CHAPTER XXXIV - THE SUNSET WAR (pt. II)
With the Tenochcah pushed out of the Riverlands, all that was left for us to do was to push into the North. From the few reports we could receive from within the North, there were three things of great importance that reached our ears. Firstly, the so-called emperor of the Tenochah people had established a seat at White Creek Castle, a small keep on the White Knife. Apparently not intelligent enough to grasp that Winterfell, the Last Hearth or even the Dreadfort would have been far more suited to host the foreigners, they had instead chosen a small, poorly-defended keep. I had no doubt that my armies could take it, so much so that I began sending men back south, into the Riverlands. Some would return home while some would remain at the Neck, in the off chance things went awry. I took twenty thousand men, and one dragon, with me to White Creek, to 'settle' with this emperor.
The other news of importance regarded the locations of both the remaining Tenochcah and the Northern lords. Most of the Northern nobility, including the Starks, had taken refuge with the Northern Mountain Clans. It seemed as though the mountains there were of no interest to the Tenochcah, and so they left them untouched. Whatever their reasons were, tens of thousands of lords, ladies and lowborn had flocked into the mountains for refuge, and would soon be freed to return to their homes. We also learned that the remaining warriors were spread thin across the North. The Starks often spoke of how no Southern lord could hold the North, and that proved true for Westerners too. The lands were too vast for the invaders, and so they were spread sparsely across the North- no doubt making it extremely easy to destroy them when it inevitably came to that.
Arriving at White Creek Castle with twenty thousand men at my back, I saw what I had expected- a poorly defended castle. It seemed maybe one thousand men, at the most, were defending their emperor within the castle. White Creek Castle once operated under the rule of House Manderly, but now found itself infested with roaches. I thought about sending my men over the walls, it would no doubt me a simple task, but I remembered one thing:
Fire is the best tool against roaches. With that in mind, I mounted Aerax and took to the skies. Those within the walls would soon enough know my wrath. As I sat hundreds of feet above the castle, I began my descent. The keep wouldn't stand under the pressure of dragon fire, but I would compensate the Manderlys justy.
Now... Now it was time for some fun.
Aerax was still a young dragon, many decades younger than the Black Dread had been when he melted Harrenhal, but White Creek Castle was not Harrenhal. Its simple walls contorted under the heat, and its defenders bathed in the flames. Between the raging infernos wrought by Aerax, and the wind howling high above, I could barely hear their screams.Before long, the outer walls were nothing, as were the invaders. I focused Aerax's assault on doors of the main keep, burning the giant wooden doors enough so that the beast could smash them open with ease. A few dozen brave, or foolish, Tenochcah warriors sallied out, but met only fire. It wasn't long before
he was in my sights. Wearing a pathetic crown of feathers, the emperor cowered in the back of the hall, not brave enough to meet me as his men had been. But, his men were now gone, and nothing remained between himself and my dragon. I brought my men into the halls, who took the emperor and the few women of the court out into the courtyard.
There, I gave my commands. With the women gathered in a crowd, the emperor was stood in the middle of the field, alone. I approached the man, and looked him up and down. He was my elder, no doubt, but he was still a young man. Apparently the courage that had brought him to these lands had all but left him now. Quivering before me, I smirked at him, embarrassed for him in honesty. Such a pathetic man had thought he could conquer Westeros,
MY lands. He was gravely mistaken. I took a few steps back and spoke, not to him, not to the women and not to my men. "Aerax!" I called. The beast moved forward, now standing beside me, but a few feet from the emperor. "Eat." Within seconds, Aerax lunged forward and grabbed the man in his jaws. The women shrieked in horror as their emperor was torn to pieces before them. It took but no more than a few minutes for Aerax to devour the man. "Guard." I called next. "Let these women go. In one moon, we shall give chase to the remaining Tenochcah in the North. We will drive every last one of them to the deepest depths of the Seven Hells. These women will spread the word to those they find, or die in the cold."
A month later, we departed. I called forth another twenty thousand men from the Neck, to help scour the North for the remaining Tenochcah. No doubt most fled back to the western shores, returning to their ships to sail west, but some remained. While my men set about ridding the North of the invaders, I traveled to the Northern Mountains, to relieve the Northerners of their self-imposed exile. Giving word to the lords present, I told them they were free to return to their homes as they saw fit. The Manderlys were to be compensated for the damage done to White Creek Castle, and the Starks would resume their dominion over the North from Winterfell. My actions would no doubt go a long way to ensuring the cooperation of the Northerners for many years to come. Within months, the last remaining Tenochcah that could be found were put to the sword, and the few boats now-remaining on the coasts were sent to the bottom of the Sunset Sea. A great victory had been secured, never again would these foreigners step foot in Westeros.
Upon my return to the capital, I was met with adulation. All of Westeros had heard of the great Victory in the North and the Riverlands, and the realm saw fit to celebrate. My family greeted me warmly upon my arrival at the Red Keep, and my brother showed off his newest... Acquisition. Sat atop Maelys' shoulder was a tiny dragon. As he was my brother, so too did he see fit to consider his dragon the brother of Aerax, and so he named the smaller beast Daerax, in his honor. Two Targaryens with two dragons. I could only hope that this would not go the way it had done so many years ago. With the greetings and warm welcomes settled, I arranged for celebrations to occur. To mark the historic occasion, I commissioned a grand tourney, to be held in two moons. The Tourney of the Star it was to be called, in honor of the men who fought bravely in my army. At the conclusion of the tourney, a summer fair was to be held, to spread the celebration to the smallfolk, so that they too might revel in this historic occasion. Never in the history of the Seven Kingdoms had the realm felt so united.
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