-Chapter 209-

-Chapter 209-

-POV Aurane Velaryon-

‘We did it,’ I thought as I watched the smoke still rising from the ruined enemy fleet in the port of Tyrosh.

‘And it’s thanks to Prince Viserys and his dragon, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to take this city so easily,’ I thought, watching Prince Viserys enter the banquet hall of the late Archon of Tyrosh.

“Prince Viserys,” I said, bowing deeply before the man who had fought like a demon so we could capture this city.

Even on foot, dismounted from his dragon, he proved he was a Prince of House Targaryen by almost entirely slaughtering the Archon’s guard, demonstrating remarkable mastery of fire magic.

‘It was quite a spectacle, even if it’s nothing compared to the Emperor’s fire magic,’ I thought, recalling the rare moments I had witnessed His Majesty’s awe-inspiring power.

“We need to leave,” said Prince Viserys without even bothering to greet us, his urgency silently underscoring the gravity of the situation.

I furrowed my brow and asked the Prince, unable to understand why we should leave so quickly instead of fortifying our position: “Why?”

“These are the orders sent to us by the Emperor,” said the Prince, waving a letter in the air that no doubt contained all of the Emperor’s instructions.

“Why does the Emperor want to abandon Tyrosh?” I asked.

“Because he succeeded in taking Lys by launching a surprise attack on the city,” said the Prince, pleased that we had just unlocked the situation in the Stepstones.

“How did he manage to take Lys?” I asked, unable to comprehend how the Emperor had pulled off such a feat.

“With the Third Imperial Fleet and my legions returned in secret,” said Prince Viserys.

I furrowed my brow, for even though I knew I was supposed to attack Tyrosh and that a dragonrider would come to help me capture the city, I was unaware of the full plan, let alone the sudden return of the 3rd Imperial Fleet under Aegor’s command and the capture of Lys.

I narrowed my eyes, mentally picturing the Narrow Sea map, and I said, quickly grasping the Emperor’s plan:

“So this means we’re going to trap the Stepstones.”

“Exactly,” said the Prince, nodding.

“Even though we didn’t lose many men in this attack, the men I lost in the Stepstones earlier prevent us from leaving a garrison to keep the city under control,” I said, as I only had 18,000 sailors left, which was clearly not enough to attack the enemy fleet while defending Tyrosh from a potential insurrection or enemy attack from Myr if the conflict dragged on.

“We’re not going to abandon Tyrosh. That’s against Aegon’s will. He ordered us to leave a garrison of 500 men, no more, no less,” said Prince Viserys, staring at me.

I shook my head, then said: “If we’re to carry out the Emperor’s plan, we’ll have to abandon Tyrosh anyway. Five hundred men might be able to hold the Archon’s palace, but certainly not the city center, let alone the entire city…”

I didn’t finish my sentence, but everyone understood what I meant.

Prince Viserys nodded, acknowledging my point, then added: “Aegon’s orders are very clear: we must, and we will, leave 500 of our soldiers to represent the crown.”

“That’s offering them as a sacrifice,” I said, annoyed at having to sacrifice my men yet again.

‘Leaving them behind once more without knowing if they will survive,’ I thought.

‘It makes me feel like a coward,’ I thought, not daring to say it out loud.

“I didn’t say they should ensure security and order in this city. I simply said they must represent the crown,” said Prince Viserys, emphasizing the distinction.

I furrowed my brow once more, then asked: “So?... What exactly does that mean?”

“It means they’ll hold the palace and form armed militias with groups of prisoners willing to serve the Empire. I know it’s a difficult decision to leave these men behind, knowing they will likely die, and the Emperor knows it too. That’s why he made this decision for you, Aurane. All you have to do is obey your Emperor’s orders,” said the Prince, his gaze growing sharper.

‘I have no choice anyway, and if they must hold the palace, even under siege, as long as we act quickly, we can retake the city as easily as we did today,’ I thought.

---

-POV Samwell Tarly-

“I’m fed up,” said Florian, using a blade to shave the right side of my face of any stubble.

I smiled, then said, trying to reassure my second: “What do you want me to say?”

“That you know when this hell will end,” he replied, looking at me intently.

‘It’s fatigue starting to wear on his nerves,’ I thought, noticing the signs of exhaustion on his face.

I raised my eyebrows, then said: “Who knows?”

‘I had a pretty good idea of what Aegon was waiting for to act, but I couldn’t see the whole picture,’ I told myself inwardly while shrugging at the skeptical look on my second’s face.

“We can take them,” said Florian.

‘I know we could take them,’ I thought, as I had run numerous battle simulations in my mind, and every time, we won.

‘But it wasn’t without losses, especially since we didn’t know all of our enemy’s cards or the impact it might have on other battlefields,’ I added mentally before standing up and wiping my cheek.

“We can destroy this army in a single day,” Florian insisted.

“But we’d lose a lot of men,” I said, deciding to guide him to see things from a perspective other than that of a simple warrior.

‘Even my vision doesn’t reach as far as the Emperor’s, because I simply don’t have the right information or the same priorities as he does in his mind,’ I thought.

“With a good strategy, we could pull it off without losing too many of our own.”

“I know you think about it every night.”

“You’re right, Florian, but don’t forget one thing: a good soldier’s first duty is to obey orders. I am merely the commander of this army, nothing more. It’s not up to me to sound the attack,” I said, grabbing a piece of my armor and handing it to him.

‘What the Empire needs isn’t to win a battle through brilliant tactics, but to win the war through brilliant strategy.’

Florian stared at me without saying a word for a few seconds before finally grabbing the piece of armor, sighing, and saying in a weary tone: “I’m just tired of it.”

I patted his arm before saying: “I completely understand your frustration. I feel the same every time I see one of our men die needlessly on this battlefield. But it’s not up to us to decide what will happen here. It’s the Emperor who must give us the order to attack, and so far, he hasn’t.”

“I know,” said Florian, although I could still sense his discontent with the Emperor for keeping us on the defensive.

“Good, then,” I said, definitively ending the discussion.

Knock... Knock... Knock...

“Who is it?” I asked, locking my gaze on the door.

“Priestess Melisandre and High Priestess Kinvara,” said the guard posted outside my room.

“Let them in,” I said, motioning for Florian to wait before attaching the rest of my armor.

The door opened, and the two priestesses entered unhurriedly.

‘As beautiful as ever, but more venomous than ever,’ I thought, remembering the number of new fanatics they had created, even among some of my legionnaires.

I watched the two priestesses enter without saying a word, but they didn’t start the conversation either. After a few moments, tired of this power play, I asked in a neutral tone, masking the disgust I felt toward them: “Well?”

“You will have to bury your resentment toward us deeper in your heart,” said the High Priestess, addressing me as if I were one of her children.

‘Can they even have children?’ I wondered, briefly distracted.

“And why is that?” I asked, raising my eyebrows, not bothering to lie.

“Because it’s today,” said Priestess Melisandre, handing me a letter.

I furrowed my brows, speechless, as I recognized the seal on the letter:

‘The seal of the Blood Moon.’

“What’s happening today?” asked Florian, furrowing his brows.

I took the letter the priestess handed me, and while reading it, I said, slightly excited at the prospect of finally removing the leash we had worn around our necks for several moons:

“It’s time for us to counterattack.”