Capítulo 133 - The Battle of Haigh Castle (VII)
🕑 Added 2025-02-28 12:56:58 +0000 UTC“Let's make this continent call out the name of House Targaryen once more.” - Rhaenys Targaryen, Princess of Vengeance.
----
“Visenya, mount Syrax and make the castle open its gates.” Looking at his wife, still sitting on his lap, Aenar ordered with a gentle tone.
Visenya's eyes lit up when she heard Aenar's words. House Haigh's castle had to open its gates or be destroyed. She didn't want to destroy it, especially since Aenar might award it to some soldier who won glory in the war.
“I'll go too.” Rhaenys' eyes showed the same emotion as Visenya's. How could she miss the chance to make a castle surrender to House Targaryen?
“Yes, but no burning the castle.” Aenar agreed, but warned them both not to set fire to House Haigh's fortress.
Visenya got up from Aenar's lap and left the tent with a big smile on her face. Rhaenys followed her aunt with the same determined look.
Looking at Oberyn, covered in blood, Aenar asked in a cheerful tone, regardless of being surrounded by corpses: “My Master of Laws, do you wish any reward?”
As king, Aenar knew he had to be decisive in both punishments and rewards. Only when there was motivation would people give their all to achieve something. That's why he was fully aware that he had to reward those who deserved it and punish the offenders.
Oberyn looked surprised, but for a moment his gaze was confused before he made a decision.
“Your Grace, if possible, I want to legitimize my daughters.”
Although Dorne didn't care much for the status of bastardy, Oberyn, as a father, wanted his daughters to be able to have titles and lands. Bastards couldn't own land or titles, so he wanted all his daughters to be legitimized.
In addition, conquering lands and fiefdoms in Dorne was practically impossible. So this war represented a unique opportunity to secure property for his heiresses. As a father, he had a duty to pave the way for his daughters to have a real home in the future.
Tyrion looked at his friend in surprise. He hadn't really expected Oberyn to use something so valuable to legitimize his bastard daughters.
Gaining glory on the battlefield might seem easy, but it wasn't. In the army, for example, if a soldier killed three enemies, he could be rewarded with gold; if he killed ten, he might receive a small village.
But was that simple? Absolutely not.
People only had one life, and those who fought on the battlefield gave their all in every confrontation. These battles were always exhausting, so how could anyone fight consecutively? Of course, Tyrion was talking about commoners. The nobles, who had training and armor, were usually able to kill two or three commoners who had never picked up a sword.
“If you want that, your daughters will be legitimized. They will be able to choose the coat of arms and the name of the house when everything is finalized.”
Aenar looked at the Master of the Laws of his Small Council and couldn't help but smile. Oberyn was only acting as any father should when thinking about his daughters' future.
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Oberyn thanked him with a slightly relieved tone. The process of class ascension that would take hundreds of years for a commoner had happened in an instant. It just showed that it wasn't money or anything else that really mattered, but luck and powerful connections.
“Oberyn, we'll stay here for a day before moving on. We can't let Walder Frey know about the events in this camp.” Aenar spoke with a majestic tone that made Tyrion and Oberyn straighten their backs. They knew that the next war would indeed be a real war.
Twins was one of the most powerful castles on the continent. Without dragons, toppling that fortress would be extremely difficult.
“I will make the preparations, Your Grace.” Oberyn thumped his chest and spoke enthusiastically. He had just received a generous reward and was more than excited.
Aenar nodded and let out a relaxed sigh.
“Now that the war has begun, Robert must move.” He muttered to himself, with a thoughtful expression. In the infinite timelines, Robert's strategy was usually identical to his: attack head-on, without trapping himself in a castle waiting to be surrounded.
Especially as he had the largest army and dragons...
----
In the air, mounted on Moonfyre, Rhaenys felt her hair flutter in the wind, her eyes shining with excitement. Glancing to the side, she saw the graceful figure of Syrax flapping his wings elegantly.
Both dragons were magnificent: one with silver scales and purple stripes and the other completely golden. They were twins and extremely agile.
Rhaenys quickly used her hand to communicate with Visenya through signs, which were answered just as quickly.
She couldn't help but admire Aunt Daenerys' ingenuity. Those signs were incredibly practical. She would never have thought of developing a method of communication during dragon flights. After all, it was impossible to be heard in the air because of the wind.
Visenya understood what Rhaenys wanted to do: burn down one of the castle towers to demonstrate the power of the dragons and force those inside the fortress to open the gates peacefully.
She liked the idea and accepted the proposal.
Both women smiled and brought the dragons down, gradually approaching the stone castle, nowhere near as sturdy as Winterfell or any other powerful fortress.
As the castle drew ever closer, Rhaenys narrowed her eyes because of the strong winds. Seeing the target clearly before her, she ordered: “Dracarys.”
Silver and purple flames erupted from Moonfyre's mouth, crashing into the castle's right tower. Although they weren't powerful enough to melt stone, like Caraxes', they were still strong enough to set the tower on fire, a clear and ominous warning.
Visenya, mounted on Syrax, attacked just as Rhaenys began to gain altitude again.
“Dracarys.” The Queen of Aenar spoke in a calm tone, watching as the tower was consumed by silver flames.
Like Moonfyre, Syrax spouted fire from his mouth, hitting the structure squarely. To Visenya's surprise, before her wide-eyed eyes, the tower collapsed!
She had never imagined that the flames could have such an explosive power, but seeing the building crumble as if it were made of paper, she couldn't help but feel excited. She wanted to turn the castle into a second Harrenhal, but, remembering Aenar's orders and considering the insignificant size of the fortress, she gave up the idea of repeating Aegon the Conqueror's experience.
Knowing that the attack was probably enough to intimidate those inside the castle, Visenya landed Syrax dozens of meters from the entrance and got off the saddle. A loud sound caught his attention, and as he looked to the side, he saw Moonfyre landing not far away.
Syrax and Moonfyre positioned themselves side by side, protecting their mounts. From time to time, they let out low growls and guttural sounds.
“Do you think they'll open the gates?” Rhaenys asked curiously, watching the smoke rise into the sky with a glint in her eye.
“I hope not. I want to feel what it's like to burn down a castle.” Visenya replied with a smile.
“Our dragons are still young. Their flames can't melt stone yet.” Rhaenys nodded, her tone full of anticipation for the future.
Visenya nodded, even though she knew better. Still, her desire to reduce an entire castle to ashes, just as Aegon had done during the Conquest, remained alive.
Suddenly, the sound of the gates opening caught their attention. They smiled victoriously as they saw the entrance wide open.
“Looks like they know they can't survive in front of House Targaryen.” Rhaenys commented, amused.
However, what the men from the castle did next left them deeply confused.
They placed a naked, bound girl in front of the gates and then bowed towards them.
Rhaenys and Visenya looked at each other, confusion mirrored in both their eyes.
“Perhaps Lord Haigh's daughter?” Visenya suggested, uncertain.
“Probably.” Rhaenys replied, feeling speechless at the complete shamelessness of these people.
The princess sighed and looked at Visenya. “Let's get the castle ready for Aenar's arrival. I want a bath after all the blood on my body.”
As for the girl, who was probably Lord Haigh's daughter, neither of them cared. They simply ordered her to be dressed and imprisoned in one of the rooms.
Seeing the young woman being taken back inside, Visenya and Rhaenys paid no more attention to her, focusing instead on the fortress. Fortunately, the Red Legion had arrived, helping with surveillance and control of the castle.
-------
I'll rename the chapters when I wake up. I spent the whole night looking after the children my dog rejected. And yes, she survived and managed to have six puppies.
Comments
Tasjuan Hampton
Happy your dog survived I love mines to death 🙏
Jarod lane
I feel like that girl has some importance
