115
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298 AC
Volantis
Cirilla Blackfyre
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Things have spiraled out of control, as far as a decision being made the Golden company split right down the middle as usual. Half wanted to take the gold and leave immediately for Westeros and the other half want to get rid of the growing threat in the way of the High priest of R'hllor and the tiger Triarch.
The history of the tiger party is one of conquest and expansion, it's obvious for all to see that some truly worship the red god but most are pushing for an objective. The objective we all can clearly see is they see a spearhead in the form of Eragon Targaryen.
A 'second son' so to speak as he is behind his brother in succession and they see him as an easy mark to pull into their plans.
They know he is a 'promised prince' to half their people and they want to use that to make him the prince of Volantis similar to the prince of Pentos. It is almost guaranteed they will push their old agenda of expansion and try to take the lands they lost after the doom and rebuild Valyria. It is a common thought among the higher-ups of Volantis who worship their history of being from Valyria. To even be a Triarch you have to prove you descend from Valyria or you can't even be in the running to be elected.
If we leave this problem behind it is likely Eragon will end up being elected as prince of Volantis and will lead them both as a spiritual leader for the faith and warrior to take back what is 'there's'. As a Targaryen, he has the blood of Valyria they worship and he also has a claim on Westeros. With the faith seeing him as close to god and rumors of him having dragons it is a certainty they will make this play.
A new Valyria that reclaims what the old lost and what the remnants were able to build out of Westeros.
I won't lie, I am quite jealous of him and the god given opportunity he has. With the way the Golden company is hearing the people of Volantis talk about him, it is quite demoralizing. I have never heard anything good about Blackfyres, Maelys I Blackfyre ruined that for us.
Anyone who would 'like' us has long given up hope, Maelys is the Maegor of House Blackfyre but much more recent. He was a kin-slaying monster with two heads and joined a band of other ambitious men to war and claim lands.
I sigh and lean back in my chair and rub my temple.
Father with his gold and our uncle with his manipulations are our only real supporters, the Golden Company is bitter-bickering men lusting after things they can't have. It is not lost on me that we of House Blackfyre are much the same but it's all I have known since I can remember.
Before dying mother would say 'Sitting a Blackfyre on the Iron throne is the sole goal of our House' but never would she give a reason why. She was beyond lucky a rich man like my dad took her in and got charmed into her schemes along with his long-time friend my uncle. Without that, we would be beggar kings and queens dreaming of a throne.
Now we have the power to at least try to take Westeros thanks to the efforts of mother and uncle. We will undoubtedly be the last Blackfyres to rebel and try for the Iron throne, we will win or die out for good. We have no children and there are no other Blackfyres but us, Daemon could put a baby in a whore to try and keep the line alive but it's pointless if we lose this time around.
The Targaryens there selves couldn't keep the throne without dragons, how would we the 'bastards' of them manage any better? There is also the potential that the Targaryens have dragons and we stand no chance at all.
What is the best move at this point?
I see only a few real options laid before us and all of them only work if dragons do not burn down our army. We could build scorpions and pray we hit them in the eye as the Dornish did to Meraxes. But that hinges on luck and putting everything on luck seems more foolish than I am willing to partake in.
So I will put those options out of my mind for now and turn to new thoughts.
We want the Iron throne, most every house in Westeros wants to put their blood on the pointy seat of power. They scheme and plan and seduce their way up the ladder and hope all their efforts won't be wiped out by one generation being fools. We as Blackfyres have our own claim to the chair and so we push for it in a more direct manner with swords and blood.
The realm is as weak as it will be getting with a recent rebellion it still hasn't recovered from and the Targaryens making their play to reclaim it. The fighting of the red dragon and the crowned stag will bring it to the critical point where our conquest will be easiest. But neither has made a move as they have both been alerted of the prowling black dragon.
The element of surprise is long gone and all sides taking time to secure as much power as they can before blows are thrown we are not looking bad but also not the best. The stags are scrambling according to our sources, they have the Stormlands, Crownlands, and Westerlands but the other 'kingdoms' are up in the air.
Dorne is the only public kingdom supporting the Targaryens but that doesn't mean they are the only one on their side. The Vale and the North and by extension the Riverlands could be on the side of the Targaryens by bonds of blood. Aemma Arryn the next Lady of the Vale has a Targaryen daughter and her Targaryen husband was killed in Robert's rebellion. Eddard Stark went to war for his family once, Lyanna being stolen away only to birth a Targaryen daughter who could pull the north onto the Targaryen side. Riverlands will side with the north most likely, the Tullys have a strong alliance with the Starks.
If this assumption is right they have roughly an equal amount of men and each having more than we have. This is why we can't just sail over and directly attack, we would give the side we are attacking what they need to bring down their might. That would open them up to an attack by the neutral side or they could wait it out and attack after we die or win and then they would finish off the winner.
So starting the war between them is without a doubt necessary, or making one no longer our enemy.
"What's got you so in thought?" I jump up startled hearing a voice and spot Helaena with a mischievous grin on her face sitting across from me.
"When did you get here?" I pat my chest as I sit down, I was way too distracted if Helaena of all people could sneak up on me.
"I have been here for a while, you worried about a fight breaking out soon?" I shake my head and reach for my cup and pull it to my lips to wet my throat.
"You could have got my attention sooner, I was just thinking about the mountain we need to climb to get to where we are going." Helaena yawns as she stretches her arms.
"I can't climb all that well so I will have to rely on you to help me get where we are going. What do you think about the high priest Benerro?" I scrunch my brows thinking about the tattooed man and soon shrug.
"He is like we have heard, he is a complete fanatic for R'hllor and seems to see things in flame. He thinks Eragon Targaryen is Azor Ahai coming again and the Triarch is using that to take over Volantis and causing our deal to be cut short. The gold is little more than an offering to kindly fuck off and leave their city which the Golden Company would have accepted if they were not a growing threat. I don't think much of the man himself though, he represented the faith of R'hllor when we talked to him but there were hundreds of equally fanatical men and women around him. If it wasn't him it could have been any other and the words would have been the same." Helaena nods and looks around the room slowly.
"I would like to meet him at some point, I am interested in hearing about what he can see in the fire. I don't think we will be leaving Volantis or just some gold though, blood will spill before we depart from here." I eye her as she finally stops looking around the room and looks back into my eyes. "Let's go get something to eat together, that is why I came in here to begin with since it is almost time for dinner." I watch her stand up and turn to leave before I get up and follow while strapping on Blackfyre.
This is the second time she has talked about fighting, first it was about tigers and now blood will spill before we leave. Does she think we will attack the Tiger cloaks? they have almost the same amount of men as the Golden Company.
They also have the black walls and who knows how much they have prepared for this in advance, we are not equipped to siege the black walls. We came thinking at worst we would be attacking the red temple which isn't exactly known for its defense capabilities. Attacking the Tiger Cloaks will be suicide without being able to let the Dothraki loose inside of the black walls to wreak havoc but that would come at a heavy cost to get them in.
I shake off my thoughts and follow behind my sister as she leads the way.
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298 AC
Volantis
Benerro
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The flames show me that the faithful I have sent out to spread word have begun R'hllor's will. Soon all of Essos will know the truth about Eragon Targaryen and how he will lead us to beat the darkness.
The Golden Company are an unwanted threat to life itself, they made themselves the enemy of the prince who was promised. Searching the flames for guidance on how to deal with this threat I see nothing once again. I have long learned to take the Lord's silence in stride, he won't hand everything to us.
I try to think of what R'hllor will want to be done with this threat while it is still in reach, they will eventually come into contact with the Lord's chosen. Is his will to let it happen so Azor Ahai will emerge stronger like a blade being sharpened?
He rose stronger after the ritual in the flames under the bleeding star, will he rise stronger from the conflict with this enemy? I could also be wrong and instead, R'hllor has put them here so I can help by removing them out of his way.
R'hllor guided us and his faithful helped us enter the black walls and take them in his name, those who ridiculed him and opposed him learned the truth of the flames firsthand. Did he do this so we could stand a better chance in the conflict with the black dragons and wipe them out? I will have to think on this a while longer, tomorrow they will meet with Marinna and it will be an opportunity for them to be blessed by the lord's gift.
I will watch a while longer and pray for R'hllor's guidance, in the absence of it I will have to make a decision that I hope will meet his liking.