Chapter 8

He woke up on the shore. The last thing he remembered was a red comet. According to the lore, a red comet signified return of the dragons and return of magic.

Edwyn coughed hard as he tried to laugh. Magic had returned in Planetos. Which meant only one thing. R'hllor was dead! The so-called fire god had sealed almost all of the magic to his domain. But with his death and the destruction of his domain, all those who practised magic would become more powerful. The warlocks of Quarth, the witches spread among the common folk of Essos, the faceless men, the wargs and greenseers of the North, they would get better in their art.

Even the Great Other beyond the wall.

The only consolation was that all the worshipers of R'hllor will slowly lose their magic. It was only a matter of time.

Edwyn g.r.o.a.n.e.d as he turned to his side. His whole body was hurting. At least his clothes were intact. He struggled to get up on his feet and channelled chakra to his legs. He didn't know for how long was he fainted. Although, he did wonder why hadn't anyone found him.

He unsealed a bottle of water and gulped it down in one go. Thirst and hunger were clouding his mind. He resealed the bottle and sat down to gather himself.

After meditating for an hour and removing most of his fatigue, Edwyn's mind immediately wandered to the sword with which he had slain the overlord of R'horiam, otherwise known as ancient Valyria.

He unsealed the sword and began inspecting it. The sword was still emanating the red aura from its guard to the middle of the blade. As he took a closer look, there were carvings on the blade. Two tails coiling around one another and ending at two dragon-like heads right where the red aura finished. Did it belong to some dragonlord of Valyria? The sword of a dragonlord, destroyer of R'hllor, the being who brought upon the Doom of Valyria.

'Doomslayer,' Edwyn thought with a smile.

He twirled the sword in his hand, measuring how it felt in his grasp. The weight was just right, perfect balance, it felt so easy to swing it, as if it was made for him.

'I need a scabbard for it.'

'And I need a horse.'

But first, he needed to fill his empty stomach. And what better way to sate his hunger by having some delicious venison? It didn't take him long to find some dry pieces of wood to start a fire and cook the meat that was safely sealed away in stasis seals. As his clothes and armour were drying beside the fire, Edwyn spread his senses and tried to find any human settlements nearby.

As the sun began setting down, Edwyn gathered his belongings, put the fire out and wore his armour before setting out to what felt like a large city.

It wasn't much of an effort for Edwyn to infiltrate the city walls. Even though the security looked very tight, it was nothing in front of Edwyn's abilities.

The city seemed to have a rich history. Tall pyramids reached for the sky itself with gilded harpies proudly displayed at their tops, marking the prosperity of the city. It wasn't too hard for Edwyn to realise where he was. Especially when a war elephant crossed a road ahead of him.

He was in New Ghis, a city located on a small island south of the Ghiscar landmass that used to be the home of the Ghiscari until some 5000 years ago. Ghiscar was now under the collective rule of the wise masters of Yunkai, Astapor and Mereen. New Ghis, meanwhile, was created after Old Ghis, the capital of the Ancient Ghiscar empire, was decimated by the Valyrians. A city with a strong army and navy, that utilized elephants in battles.

But that wasn't of any trouble for Edwyn. What troubled him was that slavery was still in practice. The atmosphere of New Ghis was filled to the brim with hate and greed. Edwyn wanted to be out of there as quickly as he could.

'Their time will come. They all shall pay for their crimes against humanity. But first, I have to go to Vaes Dothrak and see if the Targaryens could provide a better future to the people of Westeros.'

Soon, Edwyn walked in a tavern henged as an inconspicuous local. Taverns were the best way to get information. People talked about all kinds of stuff when drink. As he took a seat in the middle of the tavern, he could hear people talk about the red comet that appeared in the sky.

"What do you think about that comet which appeared two days ago?"

'So I was unconscious for more than a day.'

"I don't know. There are some stories about its relation with magic or something but all that is hogwash."

"Heh, you're right. Listen, I bought a new slave yesterday. She's from summer isles. What do you say? How about you come with me and taste her while you show me that Dothraki woman?"

Edwyn took a sharp breath and drank the whole cup of ale before quickly paying for it and walking out of the tavern. The ale stung in his throat, but it was nothing compared to the burn in his heart from his anger towards the slavers. As he reached a window, he unsealed two kunai and with pinpoint precision, he threw the kunai at the two men, hitting them in their heads and killing them instantly.

He swiftly walked away as the whole tavern was caught in an uproar.

Nearby, there was an auction house. It was empty, but somehow, Edwyn could feel all the anguish of the slaves that had been sold from it. White-hot anger erupted from his veins and Edwyn spewed a fireball jutsu at it, making the auction house engulfed in a raging fire.

While the soldiers were busy putting the fire out, Edwyn took advantage of the panic and stole a small cart along with a pair of steeds and ran out of the city. By the time anyone from the city realised what had transpired, Edwyn was already on his ship and making his way to the mainland of Essos.

Edwyn reached the shore near the city of Quarth on the very next day. Without taking any stops, Edwyn mounted the cart on the horses and rode off to the direction of Vaes Dothrak.

The red waste was a vast desert with little to no vegetation. When Edwyn saw a lone Dothraki blood rider coming towards him, he was confused.

The Dothraki saw him and asked, "You there, is there any city ahead?"

Edwyn just nodded and asked back in Dothraki, "What's a blood rider doing in the red waste? You don't usually leave the Dothraki sea and all the nearby grasslands."

The blood rider responded rudely, "I have no reason to answer your drabble, fool. Get on your way!"

Edwyn was certain that the blood rider was in a hurry or else the man would have challenged him for the cart. Paying no heed to his strange encounter, Edwyn kept going towards Vaes Dothrak.

Soon, he saw a group of people a few hundred meters ahead of him.

'What the f.u.c.k is going on? First that Dothraki and now these people? What madness made them travel through the red waste?'

A rider approached him from the group, probably because they saw a cart with him.

"Traveller, what do you have in your cart? We need food and water. Our people are starving."

Edwyn scanned the group which mostly consisted of Dothraki women and children along with some elderly. Then his eyes settled on a short female who was around his age. He immediately recognised her given the colour of her hair and that of her eyes.

'Targaryen... Daenerys Targaryen...'

Edwyn growled, "Jorah Mormont, what the f.u.c.k is an exiled slaver doing with the Targaryen princess?"

Jorah was shocked to see Edwyn. Tales of the eldest prince's ruthlessness and skill had reached the far ends of the world. Seeing the prince in front of him, Jorah was terrified.

Before Jorah could stutter out a response, Daenerys asked Edwyn, "Who are you, ser?"

Edwyn kept his gaze fixated at Jorah and answered, "I'm Edwyn Baratheon, the firstborn son of Robert Baratheon. That oafhead and disgrace of a king ordered me to kill you and your unborn child."

All the blood riders immediately surrounded Edwyn and his cart while Jorah began shaking in his boots.

Edwyn smirked again, "Mormont, do you really think these fools could stop me?"

"No... no... "

Daenerys looked at Jorah's terror-stricken face. She had never seen the brave knight so terrified. As she herself began fearing why Jorah was so afraid, she asked, "Ser Jorah, wha...?"

Jorah interrupted her and said with extreme urgency, his voice trembling, "R-Run, Khaleesi! Take a horse and run as far away as you can! Robert Baratheon has sent the best! I *gulp* I'll try to delay him. Please! Run away, Khaleesi! It's him! The Maelstrom!"

Daenerys' eyes widened with shock and panic as she realised who had come for her head. She had heard stories of the monster born in human skin, the demon who bathed in the blood of those he slew. A man so evil even his father couldn't accept him. No one had ever told her his true identity. Just the name bestowed upon him by the common folk and all the stories that followed. She used to think that those were just stories. But seeing Jorah's reaction, she deduced that everything she had heard about the demon was true.

The storm had come, and with it came the doom of the dragons.