Fire and Blood

Chapter 115: Capture of Dustonbury and Whitegrove

The Reach ― Dustonbury...

Daemon embarked on a journey to the south, riding on the back of his dragon, Caraxes. He had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of action, but his spirits were lifted when he received a secret message from his nephew, King Aeonar. The Targaryen blood within him boiled with excitement, knowing that he was now taking the offensive. As part of their elaborate plan, the Rogue Prince willingly abandoned Harrenhal and spread false rumors, hoping to lure out Aemond and Criston Cole. With Aeonar on the move and his grandnephews and grandniece strategically positioned west in the Reach and east in the Stormlands, Daemon had effectively set the stage for a multi-pronged attack. The plan was to encircle House Peake from multiple directions, leaving them no room to escape or regroup. By dismantling the leadership of the Caltrops, Daemon aimed to bring House Peake to their knees and effectively decapitate the Caltrops' leadership.

"*Reeeeeeeeeh!*" Caraxes screeched.

Soon, we'll end this war in one fell swoop and have every fucking Caltrop head on a spike. Daemon tapped his dragon three times to begin their descent.

Dunstonbury, a once formidable castle of House Manderly, was situated in the Kingdom of the Reach, where House Manderly resided along the Mander. This was when the Reach was an independent realm, long before Aegon's Conquest. But when the Manderlys fled to the North, a millennium before Aegon the Conqueror launched his invasion, Dunstonbury was granted to their rivals, House Peake, by the kings of House Gardener.

As an experienced combat veteran, Daemon saw an opportunity to weaken House Peake, who had slighted House Targaryen through their involvement in the attempted coup in King's Landing. The ongoing civil war that had fragmented the House of the Dragon further fueled Daemon's desire to chip away at House Peake's power. To achieve this, he attacked Dunstonbury and claimed it for House Targaryen. But taking over Dunstonbury wouldn't be easy. Lord Unwin's son and heir, Ser Titus Peake, had been left in command of the castle's garrison in the event of an attempted siege. However, Titus was unprepared for an attack from the air, which proved to be House Targaryen's trump card.

As Daemon and his forces approached House Peake's stronghold, he could see the fear and panic in their eyes. Dustonbury had no defense against dragonfire; no castle in the Seven Kingdoms did. Aegon disproved that by unleashing Balerion's power against Harrenhal and eliminating House Hoare. The element of surprise was on his side, and he intended to use it to his advantage. With his dragon circling above, breathing fire and instilling terror in the hearts of his enemies, Daemon's troops charged forward, their swords gleaming in the sunlight.

"Idakōs! (Attack!)"

"*Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!*"

Amid the battlefield, the chaos and violence seemed endless. The air was filled with the sound of clashing steel and the cries of the wounded. Daemon fought with an intense ferocity that seemed to come from deep within his soul. His every move was fueled by the adrenaline coursing through his veins, and he struck down his enemies with a deadly precision that left them reeling. Clearly, he was a force to be reckoned with, his skill and expertise on the battlefield unmatched by any of his foes. Despite the danger surrounding him, he fought with a determination that would not be broken.

"Dragon!" a Peake sentry shouted in alarm.

"Archers!" Titus shouted. "Get those arrows up!"

"Nock! Draw! Loose!"

The archers of the Peake garrison, their faces etched with determination, stood tall upon the battlements, their bows drawn taut and arrows ready to be unleashed. They released their deadly projectiles with practiced precision, each arrow soaring through the air with deadly intent. Each arrow, meticulously crafted and aimed, flew through the air with deadly intent, only to bounce harmlessly off Caraxes like raindrops against a mountain.