House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 111: Chapter 110 – The Battle of the Sea of Myrth (I)

“Now tell me what happened to your hand and arm.” Alysanne changed the subject and looked at Maekar’s burned hand and arm. Seeing such grotesque and apparently painful scars, she felt a tightness in her chest.

Maekar looked at his scars and told her what had happened on the day he arrived at Dragonstone and how he had been ambushed in the storm by the dragon with scales as black as coal and emerald eyes.

“I already knew of the dragon’s existence, but I never thought he would attack a dragon as large as Bahamut.” Alysanne said in a tone of relief at Maekar’s safety but also with a rare touch of coldness in her gaze.

Alysanne looked at Maekar and spoke in a solemn tone. “I always thought Cannibal was a cowardly dragon that only fed on eggs and hatchlings, but it seems he is a cunning hunter who chooses the moment of the hunt well.”

“He must be killed.” Alysanne added, in a surprisingly determined and cold tone. Dragonstone was the island of House Targaryen’s crown prince, as well as the ancestral home. No element this dangerous could be allowed to live.

Maekar might have escaped with his life because of Bahamut, but what if it were a relatively smaller dragon, like Silverwing or Dreamfyre? Not to mention smaller dragons still, like Rhaenyra’s Syrax?

“I agree as well.” Maekar nodded his head and let out a helpless sigh. “I tried hunting him in the previous weeks, but he apparently noticed and hid well in some cave on Dragonstone. Along with the black color of his scales, it’s very hard to see him coming out at night.”

He had wanted to kill that damned cannibal for a long time already; unfortunately, a wild dragon was a wild dragon. Despite never having received training, he was surprisingly cunning, like a human.

“I will speak with Jaehaerys.” Alysanne said in a calm tone. “Together with Vermithor, Bahamut, and Silverwing, we can track down the cannibal dragon and kill him.”

Maekar nodded his head and let out a sleepy yawn. He had been awake all night, going over the possible flaws in the war plan and any problems that might arise at that moment.

Noticing this, Alysanne rose and spoke in a gentle tone. “Tomorrow you go to war, and you need to rest. I will not take up any more of your time.”

Before leaving, Alysanne looked at Melisandre, and there was no need for a single word for the red witch to understand what her gaze was saying. Melisandre rose and followed behind her with a calm, indifferent look.

Maekar said nothing and simply waved for Roland to leave the room, which the cupbearer did, closing the door carefully behind him. As for what Alysanne would discuss with Melisandre, that was not something he wanted to know.

While walking side by side, Melisandre stopped in front of a window facing the sea. Waves could be seen crashing violently against the island’s rocks. Roland was following both women and did not dare say a single word.

“Melisandre of Asshai, correct?” Alysanne asked in a calm tone. “I have heard of you, red witch.”

“What an honor that my name is known to Your Grace.” Melisandre said with an elegant, graceful smile. She looked at the queen with a calm gaze.

Alysanne completely ignored the woman’s compliment; she stopped looking at the waves of the sea and looked directly into those hypnotic ruby eyes. “I know women like you.”

Looking the Red Witch up and down, Alysanne continued. “Fanatical, mad, unscrupulous, without a shred of morals. Merely an object for your faith.”

“Am I wrong?” Alysanne asked.

“You are absolutely right.” Melisandre simply smiled and nodded her head. “I am merely a sword in the hands of the Lord of Light. My body, soul, and mind are only his to use and to purify this world full of filth.”

Alysanne merely rolled her eyes and showed a trace of sarcasm in her expression. If there was one reason Jaehaerys had never introduced another religion into Westeros, it was because the Red Faith, the only religion capable of standing up to the Faith of the Seven, was extremely volatile.

Introducing the Red Faith into Westeros was like throwing flames onto the continent and hoping it would not burn everything down. This was exactly why Jaehaerys had never accepted the Red Faith’s doctrine spreading through the Seven Kingdoms.

“Do you think my grandson is easily manipulated?” Alysanne asked with a touch of scorn in her voice. She did not see how the Red Faith could manipulate Maekar, someone she considered a future monarch who would centralize the power of the entire continent in himself.

“I never thought of manipulating Prince Maekar.” Melisandre smiled and said something that made Alysanne’s eyes widen, completely shocked.

“I know he will use me and perhaps change the Red Faith greatly, but I do not mind. My role is to bring this continent into the faith; the means by which that happens are not a problem. R’hllor cares only for the results and nothing more.”

Alysanne looked at Melisandre as though she were seeing something incomprehensible. Melisandre’s words made everything she knew about fanatics crumble like a sandcastle. What kind of fanatic could accept someone changing their own faith as though it were nothing?

Was there a word that better described the madness of the woman before her?

“You had better not burn people, or I will make sure you become Silverwing’s midnight snack.” Alysanne said in a harsh tone. She had completely lost any desire to intimidate this mad woman. No matter what she said, nothing could be more offensive to a fanatic than accepting someone else changing their own religion.

“Do not worry, Your Grace.” Melisandre said, placing her hand on her full chest, and leaned slightly forward. Her hair fell toward the floor, and she looked up at Alysanne from below. “No innocent, nor our enemies, will be burned alive.”

Alysanne looked at Melisandre with a touch of skepticism. She did not believe a single word that came out of a fanatic’s mouth, even if that fanatic was somewhat strange, with some mental issue.

The red witch, seeing the queen’s skepticism, merely smiled and did not try to change Alysanne’s opinion. In the woman’s eyes, she was so unclean that, even bathing in blessed water, she would probably never be someone worthy of trust.

The queen looked deeply at the woman and left, no longer paying Melisandre any mind. Only poor Roland followed behind her.

“What an entertaining queen,” Melisandre murmured. Finding Alysanne charming, while at the same time being incredibly intelligent and shrewd. She understood why Alysanne had earned the title of Good Queen from the people and the lords.

The next day.

A great crowd could be seen aboard the warships; everyone seemed incredibly busy. Whether carrying water and food, or arrows and other weapons. Not to mention the great quantity of oil in jars. Jars that would be loaded into the trebuchets and used as ammunition.

Not far from the ships. Bahamut could be seen lying on the ground, looking out at the sea, much calmer than in the previous days. His platinum scales reflected the sunlight, making the dragon look like a gleaming mountain, drawing everyone’s attention.

The sailors began calling Bahamut the Kissed by the Gods, or even the Blessed One.

When Maekar heard them calling Bahamut the Blessed One, the prince could not help but twist his lips. He had personally seen Bahamut devour people and swallow them with a demonic smile on his face. If such a monstrosity was blessed, he did not know what evil a person would have to do to be considered evil.

However, trying to change someone’s title was completely impossible. People, for some reason, were incredibly resistant to that kind of thing. Once a title became known, that person or being would carry that title forever.

Just as others called Maekar the Slayer or Burned Hand.

“My prince, we will begin sailing.” Corlys, beside Maekar, completely ignored the dragon and spoke in a calm tone.

“I will follow behind you.” Maekar said, looking at the clear, cloudless sky, something rare in the Narrow Sea, which had the temperament of a lioness full of fury.

Corlys nodded his head and left without looking back, leaving Maekar and Bahamut alone.

“You are going to be known by the whole world after this battle; don’t be too arrogant afterward.” Maekar said in High Valyrian to Bahamut, who merely let out a warm huff through his nostrils.

——

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard