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Chapter 57 - The Battle of Volantis
🕑 Added 2025-12-15 19:06:33 +0000 UTC14 YA
Essos
The parley between the Targaryens and the Triarchs went on for two years, with offers sent back and forth. When Volantis agreed to abandon slaves in return for lower taxes, exemption from tolls, and such, which would make the city barely a part of the empire.
The entire point of the discussions, in essence, was haggling over coin.
Volantis, more like the elephant faction Triarchs, wanted compensation for their largest source of coin being abandoned, but the Targaryens weren’t willing to give the amount they desired.
Both parties weren’t idle while treating. House Targaryen kept working on improving the state of their realm, mostly choosing to increase trade between the cities and with Westeros as a whole and rooting out dissidents, as well as preparing their hosts for Volantis.
To that end, more engineers were gathered in one place than anytime in the wars of the last couple of centuries.
Volantis wasn’t waiting either. The tiger faction, old nobles and warriors bent on war and conquest, was gaining power due to the threat posed by the dragonlords as the city prepared for war.
There were even rumors that two tigers might ascend during the next triarch elections, something unheard of from the beginning of the Century of Blood.
The elephant faction was worried, since through trade and loans, they had more influence on the city, but with the free people afraid of war, the tigers were taking more place in their minds.
It made dealing with the Targaryens all the more difficult.
Seeing this as an opportunity to regain more power, the tiger faction was more belligerent in their parleys with the Valyrian Empire, refusing terms outright without offering anything in return, and used their “stance against the dragonlords and willingness to fight till victory” to gather more support.
The relations soured, and eventually, it was war.
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The tiger faction sought sorcerers as Qohor had done before their loss and also used it to further push the elephant faction.
Sorcerers required great wealth to hire, which the elephant faction had but wasn’t willing to use. Branding them cowards, penny pinchers, and many other names, tigers forced the elephants to contribute to the hiring of sorcerers by turning the people against them.
The elephants weren’t idle, however; since the tigers were the reason there was to be a war against the Targaryens, they had to be fighting on the front, lest the shouts of cowardice be turned to them.
In addition, as the elephant faction consisted of merchants and money lenders, they dragged the tigers into debt by forcing them to buy supplies for war from them as well as loans.
The struggle between the factions was weakening their preparations against the Targaryens, but eventually, it was set aside, because if the new Valyrian Empire took Volantis, a bleak future awaited them.
A runaway from Yi-Ti, claiming to be an alchemist of great talent, was one of those who offered his talents for a hefty price.
Unsure at first, they let the strange man display his talents.
When the barrel he had brought, filled with a black powder, was lit and tore an entire room apart, they were very sure of retaining the man’s alchemy.
The alchemist also offered an idea: to fill long and wide hollow pipes with the black powder and sharp metal pieces. Once the black powder was lit, it would fire the objects with great speed and cover a wide area, perhaps enough to harm the dragons or at least their riders.
The idea was great on parchment, but issues quickly arose while making the exploding pipes.
If the pipes were too thin, they would be torn apart, but if too thick, moving them was cumbersome. The pipes could only be used slowly because using them too often widened the mouth of the pipe, causing the shots to slow down and disperse too much.
Further use without cooling them down was proven to be a fatal error, as the black powder was lit too early, and the cast iron pipe was torn apart, killing several men.
Bronze, cast and wrought iron, as well as steel from the Iron Works of the Storm Kingdom, were tried.
Cast and wrought iron were cheap, but the pipes tended to explode and be damaged quickly, while bronze was reliable and handled the heat better but was expensive.
The steel was the best, but just that much more expensive even with how cheap it was compared to before, leaving the triarchs to choose bronze-cast bombards as the weapons were named.
Another issue was the sharp metal pieces launched. Often some were torn inside the bombard, piercing through the bronze, but it was solved by putting a wooden plank inside the pipe and changing the sharp pieces with orbs.
By the time the Targaryen host was at the walls with two dragons above the walls, Volantis only had five bombards and but more than enough powder to fire them as long as possible.
Hidden in towers on top of the wall, they waited until Balerion and Vhagar were close enough before lighting the fuses.
With a thunderous choir, the bombards were fired, and in the blink of an eye, Vhagar was going down.
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The Targaryen invasion of Volantis began with Selhorys, Valysar, and Volon Therys, cities in truth but considered towns by the Volantene. They too were walled, though none to match Volantis itself, and the towns fell quickly.
Too quickly.
Feeling something amiss, the Targaryens did not tarry in the cities, which did not have much to offer, as Volantis had already emptied their coffers for safekeeping. The real prize lay further down at the mouth of the River Rhoyne.
With accomplished sorcerers in great numbers to protect them against curses and such, Aegon Targaryen was more hopeful about the battle against Volantis.
Those hopes were dashed like a rotten apple to a wall when he saw Vhagar go down with his sister-wife.
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Aegon watched in silence as the she-dragon fell, possibly to her doom, hitting the edge of the wall and causing Visenya to be launched violently forward, on top of the wall.
The fall distance was short, and Visenya rose dazed, bleeding from her nose, and twisted the wrong way, but alive.
The Volantine, seeing a chance to capture the wife of Aegon Targaryen, abandoned their posts, but Aegon was faster, having Balerion perch on top of the wall, unleashing his flames on the soldiers.
Aegon lifted Visenya to his shoulder, with her blood leaking inside his armor, and his wife let out a scream in agony as her arm was jostled. Gritting his teeth, Aegon climbed back on Balerion while carrying the wounded mother of his daughter and took off.
Landing on his camp outside the outer walls, Aegon screamed for healers. Orys rushed to help Aegon down, and they carried Visenya inside the tents.
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“What happened?” Orys asked once Aegon had taken a few sips of wine to calm his heart.
Still shaken by what he had witnessed, it took Aegon several minutes to gather his thoughts and answer, “I… I don’t know. They must have done some sort of sorcery, something I have never seen before. One second we almost set everyone on top of the walls on fire, the next, I heard a sound akin to a lightning strike near me, and Vhagar went down. I barely saved Visenya.”
“Damn it. What now?” Their plan was to set everything inside the Black Walls on fire, breaking the enemy's spirit while keeping the rest of the city safe.
Now, they had most likely lost a dragon, and Visenya was fighting for her life.
“I’ll go there and finish this myself.” Aegon rose, face red with fury and the blood of his wife.
Orys ran after Aegon, stepping in his path, “Wait, stop.”
“Out of my way,” Aegon demanded.
“If they use the same magic on you, you may die, or worse, be taken as a prisoner. If you are lost to us, this war is over.” And the empire, of course, because Rhaenys alone wouldn’t be able to handle the weight of everything, not while vultures were circling over their heads.
Aegon shook Orys off, turning back. Nails digging into his palms, Aegon overthrew the desk, letting out a scream in frustration.
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While Visenya was wounded, she would survive, except for one thing.
Her left arm was mangled, and the healers saw no choice but to cut it off. Aegon was silent upon hearing what the healers wanted to do and latched onto the throat of one, almost choking the man to death before he was separated.
No matter who he spoke to, they all said the same thing.
Either the arm would go, or Visenya’s life would be in danger.
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Aegon knew Visenya would be furious for what he had allowed, but better alive and furious than dead.
Now, he and the commanders of his host were discussing whether to retreat or press on.
The choice was clear, and against the words of caution his commanders gave, Aegon ordered an attack, starting by destroying the outer walls and pushing into the city.
The host moved over the broken and soot-covered ruins of the wall, seeking the enemy, but found none. Believing that the enemy had taken shelter closer to the Black Wall and moved as one for safety.
It was a mistake.
The ground burst up with the sound of thunder, smoke, and flames, shredding thousands of men to mincemeat and wounding thousands more, tearing off arms and legs, and leaving stone parts embedded in the bodies of the living.
It was a nightmare of blood and viscera, with the smell of burnt meat.
A significant chunk of the twenty-five thousand men were gone in an instant, either dead or severely wounded.
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First, they had lost a dragon, barely able to kill a dozen men, and second, seven thousand men were out of the battle without even seeing a single enemy.
Whatever magic the Volantine had, it was too strong, but Aegon was too furious to retreat. He was about to order a third attack, sending mules and other animals to trigger the traps first, but the spirits of his men were broken.
For three days, Orys Baratheon pleaded with Aegon to retreat from Volantis while securing their gains so far and preparing for the next battle, and at the end of the three days, he agreed, only when Visenya was burning with fever.
The First Battle of Volantis resulted in the defeat of the Targaryens, but not completely, for they still held Volon Therys, Valysar, and Selhorys.
Volantis, however, weren’t willing to let go of their towns so easily and sent an envoy to the Targaryens, someone disposable, offering to return Vhagar’s remains in return for the complete Targaryen withdrawal from their lands.
Visenya, having fought off her fever, pleaded with her husband for the bones of her dragon, though rumors persisted that some strong words had been spoken between husband and wife.
Regardless, once the Targaryens left the towns, it became clear that Volantis had done what the other cities could not: killed a dragon and severely wounded one of High Archon Aegon’s wives.
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Westeros
The Storm Kingdom
Storm’s End
14 YA
Today was a terrible day, and even the weather showed it.
Argilac Durrandon, the previous Storm King, father to Argella Durrandon, the Storm Queen, the God of Thunder and Eternity, the Conqueror of the Riverlands, Dorne, Blackwater Bay, and the Reach, and the Slayer of the Drowned God, was dead.
The morning of the day had found the previous king dead on his bed from old age.
Sixty-one years old, Argilac had been indulging in wine, food, and such ever since peace reigned across the kingdom. At first, his usual spars with his sons had kept him in one piece, but as he got older, the spars became less frequent while merriment increased.
The Silent Sisters had taken the body to prepare for the funeral, while Argall, Argos, and Selena were crying in their own way. Argall was trying to keep it in, acting as he believed a prince should, while Argos had locked himself in a room.
Selena was crying her heart out.
As for Ei, she too felt great sadness for Argilac’s passing, but she knew he wouldn’t want people to cry after him.
Rather, she was sure that wherever his soul was, her mortal father would demand that they laugh, remember his battles, victories, losses, good and bad days, and drink in his honor.
However, it was important to let everyone handle it their way.
“It is alright to cry, for crying is to be alive.” Ei laid her hand on Argall’s shoulder, and the young man looked at her, eyes glistening, but too stubborn to cry.
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because our father would want us to smile, and while I am sad, I will honor his memory as a warrior, a father, a husband, a king, and most importantly, as family.”
Argall nodded, finally letting his tears fall while Ei gathered him in her arms.
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The funeral was for two weeks later while Argilac’s body was kept from decaying through magic. There were many who wished to attend, mostly his peers, and those that wished to pay their respect to the man that had kept the Storm Kingdom from falling apart before Argella Durrandon revived it.
They were there as family, standing at the front, while her friends were at the back with the guests.
The Septon began a long-winded speech, though she was too lost in her memories to listen.
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Eventually, Argilac was laid to rest, and it was time for the feast.
True to her word, Ei honored Argilac’s memory by telling stories of his victory against Garse, his decisions in trusting her, and more.
His peers spoke of the battle in Essos, of Argilac’s valor and strength, his honor and generosity.
Slowly but surely, the mood became less somber.
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After the feast, she was told of the latest events in Essos.
The Targaryens had taken a great blow from Volantis, which had killed one of their beasts and severely wounded Visenya Targaryen, as well as killing or wounding around seven thousand men through loud and flashy sorcery.
“You know, I think it is more likely that these triarchs found a way to make explosives.” Which was a problem, at least for the Targaryens.
Sasayuri did not like any of them, but the Targaryens were better by leagues.
Ei rolled her shoulders. “Maybe, or maybe it is sorcery. Either way, have ships stationed near the Stepstones. The victory might make Volantis bold, and I don’t wish to see slavers near my lands.”
Sasayuri took out a paper and a pen, something Ei had to create after quills and brushes had become too cumbersome, and wrote down the orders to prepare the royal navy to patrol the Stepstones for any signs of pirates, slavers, and other outlaws.
Essos was heating up with trouble, but for now, she would drink in Argilac's memory.
Comments
orcun demir
The cannons in Volantis are very crude, and they will no doubt improve on them with time, if they have it that is. As for Westeros and gunpowder, who knows what the Academy can cook up?
Serina Tsukaya
Honestly, for a second i thought that wildfire might come into play... but black powder and bombadeers already? I wonder how our beloved archon will react? Does she prefer warfare as it is? Is she willing to let gunpowder exist? But in what form? Muskets? Cannons? I'm honestly just immensely curious! Will we see napoleon era musket formations blowing apart the white walkers?
N
With how the war is going, will the Targaryens even last to the Game of Thrones time period? It seems like their dynasty will end before it’s even really begun
orcun demir
Glad to hear that. As for contacting far Essos, why not? I don't have any plans currently, but it will most likely happen.
Falyn Frost
This is my favourite of your series! Also, the thought of gunpowder in Essos and even Westeros is scary af. I guess it makes sense, with Yi Ti being essentially China. Will Ei or her friends make contact with Yi Ti, Leng, etc.? Thanks for updating!
