Chapter 20: Waves and Titans
109 AC, The Narrow Sea
Laenor stood in a world in flames, a sight that still frightened him despite it being unnatural. He looked in the air and saw two great flames, one black and one green, consuming one another and disappearing in the sea of ash. He saw a world covered in white ash, with nothing remaining, except for an unnatural, tall figure, one made of ice and wielding a clear razor-sharp spear, which waved it, with towers of ice rising from the ground, destroying the ruins of the fortress that they were in.
The figure stiffened suddenly and turned, his horrible blue eyes turning towards Laenor, making him shiver as if he stood within a blizzard in the worst winter that the world had ever seen. The creature, something in Laenor, a primitive part ingrained in his very soul, told him to be afraid.
The creature screeched in a language that made his ear hurt. It sounded like the violent cracking of ice, but somehow terrible to hear, and he cringed. And so, the world in flames slowly simmered away, leaving only ice, before shattering as if it were glass.
It was only then that Laenor awoke with a gasp, feeling his heart beating violently in his chest, and took many deep breaths, slowly waiting for his body to calm down. He first remembered where he was, the cabin of the Galleon that had left Driftmark. They had been at sea for six days, and after some calculations, Laenor was reasonably sure that they would arrive in Braavos today.
Redoing his calculations in his head calmed him down; the surety of them banished away the unnaturalness that he had just experienced. It was only then that he looked at his hand and realised that he was grasping a familiar object, specifically, the Dragonglass dagger that he had found in the cave in Dragonstone.
That fucking cave.
It was a marvellous piece of the history of this continent, one that many consider to be little more than myths. However, a part of him wished that he had never gone there, as from the very night he returned, nightmares plagued his sleep, all of them ending in the same way, with the ice creature’s blue eyes, and him waking up sweating and shivering. Laenor was not the most knowledgeable regarding the age of heroes, but everyone knew of the tale of the Long Night, and the creatures painted on the wall of the cave, the creatures in his dreams, seemed to resemble the Others, at least how they are described in the old stories.
Still, he did not know exactly what happened to him in that cave or why he had been drawn towards it, but he had no doubts that magic was involved in some way. It must have been, but unfortunately, that did not help, for he did not know much of magic. The paintings on the wall… They had felt like his own, specifically, the ones that he had made to his father involving the tales of the Merling King, and the one he made for the prince’s nameday, one depicting his dream, the Song of Fire.
Laenor did not know how he distilled a story and a dream into his canvas, and yet, there was a sense of familiarity at seeing the work on the walls. It was not quite a story or a dream, but what exactly it was was something that Laenor felt would help instinctively, though he was doubting his instincts after that last fiasco.
He wrote down the runes that he saw on the walls, hoping that translating them would shed some light as to what happened, but he could not do so while he was on a ship and away from Driftmark’s library. He would need to return to Driftmark to uncover this mystery, even if his sleep became more uncomfortable every night.
A knock on his cabin broke him from his thoughts, “Get up, Addam. You’ll want to see this.”
Laenor quickly put on a smile on his face, hid his notebook, and sheathed the Dragonglass dagger, feeling more secure with it nearby for some reason. He quickly opened his door, wishing to ask what Joffrey found so interesting.
Yet, the moment he saw the sight that met him, he froze in his tracks, for before him was a massive statue of granite and bronze, depicting a man, a warrior. He immediately recognised it for what it was, the Titan of Braavos.
It was one thing to read about it, and another completely, to see it in person. It was no wonder that it was called a Wonder of the World, for it was, without a doubt, one of the greatest feats of both engineering and art in the world. This monument must have taken generations to make, from planning to this final result. Laenor could not see any true practical reason for it aside from its beauty, a testament to the freedom that lay within Braavos and their willingness to fight for it.
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.
Joffrey, though still pale, likely having thrown up for most of the day… again, grinned weakly at the sight of Laenor’s expression, though his eyes looked almost manic, “Do you know what this means, Addam?”
“That we’re near one of the greatest displays of craftsmanship and ambition ever developed in the history of the world?” Laenor asked.
The other boy scoffed, though he answered with a gleeful expression, “It means that we’re almost there, almost near land. Oh, how wonderful it would be to stand on solid ground once more. I had my doubts when you spoke of the speed of these ships, but to journey from Driftmark to Braavos in less than seven days is a miracle indeed.”
Laenor laughed and shook his head. It would have been an understatement to say that Joffrey had been miserable since the ship began. He could not find his sea legs, not at all, and spent half of his time throwing up. Thankfully, they were due to spend a few days in Braavos, and so, he was not quite apprehensive of it, at least not yet.
Instead, Laenor focused more on the sight before him, relishing the sound of the waves as they passed through the legs of the giant warrior, and took his first look at the Free City of Braavos.
It looked to be made up of many small islands that were connected by bridges. Laenor would have been confused as to where they would dock the ship in the first place, but the captain had no such issues; he steered the ship expertly near a shipyard and quickly spoke with the harbour master, likely paying the required fees.
Soon after, Laenor followed an elated Joffrey as he made his way to the city of Braavos, and they both left the crew to deal with the inevitable inspection that would incur. It was mostly to ensure that no slaves would be brought to the city, something that Laenor vehemently agreed with, detesting the practice utterly.
After making their way and likely overpaying massively for rooms in a nearby inn, Laenor realised Joffrey had fallen asleep almost immediately, leaving him alone in the city. Well, there were a few guards that accompanied him, but they hardly had any good conversation. He wished that his parents or Laena were there. Things would have been more interesting there. He even wished that Maester Gerardys had accepted his offer and come, though he had a feeling that he would see the man soon. He already looked forward to the trip back, where they would likely need to return to Dragonstone as well.
Anyway, with that out of the way, he decided to preoccupy himself by walking around the city, and he found himself being swept by it. The people walked around carefree, through the market, which happened to be even larger than the ones in Spicetown, and he could already see more diverse products being sold, and he almost smiled giddily as he saw the aqueduct’s designs.
Oh, he would have his fun exploring this city, but unfortunately, he needed to deal with more serious matters first. And so, as the guards continued to follow him, he rented a small boat to take them to the small peninsula where the Sealord’s palace resided.
The palace itself was just as beautiful as he thought it would be, with an architecture seemingly built around domes, and a large golden tower that turned into a spire in the middle. They passed by many water dancers who were sparring in a large courtyard, with spectators around them.
Laenor continued to simply enjoy the sights of a completely different culture as he approached his destination. It was only then that he found himself being stopped by two water dancers, who blocked his way.
One of them spoke up harshly, “You are not allowed to move past this point.”
Laenor gave the man a respectable nod, “I’m afraid that I need to speak with the Sealord.”
They did not seem convinced at that, and so, Laenor continued, “I come on behalf of Lord Corlys Velaryon of Driftmark, the Sea Snake. I have come to deliver a message to the Sealord of Braavos himself.”
As impressive as their discipline was, it seemed that even these guards knew of the Sea Snake and his legendary voyages, given the way that their eyes widened. Or perhaps it was his recent overwhelming victory against the Triarchy that told them to be cautious. To show them that he wasn’t some mummer with wild claims, Laenor took out a letter that was sealed with his father’s crest, which made them stiffen as they seemed to recognise it.
The guards looked at one another, and then one of them hesitantly grabbed the sealed letter, “I shall go to the First Sword with this. Pray that there were no falsehoods in your words.”
And just like that, the man left, leaving Laenor with his own guards, waiting for them to deal with the mess that he had just left in their laps. The secrecy required for the plan to be pulled off meant that they didn’t exactly consult the Sealord about the entire affair. Honestly, Laenor expected to wait for a while and then be asked to return some other day for the actual talks, which would have been perfectly understandable. It was why he had gone to the Sealord’s palace as early as he could in the first place.
To Laenor’s surprise, the guards did not return. Instead, a thin man walked up to him with a fake smile on his face, “Ah, welcome, welcome, honoured guests… You are in luck, emissary of the Sea Snake, for the Sealord of Braavos will see you shortly, if you would follow me. Unfortunately, we cannot allow your guards further into the palace. Security reasons, you understand.”
“Very well,” Laenor answered.
Well, that was certainly a surprise. He hadn’t expected to gain an audience with the Sealord so quickly. He had expected to wait a few days at the very least. He wondered what it meant that the ruler of Braavos was so enthusiastic for the meeting, especially given that he and Laenor’s father had not been on particularly good terms since the possible betrothal between his son and Laena had fallen through.
Nevertheless, the quicker he finished, the better. And so, Laenor walked alongside the Braavosi man, giving a reassuring look at his hesitant guards. Soon, he found himself in a large room, almost as large as High Tide’s Great Hall, with two other men inside, one of whom held a fit man with brown hair and sharp eyes, ready to unsheathe his weapon at any moment. The other was quite a large man. He wore a white tunic, drinking what was likely wine, with a platter of various foods and cheeses before him.
He labelled them as the First Sword and Sealord of Braavos, respectively.
In the Sealord’s hand was the letter, his father’s letter, that he claimed would get him an audience with the ruler of Braavos. It seemed to have been successful, maybe a little too much, given how quickly he got to meet the man.
His guide quickly walked out silently, closing the doors behind him, and the Sealord spoke up, “Laenor Velaryon, it is not often that the heir to Driftmark would make his way to our city.”
The young Velaryon walked forward and smiled, “A beautiful city, might I add. I always wished to come see it, and I certainly find myself loving it.”
“Our city is a jewel unlike any other in the world,” the man bragged, “Alas, you did not come here only for the sights, I believe. You come here with an offer of sorts, one that your father did not dare to put in ink and yet urged me to hear it.”
“I do,” Laenor confirmed.
“As you know, the Sea Snake and I have a history, one where he dealt with us in bad faith. So, why should I entertain any of his words?”
“Because they are not his words,” the young Velaryon answered confidently, “They are mine.”
The Sealord began to laugh at that answer, though the First Sword remained just as impassive as he was since Laenor set foot in the great Hall. He then spoke up, “Speak your words then.”
“The escalation of the War in the Stepstones is a bad sign for everyone. The Triarchy is investing far more than it is reasonable for them to do in this war, and this means that they are prepared to win more than the mountains of gold that they have spent and are continuing to spend, to conquer the Stepstones. That gold that they would likely win at everyone’s expense, including Braavos’s.”
“Braavos has defied the might of the Freehold when Valyria still stood. It will weather the Triarchy’s efforts with little trouble.”
The Sealord’s reply was brusque and dismissive, but Laenor was smiling nonetheless, “I have no doubt that your glorious city will endure the effects of this crisis exceptionally, but will you?”
The leader of Braavos’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, and Laenor felt like he had gotten his attention, “The Braavosi are a proud people, and for good reason. After all, as you said, they defied Valyria at the height of its power, defy slavery despite how widespread it is across this continent. I could hear it on the way to this palace; they wish to see their Sealord express that same might that their ancestors once showed the world, to show them that Braavos would allow slavers to gain so much leverage over them. I am offering you a way to fulfil their ambitions, to do your duty as Sealord of Braavos, just as your predecessors did before you. I am offering to show the world the might of Braavos and what it could do to its enemies. I am offering you a way to break the Triarchy beyond repair.”
AN: This story is still relatively new, so if you'd like me to continue it, please let me know in the comments what you think of the rewrite so far.
After the previous chapter, I thought that a less eventful one would calm things up a bit. It was mostly Laenor beginning to deal with his first experience with magic. As for the interaction with the Sealord, the plan will be revealed in the next chapter. I'm pretty proud of it, to be honest.
As I said before, I am planning on uploading more of this story (outside of normal uploads). I have a bit of a backlog of chapter drafts for this story that I’ll try to go through when I can. As usual, I don’t mind rewriting this chapter depending on your feedback, so please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.