Tenth Moon, 114 AC
Jacaerys
"They're opening another vault?" Baela asked.
"It seems so. I'm thinking of taking a trip down there to watch as the survey team goes in this time," Jace replied.
"This time? You mean every time. You always do that," Baela teased.
"Can you blame me? It's the most exciting thing that happens these days," Jace retorted.
Why would he not want to follow along to see how the exploration and excavation efforts were going? Overseeing the daily tasks and chores of their camp like collecting water and firewood or their slow clearing of the overgrown jungle for the rebuilding process was hardly very interesting or exciting after all. Such mundane tasks could easily be and were delegated to his subordinates.
"I wonder what treasure they'll find this time," Baela said playfully as she placed her finger beneath her chin. Her expression was thoughtful.
"More Valyrian steel, more gold, silver, gems, maybe some esoteric lore detailing the rituals of blood magic. As usual," Jace said jestingly with a smug smirk.
Baela shook her head in wonder. "I still can't believe how much there is here. You open one vault and think to yourself, 'Incredible, it's a Valyrian steel sword, we can't possibly get luckier than this!' And then you open another vault two streets over and there's twenty in that one."
Baela was only slightly exaggerating. Though they had not found any one single vault with twenty Valyrian steel swords as she had claimed, the amount of steel that they had gathered in the past six weeks might very well allow them to forge that many swords. There was an almost unbelievable amount of treasure in Gogossos. It was almost too good to be true and they had barely started exploring and excavating the city.
It did make sense though. The Red Death had burned through the city about 139 years ago, killing most of the people and sending the survivors fleeing the entire archipelago with barely anything more than the clothes on their backs. For a century, the Basilisks had been shunned, before the corsairs had come slinking back, settling into the ruined Valyrian forts and towns and preying on the trade lanes that passed nearby, but Gogossos had remained undisturbed.
All the corsairs that they had interrogated about it had sounded almost terrified of the city. The City of Ghosts they had called it, and his goodsister Rhaena had parroted their words though in the end she had followed them nonetheless. The corsairs had told them old legends that dated back decades, of how every expedition full of greedy and ambitious corsairs that had dared to venture to Gogossos had never returned alive.
Heeding this warning, and the advice that his father had given him years ago, Jace had taken care to pack medical supplies for any potential outbreak of disease and he had sent five squads of men to scout and survey the island before he had moved more of his forces onto it. They had returned after two weeks, reporting nothing out of the ordinary. The dreaded Red Death had not re-emerged to strike them dead, nor had the rumored chimeras suddenly appeared to kill them all either.
Instead the scouts had spoken of finding a completely untouched and undisturbed city. The city had been partly overgrown by the jungle but its stone buildings were still in good shape and the fifty men of the scout team had returned laden with treasure they had found simply lying about in some houses that must have belonged to affluent Gogossi long ago.
With this promising report, Jace had moved his entire expeditionary force into the city. Five hundred men to explore the ruins, excavate its treasures, and catalog and inventory them, before starting work on clearing out the jungle trees and bushes that had overgrown the city so that the rebuilding could begin. If Jace was being honest, he'd probably need to call for more men sooner rather than later because their tasks were nowhere near done.
Most of the city was still overgrown by the jungle and they had barely cleared the undergrowth and trees from the houses they had chosen to camp in near the city's black walls which, unlike those of Volantis and Tyrosh, were much closer to the exterior rather than the interior. Perhaps because Gogossos had been conquered from the Ghiscari colony of Gorgai rather than founded and built from the ground up by Valyria?
Not to mention, it seemed like every day they found some new vault buried somewhere or some new affluent neighborhood with houses that were all but bursting from the seams with treasure. In Valyrian steel alone, they had already found more than his parents had looted from the entirety of Slaver's Bay when they had sacked the region years ago. Thousands of pieces, ranging from small jewelry like rings, necklaces and bracelets, to large weapons like swords and axes and other strange artifacts and tools whose uses they did not understand.
The magical Valyrian steel had clearly played an important role as a catalyst and binding material in many of the blood mages' spells and rituals. The more magical artifacts had all been set aside under heavy guard until they could figure out what to do with them as no one dared play around with them lest they trigger some magic they did not understand.
It was not just Valyrian steel though. They had also found truly unfathomable amounts of silver, gold, and gemstones, ivories, silks, and tapestries, dragonglass, including glass candles, and all kinds of other precious and valuable materials and commodities in all shapes and sizes. Some troves they had found might even hold more wealth in one vault than the entire treasuries of some noble houses back in Westeros.
Gogossos had been a city of mages ruled directly by Valyria that had been untouched by the Doom and the chaos and wars which had followed that had ravaged Essos. It had grown even richer and more powerful from its slavery and sorcery in the Century of Blood before its untimely end in the Red Death and it had laid completely undisturbed for almost 140 years. The treasure it held buried within its boundaries was a clear relic of that storied and infamous past.
Of course, the blood mages of Gogossos had been no fools. They had known that many would be greedy for their treasures and had taken care to protect them with magical protections and booby traps. The rather brutal types that could chop off your limbs with razor sharp slicing blades, incinerate you in a random blast of fire powered by archaic and incomprehensible magic, or drain you to a bloodless husk in a second for simply stepping in the wrong place.
They had seen firsthand for themselves the remains of those that had come before them that had fallen prey to the traps. Their skeletons were scattered sporadically around a few vaults in the city that they had unearthed so far. It seemed they had an answer for what had happened to all those corsair expeditions that had never returned alive. Their camps had been long consumed by the jungle in the almost forty years that must have passed since they were alive.
Those same traps had unfortunately killed some of Jace's men as well. It had greatly dampened their enthusiasm for exploring and excavating until they had begun discovering how to deactivate or break the traps and protections. Morale had risen back up tremendously when they had discovered that dragonfire was particularly useful at burning away magical locks and protections and they had since resumed their task with gumption, even though the occasional injury and death still occurred.
"Well, I should be off now," Jace said to Baela.
"Yes yes, do go ahead and get on with your definitely not regular adventure with the excavation teams," Baela said mockingly. The edge of her teasing however was dulled by the endearing and bright smile she wore on her face.
Jace felt his heart skip a beat. It was not a particularly special scene with a picturesque background like he had heard described in some of the books Laena enjoyed reading. It was just their run down house in Gogossos and Baela was not dressed in any extraordinary gown but simply in the breeches she had worn during their whole campaign. Yet it felt special nonetheless.
The sun's morning light peeked through the window of the house they were staying in and lit up parts of Baela's hair with a golden tint that contrasted prettily with its normal cool silver-white hue. Her hair reached down to her shoulders, having been grown out since their wedding. It helped to frame her flawless face, heart-shaped and fair to look upon. Her purple eyes twinkled with lingering amusement from her jape at Jace's expense but he didn't care.
She looked so beautiful in that moment… no she always did. Sometimes, he looked at Baela and thought that he was truly blessed and fortunate to have her. It was incredulous and bizarre. The him of four years ago would have been aghast at the idea that he could have moved on so quickly from their first love to develop affection for Daemon Targaryen's daughter instead.
Yet Jace couldn't help himself. Buried deep in his heart, he still remembered Cassandra fondly and he would always think well of her and wonder what could have been. He loved her still and perhaps he always will in some way. Yet little by little, he could feel his head turned and his heart swayed by Baela Targaryen. The way she looked, the way she smiled, the way she teased him and challenged him like Cassandra never had. She had a boundless life and youthful energy to her that he could not help but feel drawn to.
They had grown closer together in the year since they had wed, bonding over the sights of Tyrosh and their adventures in the Basilisk Isles. They had fought and flown together, covering each other in battle and uplifting each other's spirits when their duties were too tiring and burdensome. They had laughed together, laid together, and endured together. Baela was bold, feisty, and fiery, and she was his. His girl, his wife, his beloved.
But even in his own mind, Jace could not say it. They might be far away from Westeros and the troubles that plagued both of their families, the division that threatened to tear them apart, but it was never far from his thoughts. Aegon had broken his promise to his sister, and it felt like the idea of him actually marrying her was becoming more fantastical than the idea that he didn't.
If Aegon did not marry Laena, if the rift between House Velaryon and House Targaryen was not healed, where would that leave him and Baela? He was her father's hated rival, and the interests of their houses continued to rapidly diverge. And so with all these worries and insecurities riddling him, Jace could not bring himself to admit it to her or to himself that he was falling. But sometimes you didn't have to say anything at all.
Unable to resist any longer, he surged forward and pulled Baela to his body, claiming her lips and her love for himself. Their kiss was hungry, needy. It was not long before their lips parted and their tongues dueled for dominance. Their adventures in the bedroom were like battles, neither of them truly willing to submit as they slaked their lusts on each other in the throes of passion.
He led Baela to their bed, hot and needy. "What… what about your vault?" she asked breathily.
"It can wait," Jace replied. His last rational thought was that he loved how sweet she sounded when he made her squeal in pleasure.
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Leaving Baela behind to relax in their bed, Jace dressed himself and made his way to the vault. He was late by now obviously, but being the leader came with certain perks. As he left the house that Baela and he were staying in, the Tide Guard dutifully fell in line behind him as he walked, following him faithfully.
The Basilisk Isles were hot and humid. The sun beat down fiercely on them and simply walking around would have you sweating from your head to your toes within minutes. It was sticky and stinky. The Isle of Tears where Gogossos laid was no exception. Jace took care to walk under the shade.
With how much overgrown vegetation and foliage there still was all over the city, that was not hard to find. The city of Gogossos had been left completely undisturbed by humans for almost one hundred and forty years. Its stone buildings were almost all still intact though covered in vines and in some places cracked from the spreading roots of trees and the general decay of time.
In the distance, the black walls that ran through the middle of the city remained completely untouched and unworn, made as they were out of indestructible and impervious dragonstone. There was only one other building in the city made out of dragonstone, the central citadel built as the seat for the archons sent from Valyria long ago. Those archons had been overthrown by the blood mages shortly after the Doom who had proceeded to take the citadel for themselves.
Some of the most secure vaults had been located deep in the central citadel, surrounded entirely on five sides by dragonstone walls and the sixth sealed with ebony doors and Valyrian steel locks. Those nigh impenetrable vaults had tantalized them for weeks. Lockpicks had not worked and his men had searched desperately through the entire citadel looking for the keys before they had resorted to simply destroying the doors, setting them on fire or hacking away at them with axes to force their way in.
They hadn't realized at the time that a massive vault had been lying just across the street in one of the buildings next to the central citadel. As Jace arrived on-site, he saw that two squads of men, twenty in total, had gathered around the entrance. The vault had been discovered a few days ago as some of his men had begun exploring the neighboring buildings now that they were almost done excavating and looting the central citadel's vaults.
"Lord Jacaerys," one of the sergeants greeted him. "You came just in time my lord. The lads are almost done breaking through the door. It won't be long before we can send in the first scouts.
Jace looked at the door in question, two massive double doors, made of iron and ebony, and the ten soldiers armed with axes bashing away at the ebony to try and carve out a space large enough for a man to crawl in and hopefully unlock the doors from inside. "The locks are made out of Valyrian steel?"
The sergeant nodded. "That's right Zaldilaros. We were quite surprised to find that was the case given that the only other place we saw those was in the vaults in the citadel. These doors are massive too, gate-sized really. It's really making me very curious to know what the old blood mages wanted to lock up here in this seemingly ordinary building instead of inside their dragonstone citadel."
"I suppose we shall find out soon enough," Jace said as the men began cheering. After hours of work, they had finally finished carving out the narrow hole. Now the question, who would go in first?
The men who had carved out the hole drew straws amongst themselves and the three with the shortest straws took a deep sip of water from their canteens each before crawling into the vault, one after the other, squeezing through the narrow hole they had helped create.
It was always a risk to be the first to enter the vaults of the blood mages. Who knew what booby traps and magical curses laid inside? And yet the rewards were worth the risk some would say. House Velaryon took most of what was inside each vault of course, but of the considerable share of the spoils given to the soldiers, those first brave scouts got by far the most.
Jace could hear the three scouts shouting at their comrades through the door as they tried to open it from the inside. When they couldn't find any way to do it, the men outside groaned and picked up their axes to begin work again. They would have to widen the hole if they wanted to get any real treasure out. In the meantime, the scouts shouted their intentions through the door to venture deeper into the vault and look for treasure and their brothers outside gave resigned acknowledgements.
The screaming started a minute later. It was the sound of throats screamed hoarse with shrill voices, voices of despair. Jace's sword hand instinctively moved to Seafang on his left hip as he and the sergeant rushed forward.
"Help them!" Jace ordered as the soldiers continued hacking at the door, trying desperately to widen the hole so they could go in and save their brothers. It was too late however. The screams stopped, leaving only the silence of death in the air.
The silence was broken within seconds with a massive pounding sound as something began bashing against the doors from the inside. The men hurriedly withdrew as what looked to be a claw slipped out through the hole they had created and began tearing at the door. With a sudden crash, the doors broke open, the Valyrian Steel locks remaining perfectly intact even as they were torn right out of the doors they had kept closed. Splinters of wood and iron bands went flying as something stepped out of the vault.
It had the head of a tiger, the torso of a man, the legs of a monkey, and the claws of a wyvern, and it was large, standing ten feet tall. It was deformed, twisted, and grotesque. The skin on its human torso appeared to be bleeding red, shredding like wet parchment. It was a monstrous abomination, a chimera.
With a blur it began tearing through Jace's soldiers. It bit the head off one man cleanly before savagely tearing its wyvern claws through another, cleaving him in half even as it stomped on another man and crushed him underfoot. It then whipped its tail through three men and speared another. Its tail resembled that of a basilisk's but barbed with the horns of a goat. Pieces of the murdered men's bodies were impaled on the horns. In seven seconds, as many men had died.
Before Jace could even react, his six Tide Guard dragged him into a sprint as they ran for their lives. As they pulled him away to safety, Jace tried to argue that they should try and save the others before he turned back and saw that there were none to save. Even the sergeant whom he had spoken to had already been killed by the chimera and to Jace's horror, the chimera was not alone.
Dashing out from the broken ruins of the gate were scores of chimeras spreading out in every direction. A grotesque menagerie of animalistic hybrids with pieces of humans and different animals all thrown together so haphazardly that the creatures should be dead and yet they walked still, minotaurs, centaurs, harpies, and so much more. And then came the abominations, eldritch monsters that looked like human bodies warped beyond all recognition, with too many arms or legs, that were overly large and fat, mutilated, twisted.
None of the chimeras resembled each other, with each looking hideously unique and deformed. The only thing any of them had in common was that their 'human' skin was all blood-red and shredded and their screams and roars were fearsome and terrifying to hear.
It was not long before the chimeras noticed them fleeing. Even as many continued spreading out into the jungle ruins of Gogossos, others, including the tiger-headed monster that had emerged and slain the two squads from earlier began sprinting toward them. Some crawled on all four or more legs like beasts and others ran upright like humans and Jace did not know which was more disturbing and terrifying.
Suddenly his guards stopped and Jace almost fell over from the impact as he slammed into them. "Why did you stop?" he choked out. He looked ahead, and to his horror he saw that some of the chimeras had already outpaced them and were blocking their way. Sphinx-like creatures with the bodies of lions and tigers but the grotesque heads of humans, wolf-hybrids with human torsos and scaly tails and claws, and so many more stood in front of them.
He would not say it aloud, but he was more terrified than he could ever remember being in his life, and that was including his dangerous duels with both Daemon and Aegon. He cursed his complacency, all of his Tide Guard were armored from head to toe in their ocean-blue plate while Jace, thinking there was no danger, had equipped himself with only a chainmail shirt and a leather doublet. Against these monsters that had crawled out of the seven hells, what chance did he stand without even proper armor?
Jace almost gave into despair, but he steeled himself. He was not going to let himself die without a fight, he was a proud son of House Velaryon, a dragonrider, the sea and the sky were his birthright. His men stood beside him and they would never abandon him. Jace was touched and thankful for their loyalty. It brought him some measure of peace despite knowing the end might very well have come for him.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Jace drew it forth from its sheath. He took a vindictive pleasure seeing the creatures shy away from his blade. It seemed they were scared of Valyrian steel. Good, he grinned maliciously, let them remember why they feared it so much. Seafang would drink monster blood today. Following his lead, six swords drew at once, singing together in a choir of steel.
Glancing back over his shoulder briefly, Jace saw the tiger-head down the street stalking towards them, the ground shaking with its every step. It seemed to be playing with them, taking its time leisurely marching forward on two monkey legs. Some of the other chimeras were beside it, growling and tearing at each other even as they continued stalking forward. It seemed the monsters were fighting over which one got to kill them, how wonderful.
Focusing back on the task at hand, Jace knew that if they were to have a chance of seeing tomorrow, they had to break through this pack of chimeras in front of them before tiger-head arrived. A battle spirit filled him and his veins burned with fire as he grinned maniacally. Let's do this.
"Velaryon and Victory!" he cried as he charged into the pack of monsters before him. His six sworn swords were by his side, matching his every move as they cleaved through the chimeras.
One sphinx-like creature leaped for his head and Jace cut through it in a single blow, almost carving the creature in two before he instantly plunged Seafang into the guts of a wolf-hybrid monstrosity. A harpy-like creature beat its too small wings as it jumped up to strike him and Jace stabbed it right through the middle, wincing as he felt its claws rake along his left and right arms before he swished its body aside and raised his sword to slice through the next monster that dared to attack him.
And on and on it went, monsters constantly attacking him, sometimes at the same time, while he desperately slashed through them knowing that a single misstep meant death. His Tide Guard locked ranks around him, seeking to protect him at all costs as they moved forward.
Within seconds they had bathed the cobblestones on the street in chimera blood as their castle-forged steel swords cut cleanly and smoothly through the monsters. The price was high however. Many of the monsters had tough hides that made them more durable and even through the armor, the savage bites and claws of the chimeras found purchase, scratching at his Tide Guard through the gaps in their armor, one of them even had their neck torn out.
The fear his Valyrian steel blade appeared to strike into the creatures seemed to protect Jace from serious harm despite his lack of armor. That and the devoted protection his Tide Guard gave him even at the expense of their own lives and limbs. Nonetheless, Jace ended up with scratches of his own, if minor. He was lucky that that was all he incurred.
As they cut through the last chimeras in their way, Jace realized that he had lost two of his guards. He was saddened by the loss but there was no time to mourn the dead. Their delay had cost them. The tiger-head and its fellows were upon them. Dragging their tired and injured bodies forward, Jace and his remaining Tide Guards ran for their lives down the street as the tiger-head finally grew bored of playing with its food and began charging at them at terrifying speed.
In his heart, Jace knew that their time was up but still he ran, holding onto one last sliver of hope. A hope that bloomed. Feeling the sudden urge to look back, Jace did so and the world blazed with cobalt fire as the tiger-head and all the other chimeras were reduced to charred husks and ashes within seconds.
Jace looked up and his heart swelled with joy and relief. Tessarion had come. Perhaps she had sensed the despair in his heart and known that he had needed her, whatever the reason, he could not be more glad to see her.
An awesome roar, more powerful than any the chimeras could create reverberated through the stone buildings before Tessarion continued her onslaught, her cobalt flames were like a pillar of death emerging from her maw as she mowed down all the chimeras on the street all the way back to the vault where they had come from. Jace knew it was too much to hope that she had gotten them all, too many had escaped and spread into the rest of the city, but for now at least they were safe.
Tessarion landed in the street before them and Jace and his four remaining guards gladly mounted her and rode back to their camp. They had to warn their allies, and quickly. Gogossos' ghosts were more real than they had thought.
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Upon their return to the camp that afternoon, Jace and his Tide Guard had hurriedly sounded the alarm before getting their wounds dressed and disinfected with distilled wine. They had soon learned that many other parties throughout the city had been attacked by the chimeras as well, those that had escaped Tessarion's wrath. Many had died in those attacks, including two of Jace's distant Velaryon cousins, Laenor and Aenar. The survivors of the attacks had been brought back alive, but many wished they hadn't been, missing arms or legs or with deep gashes and wounds. Some would not survive the night.
It was not long before some of the chimeras had found their campsite and attacked it. Jace, and his fellow dragonriders had taken their dragons and attempted to burn all the creatures but many had escaped, hiding beneath the trees and skulking in the alleys and buildings. They could not kill them all without burning entire swathes of the city with all its treasures and their men still inside.
When they had noticed the chimeras they were chasing shy away from the black dragonstone walls even at the cost of their lives in dragonfire, the same way they had shied away from his Valyrian steel, Jace had known that they had an advantage they could not give up. He had immediately ordered that all of their soldiers throughout the inner city abandon camp and move themselves and all their weapons and supplies to the outer side of the southern gate of the black wall, closer to the port where they could get reinforcements and resupply from their fleet. The treasure they had collected and cataloged so far was brought along as well, especially the Valyrian steel which had proven so useful against the monsters.
Jace had then sent his dragonriders and teams of men to seal off all the other gates in the black walls with debris so that the creatures could not escape. Only one entrance into the inner city was left now and it was the very same southern gate that his army was camped beside at the black wall.
They were safe for now. Scouts had been posted along the black wall as sentries to watch for any danger and others had reinforced the gate and were keeping a paranoid and watchful eye on it lest some chimeras came bursting through. The rest of the men were hard at work sorting out and inventorying their supplies, weapons, and treasures, while seeing to the normal daily tasks and chores to maintain a campsite.
Dinner was a frightful experience that night, as the men's nerves had been rattled after their ordeal during the day. More than a few of their brethren had been killed by the chimeras or gravely wounded and dying in the infirmary. Morale was at an all-time low.
With the men settled into the new campsite, Jace and his fellow commanders gathered in one of the more intact houses outside the southern gate for a meeting. Several squads of Tide Guard and regular Velaryon Army soldiers manned the perimeter around the house, as did all four of their dragons. They would not allow themselves to be taken unawares again.
Lieutenant Colonel Maratis of the Seventh Regiment and three of his captains took their seats alongside Jace, his wife, brother, and goodsister.
"Thank you all for coming," Jace began. "It's been a tiring and terrifying day. I know that we are all desperately in need of some rest, but as leaders our duties are not done yet. Now we have to decide what we do next."
"The proper course is clear my lord." Maratis spoke up. "We've lost almost a hundred men in one day, and that is a crippling loss for a force of only five hundred. We are in dire need of reinforcements. The marines and sailors in the ships in the harbor can help supplement our forces but they're not good enough and neither are there nearly enough of them. We need proper army boys to clear out these monsters, thousands of them, with a full fleet to resupply and provide marine complements if need be."
Luke stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Most of our forces are spread thin throughout the archipelago hunting down corsairs and keeping the local populations pacified and obedient. If we siphon off too many, the corsairs could recover or the locals rebel and undo all our gains so far."
"Isn't this a much more urgent task by far though? Corsairs and rebels can wait and if they rebound so what? We'll just burn them all again. The chimeras have to be put down as soon as possible. The largest single force in the islands is holding down the fort at Talon. We can reassign half or more of it here and storm the city," Baela said passionately. She had been greatly disgusted by the chimeras and had taken pleasure in incinerating any she could with Moondancer.
"I admire your passion Lady Baela, but I would not feel confident sending our boys against those monsters with so few of them. We have a garrison of around three thousand at Talon, even if we take two thirds of it, I do not think it would be enough. We must also consider that the vault Lord Jacaerys opened may not be the only one. There might be hundreds or even thousands more chimeras hibernating elsewhere in the city for all that we know," Maratis replied.
"Call in more reinforcements then," she said simply. "From outside the Basilisks. Velos and Viserria have thousands more to spare and the Unsullied are untouched. They know no fear and will make a fine vanguard as we vanquish these monsters from hell."
"That's not a bad idea actually," Jace said thoughtfully. He could picture it already, an Unsullied phalanx advancing on the chimeras while Velaryon Army pike squares and siege weapons brought up the rear. They could position archers and scorpions all over the walls and on top of the more stable buildings, use dragons to herd them into killzones, there were many ways that they could approach this. He related his thoughts to the council who nodded thoughtfully and began developing his ideas further.
His goodsister spoke up then however. "If we are talking tactics, why are we ignoring the simplest and safest one of all? We have four dragons, let's burn them all."
Jace shook his head. "If we use the dragons indiscriminately we risk burning down the whole inner city. That is not something I am willing to do."
"Why not?" Rhaena demanded. "It is the fastest and safest way for us to do this. We don't have to wait for reinforcements to arrive and we don't have to risk losing possibly thousands of good men to the monsters. We bring death from the skies, why not use our full power?"
"And risk destroying everything in Gogossos when the fire spreads? Everything that we came here looking for? There is a priceless amount of wealth in this city, untold and unimaginable amounts of Valyrian steel, gold, silver, and so much more. We could lose it all," Jace countered.
"Valyrian steel is impervious to dragonfire and that is by far the most valuable material in this city." Rhaena did not back down.
"It would all be buried in the rubble and lost to us," Jace pointed out. "And even if you are so willing to throw away all of the treasure to the dragons' fire Rhaena, what of the invaluable knowledge we will be eradicating? Gogossos is the last place in the world that has preserved so much of the lore of Old Valyria, its magic, its histories, its power. Destroying it is… inconceivable."
Rhaena stared at him. "If that knowledge created these monsters, maybe it should be destroyed."
"So you would destroy it all for the fraction that was abused?" Jace challenged. "Give up all the good that we could learn and do just to destroy the bad? Besides what if we could learn from this lore some weakness that the monsters have? Some way to ensure they will never be a threat to us again? Better to know how they are created, to understand them, so we know how best to destroy them. Dragons were used for ill in the past as well lest you forget, should we give up ours because of that?"
She dismissed his point. "It's not the same."
"You know it is," Jace fired back.
"Enough," Luke interjected. He looked to his wife and sighed. "I understand your concerns love, but Jace is right Rhaena. It would be a complete waste for us to simply destroy Gogossos unnecessarily. It's the same reason why it is often better to conquer and sack a castle or city with an army rather than simply destroying it with your dragons."
"Even if it saves the lives of your men?" Rhaena asked.
"Even so," Jace answered. "I think the Lieutenant Colonel and his captains would agree with me."
Rhaena turned her attention to Maratis and the captains who nodded reluctantly. Maratis spoke up. "Your concern for our lives is endearing and gratifying my lady, but this is our duty. Each and every one of us swore an oath to live and die in the service of House Velaryon if need be. If we are ordered into that city, we will go, even against the monsters of Gogossos. And if we are prepared and ready, we will show you our grit and our skill. The Velaryon Army will win the day, that is our promise."
Maratis looked hesitant to say more but decided to continue. "If… if you were any other house, perhaps we would not be so eager. There are some powerful lords and nobles that would never have fought alongside us, nor have given us a single coin of the treasure and yet you have been so generous to us. So much so that every man who walks out of this city goes home rich. Even if he is to die, his family will want for nothing because of his sacrifice.
"The men know the four of you, we know your family, and we know the measure of you as people. For months you have fought and bled alongside us and so we will not hesitate to do the same in turn. We are proud to serve Zaldilaros, and it is our honor and our privilege to die for House Velaryon. The Old, the True, the Brave."
Jace found himself feeling quite touched by the Lieutenant Colonel's words. The reminder of the faith that his men and soldiers had in him was uplifting and humbling. It was a testament to his ability as their commander that they trusted him so, that he had lived up to the legacy his parents had created and ensured that Zaldilaros would continue to be revered.
"Thank you for your kind words Lieutenant Colonel Maratis," he said. "I will strive to prove worthy of the faith you place in me."
"You already have my lord," Maratis said sincerely.
Sadly, the good feelings did not last. There was a frantic and panicked knock on the door and at Jace's annoyed acknowledgement and leave, the Tide Guard escorted one of the rank and file soldiers into the room. Jace was furious at the interruption to his meeting but his fury evaporated when he heard what the soldier shouted.
"The men have fallen sick!" he said, breathless, as if he had run the entire way.
"What do you mean the men have fallen sick? Which men and fallen sick from what?" Maratis demanded.
"Forgive me sir. It will all be clear soon," he said as he passed his sealed writ to Jace.
Jace hurriedly broke the seal and read the message from the infirmary chief. His eyes widened. He related to the others what he had read.
"They're all sick. Every man who was injured fighting the chimeras. They've all been taken to the infirmary. They have high fevers and they're coughing and vomiting blood. They can't keep their dinners down. The healers say that they've never seen any disease like this. All their wounds have reopened and are bleeding profusely through the bandages and they're in tremendous pain," Jace said as Baela took the message from him.
"List of symptoms… high fever, slight to heavy bleeding from wounds and orifices, coughing, vomiting, the runs, all with blood, it goes on, what is this?" Baela asked before she passed the message along.
"I don't understand. How could they all have gotten sick at the same time? And to have such dire symptoms so soon?" Maratis asked as he read the writ.
Rhaena clenched her fists and pounded it on the table in frustration. "Isn't it obvious?" she demanded, her voice breaking and scared. "What's the common cause between them all? We should have seen it earlier. Jace, you told us that the chimeras were part human didn't you? Just like the histories and legends say. And you said that their skin looked like it was shredded like wet parchment and bleeding red. Those are clear symptoms and we missed it."
Jace sank into his seat in realization and panic, doing his best to steel his nerves. Why? Why was this happening? Everything had been going well and in a single day it had all turned against him.
Luke said what they were all too scared to admit. "The chimeras... are carrying the Red Death."
Panic filled the room then. The captains quailed, wanting to immediately abandon the island and leave behind all the sick and the infirmary staff. Some now shouted their support for Rhaena's plan to burn it all. For her part, Rhaena froze in shock and despair. Maratis looked defeated, Luke was torn, and Baela… was in tears? It broke his heart to see her so but for the life of him Jace could not understand why, he had never thought her to be someone who cried easily.
The panicked shouts and arguments grew unbearable and Jace quieted them all. "Enough! Why are you all panicking? We came here prepared for this possibility remember? Backed up by years of research and medical advancements and innovations. We know how disease works, we know how to prevent and control it, how to contain and kill it, and we have the supplies to do it. My father made sure of that. I made sure of that.
"The Red Death changes nothing. If anything it only makes our task all the more urgent. We cannot leave Gogossos. If we do, one way or another the creatures will escape and then what? What if they spread across the entire Known World and bring the Red Death with them? It will burn through Tyrosh, Velos, Viserria, Spicetown, King's Landing, and all the rest. Do any of you want that on your conscience?"
"We can't just burn the city either. We won't get the buried chimeras still in the vaults and we will have destroyed all the artifacts and lore that could have helped us understand and destroy the Red Death and the Chimeras for good. Burned the treasure and rewards promised to our soldiers as well.
"We are House Velaryon. There is no tradition that we dishonor, no oath that we will forsake, no battle that we will cower from. We are the Old, the True, and the Brave and we will be Victorious. The Red Death is just a disease, an illness caused by such a small germ, and as we conquered all the other illnesses since the Shivers with our knowledge and innovation, we will conquer this one as well.
"The plan remains the same. We stay here, we prepare, and we wait for our reinforcements. And then we storm the city, find every vault, kill every last chimera, and eradicate them and this disease from the world for good. The only addition to our plans now is that we must take precautions. Quarantine the infirmary immediately, every infirmary staff worker will receive double the share of the treasure for their service and sacrifice, as will every soldier who contracts the Red Death."
Maratis still looked defeated however. He spoke up, haunted. "We'll be sentencing them to die. Every man that goes into that city. Nine in ten men die screaming and bloody from the Red Death. Nine in ten. Before we might have had the chance to survive against the chimeras but now? Just one bite, one scratch, and you are dead."
Jace's answer was firm. "Lieutenant Colonel Maratis, not ten minutes ago you stood there and gave us all a long speech about how you were proud to serve House Velaryon. That it would be the honor and privilege of you and every man in the Velaryon Army to die for Zaldilaros. Will you make yourself a liar?" he challenged.
Maratis' eyes were dull but there was pride in them even now. "No my lord," he answered back firmly.
"Good. Then die," Jace said coldly.
Maratis and everyone else in the room looked shocked at his seemingly cruel words but Jace was not done yet.
"I, Jacaerys Velaryon, son and heir of Corlys the Sea Snake and Viserra Seastar the Sea Dragon, command you and everyone else in the Velaryon Army to die Maratis. Because whether today, tomorrow, or one hundred years from now, we will all die. So why not die here? Die for your honor, for the oaths you have sworn. Die for me, for Zaldilaros, for House Velaryon! Die, so that your families will want for nothing, so they will have full bellies and soft beds! So that they will have wealth aplenty and never need fear the specter of the Red Death or the monstrous chimeras of Gogossos because their husbands, their brothers, and fathers and sons died to end it forever! Die Maratis! Valar Morghulis!"
Maratis and his captains rose from the table as one and chorused with a proud salute, "Valar Dohaeris!"
Baela's voice broke and she began sobbing now, no longer able to restrain her tears and uncaring that outsiders were seeing her cry. "And are you including yourself in that call to die Jace!?" she demanded, using his nickname for the first time ever as she gripped onto his left arm with shocking strength and pried his long sleeves up to reveal the many numerous scratches beneath that he had gotten fighting the chimeras.
The scratches were an angry red visible even through the dressings. They looked as if the slightest touch could make him bleed out to death. You could hear a butterfly flap its wings in the silence that followed. Luke and Rhaena were horrified and Maratis and the captains looked stunned.
Jace glared at his wife yet could not find the will to be angry at her for long. She was so distraught and he never wanted to see her cry again if he could. Gently he pulled his arm away from her grip.
"I'm fine," he insisted. "Perfectly well. I don't have any symptoms. I don't feel sick. The wounds look worse than they feel, just like if normal wild animals attacked me."
"And everyone else that got scratched like you is now dying of the Red Death Jace," Luke said, concerned.
"But he is not everyone else," Maratis said in wonder. "He is Zaldilaros. Blessed by the gods. An exceptional dragonlord, immune to all diseases." Maratis and the captains looked as if they were on the verge of bowing down and worshipping him and Jace really did not need that right now.
"Most diseases," Luke corrected. "Jace, you know more than anyone else the limits of our 'immunity.' Our aunt Daenerys died of the Shivers. Please, you have to go to the infirmary, you have to let them take care of you."
"So what? So I can be trapped there? Wasting away under the healers' obsessive supervision while I ask men to die for me out here? Unacceptable. I'll seclude in one of the houses alone, just as a precaution though, I don't think it's needed. If it makes you all feel at ease, we can have some of the healers check me out as well. I feel perfectly fine. I can still walk and fight, and I can still give orders and lead. That is my duty and my responsibility and I cannot and will not surrender it."
"Jace..." Baela pleaded.
"Am I your liege or not?" he demanded and Luke, Baela, and Rhaena froze. "Your lord husband and brother? This is my will. See it done."
Baela looked like she was about to cry all over again, Rhaena was glaring at him, and Luke… his beloved twin brother clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he bowed to him. "As you command, my lord."
______________________________________________
True to his word, Jace had isolated himself inside a separate house from Baela that night and the healers had looked him over. As he had expected, they had given him a clean bill of health and allowed him to work after checking over him again the next day, though for precaution he had been advised to wear a scarf to mask his face and to not touch anyone. That meant no kissing or other marital activities with Baela unfortunately but he doubted he'd be getting any anyway, she was still rather cross with him.
Jace understood her anger but it didn't make him any less annoyed with her. He felt completely fine and well and the last thing he needed was to be secluded in the infirmary with dying men bleeding and screaming to death to haunt his dreams as he tried to solve the crisis on his hands. He was also a little afraid that if he got locked up in the infirmary, Luke, Baela, and Rhaena would take command and then proceed to just burn Gogossos and waste all their hard work. That was unacceptable. Luckily it wasn't going to happen, because he was fine.
Throughout the morning he continued having meetings with Maratis and the other officers (with the proper precautions taken in case he really was sick, which he was not, it was just in case). The amount of things they had to see to was endless. They had to send out messages calling for reinforcements to Talon, Velos, and Viserria, bring the marines on shore, order and oversee more work expanding the campsite, arm some soldiers in Valyrian steel to fight chimeras, the list went on and on.
When his meetings were finally over, Jace felt a little guilty despite himself. It was finally starting to sink into him that this was actually happening. He was really going to order thousands to what could very well be their deaths for his own gain. At the very least he owed it to them to see for himself and understand the kind of suffering he would be condemning them to. He sighed and got up from his desk to visit the infirmary.
While he absolutely refused to lock himself inside when there was still work to be done, a visit from Zaldilaros who was up and about and in full health would do much to lift the spirits of the men that were sick and suffering, especially his dear Tide Guard, who had sacrificed so much to save his life from the chimeras yesterday. Even when he himself had frozen in horror temporarily at the sight of those abominations from hell, they had acted immediately to usher him to safety and they had to be commended and honored for it, personally.
Arriving at the infirmary, Jace found himself a little impressed with how professional and clean it looked and how the staff oversaw their procedures. Ever since the Shivers had killed a quarter of Driftmark all those long decades ago, House Velaryon had never taken the threat of disease lightly ever again. They had pioneered and pushed the boundaries of medical knowledge, methodology, and technology with small-eyes, germ theory, velarisation, and advanced surgical and sanitation tools and methods such as scalpels and soaps.
Following the healers' directives, Jace washed his hands meticulously before he entered the infirmary. The smell of blood and death was thick in the air and he almost turned back before he forced himself to persist. This was the least he could do if he would ask men to die on his behalf.
Before he could continue, he felt his head ache a little. Massaging his throbbing head until the ache went away, Jace thought to himself that he must be more tired than he thought. He had been up since dawn busy working after all and yesterday was a frightful and terrifyingly tiring day.
Summoning up his courage and strength, Jace walked deeper into the infirmary. One of the healers who had checked on him earlier called out to him as he entered. She was wrapped from head to toe in a seamless gown and was wearing a medical scarf.
"Zaldilaros," she said with a bow. "Have you come for a checkup Lord Jacaerys? Or finally agreed to seclude yourself in the infirmary?"
"None of the sort I'm afraid Talisa," he replied. "I just wanted to check on the men. See how they are doing."
Even through the scarf, Jace could tell that Talisa's expression was grim. "Not well at all my lord," she confessed. "Their condition has worsened since last night. All of their fevers have gotten worse, they feel like a furnace to the touch and barely any of them could keep down their breakfast, they just vomited it out with blood mixed in. Those that did had the runs, also bloody. Every now and then they'd just randomly have hacking fits where they all but cough their lungs out, spewing blood everywhere."
Jace winced at the morbid description. Talisa was never one to hide the details. She looked at him pointedly, as if warning that this could be his fate as well if he didn't submit to her oversight and seclusion, but he dismissed it. He was not sick, he just felt a little tired, that's all.
"And how are you and the other healers doing? I hope that you are looking after yourselves? It would be disastrous if any of you got sick."
Talisa's eyes lit up in gratitude at his show of concern for her. "We are doing well my lord. We must thank the Seven for their providence. None of us have fallen ill."
"That is very good news," Jace said. That was very promising. "Not that I want to jinx us or anything, but do you have any idea why that is the case? It may help us plan our attack on the chimeras."
Talisa's expression was thoughtful. "It is simply a theory as of yet my lord, but myself and the other healers believe that the Red Death may be spread only through bodily fluids and not through the air, at least not directly."
"Ohh? I was led to believe that the Red Death was much more dangerous and infectious than that."
Talisa shook her head. "There tends to be a correlation, that the more deadly a disease is, the less infectious it is. That's because it kills its victim before they have much opportunity to spread the disease, and usually these diseases are only so deadly because they are less infectious. That is simply the trend though but it does appear that the Red Death matches it. So far only those that had been bitten or scratched by the chimeras have contracted the disease while the few lucky fellows who encountered them but were not similarly wounded have not. If the disease could spread aerially, at least some of those would have fallen sick by now at least."
Jace's mind was racing. "If your theory is correct Healer, then that could mean that our assault on the chimeras is much less suicidal than we were led to believe. Only those who have blood drawn would be infected and could thus be safely secluded, allowing us to easily prevent the disease from spreading through the ranks. If this was the case though, why did the Red Death so easily burn through Gogossos and the Basilisk Isles when it first appeared?"
Talisa scoffed. "Because we are better than the Gogossi were. We are much smarter and have vastly superior sanitation practices and medical knowledge. The Basilisk Isles are humid and filled with swamps and wetlands, a natural breeding ground for disease and the creatures that could carry them at the best of times. The slave pens of Gogossos, cramped and bursting to the seams with mistreated and bleeding and filthy slaves never stood a chance. One the disease took root there it would have spread like wildfire.
"Furthermore, if our records tell true. There is the possibility of insect carriers that could bite the infected, like the chimeras, and spread it to others they bite. That is now our theory as to how one of Eustace Hightower's men appeared to contract the Red Death almost sixty years ago."
Jace vaguely recalled the incident in question. It had been simply a footnote in the history books at most but he had meticulously researched anything he could about the Basilisk Isles and the Red Death when he had made his preparations for this war, so of course he knew of it. It was a good thing she had brought the matter back to his attention. It could have been disastrous if they had failed to account for that."
"Thank you for the reminder Healer. I will have to inform my men to double their efforts in wiping out the local insect pests if that is the case."
Talisa nodded. "Do you have any symptoms of your own my lord? You were scratched several times by the chimeras after all and we are not sure exactly how much immunity your Zaldilaros blood gives you to the disease."
Jace denied it. "No. I don't feel sick at all." It was not a lie, he didn't. He just felt a little tired from his long morning.
Healer Talisa raised her eyebrow, in an expression that conveyed both suspicion and wonder. "If that changes at any moment, please inform us as soon as possible," she said before bowing and taking her leave.
With Talisa gone, Jace sought out his men. Thirty-four in total had been sequestered in the infirmary after falling sick last night and he spoke to every last one of them, learning their names, and hearing out their complaints about their conditions and promising to speak to the healers to make them more comfortable in any way he could. He winced whenever he saw the condition they were in, their bodies burning with a high fever and their skin beginning to turn red, as if the blood beneath was just waiting to start pouring out…
Each and every one of them had hopes and dreams, lives they wanted to live. They didn't want to die here, and because of his orders, because of their loyalty to him, many of them would. Some of the more religious men looked hopeful that Zaldilaros could call down a miracle for them but Jace just smiled sadly. That was not the kind of power he held.
It was most painful of all seeing his Tide Guard. He knew all of his guards by name and they had served and protected him for many years by now. Seeing them sick and dying was like watching old friends wither away.
"My lord," one of them choked out. "Do not feel guilty for our condition. You could not have known. It was our honor to protect you with our lives. I am sure that all of my brothers here and our two fallen brethren in the heavens already agree."
Jace clenched his fists. "But I do know now. And soon I will be ordering thousands more to march into that city and throw away their lives for me."
"And it should be their honor to die for House Velaryon," another spoke up. "If Zaldilaros commands, we obey. This is the creed of the Tide Guard, of all who serve under the banner of the silver seahorse."
"Your will be done Lord Jacaerys," the third said. "If you judge that Gogossos is worth those lives, who are we to question it?"
"All that we would ask of you little lord," the fourth and oldest began and he was one of the veterans who had served under his father in Tyrosh years ago, "is that you ensure that those sacrifices, our sacrifices, are not in vain. Make sure they have meaning, that they bring glory to House Velaryon and prosperity to its people. Can you promise us that?"
Jace nodded firmly. "I promise. I will not let your deaths, or any of their deaths be in vain. You have my word."
"Thank you," the old veteran said, looking relieved briefly before he began hacking away, coughing up his life's blood onto the ground. It seemed to trigger coughing from the rest of the men as well and Jace watched as they all coughed away until their throats were hoarse and their lungs burned for reprieve.
Jace was unable to bear the miserable sight any longer and rushed out of the infirmary. He felt disgusted with himself. He had seen how horrible the Red Death was for himself and yet still he would not allow himself to falter. He had to ensure that the wealth and knowledge of Gogossos was taken in its entirety. He had no choice, there was too much at stake here, too much they could gain from those ruins that could give them enormous advantages against any foes they might have… And to turn back now would dishonor the sacrifices of those who had already given their lives.
He looked back at the infirmary before shaking his head. He turned his eyes forward and steeled his resolve. He informed Maratis of everything Talisa had related to him and gave instructions that the soldiers were to clear all the wetlands and undergrowth they could in the city limits to reduce the insect breeding grounds. He also told him to inform his brother, wife, and goodsister that they would have to use their dragons to help support Maratis' men. Dragonfire would be ideal for burning and boiling away all the swamps. They were also to rigorously use all the various insect repelling herbs, plants, and nettings they had used in the rest of the Basilisks.
It was a little past noon when his last meeting with Maratis was over, so he retired to his little seclusion house to eat a private meal by himself, denying that he felt lonely and missed eating with his family members. That was when the problems started.
"Arghghgh," Jace choked out as he vomited his lunch down the chamber pot. There was an iron taste in his mouth and a red liquid in his disgusting vomit. Blood?
The sick men in the infirmary had been coughing up blood as well… No it can't be. It was just a coincidence. He most definitely did not have the Red Death. Or so he told himself, but that afternoon he began taking his isolation more seriously, summoning those who needed to speak to him to the fence of his house so he could shout at them.
'It's just a precaution,' he thought to himself.
About halfway through the afternoon, Baela came to see him. Jace hurriedly made himself presentable and tried to avoid looking sick (because he wasn't). He opened the door and made a big show of stepping outside, even though every step made his head pound. His dragon Tessarion glared at him balefully from where she rested in the grounds around the house, judging him for risking his health.
Baela did not give two fucks about the seclusion around his house it seemed because she walked right past the fence and not even the Tide Guard dared to gainsay her as she walked up to him. Putting on a smile, Jace addressed his wife.
"Baela dear, what brings you here to my humble little abode on this rather hot but otherwise pleasant afternoon?" he said.
She looked completely unimpressed with him. "I heard that you started tightening your own seclusion. Visitors can only come to the fence now Jacaerys? You'd only do that if you were actually sick!"
Jace shook his head. "It's just a precaution Baela. My conversation with Healer Talisa has helped me realize that I was not taking it seriously enough this morning."
She looked at him and Jace wondered if she could see how tired he really was. He hoped not. She would misunderstand everything. He wasn't sick, he was just tired.
"Jacaerys, please. Go to the infirmary. For me if you won't do it for yourself," she pleaded.
Jace looked at his wife, and saw the distress written all over her face. At times like this, it made him wonder just how saddened she would actually be if he died. He was not an idiot. He knew how much Baela struggled with her place in House Velaryon, how much she felt like it was a betrayal of her birth house and her parents.
Deep down as much as she might have come to like him, he knew she saw him as a chain binding her to House Velaryon and pulling away from her family. They might have been very physically intimate with each other, and comfortable enough to consider each other friends perhaps, but their hearts they had kept locked away.
"I'm sorry Baela," he said simply.
Her expression became angry and distant. "Fine then you stubborn fool," she all but spat before she stormed away.
As she walked away, he wondered. With how much worried affection she was displaying for him, the care that seemed to extend beyond friendship, he wondered what she would say if he confessed his feelings for her. Would she return them?
For a moment he felt a spot of courage and desperation fill him as he watched her walk further and further away. Something in his gut told him that this might be the last chance he had to tell her. He opened his mouth and prepared to shout out those forbidden words for all to hear, feeling them upon his lips before a vision of rejection came to mind.
He hesitated then, afraid that he had misread all of her actions and saw feelings where none existed, afraid that he would be rejected. He hesitated too long. Baela walked far beyond the fence and she would not hear him now no matter how much he shouted.
Screaming in frustration, Jace turned back and slammed the door shut as he went back into his house, ignoring how his headache had worsened. Feeling thirsty from the heat, he took a whole cup of water from the barrel of boiled water and drank it greedily. Unfortunately, it was not long before he felt the sudden urge to throw up again and he forced himself to keep it down with sheer will, lying himself flat on the bed to avoid upsetting his stomach best he could.
As the afternoon and its unbearable hot temperatures continued, Jace drank another twenty cups of water, and he probably threw up at least ten of them. Those ten definitely did not have red mixed in with them. Absolutely not.
He was not ill. He couldn't be. The legitimacy of his position as Zaldilaros rested on him not being sick. Would Maratis and the others still obey and follow the plan if they knew even Zaldilarous could and would die from the Red Death? That's why he couldn't be sick. He refused to be sick! It was his paramount duty to House Velaryon and to his mission here to project strength and infallibility to the worst disease that had ever existed so that they could succeed, no matter the cost it had for his men… and for himself. To do anything else would be to break his promise to them.
"I'm not sick," he said aloud to himself as he paced around his house. "What did Father always say? If you believe in something enough, so it will be so! I believe I'm not sick and therefore I am not si –" his proud and definitely true declaration was interrupted by a round of hacking coughs, completely coincidental of course and they definitely did not leave blood drops all over his nice floor.
Jace sat down on the floor, just needing some rest after his pacing, it was definitely not because he was sick. He leaned against the doorframe that separated him from the outside world. At the fence outside the Tide Guard stood guard faithfully, as they always had, while Tessarion had refused to leave the grounds. About an hour ago or so, she had started whining miserably and had moved herself as close to the house as possible. Idly he wondered if he nestled himself in Tessarion's warmth, could she burn away the totally not magical and deadly ailment plaguing him?
"I'm going mad! I must be! Only madmen talk to themselves right?" Jace asked, his voice beginning to break as he felt the urge to laugh maniacally, but that would probably cause him to cough again and more of the red stuff that definitely wasn't his blood would come out.
He called out to his Tide Guard outside and asked for Healer Talisa, just for a checkup he claimed but he knew it was a lie. It was time he admitted it to himself. The sun had started to set on the second day and he was dying. He could feel his body burning up until it burned away, his blood oozing out from the scratches he had gotten that refused to clot and scab over even a day later, the same blood pooling into his lungs and eyes. Maybe soon his body would start sloughing, his skin shredding like wet parchment as he slowly and painfully bled to death. How cheerful.
He felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes, there were small drops of blood mixed in with the water. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live! He wanted to do so many things! There was so, so much that he would never get the chance to do.
His dreams were lost to him; they would never come to fruition anymore. He would not live to build an empire for his house or attain eternal glory for his people and himself. He would die without having accomplished anything at all.
But that wasn't even the worst part. He would never see his family again. He would die in a foreign and savage land, far from home and far from family, and all for nothing. Luke would be devastated. He didn't even want to imagine what his parents and younger siblings would feel. How he wished he could see them. He hadn't seen them in a year and now he might never see them ever again. There was so much that he wanted to say to them still, so much that he should have done with them.
He cursed himself for his hesitation, for his fear; he should have told Baela he loved her. He had wasted all his time, never realizing how short and precious it had been all along. He had watched her walk away like a fool, unable to bring himself to confess before it was too late… and now he would never have the chance.
He would never be able to tell her how much he loved her. He would never be able to win her heart, to have a family with her, the blissful and storied marriage he had dreamed for growing up. He would never hold his newborn sons and daughters in his arms, never proudly proclaim them as the heirs to the empire he had built. He would never have or do anything at all ever again soon.
A few minutes passed before he heard a knock on the door. Maybe it was the healer! Or it was dinner… thinking of eating dinner filled Jace with dread as memories of vomiting lunch and some bonus blood into the chamber pot came to mind. Well he wouldn't know what it was unless he asked.
"Who is it?" he called out and did his best to not sound sick and miserable.
"It's me," Luke said.
Frantically, Jace pulled on a strength he didn't know he still had to rise to his feet and clean up the dried blood on his mouth and the tears from his eyes. He put on his scarf and opened the door.
"Luke, wonderful to see you brother. I'd ask you to come in but we should probably not do that to maintain the seclusion. What did you want to talk about?"
"Do you want to take a seat?" Luke asked him, unimpressed.
Jace dismissed his words. "Now why would you think that? I'm fine. I'm not sick remember?"
"Alright then," Luke said but he watched him like a hawk, clearly not believing his words.
"What did you come all the way out here for?" Jace asked as he leaned himself against the doorframe. His legs were starting to tire but he could not let Luke see how weak he really was. He couldn't.
"The infirmary has asked for permission," Luke said grimly as he handed him a list. On it was the name of thirty of the thirty-four men he had seen this morning, including all four of his Tide Guard.
"Permission for what?" Jace was confused.
"To mercy kill. The screams have started. Just as the stories say. Nine out of ten men have entered the last stage, their skin sloughs, shredding like wet parchment as they bleed from every orifice in their body until have no more blood to give. We know by now who is going to die and they are begging for it. Any who survive till morning will wish they didn't I'm told," Luke said, looking haunted.
Jace nodded. "Do it," he said as the heaviness of the order he was giving settled in. He was sentencing thirty men to die, thirty men that he had personally known, whose hopes and dreams and last wishes he had heard out. How many more would he sacrifice for the fulfillment of his plan? Yet he had no choice but to make that sacrifice, there was too much at stake. They couldn't leave lest the chimeras spread into the rest of the world, and they couldn't just destroy the city either lest they missed some and destroyed all its knowledge and wealth, which they could use to both eradicate them for good and do so much more, for nothing.
Jace was done lying to himself. He was going to die and Baela would cry when he did. Even if she didn't love him, she still cared for him. She would cry and no matter what afterlife he was in, even if there was none at all, he would hate himself for it, he hated making her cry.
If he was going to do that, it had to mean something. It couldn't have been for nothing. He would die to bring his family all the wealth and knowledge of Gogossos and he would condemn thousands to die with him if he had to. And that's why he needed to live long enough to make sure that Luke and the others would keep to his plan even when he was gone.
Jace wasn't even sure his thought processes made sense anymore. They probably didn't. He was delirious and dying after all. Still his strength of will had always been praised and he would maintain this course to the end.
"You just sentenced thirty men to die," Luke said in morbid amazement. "How do you do it so easily? How can you be so ruthless?"
"Because I have to. They'll die a far worse death if I don't."
"And the thousands of others whose lives you want to throw away?"
"I have to do that too. I don't like it, and if there was another way I'd take it in a heartbeat, but yes I will and I will do my best to not regret it."
"Why?"
"For House Velaryon. For the family, so that it can prosper forevermore. Gogossos, there is so much inside it Luke. You saw it just as I did. Our family needs it. Who knows what secrets lie inside that city? Secrets that could help us survive, to win. We inch closer and closer to war with the Targaryens Luke, you know this. We're outnumbered ten to seven and that's assuming Baela and Rhaena join us. That's no guarantee. We need every advantage that we can get."
"Doesn't that sound familiar to you Jace?" Luke cried. "When else has our family thought that they had no choice but to take the hard path? For years our parents warned us to not repeat their mistakes in Tyrosh, and now you want to do the same?"
"Yes. Because no matter the price, sometimes you have to make the sacrifices for the greater good."
"I can't do it," Luke said suddenly.
"What?"
"I know what you're trying to do. You might have fooled Maratis and the rest but your plan needs me to go along with it to succeed and I just… I won't do it Jace. I'm not you, and I'm not our parents. I will not throw away my brother and thousands of lives just for a perceived advantage in a war that is still not guaranteed to come."
Jace grew wroth. "You will because I have commanded you to do so!"
"And if you want me to do it then live! Don't you dare die on me Jace! Live damn you! Live and command me so I can obey! Don't you dare die and force me to take your place and force me to make these hard decisions because I can't do it!" Luke pleaded.
Jace winced at the loudness and Luke withdrew out of guilt for shouting at him. He sighed. "The healers are on their way to see you. You really are sick aren't you?"
Reluctantly Jace nodded. "I started feeling the symptoms at lunch."
"Lunch!? And you didn't think to speak up until now you stubborn fuck!? Do you have a death wish??" Luke cursed. "Damn it!" he shouted as he kicked the doorframe.
"Not my door," Jace japed painfully.
His brother smiled sadly and Jace continued. "I don't want to die. I want to live. But if I don't –"
"Don't you dare Jace."
"If I don't survive," Jace insisted. "Promise me Luke. Promise me that you won't burn down Gogossos in your grief, that you'll make sure that all its wealth and knowledge makes it back to our family, so that I didn't die in vain, so that with my sacrifice, I at least helped safeguard our family's future. Please? Promise me Luke. Promise me," he begged.
Luke looked like he was about to cry but he nodded. "I promise."
"Thank you," Jace choked out with the last of his strength. "And one last thing… tell Baela I love her."
Luke looked up in surprise but also understanding. "You can tell her yourself."
Jace smiled in pain and sadness. "Too late," he managed to say before his legs buckled and he collapsed into his brother's arms.
"JACE!? JACE!!??"
Vaguely he heard his brother's panicked shouts and screams as he pleaded for him to wake up and begged for the healers to arrive. Tessarion's distressed roar sounded through the ruins like a song of mourning, but Jace paid all of it no mind. His eyelids were closing and he did not have the strength to fight it any longer. He was just so, so tired.