Rivers of Fire and Blood

Davos III

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Ice and Fire Novels, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters. I do not earn any money from writing these stories, it is for my entertainment and is something I like to share.

Mayhem was the only word to describe the situation. None of his own men were archers, which meant they had to be split among the wildlings. Every wildling thought they were the best archer in the land, both north and south of the wall. Fortunately Tormund and Strygga were able to cut through the bullshit and separate them all into three groups. Sadly, his own men were a little pathetic, and Davos felt a twinge of guilt knowing none of them were likely to ever come back from this.

In total they had just over six hundred men, two hundred to be taken to each post and spread out so they could envelop the army, using the lay of the land to hide them. He had spent the day taking the men towards the final post, where he was to be stationed. He would be the final person to light the bonfire to tell Winterfell the men were in place. A Targaryen flag would be raised above Winterfell and they would march forward, assess the situation, and preferably use the archers first, try not to engage with the Unsullied as that would lead to an inevitable defeat. Davos wasn't the best fighter in the world, but he'd lived through every battle so far, many of them involving Jon. He was more than fond of the lad, he was almost like a son. This was why Davos had been more than shocked to find out the lad he had helped bring back to life, more with persistence than anything else, was the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen and the rightful heir to what was once the Iron Throne.

Davos had urged the men to get some rest before nightfall, as that was when he expected battle to commence. They were a little over two miles from Winterfell, which meant they would be able to creep up on the Unsullied. What Davos wasn't aware of was how well equipped the Unsullied were. Sansa had been led to believe they were intending to lay siege to the castle, but Davos had begun to suspect the Unsullied had other plans. This was strengthened by the arrival of Jon on Drogon.

Davos had seen Jon and Drogon flying over a number of times while he and his men had been on their way to the fire post. This time, when he saw Jon, he expected the same to happen, but instead Jon and Drogon landed, a sure fire way to tell him something was amiss. Jon jumped down from the dragon and walked over to Davos, giving him a big hug.

"Your Grace." Davos bowed.

Jon rolled his eyes. "You don't need to Your Grace me. I haven't changed." he sighed, although Davos could tell Jon was feeling uncomfortable about something. "Can we talk somewhere in private?" he asked. Davos nodded and they walked over to a rock and sat down.

"What is it?" Davos asked.

"There's a Dothraki hoard heading this way." Jon told him.

"What?" Davos looked at Jon in shock. "I thought this was meant to be a siege. Now we find out there was Ironborn and Dothraki? Doesn't sound like a siege to me." he shook his head. "What is Bran thinkin?"

"I offered to have a one-to-one fight with Greyworm, he said no." Jon shrugged.

"They always do. For some reason no-one wants to take you on. Can't think why not?" he joked looking towards Drogon. "They were scared of you before. What do you intend to do?" he asked.

Jon took a deep breath. "The only thing I can do, kill the Dothraki, all of them." he looked glum. "I don't want to do this." he said.

"You don't have a choice." Davos shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, it is self-defence."

"Aye, I know." Jon nodded. "But burnin people when I'm on Drogon...it makes me feel... it makes me feel good." he frowned. "I don't like feelin good about killin people." his voice was low. "Especially not burnin, it reminds me of her."

"Daenerys or the Red Woman?" Davos asked.

"Both." Jon laughed.

"Both mad fuckers." Davos nodded. "But they liked burnin people and liked how it made them feel it afterwards. You might like it while yer doin it, but you don't like how it affects you. So in my mind, that makes you different to them."

Jon smiled. "I knew I'd get wise counsel from you, I always do." he sighed. "There's been a change of plan. You still need to set your fire and wait until I give my signal, which is the Targaryen flag above Winterfell. Ignore everything else that happens." he told him.

"Why, what are you plannin?" Davos asked.

"The Unsullied have siege weapons, we need to destroy as many as possible. I'm going to push them towards the castle. The Unsullied are paid for by the Iron Bank, I don't want to kill them with Drogon if I can help it, the Dothraki are only here because they want me dead. I'm going round each camp to tell them of the change of plan. Then I'll fly off and deal with the Dothraki. Watch out as there might be some stragglers left, if there are, your men will be the ones to face them." Jon told him.

"Wonderful." Davos sighed.

"For the Unsullied, my plan is to circle round them with Drogon, almost like a pincer movement. There will be chaos, many will run to the castle, some will run away. Be ready for any who escape, but do not advance until you see the flag." Jon explained. "I still need you to light your fires. It tells me all of the men are in place. Once I've dealt with the Dothraki and circled the Unsullied, I'll return to the castle to help command the archers. If things get too hairy, I'll fight with you." he smiled.

"I think you'll have done enough. You'll make your namesake proud." Davos grinned as Jon looked confused. "Aegon the Conqueror. He didn't shy away from shit. I reckon you get your guts from him."

Jon laughed. "I doubt that. I'm not brave, I just do what needs to be done to protect those that I love." he said. "I've got to get off, but I do have a royal command for you." he said.

"What's that?" Davos asked.

"Don't die. I need you, and your wisdom." Jon smiled as he got up and returned to Drogon. "See you tomorrow?" he said as he climbed up on the back of the dragon.

"Let us hope so." Davos smiled and watched as Jon flew off to deal with the Dothraki.

Davos told them men about the change of plans, it didn't make much difference to them, it only delayed the battle slightly. However, he could tell the men were uncomfortable with the notion of men being burned alive and were scared at the prospect of Jon doing the same to them. The wildlings who knew Jon didn't seem to worry too much about it, but the sailors had only heard stories of Jon, the man who came back from the dead and killed his lover the Dragon Queen. They were true, but the small nuances in the story had disappeared in time and Jon had been turned into a terrifying figure. The myth made even worse now he had a dragon. Between Davos and the Freefolk, Davos had managed to keep the men calm, right up until the smell of smoke hit their nostrils. Davos looked north and the skies were filled with orange flames as trees must have caught fire with the Dothraki. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, turning Davos stomach, but that was the least of his worries. Davos and his men might be safe from the flames as he was on open ground, but anyone caught in the woods might not fare as well. Right now that was not his worry, but he knew it soon would be. The Wolfswood circled Winterfell, he just hoped the winds would change and the fire wouldn't spread their way, otherwise a trebuchet would be the last of their worries.