back, but by then it was too late. Prince Jaehaerys' ships rammed into his fleet and broke through them, causing his fleet to be decimated. Next time, next time I won't be so foolish.
Right now however wasn't the time for vengeance. He needed to rebuild, he needed to get more ships, more men, restore confidence in his own men. Even now he heard the whispers, the magician, that's what his men called Prince Jaehaerys. A part of him believed it too, this hadn't been the only victory Prince Jaehaerys won in the Steptones. Various other pirate lords had fallen to him as well, using sophisticated and unorthodox tactics. Not even the hit and run attacks seemed to work, the populace in the islands Prince Jaehaerys ruled seemed to turn to him now as well, and what support base he and the other pirate lords had was seemingly pulled out from underneath them.
He looked to the map of the Steptones he laid out. His eyes were set on Tyrosh then he shrugged his shoulders. The enemy of my enemy as they say.
TrahKartolo
Getting sticky.
- Joined
- May 22, 2020
- Messages
- 78
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Eh, no big lost for humanity.