A Most Pleasing Gift

Middle of 296 AC, Pentos.

Once Aerion came into the horizon, followed by thousands of riders, the gates of Pentos opened to greet its Dragon Prince (since he had yet to officially declare himself Emperor). As he made his grand entrance into the magnificent city, so did some of his fierce riders. This was the very first time he allowed them into the city walls of Pentos. This was, of course, because his trust in them had grown exponentially since he first led them.

Not only that, but his authority over them had increased greatly as well.

Aerion dismounted from his red stallion, leaving it in the care of the stable keeper before looking to those who had surrounded him. His Kingsguard, the magisters of Pentos, Stannis and Jocelyn Baratheon, Viserys Targaryen and Daenerys Targaryen had all gathered. He was certainly glad to see most of them again, after nearly three moons spent crushing and conquering the rebels.

"I take it that the great navy of Volantis, Lorath and Braavos was vanquished?"

Aerion inquired, though he already knew what had happened. However, information from the distant Free Cities was likely to be less accurate and informative than from the people who had seen it in person. Lord Stannis was the first to speak in regards to his question since Aerion had left him in charge.

"Indeed, they were, my prince. They attempted to siege the city after docking with the port but it backfired greatly. However, although they were repelled, a great majority of the navy managed to retreat to their respective Free Cities."

"Did they surrender after this or are there plans of some sort of final stand?" Aerion wondered.

"Lorath and Volantis have admitted defeat while Braavos remains... defiant."

"I would not have it any other way." He smiled. "I want them to be defiant."

It will only sweeten my victory.

"So that you would have an excuse to crush them further into the ground..." Jocelyn remarked.

Their initial acts of defiance were more than enough for me.

"I have reason enough to put them all to the sword, this act of defiance only adds to it," Aerion replied simply. "In the end, rebels should be put to their place or they might find the opportunity to rise again with all their pent up fury. That is no good for any ruler... to prevent this, all one has to do is put them to the sword and replace the rebels with true loyalists. Or... help the rebels back on their feet, pardoning them and hoping that it does not happen again. Though, I much prefer the former."

"Do you understand, Jocelyn?"

"Of course... I'm not dim."

"That is wonderful to hear."

Aerion smiled.

Robert used the latter method due to him being the Usurper... if he were to act in a tyrannical manner, it would be so much more difficult for him to keep that crown on his head.

"I don't believe this place is the very best for conversing, Aerion," Viserys stated.

"Indeed, it is not."

"Shall we head to the main hall for a feast?" Ser Jaime suggested. "You must be quite hungry, after all those moons of riding."

Aerion nodded. "We may as well."

...

After filling his stomach with some great food and two glasses of brilliant wine, Aerion walked over to his manse for rest. However, instead of heading straight into his bedchambers, he lingered in the garden to gather his thoughts. By then, the sun had already hidden away as the beautiful night sky loomed over the city of Pentos.

For the sake of stability, might it be better for me to spare the triarchs of Volantis and magisters of Lorath?

Wisdom... what would be the wiser thing to do? Aegon the Conqueror allowed Loren I Lannister to live after his surrender despite him uniting with Mern IX Gardner. However, the magisters of Lorath and triarchs of Volantis are elected leaders and not members of long-living houses (with rather thick roots) so they can be more easily replaced...

As Aerion thought about it further, his decision to kill them off only strengthened.

~

After a night of rest, Aerion awakened with great decisiveness. The very first thing that came to his mind was how to handle the khalasar moving forward. They were a massive, seemingly unstoppable horde of nearly ten thousand fierce riders who followed only strength. Naturally, after his numerous displays of strength, he could do as he wished when it came to commanding them. Clearly, releasing them back into the Dothraki sea would be a severe waste of man-power so Aerion kept them in Pentos until further notice.

He made Lord Stannis ensure that the ships were prepared to set sail immediately before assigning the role of Lord Magister of Pentos to Stallio Pahroran, much to Illyrio's disappointment who then confronted him in private.

"Am I not up to standard, my Emperor? If so-"

Aerion's violet gaze stared deeply into Illyrio's rather unpleasant, ugly eyes with very little remorse.

"No, you are not. Must I say further?"

"No, no... I dare not question your judgement, only a fool would commit such an act."

"And yet you questioned my judgement moments ago... does that make you a fool, Mopatis?"

Aerion spoke coldly and with very little emotion when it came to criticising the mighty cheesemonger. Knowing the Emperor's tendencies of removing useless subjects and his rather clear distaste of him, Illyrio decided it was the best time to bring out the little present he'd (his servants, to be precise) only discovered a few months ago to regain favour.

Illyrio laughed nervously, deciding to backtrack from his initial comment.

"Why, of course. I was a fool to do so... but even the wisest men are bound to make a mistake once or twice. Nevermind that subject, I've been wishing to present a few late gifts for your sixteenth nameday."

"I have no use for your extravagant gifts, Illyrio."

"Ahhahaahaha... but it's something far more precious than gold. You would be most pleased with the gifts, I assure you, my Emperor."

Aerion wondered what it could be that made Illyrio so damn confident in himself.

"Very well, present me with these gifts of yours."

"Unfortunately, we will have to walk to my manse..."

"Go on."

Aerion followed Illyrio to his luxurious manse which had over a dozen servants maintaining it. He was accompanied by Jaime Lannister and several Soul Knights so safety was the least of his problems. In Illyrio's presence, the majority of the servants seemed rather timid and nervous as if a single mistake would result in severe punishment. Though, this timidness could only result in further mistakes.

"Please, take a seat at my table while the servants have the gifts prepared."

Aerion nodded as he looked around, taking observations of Illyrio's manse.

This man is living well...

"Wine, m'lord?"

A female servant approached Aerion with wine. In terms of appearance, she was naturally above average as Illyrio was more than rich enough to only have the best slaves serve him. However, Aerion had seen better and 'done' better. Simply put, the servant before him paled him comparison to Arianne so he was rather indifferent.

"No," Aerion replied plainly. "I would prefer water at this moment."

The servant nodded and hurried to deliver Aerion some water.

"Keeping healthy, my prince?" Jaime remarked.

"Wouldn't want to find myself looking like the Usurper." Aerion jested. "The fat bastard has a whole cellar dedicated for wine in my Red Keep. Hmph, I should have thrown it all into the sea or sold it off for further humiliation..."

"I believe you did enough to humiliate him," Jaime replied. "Any more and he may have gone mad."

Aerion nodded.

"The Seven Kingdoms have had enough mad rulers as it is."

A goblet of wine later, Illyrio entered the room with a rather cheerful expression on his face. Two rather bulky men carried a heavy chest towards Aerion, gently dropping it onto the ground to his side.

He stood up from his seat and observed the chest with great interest before personally bending a knee to open it.

As he opened the chest, a brilliant ray of golden light shined upon him before revealing all of the wonders inside. The gold in the chest shimmered endlessly, making Aerion turn away for a moment before taking a closer look.

There were three items within the chest, all of which were rather similar in shape yet different in their own way.

Aerion's eyes widened as he felt the scaled eggs and came to a realisation of what they truly were.

"Dragons eggs... where did you find them?"

"I had all of them bought in the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai. However, the dragon eggs have long since been dead and are now considered no more than a collectable. Otherwise, it would have been improbable for a man like myself to attain them... but I believe you will find them pleasing nevertheless."

Dead dragon eggs... how do I make them come to life?

Aerion wondered as he held the one in the very middle. It was as black as the midnight sky with seemingly no other colour. However, emerald swirls and ripples began to come alive the longer he held onto it.