The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 38: Out of control

General Belano, the military governor of Tyrosh, stood at the window of his quarters and stared at the devastation that spread before his eyes.

The devastating attack by the domolition ships was two weeks ago. The port was a rubble field full of charred shipwrecks and burned buildings. The wildfire had burned for days after most of the Imperial Navy had been destroyed and Salladhor Saan withdrew to Lys with the remains of his fleet. The death toll was over twenty thousand.

And as if that weren't enough, a riot had broken out the day after the attack. The rebels almost succeeded in overpowering the Imperial garrison. The fact that it did not get that far was thanks to the courage and presence of mind of a handful of officers who prevented the insurgents from taking the armories in a flash.

Nevertheless, the rebels had managed to acquire part of the arms supply and to bring almost half of the city under their control. In the meantime, Belano's soldiers had been able to push them back into a small area at the port. However, the rebels used the sewer system for raids behind the Imperial forces and the townspeople were hostile to the occupiers.

Then there was the news of the successful uprising in Myr. Riots had broken out in Lys, too, and the Alliance put the Imperial Army under pressure from Pentos with a series of minor attacks - as it had done in the early stages of the war. The Empire threatened to lose control of the Disputed Lands.

And still there was no news from the Empress or Drogon.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen", Belano said to his staff, "we must put an end to this uprising before the rest of the city rises openly against us. Major Wynosha" - he pointed to a slim blond woman - "You and your soldiers will take as many barrels of wildfire as you can carry and then dump the stuff into the sewer, where the rebels have hidden themselves. And then throw torches afterwards."

"General", said Wynosha, "as far as we know, there are bystanders and children down there looking for shelter from the fighting. In addition, the wildfire explosion could affect the houses above the sewer system. Just think of the destruction of the Sept of Baelor in King's Landing."

"I know, Major", sighed the General. "Believe me, I don't like it either. But I don't see any other option. I take full responsibility for everything that will happen."

Belano looked around. "As soon as the wildfire is ignited and the explosions subside, we will storm the rebel area from all sides. Questions?"

"Shouldn't we at least give the civilians the opportunity to leave the area beforehand?", asked a captain.

"Let me remind you that we called on the non-combatants to do so a few days ago", replied Belano. "We will warn them one last time a few hours before the attack begins - but of course we are not allowed to tell them about the wildfire."

The officers nodded, but none of them looked particularly happy. But Belano knew that they would do their job with full commitment.

Amazingly, a few hundred civilians had followed the Imperial command and left the rebel district before the inferno broke out. Now, two days later, the district was nothing more than a smoky landscape of ruins. In some places the wildfire was still burning.

General Belano and his staff walked in silence down a deserted street lined with gallows. The hanged, barely a thousand in number, had signs around their necks identifying them as rebels. Would the citizens of Tyrosh take the warning to heart? Belano prayed for it.

The myth of the noble, self-sacrificing rebels who stood up to the evil, all-powerful Empire would probably spread. The general had really tried not to make life unnecessarily difficult for the townspeople, but the Imperials were and remained occupiers in their eyes. The citizens of the Free Cities loved their independence and Empress Daenerys wanted to take it away from them.

The deaths caused by the uprising had not yet been counted, but it was already clear that there were tens of thousands. Belano suspected that from now on he would be remembered as a butcher in this city. Perhaps the Empress would even feel compelled to recall him from his post.

But such considerations should not prevent the general from fulfilling his task; namely to secure Imperial control over Tyrosh.

Doneo Naerys and Aeran Sanel stood on the city walls of Myr and looked over at the thirty thousand strong Imperial army encamped at the gates. They had been there for a week, but no one made any attempt to storm the wall.

Doneo wondered what the Imperial commander was waiting for. After the Imperial Navy had been defeated at Tyrosh, Myr could easily be supplied from the sea, so a siege from the land side was ineffective. And the Imperials couldn't really afford to leave thirty thousand soldiers standing around here while they were troubled all over the Disputed Lands.

And once the Alliance was ready to launch a counter-offensive...

Suddenly Aeran narrowed his eyes and pointed to the eastern horizon. "That's..." whispered the white-haired man. "No, that mustn't be."

Doneo followed his gaze. There was a black point in the sky that was rapidly approaching them. Much too big for a bird. The two magisters looked at each other and read in their eyes the horrific realization of defeat.

It was all in vain. They had driven the Imperials from the city, but their long-term plans were based on the hope that the dragon Drogon had been permanently incapacitated at Pentos. A hope that has just been dashed.

With a scream that made your blood run cold, the black dragon came down from the sky. Doneo, Aeran and the soldiers on the wall threw themselves face down to the ground. A burst of fire sprang from Drogon's mouth and caught one of the few ballistae on the battlements. There weren't enough of them to cause problems for the beast. One by one, the devices were destroyed, then the dragon turned and landed at the Imperial camp. A little later mounted soldiers approached the city gate. One of them was wearing a general's uniform.

"They come to receive our surrender", Aeran stated bitterly.

Even if he resisted it, Doneo knew they had to surrender. Myr must not suffer the fate of King's Landing.