Aelyx – 21
I picked my way through the streets of Sebal. The citizenry moved fearfully out of the way of my escort. Ten fully armored men of the Prince's Company, as my followers had come to be known, now surrounded me at all times. Nobody, least of all me wanted a repeat of the ambush assassination incident.
I stumbled slightly on a loose bit of cobblestone and was forced to lean on my cane to steady myself. While my actions on Vhagar had undoubtedly been key to our victory, they had badly exacerbated my wounds. The battle had been fought two weeks ago and today was the first time I had been cleared to walk long distances.
The streets began to clear as I approached the manse that Essar had claimed, both as his residence and the army headquarters. When the army had arrived at Sebal a few days after the battle the city had immediately thrown open its gates to us. We had been quick to discover that several of the town's wealthiest citizens had fled, taking with them whatever they could gather and carry on such short notice.
Quite frankly I was amazed that had not fled south the moment they learned that our army had crossed the border. Sebal was a relatively well-fortified town, although from what I had been told, it had nothing on the settlements in the former Disputed Lands, and under normal could have held out against an army of the size we had brought to bear for a significant length of time. But we had a dragon. I was rapidly coming to understand that the citizens of the Triarchy possessed a certain feeling of arrogant invincibility. They were the most powerful polity between the Narrow Sea and the Bone Mountains and they knew. The formation of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters had seen them humble the might of Volantis and more recently, they had thrown back Rogue Prince and his dragon along with the vaunted fleet of the Sea Snake.
We arrived at the entrance to the manse. I took in the heavy iron gate set in eight-foot walls and guarded a squadron of eight men. If properly garrisoned the manse could survive a lengthy siege, especially if the besieger lacked siege engines. The manse I had claimed as my own had near-identical fortifications as did most similar properties throughout the Free Cities, the factional violence that often tore through Cities and their vassal towns made them a necessity for any family that sought to involve themselves in politics, or even accumulated enough wealth to make them tempting targets for rioters or other such opportunists.
"I believe that, that I am expected," I greeted the Essar armsmen stationed at the gate.
"Your grace," They acknowledged, bowing deeply. They stepped aside and with a command from their leader, the gate swung open. I nodded my thanks and then passed through the portal and into the courtyard of the manse. I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the carefully cultivated gardens, before making my way sedately towards the main house.
When I reached the main entrance, I passed by another set of guards and walked through the doors that had been left propped open in deference to the summer heat. I emerged in an opulently decorated room. It was obvious the foyer had been designed to impress. There I shed all, but two of my exports before continuing. I climbed the grand staircase, stubbornly the twinges of pain in my back. At the top, I was directed to the right by a waiting slave and made my way to Essar's commandeered solar.
When I arrived at the solar, I was greeted by yet another pair of guards. As soon as they noted my approach one of them rapped on the door and announced my presence through the wood. At the responding command, they opened the door and ushered me inside. With a flick of my hand, I signaled for my remaining escorts to remain outside with Essar's men.
As I entered Essar looked up from his parchment-strewn desk. "Aelyx!" He greeted me with a grin.
"Nyessor," I returned more neutrally, as I settled into one of the chairs facing his desk.
"I received a message this morning from Captain Vollin, Costis has surrendered."
I leaned forward. "That's excellent news," I said excitement coloring my tone. "That puts all of the Myrish Marches under our control." I frowned. "Did you ask me here just to tell me that? You could have easily sent a message."
"I could have," he acknowledged. "But there is something that that I wanted to discuss with you."
"We have a general meeting scheduled for tomorrow," I pointed out.
Essar's face remained expressionless.
"But, this is something that you need to discuss privately," I concluded.
He nodded. "It is a somewhat delicate issue and I need to hear your thoughts on the matter before I can bring it to the rest of the commanders."
I stared for a long hard moment, before inclining my head and inviting him to continue.
"Right before we departed from Pentos, I was approached by several members of the Council of Magisters, including my father, who gave me a second, secret set of orders."
"Oh," I said. My voice was low, letting him know that while I was not angry yet, I was moving in that direction.
"It was nothing bad." He hastened to assure me. "It was a potential expansion of the army remit and ultimate goal if our initial successes were great enough that I judged a winding of the campaign possible."
"Explain?" I demanded.
"Our initial plan was to march from Pentos, seize the Marches, and smash any force that opposed us. From there we would asses if the Three Daughters were ready to meet our demands or if we needed to continue the campaign or if we needed to ravage our way to the gates of Myr and dictate our terms from there."
"You are not telling me anything that I haven't heard in a hundred different strategy meetings, most of which, may I remind you, you were at."
"Right," He nodded. "Just bear with me. So far everything has gone according to plan." He paused and his eyes flickered from the scar running down my face to the cane leaning against the chair. "Well mostly anyway. If we wanted to, we could probably just sit here and sooner or later the Triarchy would have to meet us at the negotiating table. They would recognize our control over the towns we have conquered, along with your claim to the Stepstones and we would spilt whatever indemnity we were able to extract. Because, let's be honest, as long as you and Vhagar are here they have no real leverage over us. But the Triarchy would live to trouble us another day."
"Dissolving the Triarchy was never a war goal" I pointed out, beginning to see where Essar was going with his pitch. "But," I conceded. "The hope has always been that the fact that Myr would be a far bigger loser in the conflict than Tyrosh or Lys would collapse the state as a knock-on effect."
"Exactly," he said. "The hope, why settle for hope when we can ensure that the Triarchy fractures."
"So, you want to push further?" I asked. "Press into the old Disputed Land, threaten Tyrosh and even Lys, and force them to dissolve the Triarchy as a condition for peace?"
"No, I want to take Myr."
My eyes widened slightly at that proclamation. The idea was not a new one and had been bandied about several times in the months that I had spent in Pentos planning this operation. But that potential strategy had been dismissed for several different reasons.
"I distinctly remember the decision being made, to not pursue such a course. There were several conversations about the fact that Pentos lacked the resources for a long-term occupation of Myr or something to that effect."
"That is a concern, and we have a plan to address it. However, much of our hesitance stemmed from the fact that the Council was unsure of how effective Vhagar would be against Myr's wall, especially when they've had months to prepare."
"Haven't you ever heard of Harrenhall?"
"Yes, but I am also aware of Hellholt."
"If this was such a concern, why was it not brought up moons ago."
"You are a valued ally, and we did not wish to question your abilities. But now that I have seen Vhagar in action I have no doubt that nothing but another dragon would be able to knock her out of the sky."
"I don't like being blindsided, like this Essar. We all agreed on the plan months ago and know you are suggesting we alternate in the middle of the campaign while giving a half-assed excuse for the change."
"The Council didn't want to make any grand proclamations about seizing Myr until they were absolutely certain it was feasible and they delegated that decision to me, based on what I observed in the field."
"Bullshit," I hissed. "I understand, why they would not announce that as an objective to the whole world, but I am an ally and a part of this campaign, you had no reason to keep this from me."
"I am sorry Aelyx, the decision was made by the Council, and I can only pass on what I was told."
I stared at him for a long moment. He was lying, I was certain of it. The problem was I wasn't sure why. But, on the other hand, I could not see a way that this would hurt me either. I had gone into this partnership well aware that the Pentoshi had their own agenda, just as I did. I certainly had plans that my allies did not know about and probably wouldn't approve of if they did.
Furthermore, the idea of shattering the Triarchy rather than simply bloodying them held a significant amount of appeal. If they returned to their infighting it would mean they weren't harassing me in the Stepstones. Besides several years from now, I would likely be forced to temporarily leave my holdings to fight in the Dance and I would feel better not having to worry about the Triarchy eyeing my lands.
"What is your plan for Myr?" I asked at last.
"What?"
"You said you at a plan to mitigate the onus of occupation. How do you plan to do that?"
"We are not going to try to annex the city, instead after we take it, we will set up a puppet government and control it as a client state."
I turned the idea over in my mind. For all that I was annoyed by this being sprung on me, it was not a bad plan. Besides, Myr would serve as a better launching point for my invasion of the Stepstones anyway, and the extra money that would come with sacking a Free City would alleviate my dependence on the Pentoshi fleet and army.
"And this will not affect the plans for the invasion of the Stepstones?" I pressed.
Essar shifted uncomfortably at that question.
"Our timeline from the end of this campaign to the beginning of the Stepstones invasion has always been flexible." He waffled. "And I will admit, that this may cause some delay. But I assure you that Pentos remains committed to our alliance and the campaign will support you in regaining your father's kingdom."
I grimaced. That was less than ideal. A large part of me wanted to reject the proposition. The arm certainly would not be able to take the city without me. But, doing so would also alienate the Pentoshi. Furthermore, a friendly Myr could only be a boon in further endeavors.
"Two years," I said.
"What?" Essar asked baffled.
"I want the invasion fleet sailing no later than two years to the day from when the city surrenders."
Essar blinked, "Wait does that mean you agree?"
I grinned, sharp and hungry. "Let's take a Free City."