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Chapter 29 - Battle of Weeping Town
🕑 Added 2025-07-19 18:09:11 +0000 UTCStorm Kingdom
Weeping Town
8 BAC
Ei stood up, watching the shocked Ironborn stand there with gaping mouths, watching her, and attacked.
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Harryn Hoare, Heir to the Isles and Rivers, did something he never had before.
He ran like his life depended on it.
Argella Durrandon had just slammed on the ground like the hammer of a vengeful god, a purple circle with weird symbols glowing at her back, and disappeared before his eyes, and in that instant, a dozen men were slain. The first one was sliced apart from shoulder to hip, and two more were stabbed through the heart before the first one's body fell. By the time he realized what had happened, all of his men were fresh corpses, and as Argella Durrandon stood there, watching him with a dismissive gaze, he turned tail.
Harryn didn’t believe any of the horseshit that Argella Durrandon was blessed by the gods, but as he ran for his life, it seemed all too real.
Through the streets, Harryn passed by his still-fighting brethren, and with each step he took, one more Ironborn was slaughtered like a pig.
Holding one of the raiders under his command by the shoulder, Harryn threw him towards Argella Durrandon. “Stop her!” He screamed, continuing to run away, only for his face to be covered with the blood of the man.
Stumbling, he got up and kept running. “Help me!” His scream earned the attention of several Ironborn, including one that looked like a walking castle on legs. They didn’t understand what was happening but charged at the woman at his back with screams.
She swung her spear, which left behind a trail in the shape of a crescent moon, and the Harryn was thrown off his feet. Groaning, he turned around to see what had happened, only to see all those men bisected in half at the waist, with their blood pooling on the ground, and the demon standing there as if they were not worth her notice.
Before he could react, she twirled her spear and slammed it into his stomach, denting the armor and knocking the air out of his lungs, before a hit to his head sent him to the realm of unconsciousness.
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Ei picked up the weapon from the still but breathing body of the Ironborn, pulling the sword from its sheath.
Mistsplitter Reforged.
A weapon she had bestowed to her Hatomoto, Takamine, a high-ranking officer in the Shogun’s Army, and after his death and the sword’s reforging, it had been passed to the Kamisato Clan, eventually ending up in the hands of Kamisato Ayaka, a loyal subject.
Now, sullied in the hands of pirate filth.
Pushing electro energy to the sword, which gave it a nice glow, Ei sheathed the sword, turning to the knights who were watching her, unsure of what to do.
Pointing at the Hoare, most likely the eldest, Harryn, but Ei couldn’t be sure; she ordered the knights to take him prisoner before disappearing to deal with the remaining Ironborn.
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Lord Tommen raised his shield to block the Ironborn’s axe, swinging his sword and forcing the raider to back off. “Keep pushing them off!” He shouted, slamming his shield into another Ironborn’s face, sending teeth and blood flying off.
The bastards had pushed towards the Iron Works as expected, with a smaller number no doubt pillaging his town.
Tommen had no choice but to fight to defend what he could, rather than spread his forces out to counter the Ironborn at large.
He prayed for a miracle.
“What the fuck is that?!” One of the Ironborn screamed, mace pointing at the sky, and Tommen involuntarily looked up, only to see Princess Argella floating in the sky?!
The battle stopped as both sides looked up at the princess, who looked way different than the last time Tommen had seen her, which was a couple of months back.
Rather than a child of two and ten, she was a grown woman, dressed in a foreign armor adorned with just as foreign symbols, holding a spear and looking down on the Ironborn with distaste.
She raised the spear, and purple lightning covered the blade until the metal could not be seen. “Close your eyes.” The princess warned, though Tommen and his men were too shocked to listen, and she brought the spear down.
A dark-purple ray of light slammed into the Ironborn like the fury of a god, casting the world into a harsh glow, blinding the forces of Weeping Town temporarily.
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Tommen Whitehead’s ears were ringing, and he was blinded, though it appeared to be passing slowly.
Blinking to get rid of the white spots sooner, he slammed into someone and fell down. Deciding to lie down rather than walk anymore, he waited for his vision to return, letting the rain drench him, though it soon stopped, and Tommen could feel the skies clear up as sunlight warmed his skin.
After what felt like hours, but in reality was merely minutes, Tommen Whitehead stood up, the ringing in his ears gone, but small white spots still impeded his sight.
“Lord Tommen, can you hear me?” Raising his head up, he flinched at seeing Princess Argella floating, one leg crossed under the other.
He gulped. “Princess, is that you?” The Lord of Weeping Tower hesitantly asked, because he had no idea what to say.
“Yes, it is me. Your questions will be answered later. The Ironborn are dead, and the fires are out. I want you to do a damage assessment and have all your servants render aid to the townspeople as necessary.” Princess Argella ordered,
Tommen stood there wordlessly, his eyes taking in her form now that she was closer. The purple circle at her back had disappeared, and her weapon was gone as well. Her armor of black metal with golden engravings was worn over a rather loose purple robe and covered most of her body, though there were plenty of openings in the armor.
Having seen what she had done firsthand, Tommen didn’t think it mattered.
The ground was scorched, and where Ironborn once stood, there were only ashes flying in the wind.
He nodded to carry out her orders, because Tommen might be a lot of things, but he wasn’t fool enough to cross someone who could do that, especially if it was the Princess of the Kingdom.
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The Ironborn had burned down at least a quarter of the town and killed over five hundred guards and more smallfolk. There weren’t many wounded, so the maester and the healers were not overwhelmed, though that was cold comfort.
Iron Works was fine, as the Ironborn were slaughtered, for the lack of a better word.
Tommen was half there, half wondering if he took a hit to the head and was dreaming, and pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t.
Magic.
Princess Argella had just used magic openly, rather than through the discrete means many thought she did.
And it was terrifying.
More so with the testimonies of the smallfolk who had seen her butcher the Ironborn with her spear through the town, as if a warrior straight out of the Age of Heroes.
At least he could confirm now that she was responsible for the lack of storms.
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After explaining how they were caught by surprise, as well as giving his report on the damages, Tommen stood there silently while the princess contemplated something.
“The Ironborn ships are now yours; have them crewed and ready to sail. This means war, Lord Tommen, and I intend to show the Ironborn the error of their ways.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“And do calm down; I am not going to suddenly strike you down because you said something wrong.”
Tommen nodded, considering whether to ask the questions in his mind or not. “What are you?” Argella Durrandon was no liar, at least as far as he had known her.
“God of Thunder and Eternity.”
“A god?”
“Yes.”
The only gods he had ever seen, the Seven-Who-Are-One, were nothing more than statues in the Septs, and seeing as Princess Argella was the one who answered his prayers, who was Tommen to question that any further?
He began to kneel, but she held her hand out, stopping him. “I have no intention of forcing the people to worship me, so don’t do it if you fear retribution.” Tommen stopped to consider her words before kneeling down.
Ei nodded, bidding him to rise. “Keep your forces on the ready in case of another attack by the Ironborn.”
“I understand.” Tommen raked her brain for what to call her. “Your Holiness?” He said hesitantly, and Ei looked at him blankly. “Your Excellency will suffice.”
“I understand, Your Excellency.”
“Good, call your banners, Lord Tommen; the Ironborn have plagued this continent long enough.” She could go and deal with them herself now, but war included more than just vanquishing your enemies. Castles had to be garrisoned, and the chaos during and after the war had to be controlled, and for that, armies were necessary even for the Archons.
Tommen “Yes, but with the repairs, it will take time.”
Ei nodded; seeing the current state of the town, it was understandable. “We have time, especially with that hostage. Do you know which son of Harren Hoare he is?”
Lord of Weeping Tower nodded. “Harwyn is the oldest and Harren’s heir.” He had seen that Ironborn bastard once before and itched to take a knife to his throat, but Harwyn was more valuable as a hostage.
“Excellent. In the meantime I will go and convince my father to abdicate the throne for me and declare war.” It was time to come clean, and it's not like she had done a stellar job at being a mortal.
“Yes, Your Excellency.” Tommen grinned. War against the Ironborn would be unadvisable right now. Storm Kingdom had Reach and Dorne on one side and the Ironborn on the other, so even with the prosperity the kingdom had seen in recent years, declaring war against the Ironborn would give the other two the perfect opportunity to rip into the kingdom.
But with a god on the Storm Throne, the Ironborn’s days were numbered.
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Windproud approached the docks of Weeping Town after a message was sent saying it was safe to make land. Ei had nothing else she could do for the residents except send supplies and coin to soothe their wounds, so she prepared to leave for Storm’s End.
“Keep me informed if a situation develops.” She ordered Lord Tommen and lifted the hog-tied heir to the Isles and Rivers, taking him to Storm’s End to inform her father of the Ironborn’s attack.
“Yes, Your Excellency.” Tommen wanted to see how she would make the journey to Storm’s End, internally excited to see more magic.
Which came in a very weird way.
The handle of a sword came out of her chest, passing through the robe and the armor without damaging anything. She grasped the handle and pulled the purple and exquisite sword out, and a downward slash sliced the air open, creating a gaping purple hole.
She stepped into the hole, which closed after her, and disappeared from sight, to the shock and disbelief of the people.
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Storm’s End
It was just another ordinary day in the seat of House Durrandon, the ruling house of the Storm Kingdom.
Before a purple, gaping wound split open the sky above the courtyard, where King Argilac was sparring with his new squire, and Princess Argella, dressed in armor and carrying a tied-up man by a rope, came out of the hole, slowly walking down as purple disks appeared under her feet.
The people stopped to watch, unable to comprehend what they were seeing—everyone except Lord Lucan Penrose.
“Father.” Argella greeted with her usual tone, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
It took the Storm King some embarrassing seconds to come out of his shock to answer. “Argella.” His tone, in a stark contrast to his daughter’s, suggested that everything had gone completely out of the realm of reason.
“Weeping Town was attacked by the Ironborn in a surprise assault. I have dealt with the invaders and taken Harwyn Hoare hostage.” She explained, completely ignoring the real matter at hand, and gently threw Harren the Black’s heir at her father’s feet.
The silence was broken when Lucan began to howl with gleeful laughter.
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Notes: I don't know if I wrote the feelings of the people in a fitting way, but sometimes its hard for me to turn my imagination to words. Hope you enjoy the double posting.
As for Ei wearing armor rather than her usual attire, I felt it more fitting since she is going to war, and it would be better for her to set the image of warrior in addition to her divine might.
That and I didn't want a bunch of horny Westerosi a-holes having thoughts about our glorious Electro Archon.
Comments
Falyn Frost
It's always great to see reavers and rapists punished
Falyn Frost
There probably won't be a house Baratheon in the Stormlands
Bal
Well the worship will start at the town first and many will think the legend of House Baratheon is true.
