The room was dimly lit, with shadows cast over the map sprawled on the wooden table between us, rough lines and symbols marking the island's ports and harbours. The Redwater Bay, with its winding shores, was drawn in crude strokes on the parchment, littered with pebbles to signify ships and garrisons. I gestured toward the eastern port, my finger tracing a line down to the bay. “You’ll take what men and ships you’ve got here and sail straight into the bay. There, you’ll meet one of my senior commanders aboard the longboats we seized from Vaegon.”
Rakakz gave a low chuckle, a sound I’d become accustomed to. “Hard to believe you managed to take him down. I’d been hoping to kill the bastard myself for years now.”
“Technically it was my second who killed him, but once Allerion’s dealt with, I promise you will see Vaegon’s head beside Allerion’s. At least before the flesh is burnt from them.”
I’d initially kept the head as a way to dissuade any of Vaegon’s former men from rebelling, but after some time, and remembering how I’d presented the Grim Prince’s skull to Doran, I figured I could continue the practice with Vaegon and potentially Allerion. It would make clear that I despised pirates, but amusingly, because he bent the knee, Rakakz would help show I was merciful to those who agreed to follow me instead of challenging me.
The thought of displaying the skulls of my defeated enemies—cleaned, polished, and prominently placed—would, to some, appear morbid. Perhaps, in my former life, I might’ve seen it that way, too. But here, it held a certain logic, a grim symbolism I found myself increasingly drawn to. My holdings were modest now, though I intended for them to grow, and instilling fear in those who dared oppose me was a powerful tool. The notion that defeat meant not just loss, but the finality of losing one's head, would make many think twice before crossing me. They would either kneel or flee, sparing me the trouble of needless bloodshed.
And then there was the peculiar appeal of it—the thought of drinking from the skull of a vanquished foe, of toasting to victory with their life’s remains. It was a strange indulgence, I admitted, yet it resonated with the darker edge of my ambition, the desire not just to conquer but to leave a mark, a legend that would give any rival pause. This land, these holdings—one day, I would be remembered not just as a ruler, but as a figure to be feared, an example of what awaited those who stood against me.
Rakakz gave a half-grunt, half-chuckle that over the last few days, I discovered was a common occurrence for the man. “Lookin’ forward to it.” He had an amusingly morbid sense of humour, and if he hadn’t been a pirate and instead been born a member of Sunspear’s guard, I might well have become friends with him.
I moved on, ignoring that because of him I was conducting this meeting in what the Interface termed Bastardised Valyrian. That skill had spun off from High Valyrian over the last few days as I was forced to use it more to interact with the men here, and what was interesting was that there was no Reading/Writing component, just the Speaking/Listening part. I wondered if the Interface would grant me separate languages for each of the Free Cities as they all spoke variants of Valyrian, but that was a matter for far into the future.
I pushed four pebbles, representing Rakakz’s ships, toward Allerion’s port. “I want you to show that you intend to attack the port in force. At the same time, my man from the south will move north, as if either moving to attack you or the port.” I pushed forward the five pebbles standing in for Cayde’s ships. “Once closer, both fleets will turn and race toward the port. Allerion might send some ships out to engage, but with nine ships with full crews, you will be able to overwhelm any ships and the port.”
“Once the port sees us coming, they will call for help,” Rakakz said, pointing over the island to the nearest point of coast on the map. “I know that bastard’s got a port there, but I do not know where.” He then drew a finger down from that coast to the bay port. “I know of the path, however, and men will move down it to support the port. He might even send for ships from the port to the west, and that one has his larger ships.”
“If he calls for those ships, they cannot make it to you in time,” I countered as I placed three pebbles near the tip of the coast that turned into the bay. “My men will have a small force here, acting as lookouts.” I then tapped at the bay port. “You say Allerion will send men to support this port, but the question is if they can get there in time. If you time your move well, they will not have it, meaning any reinforcements can only arrive after your men are onshore and most, if not all of the port is yours. At that point, what will Allerion do?”
Rakakz snarled. “Pull back. The cunt never stays to fight if the odds are not in his favour.” Rakakz had already indicated this multiple times over the last few days while we’d spoken, but I wanted him to confirm it one final time. This plan, or at least what Rakakz knew of it, hinged on the Gilded Hand being honest in his appraisal. While I wasn’t as skilled at finding lies as Bronn, nor had the advantages Ymir and Kaa did, I was decent. Between myself and Jaeronos, we felt Rakakz was being truthful with his knowledge, at least where it came to Allerion.
The plan I was detailing was one I’d been conceiving of ever since taking Rakakz’s eastern ports, and Rakakz’s words only made it clearer that bold action on multiple fronts was the way to go. If I could have, I would’ve launched this attack two days ago, but a storm had drifted over the island, which was finally starting to clear.
The storm had granted me more time to grill Rakakz for intel and refine my plan. While it was hard to fly in the storm, it wasn’t anything major, and I had managed to relay orders to Cayde and Daemon about their part in the plan yesterday. They’d held at Vaegon’s bay port when I’d first warned them about the approaching storm, and would, if it cleared tomorrow, set sail. Rakakz would return to the bay port while I would set sail for my part of the attack at the same time, and everyone should arrive where they needed to be at roughly the same time.
If, after Allerion was defeated and either on his knees or missing his head, the intel from Rakakz proved accurate, then he’d have gained some trust from me. However, it would only be extended about as far as either of my squires could throw him.
“Good, because by doing that it means taking the bay port will be easier. Once that’s done, my man will signal the galleys there to move toward the port. With the port secured, half the men – which will include those who surrendered as I am not turning down bodies for this or future battles – will search the port, gathering everything of value at the docks. The rest of the men will move overland so that by the following morning, they will appear to be moving on Allerion’s northern port.”
Rakakz nodded as I spoke, and I saw the spark in his eyes suggesting he could see what I was planning. “You put pressure on that port, Allerion will call ships from the west, removing the threat of them targeting the bay port as we ransack it.”
“Exactly,” I replied with a smirk.
“While I’m dealing with all this,” he gestured generally at the map, “what will you be doing?”
My smile widened as I placed eight pebbles at our current location. “After transferring most of the trade goods in this port to your bay port, Jaeronos and I will sail north with all the coin. Our intent is to target Allerion’s eastern port, and with the manpower we have, we should be able to take it.”
Rakakz stared at me for a moment. “You are going to send the goods to me and then abandon this port?” I nodded, which seemed to increase his confusion. “What’s to stop me from not attacking the bay port and retaking my ports?”
“Your word,” I replied with a smile, though it slipped a second later as I glared intently enough that if I knew how he might well spontaneously burst into flames. “And the fact that, if I discover you have betrayed me, when I return I will turn the sands red with the blood of traitors.” I shifted the fingers on one hand and summoned a small serpent of flames that slithered slowly over the back of my hand. “At least once I’ve made sure you understand the depth of your folly.” As I finished, the serpent moved slowly onto the table, taking a lazy path towards the former pirate.
Rakakz’s eyes drifted to the small necklace I wore around my wrist, suggesting he’d heard the growing rumours that it was the source of my power. I couldn’t show my delight that was happening, but I would admit that I was looking forward to the first person who took it and felt they were then safe from my magic. “Fair.”
The single word, along with a nod, was enough for me to be sure my warning had been understood, and I lowered my hand, dismissing the flames that danced around it. “Once we have taken Allerion’s eastern port, I plan to strip the place bare of anything of worth, and then sail west with every man and ship now loyal to me.” I wanted the war galley there and in the westernmost port, but I wasn’t crazy enough to think it wouldn’t cost to take them down. Nor that they might well be out on patrol.
Much like myself, the passing storm had forced Allerion to keep his vessels docked but with it passing by the end of today, I expected he’d have raiding fleets out. While that would make taking the ports easier, it would lower the take in terms of warships.
“Going to take you a few days to get there, never mind take the port and then sail west.”
“It will, but while I am sailing along the northern coast, I want you and my second to move to the next stage of my plan.” As I spoke I placed my hand on his bay port. “I want everything moved from your port – coin, goods, food, and slaves – to the port you’ve just taken from Allerion. And then wait there. The men in the mountains will camp out, watching Allerion’s command port for movement.”
Rakakz’s nod was slow, thoughtful, his gaze fixed on the pebbles marking his ships as they curved toward Allerion’s port. “The men in the bay will be ready to signal me the moment your fleet rounds the coast,” he said, his hand hovering over the makeshift map.
“Precisely,” I replied, shifting the stones in place. “Allerion’s eastern port may be tempting, but the real danger lies in the west. My men in the mountains will approach from above, while half my fleet assaults from the sea. The rest will stay on guard, watching for any movement from the western port. I wouldn’t be surprised if Allerion flees west once he catches sight of our ships advancing.”
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Rakakz grinned, his teeth flashing. “He should. The bastard's nothing if not a coward.” He rubbed his chin, eyeing the map warily. “You’re gambling a lot, splitting your forces, and leaving Vaegon’s and my ports open. But I see your point. This isn’t the first risk you’ve taken.”
I leaned forward, holding his gaze. “And yet, here we are.” I allowed a small, half-crazed smile to creep onto my face. “Besides, who’s to say I couldn’t order my second to pull his men back as you approach Allerion’s port, leaving you both to tear each other apart?”
Rakakz’s eyes widened slightly, but I raised a hand, the same hand that had summoned fire in past skirmishes, to quiet him before he could speak. “Not that I would,” I continued calmly. “But I want you to understand that this alliance depends on trust. You and your men signed my charter, after all, and I made you a commander. I expect loyalty in return.”
“Still don’t believe you’re treating all this like a sellsword company,” he muttered, though he didn’t press further.
“As I said when you joined, this is just the beginning,” I said, letting my gaze bore into his. “Redwater is merely the start of what I have planned. Stand by me through this, and you’ll hold more power than you could ever dream of on this island.”
Rakakz scoffed, though his expression softened. “You’re asking a lot, lad. I ruled my ports for seven years by playing it safe. But I see you’ve got something different in mind.”
“Better to die in battle than grow old and fat with regrets,” I shot back, leaning on the table. I knew the risks, but I also understood the need to press forward, to carve my name into history rather than waste away in the shadows. Legends like Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon didn’t earn their fame by standing still, and I had no intention of following a quieter path.
Rakakz let out a dry chuckle. “No pirate dies of old age. If they’re lucky, they die quick in battle, not stabbed in the back when they can’t lift a sword.” He rubbed his bracer, that worn piece of castle-forged steel that had been forced onto him long ago, a reminder of a past he’d yet to reveal fully.
“Exactly,” I said, tapping Allerion’s western port on the map. “Now, is there anything else—tactics, knowledge of Allerion’s men—that might help us win and ensure we’re all here to celebrate with a cask of rum?”
Rakakz let out a small laugh. “I’ll see what your—my—captains know of the bay. They’ve sailed these waters for years.” He glanced at his bracer again, and I couldn’t help but think there was a story there, waiting to be told.
“Good. Bring them to me when you’re ready.” Trust would come in time, perhaps, but for now, he would work under close watch. He grunted in irritation but nodded, turning to leave with my two squires and sellsword guards flanking him. As he walked out, I felt a flicker of satisfaction. It would take time to truly earn Rakakz’s loyalty, but he would learn, as all those before him had, that I intended to see my ambitions through.
At first, Rakakz didn’t like the minders, but after four days he had learnt to accept it. He had even gone so far as to compliment me on doing so and the fact that I changed the pair assigned to him regularly and not having any man do more than a single shift watching the former pirate lord.
“So,” Jaeronos said for the first time in this meeting, turning back to me as Edric closed the door, “what’s the real plan?”
“I told Rakakz the truth, from a certain point of view,” I replied with a smirk, one Jaeronos matched as he heard my words. My hand opened a drawer in the table, pulling over two dozen more pebbles out. With the Gilded Hand gone, I could add the ships he didn’t know about to the map; mine and Allerion’s.
The storm had made it hard to recon Allerion’s forces, but Rian had still gone out at times, and I’d taken a few gulls on closer looks. One had not returned – a strong gust catching me out and forcing the bird into a cliff face. I’d slipped from its mind before the bird fell to its death, but it was a gentle reminder that I had no interest in sharing the mind of any animal as it died.
While I placed the pebbles around the map, even indicating a port that Rakakz knew nothing about, my thoughts drifted. While my ability to scout via beasts and my bonded companions was insanely useful, I knew I wasn’t the only skinchanger. From his letters, at least up until I’d least left Sunspear, Robb had hinted enough to suggest he had formed a bond with Quicksilver, and I had no doubt some Wildlings could skinchange. However, based on my current location, I felt reasonably safe in saying I was the only skinchanger in a thousand miles.
After the Wildling and Others were defeated, and if I survived those two events, I planned to head east. The ruins of Valyria held, as they did for many, an appeal to explore. While I knew the dangers, I suspected using tens of gulls and other expendable birds, I could scout the ruins from the air. If anything of interest appeared, it might be possible to then use other beasts to recon the ground, though I wasn’t holding out much hope toward the idea, at least not as present.
With the last of the pebbles added to the map, I looked at Jaeronos and smiled. Time to reveal the extent of my plans that, if the dice rolled in my favour, would end the battle of Redwater inside half a moon at worst.
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(Cayde POV)
He stood at the bow of the lead longboat taking in the scene before him. As Cregan had said would happen, Rakakz the Gilded Hand was leading his small fleet on a general path toward Allerion’s port, suggesting the former pirate lord was truly now part of their company. However, even though he would obey his orders and fight beside the former pirate against Allerion, Cayde hated his orders.
To be clear, he did not dislike commanding a force in battle, as this was a chance to prove he was as worthy as Bronn or Jaeronos in Cregan’s forces. Nor, it should be said, did he dislike that the men under his command – bar the thirty manning his longboat – were a half-moon ago pirates themselves. What he hated was that he was being ordered to place his trust in a man who meekly surrendered to Cregan. Rakakz doing so was the smart choice to make, but it was that very intelligence, and what Rakakz’s long game might be, that had Cayde hating his orders to fight alongside the former pirate lord.
Cregan had explained in his missives how and why Rakakz had bent the knee, and Cayde saw the logic in accepting it. Yet he could not shake the feeling that the Gilded Hand was simply biding his time, waiting for a moment to betray Cregan, and as the upcoming battle would be an opportune time to do so, Cayde hated his current position.
Barely a quarter-moon ago, Rakakz would have happily slit every one of their throats if he felt it would serve his interests. Yet now, he was expected to fight beside and trust the pirate to not do so, and that was the source of his hatred of his assignment.
Now, provided the Gilded Hand did not take the first chance to betray them, Cayde felt as assured as he could about the upcoming battle. With nine longboats carrying slightly more than three hundred men, his forces outnumbered the expected enemy by around two-to-one. Add in that, until Cayde and Rakakz could no longer hide it, those in the port would not know what was coming until the combined fleet moved to attack, and it should be possible to take the port with a low loss of life. The trick was going to take most or all of the port before reinforcements.
Cregan had detailed how, via the magic connecting him to his beasts and intelligence from Rakakz, word of the attack would be sent to another port. That lay along the north shore of Redwater, and like Vaegon’s ports, was connected by a path. If every man from that port moved to help the men in the bay port, then Cayde’s forces would be outnumbered. Allerion should not send that many, but even a hundred men arriving too early, and the assault on the port might end in a very painful defeat.
After events in The Whores, Cayde did not want to be responsible for the second defeat Cregan had suffered. Not when he had commanded an element during that first defeat. He could not help but think that perhaps that defeat was why it had taken until now for Cayde to again be given command of a large group of men. Even if it was not the reason, a second loss under his command would cost him position alongside the others who shared Cregan’s confidence.
Daemon was set to command the galley force that lay somewhere to the west, meaning the choices for command of this attack had come down to Cayde and Bronn. Cregan had offered a bonus of ten Galleons to whoever took command, making clear he understood the risk the position carried, but even that had not been enough for either him or Bronn to volunteer. In the end, Daemon had tossed a Dragon and Cayde had gotten the call right. As expected, Bronn chose to head with Daemon leaving Cayde in command of the bay assault.
Provided everything went as intended, this was the last battle Cayde would face on Redwater, and he would enjoy waving the extra coin in Bronn’s face. Hells, if there was time to return to Sunspear, he might well find this YiTi whore Bronn had talked about and see if she was as good as advertised.
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(Daemon’s POV)
Holding up a Myrish Eye, Daemon looked eastward. Toward where Cayde was with his ships. The group of longboats was bearing down on Allerion’s port, with those under the command of the pirate Rakakz the Gilded Hand further away but moving in support.
Daemon held reservations about having a pirate as an officer in the force Cregan was building, or more accurately, that a former pirate lord had been granted a position of such power. Yes, to keep the former pirate lord happy, he would need to be granted some power in the force, and Rakakz was far from learning of Cregan’s gifts, but it still annoyed Daemon that, provided they all survived the coming battles, he would be forced to treat a man who raided, raped, and enslaved as an equal. Or at least pretend to consider him an equal.
Yes, Bronn, Cayde, Jaeronos and many others who served Cregan had no doubt done despicable things, but they had done so as sellswords. They, like Prince Oberyn for a few years, had been paid to fight in foreign lands. They had not chosen to do so because they felt like it as any pirate did.
He shifted his gaze slightly, taking in what he could see of Allerion’s port. Most of it was hidden from him as the galley he was on moved north along the coast of Redwater, but from what he could see it appeared no longboat was leaving the harbour to engage the two small fleets bearing down upon them. Also, as he could not see the men on Rakakz’s vessel clearly even with the Eye, it meant the fleet he was commanding was far enough east that Rakakz would not learn today that Cregan had deceived him.
Instead of three galleys acting as a blockade for any possible pirate force that sailed down from Allerion’s westernmost port, the nine galleys under Daemon’s command would push toward that port, taking the fight to the pirates. Perhaps, depending on what the strength of the port was, they might even strike at it before the next step in Cregan’s bold plan was enacted.
The last missive from Cregan, delivered by Rian – whom Jekar had rewarded for his service with a large whitefish before he departed – spoke of there being six vessels present in the port. With the storm passing, Cregan expected some if not most of the fleet would sail out, seeing to raid trade vessels attempting to slip through the sea between Redwater, Grey Gallows, and Misthaven while avoiding pirates. Daemon agreed that was likely, but he would wait for the next missive from Cregan, which was due to arrive later tonight via gull. If more than half the pirate fleet had sailed north, then Daemon would attack the port, borrowing tactics used against Vaegon for the strike.
Bronn would land on the coast with fifty men and Ymir. The group would make its way through the forest, so that, as Daemon’s fleet attacked from the sea, the men could sneak in from behind. With the pirates focusing on the fleet, the strike from behind should help take the port quicker with far fewer casualties. At least if they chose to fight back, as most pirates when faced with such odds would choose either to run or if unable to do so, often surrender in the hopes of leniency or being forced into the service of the attacker. Which was how Cregan had swelled his forces so much in less than a half-moon.
As the view of Cayde’s fleet slipped from view, the coast of the island blocking the view, Daemon lowered the Eye. The plan for Allerion’s western holdings was active, and should if all went well, result in a swift and overwhelming victory for them.
Cregan had not laid out the entire plan, but after either securing or blockading the port he was bound for, Daemon was to send at least three galleys east, bound for what Cregan referred to as Allerion’s command port. As they neared, Cayde would advance overland, attempting to trap the last pirate lord of Redwater between them. Ideally, that would work, but if it didn’t Cregan would know and adapt how his fleet moved.
If he could, Allerion was expected to slip from the port and head northeast, intending to head to the two ports on that section of the island. However, with Cregan leading a fleet around to strike there, Allerion would sail directly into a trap. One that reminded Daemon heavily of the one they had experienced in The Whores, which showed Cregan was learning from his mistakes, and with the abilities Rian and those damn gulls granted him, applying them to his attacks.
All things being equal, Allerion would sight Cregan’s fleet somewhere near a fifth port that none would have known about if not for the birds Cregan used. There the pirate lord would have four options, though only the one that involved turning north and running from everything he had built over the years offered Allerion any hope of survival. Even then, Daemon suspected Cregan had plans ready for such a move, meaning that with Cayde’s attack on the bay port, Allerion’s days as anything more than a minor footnote in history were drawing to a close.
Daemon was glad of that as he wanted to head back to Sunspear and see Alysanne. He had collected several pieces of jewellery that he felt his Winter Rose would like, and he looked forward to seeing her reaction to both his return and his gifts. The only rumble of doubt he felt was the chance Lord Eddard Stark would deny him the hand of his bastard daughter, but unless a trueborn son in the North came forward, Daemon could think of no match better than himself for Alysanne’s hand.
Of course, even if Lord Eddard granted his permission, Daemon suspected that Cregan would not return to Sunspear after this campaign. With over a thousand former pirates under his command, it would be foolish to leave them in Northpoint. The settlement was still new, and men such as those Cregan had, if Daemon was being generous, recruited there would see the place ruined before they could return from the Dornish capital.
No, it was more probable to Daemon that Cregan would stop in Northpoint only long enough to unload the bounty taken from Redwater, those freed of the horrors of slavery, and resupply their rations before heading out again. The question would be if Cregan returned to cleanse the Whores and then on to the Shrouded Isle, or if he moved to target Grey Gallows.
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