Dragon Dream
What's this?
A crimson enormous dragon stood in front of me. Flames surrounded the mighty dragon, so much so that the only thing that could be seen was its glowing red eyes. This is the Dragon I saw before! What is it doing? Wait... it's looking at me silently. Is it observing me? A second later and both the dragon and flames fade away into the darkness.
I was left in the darkness, alone and confused. Then red words appeared in front of me.
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Aerion Targaryen
Level 2 Valyrian Captain
Titles: Exiled Prince, Pirate Captain
Traits: Attractive, Genius, Strong, Tall, Groomed, Impatient, Diligent, Proud, Ambitious
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Strength: 1 (1.2)
Endurance: 1 (1.2)
Dexterity: 1 (1.2)
Intelligence: 1 (3)
Charisma: 1.1 (1.6)
Magic: 0
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Duelling skill: Warrior ☆☆
Martial: Tough Soldier ☆☆
Diplomacy: Naive Appeaser ���
Stewardship: Indulgent Wastrel ☆
Intrigue: Amateurish Plotter ☆
Learning: Detached Priest ☆
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Then I woke up.
~
The Mad King now sailed in the open sea. He was a galley with two floors and he could hold about fifty men. Its captain was enjoying the view while the vice captain was barking some commands. One of the westerosi soldiers approached Aerion.
"Captain, your appearance... are... are you a Targaryen?"
I wasn't surprised at all. Targaryen features are quite easy to spot.
"Yes, I am. Aerion Targaryen is my name"
He looked quite confused at first, but then that confusion faded.
"The Little Genius, Exiled Prince, and Rightful King... that Aerion?"
"The one and only."
I smiled. Little Genius was my nickname when I was a child. It was given to me by my grandfather, Aerys II. I was talking after a month, fluently spoke at 3 months, could walk on my 5th month, write and read perfectly at the age of 2 and could outsmart quite a number of twelve-year-olds when I was just three years old!
He and the other two westerosi gasped, the other twenty men didn't as they already knew. He bent the knee, something no one has ever done to me... apart from that one time my grandfather sat me down on the Iron Throne. That was an interesting evening indeed.
He responded by bending the knee.
"Your Grace.... use me, Robb, as you wish." He said
The other two westerosi also bent their knees.
"Stand up, I am no King... I am your captain and you shall address me as such."
"As you wish, captain."
~
A month has passed since then. I pirated about twelve small westerosi ships in that month, I was getting richer every day. The Mad King now housed forty men, it was getting lively.
"Captain."
My vice captain approached me. His brown eyes burned brighter than before. He was of slightly above average height and height, he looked pretty normal... apart from his left eye. He had an eyepatch there, he said that an arrow had pierced his eye.
"What is it?"
"See that ship over there...?"
It was a galley, like the Mad King. I took my spyglass and looked closer. I could see about fifteen men on the upper deck, there's probably more on the lower deck. I'm guessing that ship has about thirty men.
"Yes, what about it? Wait... are you implying we should attack it?"
"Aye, Captain. We could take it but we wouldn't come out unscathed. We would lose around ten men... but the rewards outweigh the loss. In the end, it's your decision."
I thought about it for a few seconds. My vice captain is right, I would lose a few men but I would get a lot of goods to sell and a good ship as a reward. Perhaps, a few of the westerosi might surrender and pledge their loyalty to me.
"Everyone! Gather up, this is important."
Everyone gathered below me. They all looked up to me... with reverence. I was stunned by this for a few seconds, then I took a deep breath and began my speech.
"Today we might be attacking a galley, a bigger ship. Not a baby ship with ten men. A ship with thirty men, or more! There will be death and there will be gold. Who's with me? Say aye if you want to fight, say nay if you do not!"
All I heard were roaring ayes.
"Alright then. LET'S TAKE THAT BEAUTY!"
"AYE!"
Once the Mad King got close enough, thirty arrows flew. These arrows took about eight men to the afterlife. The enemy took almost no time getting into battle positions. Another volley of thirty arrows flew, killing five men. They countered with their own volley of arrows. Thirty-five arrows! Seven of my men died. I stood there, dazed.
I was wrong... my estimation was so... wrong. They didn't have thirty men, they had fifty.
"Captain, wake up! The battle is not lost... we can still win."
Then a sword pierced my vice captain's right eye. He fell to the ground, dead. Blood flowed down from his eye. I stood there, staring... then tears dropped... then I saw my men fighting... the enemy... my vice captain...dead... rage overtook me.
My sword was drawn out of its scabbard. Then it showed no mercy, killing everything in its path.
~
Two westerosi looked at me with fear. They had seen me slay five of their comrades with no mercy. One of them attacked me, I easily parried and countered with a stab in the heart. His friend froze. I slew him too.
The balance of the battle was turning in favour of my crew. The enemy captain was keeping their morale strong, as he was slaying many of my men. I will kill him.
I killed a westerosi in my way and approached the enemy captain.
"You're a good captain... and quite a young one, too. Perhaps there is no need for us to continue our battle. I can see that, eventually, I will lose."
"What are you proposing?"
Hearing this, both sides stopped fighting. Then the captain laughed.
"Just kidding!"
He aimed for my chest with his sword, I managed to step aside. The sword missed my chest... however, it managed to cut my arm. My blood dripped to the floor. That bastard, tricking me like that.
I countered with a horizontal slash, which he blocked with some difficulty. I punched him with my right hand... blood came out of his mouth. Then I drove my sword through his chest. He muttered some words before he died.
"So... so... stro...ng."
Seeing their captain dead, the westerosi surrendered as there was no longer a chance of victory. I looked at the group of men that surrendered. There was ten of them and fifteen of us. I felt like killing them all... however, one must think with their brain... not their heart. The wise thing would be to recruit as many as possible.
"I am Aerion Targaryen, The Rightful King and Captain of this ship. I will make a simple offer. Join me or die."
Surprisingly, no one spoke for a while. Then one of them spoke. He looked like a formidable fighter.
"You have my sword."
"Mine, too." Added another.
Then the rest followed.
~
A week has passed. I kept the westerosi galley and named it Jackdaw. Now my fleet consisted of two galleys and seventy men. Having two ships made things we easier. The more battles my men fought the more effective they became. I've only been acting small ships until now I've set my eyes on a larger ship. I think we can take that galley relatively easily.
Since I could only be on one ship at a time, I appointed a captain for the Jackdaw... Duncan Walpole. He is a strong and skilled man, I duelled him myself. Hell, I asked him to teach me some tricks. Before he was a veteran sellsword who had fought many battles, then he was hired by a merchant to protect his ship... we just so happened to set our eyes on that ship. Duncan joined my cause and has been serving me well ever since.
My new vice captain was the westerosi who bent the knee first and revealed my identity to his two comrades, Robb was his name. He serves me well, not as well as my old vice captain... but well enough
"Are we all ready?"
"Aye Captain, we are all ready."
"Very well. Archers, draw bows! Alight arrows... steady... and fire!"
Twenty-five arrows flew into the sky, followed by another twenty-five from the Jackdaw. The rain of arrows decimated the westerosi merchant ship. Only fifteen survived.
Then they surrendered.
"This pirate captain occupation is getting easier every day."
~
"This mask is very fine indeed, how much for it?"
"Six silver stags."
"Five," I respond
"Fine."
It was like a masquerade mask but it covered a little more of the face. Made of gold and engraved with beautiful patterns, totally worth the money. A masquerade mask would usually show the eyes, but this one had a black cloth that hid the eyes, I could still see but others couldn't see my eyes.
I put it on. With my hood and mask on, no one could possibly identify me as a Targaryen. Well, time to get back to my ship.
~
I was dreaming of laying on a bed with several beautiful maidens accompanying me. It was an interesting dream but then it vanished and I was met with those red words again. Let's see how much I progressed since last time.
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Aerion Targaryen
Level 4 Valyrian Captain
Titles: Exiled Prince, Pirate Captain
Traits: Attractive, Genius, Strong, Tall, Groomed, Patient, Diligent, Proud, Ambitious
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Strength: 1 (1.2)
Endurance: 1 (1.2)
Dexterity: 1 (1.2)
Intelligence: 1.1 (3.1)
Charisma: 1.2 (1.7)
Magic: 0
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Duelling skill: Warrior ☆☆
Martial: Tough Soldier ☆☆
Diplomacy: Underhand Rogue ☆☆
Stewardship: Indulgent Wastrel ☆
Intrigue: Amateurish Plotter ☆
Learning: Detached Priest ☆
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Then I woke up.
~
"Sir, we are a hundred men strong now. I think we should find a place to call home."
"What do you have in mind, Robb?"
"An island. We could find a suitable one in the Stepstones area."
"An interesting proposal. I will think about it."
Stepstones... an area with many islands. It's also quite close to Sunspear, Tyrosh and Lyr. It wouldn't hurt to have a Homebase.
"Very well. We shall head for Stepstones. Tell Duncan to prepare his men, we will be leaving tonight."
"As you wish, Captain."
~Meanwhile~
News of missing ships and men had reached King's Landing. Still, no one took it seriously. Pirates weren't too uncommon, after all.
Aerion sent a large amount of money to Viserys and Daenerys. They happily received the gift. Still, it was getting lonely without their nephew around. They could now live in proper conditions for a while without having to beg others.
~
The journey to Stepstones was easy. The waters were calm and we didn't meet any patrols.
"Captain, we have reached the infamous Stepstones.."
The wait was truly worth it. The view was amazing... it looked like paradise. I used my spyglass to take a closer look. Yes, this is indeed pirate paradise.
"Good, let's look around."
There was an island that caught my eye. I asked Robb what was the name of it.
"Many of the islands in Stepstones do not have names. That one does... its name is Bloodstone, the biggest island in Stepstones"
"We're taking it... it shall be our base."
"As you wish, Captain."
The Mad King and Jackdaw were now anchored to the port and the crew of a hundred were approaching the castle Bloodstone. Aerion took off his mask, as there's no need to hide his appearance in a place where only pirates live.
The crew quickly reached the throne room.
"It looks very much like Dragonstone..." I commentated
"Why are you all here?"
The man sitting on the throne asked. He looked quite strong, it's no wonder he is the Pirate Lord of Bloodstone. Too bad his reign shall end today.
"I have come here to secure a base."
"Very well, you can take the throne too. I don't want it anymore."
Really? Being a Lord would be cool too.
"You give up your throne... why?"
"I grow tired of listening to people speak of their worries and the throne... it's uncomfortable. I never wanted to be a bloody Lord anyway... I was born a pirate and a pirate is what I will be. You can become Lord of Bloodstone... if you promise to let me fight alongside you."
"I accept your request. You shall join me on my flagship, the Mad King."
~
I didn't spend much time at Bloodstone. Being the Lord of Bloodstone isn't exactly what I thought it would be, it's more of a title given to the pirate with the most power and respect rather than heritage. If a Pirate Lord dies the next most powerful pirate takes the title, not the eldest son... unless he is the most powerful after his father.
"So, Lord of Bloodstone, what are we going to do now?" Duncan Walpole approached me.
"We're going to hunt down ships... merchant galleys rich with supplies. I want to send the Usurper a message."
"The Jackdaw is ready to fly at your command."
"Good."
The Mad King and Jackdaw sailed into the Narrow Sea once again.