A large explosion rang out from the plains in front of Myr. Through the dust and dirt, it had kicked up came Howland as he skipped across the ground like a stone across a lake, he gripped his stomach which throbbed in pain. He had just been on the receiving end of a kick that broke through his aura and almost shattered his ribs. This last month had been hell for the young crannogman, he had been trained harder than he ever thought possible, every day he'd be injured and his aura would be exhausted.
From dawn until dusk there was training. This training was designed to be at the level of Daemon however he included Serra and Howland in it as well. The former did a lot better in keeping up and usually went about her duties after the training sessions were finished. Howland collapsed where he stood and was often carried by Daemon back to the manse.
Howland pushed himself up with his trident and jumped to the side as he saw Serra being thrown towards him. Right now they were all sparring, it was him and Serra against Daemon; to say it was a sparring match would be disingenuous, this was only a few levels below a death match. Serra managed to make a decent opponent against Daemon as her crimson eyes allowed her to match the aura output of anyone she faced, and her aura ability allowed her to create weak points on any object or person, if she struck those weak points then the damage the person takes will be many times that than what they would take normally. She had broken through Daemon's guard by doing that exact thing.
Howland however was just there, despite the tough training he'd endured over the past month he was still nowhere close to the two monsters before him. However, since he started meditating, using his water form had gotten a lot easier and shifting between the two states was becoming faster. Howland returned to his fighting stance as Daemon emerged from the dust, the man flared his aura pushing it away. His chest was exposed and his shirt ripped as Serra had managed to destroy his armour with her ability.
"Fight me like I'm about to kill you," Daemon growled out as his aura expanded and murderous intent flooded the field. Serra managed to fend off the negative emotions but Howland struggled slightly; he had gotten a lot better when fighting under these conditions but there were still moments when he felt like curling into a ball.
Daemon stepped off the ground cracking it as he did and covering the distance between them in only a few seconds. He brought his sword down on Serra who had the foresight to dodge the strike rather than block it, she returned with a spin kick that hit him in the side, though it did nought but make him slide across the ground.
Howland took advantage of this by rushing towards Daemon and stabbing his trident into his ground before pushing himself into a dropkick. However, Daemon blocked him with one arm and pushed him back with great force which sent him and the trident flying away.
Daemon concentrated aura into his palm and shot a sphere straight at Serra who was running at him, she poured her aura into her sword before deflecting it into the air; Daemon took this opportunity and sent a powerful strike straight into her stomach which would've sent her flying but she dropped her sword and grabbed Daemons arm holding him in place.
Daemons instincts screamed at him and he turned to see Howland still in the air but as he had fallen he threw his trident at him. Daemon slammed his foot into the ground with such force that it cracked the area around them in a ten-metre radius. The result sent rocks flying up and while not stopping the trident it pushed its trajectory of course enough to miss Daemon he then slammed his palm into Serras face stunning her and then turned around slamming her into the ground in front of him.
He then raised his sword to bring it down on her but Serra channelled aura into her hand while creating a weak point on the sword. As sword, as it made contact it snapped in half, though she wouldn't have been so lucky had he been using Blackfyre. Serra rolled backwards sending both her feet into Daemon's stomach and sending him stumbling back into Howland who grabbed him and lifted him up before slamming him to the ground.
Daemon blocked a follow-up punch from Howland, pulling his hand forward before headbutting him and kicking him away. Though he didn't avoid the much faster Serra who caught him with a vicious combination of punches; she used her ability on every single punch which turned Daemon's defence into paper. While he could end this fight in one blow that wasn't the point of this, he needed to get better and Serra was good for that. He wasn't proud enough that he couldn't admit Serra would surpass him in hand-to-hand combat one day, she was simply built for it.
In that flurry alone she managed to crack five of his ribs and bruise his arms black and blue. Daemon fought through the pain and deflected a punch off to his right while sending a straight right to her face, the power behind it stunned her despite pooling her aura there. This allowed him to gain momentum and he connected punch after punch to her body ending it by grabbing her by the neck and slamming her to the ground.
Daemon stepped back and looked at the two of them, all three of them were panting now they had been fighting since noon and the sun was beginning to set. "You are both strong, but you need to be stronger," Daemon said as he condensed his aura making it take on a golden tint and allowing it to wash over his body. The bruises from his body faded and so did the pain from the damaged ribs. Apart from a large loss in aura, Daemon was back in fighting shape.
Serra looked at him with a mixture of excitement and lust, Howland wasn't sure if she wanted to fight him or fuck him. He did find that quite strange, but considering they were Valyrian he supposed it wasn't too out of the ordinary. However as far as he knew they hadn't slept together yet. "I'll get stronger brother... I promise," Serra said while licking her lips.
"I will as well," Howland said confidently as he picked up his trident.
Daemon flared his aura once more "Show me!" He shouted at them and they both rushed towards him. Howland moved in first thrusting his trident forward while Serra jumped in with a punch. Daemon caught both of them a shockwave echoing out from the contact. He dragged Serra close before slamming her into Howland, Serra recovered quickly however and pushed off Howland tackling Daemon, they tumbled on the ground together where she got off multiple punches before he kicked her off him.
Howland jumped in swinging his trident at his side but Daemon caught it once again. What he wasn't expecting was Howland to let go and hit him with a heavily aura-infused punch. He managed to shift Daemon's face to the side with the punch but he did little else; Daemon swiped at him with his trident but Howland switched to his water form and the shaft went right through him. Howland jumped back and started charging an attack that he had been working on this past month, he had discussed this with Serra beforehand and she managed to get a hint of what he was doing when he jumped back so she moved in and engaged Daemon.
Daemon was ruthless however and moved even faster than before, deflecting all of her punches before slamming his own into her face and body.
"Serra now!" Howland shouted and she pooled all of her Aura into her fist before slamming it into Daemon's stomach aiming upwards. Her brother blocked it but the force still lifted him up into the air. Howland then shot a pressurised stream of water from his hands which slammed into him. It felt like he'd just been kicked by an elephant and it threw him through the air before he slammed into the ground.
He grunted in pain slightly as he pushed himself to his feet before spitting up a mouthful of water. "You want to use water?" Daemon asked rhetorically as he stepped towards him. Serra and Howland's eyes widened as his aura seemed to grow once more. 'Just how much aura does he have?' Howland thought to himself. Though he needn't of asked as they were soon about to find out.
His white aura began to darken until it became transparent. What followed after was his aura exploding out of him; both Howland and Serra realised that Daemon had transfigured his aura into water and it was washing across the ground like a tsunami. The wave coming towards them was ten feet high and they had no way of outrunning it. They could only brace themselves as the wave slammed into them and carried them off; Howland faired better than Serra did due to his master of transmuting his aura into water.
The water level dropped and Serra spat up a lungful of water before accepting Howland's help to stand up. Water surrounded them in a fifty-metre radius up to their shins and in the middle stood Daemon.
"Come on we can strike now, that attack must've drained him some," Serra said to Howland as she prepared to rush him.
Howland didn't think that was the case, something about the attack didn't feel right, it wasn't that strong. However, he didn't have a chance to voice his objection as Serra moved to Daemon's left so Howland approached from the right.
"It's over, you can't win now," Daemon said as soon as they started moving.
"I bet you're struggling just as much as us!" Serra shouted with a wild grin as she splashed against the water.
"Haven't you noticed yet?" Daemon said with a raised brow.
Serra was confused but Howland who was a water specialist realised that the water hadn't sunk into the ground or dissipated yet. It would be impossible for it to maintain its water level in this environment. "Serra this whole area is a trap!" Howland warned, but it was too late.
Hands made out of water shot from the surface grabbing both of them. They tried cutting them apart but the more they tried the more hands grabbed them; Serra would've launched a large-scale attack but she was too exhausted. She had long since had to turn her eyes back to normal as she was too tired to maintain them.
Serra and Howland were pulled under the surface of the water where the pressure of Daemon's aura held them under. Though before they could drown Daemon released his aura and let it sink into the earth. Serra and even Howland coughed this time as they choked on huge water.
"You've done better today, go and get some sleep we will be leaving tomorrow," Daemon said as he walked past Howland and helped up his sister who gladly accepted his touch.
Howland just turned onto his back breathing heavily, he was tempted to close his eyes and sleep but he didn't want to dry up under the hot sun.
'I can't get up...'
...
The next day Daemon and Serra both watched as their fleet of ships were boarded by the golden company. Serra had advised him that keeping Myr would be a benefit to him as they could form a supply line to Dragonstone when they conquered the fortress.
They would leave 1,000 men along with ten elephants and their handlers, that would be more than enough to keep the city defended. The repairs to the walls were already underway and the positions of importance had been filled by those from the Golden Company. Daemon did not doubt that Tyrosh and Lys eyes would soon be upon Myr, but they wouldn't be able to do much against the elephants.
Unless of course, they had powerful aura users that no one knew about.
"Are you excited brother? we are finally crossing," Serra said with a smile as she leaned her chin on her brother's shoulder. Being close to him was an indescribable feeling, it was as if her body was complete, she couldn't bear to be away from even when it was only for a few hours. It's why she insisted on sleeping in his bed every night, and she would continue to do so despite his marital status. 'My right as his twin,' she thought to herself.
"I am anxious..." Daemon admitted.
Serra reached up and cupped his face "Brother there are ways to gain supporters," she stated.
Daemon shook his head. "I do not wish to be the King, I have lived in Kings Landing for years and the only thing I've learned is the throne causes misery."
"We could make it different," She reasoned.
"Maybe, but people will always be the same," Daemon shrugged.
"No I don't care about this realm, I want to gather my loved ones and leave, Myr wouldn't be a bad place to stay for now," Daemon said.
Serra sighed but accepted his answer, for now at least. They were a part of House Blackfyre and they deserved the Iron Throne; based on how hated the Targaryens were at the moment it wouldn't surprise her that they'd be welcomed with open arms.
"We are almost ready to set sail your Grace, are you sure Dragonstone will be the best location to land?" Myles Toyne asked.
Daemon nodded, "The waters are deep and will accommodate our ships, the garrison is also sparse despite a significant portion of the royal fleet being stationed there. If we take command of the fleet then we will have navel superiority," Daemon explained his reasoning.
"Very well your grace," Myles replied before bowing and leaving the top deck.
It grafted Daemon that they called him that but he didn't correct them, it didn't matter. He looked out across the narrow sea, he was anxious that he didn't have enough men to win. The reach could summon nearly 100,000 men alone, and while the difference could be made up with Aura users they only had a couple hundred more than the average army.
It was only Serra's body pressed against him that calmed his anxiety and anger. He still felt it in amounts that couldn't be described, but Serra's presence was able to soothe him a little. He hoped that Lysa and Lyanna liked Serra... he missed them so much, he only hoped they were okay and would stay so until he reached them.
'I'll find you... I promise.'
(AN: Daemon has finally crossed the ocean and next chapter will be his battle at Dragonstone. You also find out about Lyanna's fate and that of her child. By the way Rhaella is at Dragonstone so once Daemon reaches there he will reunite with one of his women. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
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