Chapter 305: Instigated Conflict
(Third Person POV)
"No...!!" Alysanne shook as she looked inside the box, "Nooo!!!"
Jaehaerys held her, "Calm down....." He said as she began to sob, "Easy...."
"Our boy, Jaehaerys!" Alysanne sobbed, "They have him!"
They were in the Small Council Room, on the table there was a box that Aemon had received. It was allegedly sent to them by a House from the Stormlands. Aemon had opened it and was absolutely shocked to find its contents.
Inside the box, a bloodied severed hand was in it, cut up completely as there was a single note next to it.
It read:
"You severed a Hand, so did we"
Jaehaerys knew what this meant; the Faith and the Houses that backed Barth up retaliated by taking Vaegon and severing his hand. This was not something that House Targaryen would take likely and everyone knew it. Whether he was a Maester or not, Vaegon was still of Targaryen blood and was the son of the King.
Aemon and Baelon stood there, looking at the box, an enraged look on both of their faces. Somehow, all hostility towards House Drakkengard that they felt over the past few weeks had suddenly been directed at those who had harmed their brother.
Alysanne was weeping, "No...." She said, "They have him, find him....please...Jaehaerys...no, I cannot take this anymore....don't let them destroy my family...."
"It's okay." Jaehaerys patted her cheek, "We'll find him, don't worry. J-Just go with Daenerys and Gael, don't worry about a thing."
"H-How can I not...?!" Alysanne said, "My boy....my Vaegon is...."
"We'll find him." Baelon said seriously, "Father....say the word....I will fly Balerion out to the Stormlands and will force them to hand him over."
Jaehaerys looked at him, "Careful. Any unnecessary destruction from Balerion will stir the Storm Beast." He said, "We need to approach this carefully. Rally the Banners, march down to the Stormlands at once. Aemon, you're up. Take point. Baelon, you focus on the Reach, that way we will avoid Drakken's beast rampaging. I am sure it will not pay attention to Caraxes."
"Right." Aemon nodded, "I will send ravens to the Houses in the Crownlands."
"Inform the Westerlands as well, have them shut down the borders." Jaehaerys said, "Tell Tyland that I don't want them to flank."
"From what we were told, The Duskguard will flank through the Westerlands and will wait on the borders." Baelon told him, "Drakken is waiting for a move."
"That...." Aemon said, "Do you think he planned this?"
"I don't know about Vaegon, but he definitely wanted a conflict." Jaehaerys said, "Let us not dwell on this too much. We don't have much to worry about here, I will join Aemon shortly. Baelon, I want you to patrol the skies above the Capital, make sure that any potential threat is aware that House Targaryen is on high alert."
Alysanne sobbed, "Find him....."
"We will." Aemon said seriously, "Don't worry about anything."
The doors opened and Ser Ryam walked in, "Your Grace." He said, "We received two letters...."
"Two?" Aemon walked over to him, "What did they say?"
"I did not read them, but they were stated to be urgent and only the King must see them." He gave them to Aemon, "My Prince, this could be dire."
Aemon opened the first letter, "House Martell...." he said, "They have claimed that they will support the Faith's uprising and will send men to aid the Stormlands and The Reach...."
Jaehaerys scowled, "A rebellion..." He said, "Just what I needed....."
"Any more and this will be a full-out war that Drakken enjoys...." Baelon said, "Next thing we need is the North to decide to jump in. What does the second letter say, Aemon?"
Aemon opened the second letter, reading it, "Tch....it's from House Drakkengard...." He said with a serious scowl, "Wait..."
"What?" Jaehaerys asked, "What is it?"
Aemon looked at him, "Drakken." He said, "He says not to worry about the Dornish."
"What is he going to do?" Baelon asked, "And how does he know about that?"
"He has spies everywhere, I am sure." Jaehaerys said, "What does he intend to do? Did he say anything specific?"
Aemon shook his head, "No."
"He didn't."
*********************
[The Prince's Pass]
An army of Dornish Soldiers was marching through the pass, trying to cross through the border and head into the Reach to join the Faith's movement. Among the soldiers were bannermen of many Dornish Houses, including a detachment of Martell soldiers as well as House Dayne's.
House Martell had been waiting for an opportunity to strike back at House Drakkengard and since hearing about the Storm Goddess' slumber, they decided now was a perfect time to launch an assault.
This was foolish, however, since House Drakkengard still possessed a single weapon that was far greater than anything they could comprehend. Not only that, Drakken purposely set Ammaria to sleep to bait both the Stormlands and Dorne to make a move. This was all part of the God of War and Death's plan, wanting to create a serious blow to those whom he knows are beneath him.
At the head of the army, a single Dornish man clad in leather armor was on his horse, leading the rest as he was accompanied by several other riders.
"With time." He said to his fellow riders, ".....we will join the Septon's forces and strike at the Trinity."
The other riders nodded, "Yes." He said, "The False god does not know what he has done. We will have our vengeance."
"I heard rumor that one of the Red Priestesses has been captured by House Drakkengard." Another one said, "The War-Priest has voiced his distaste for this. He might make a move."
"To traverse all the way to Harrenhal for a single Priestess is a stupid thing to do." The Dornish Man said as he scowled, "He should know better."
"The Red Temples....the Septs....." another said, "All of them are filled with those who do not wish to see the Trinity rise, praying that Drakken simply drops dead."
"It will happen." The dornish man said, "Worry not about th-"
He was cut off by the sound of loud rumbling in the distance.
He stopped and raised his fist, signaling the others to stop and suddenly, the entire army slowly came to a halt.
He narrowed his eyes to see that in the distance, there was a bit of a cloud of dust and sand, which he thought to be a bit strange.
"What is it?" another rider asked
"Do you hear that?" He asked, "The rumbling...."
After a few seconds, the ground beneath them began to vibrate, causing them to look down. For ten seconds, they watched as the dirt and sand beneath them began to rise into the air due to the vibration and after those ten seconds, they heard a loud rumbling coming closer and closer.
"What is that?" The riders shifted in nervousness
The Dornish looked up to the sky, seeing the clear sky, "I don't know..." He said, "But this is....."
Suddenly, the entire ground shook violently as a vicious growl was heard, deafening and bone-chilling. Several riders were dismounted as their horses rose to their hind legs and those who were on the ground stumbled and staggered into each other.
"What in the fuck?!" the Dornish said as he stayed composed, "What is going on?!"
Suddenly, next to them, the mountain suddenly shattered, and a massive figure burst forth and a loud roar was heard.
Everyone saw a gargantuan serpentine figure barreling into the air, nothing but rocks and sand flying out as it hit the other side of the pass, crashing into the mountain and digging into it. It happened so fast that they were unable to fully make out the traits of the massive head that they had seen.
The ground shook violently, tremors causing the entire armor to stumble into the ground as the entire area began to crack.
"No!!" the dornish man said as he fell off his horse, "Curses!!"
On that day, the Dornish army that was sent to aid the Reach and The Stormlands was attacked by an unknown creature.
A creature that would later terrorize Dorne for years to come, eventually worshipped as the Desert God.
The Creature was deployed by Drakken.
Which should not have been a surprise.