~~~Third Person, Eleventh Moon, 277 AC~~~
~~~Red Keep, King's Landing~~~
Azrael walked softly through the halls of the Red Keep being followed closely by his Blood Riders, who would glance at him from time to time closely, with none wanting to say anything about it, or at least until Azrael himself spoke to them.
"Say what you guys are thinking already, do you think I'm not aware of your stares?" With what Azrael said, the Blood Riders looked at each other, until Cakoqqo was the first to speak, "Before... Your eyes turned white as you touched the strange tree, for many minutes without moving, are you alright, my Khal?"
At this, Azrael smiled, pleased with the show of concern from his Blood Riders, "don't worry, I simply met with someone, we will be going North of the Wall soon," Azrael explained, which made his Blood Riders turn to look at each other, then shrug, not questioning what Azrael said.
"Where is King Aerys?" Azrael asked a random guard that was stationed in the hallway, "hmm, Your Majesty, he... He's at Maegor's holdfast," the guard spoke in distress, unable to look into the eyes, or at least the eye slits of Azrael's Blood Riders' masks.
It was to be expected, the poor boy was being glared at by eight six-foot men, who wore full armor, along with an unusually strange and sinister mask, if that wasn't enough, the reputation of being savage Dothrakis was not easy to shake, so the fear of being attacked at any moment was ever-present.
However, Azrael did not care about the boy's mood, so with a simple 'thank you', he went on his way, while he did not know the way to Maegor's holdfast, he did know how to ask, so through questions and directions, very soon he found himself at the entrance of Maegor's holdfast, a place where Ser Barristan Selmy was already standing guard.
"Ser Barristan, please let His Grace know that I need his presence as soon as possible. " With a nod, Ser Barristan turned and walked into Maegor's Holdfast. After a few minutes, Aerys emerged almost in stride, with Ser Arthur and Ser Gerold following close behind.
"Azrael!" he said excitedly, "what do you need?" Aerys asked affably, coming to where Azrael was standing, "Rhaegar, he is the issue, it is time for him to be released, besides, I will not be able to stay long at King's Landing, there is a matter in the North that needs my attention."
Aerys' expression went from a beaming smile to a frown, "The North? What would be necessary in the North that needs you to travel there?" he asked confused, not understanding what would be in the North of interest, "Moat Cailin, Lord Rickard gave me the fortress as payment for saving Brandon's life."
Aerys grew serious, analyzing Azrael's words, while he said nothing, he was angry, Lord Rickard had no right to relegate possession of a kingdom stronghold to a foreign king, and as much as Azrael was considered a friend of royalty, it was still a controversial topic, one he would no doubt speak seriously to Rickard about.
"That's... Well," Aerys said simply, "on the subject of Prince Rhaegar, what do you have planned, involving the Unsullied?" Aerys decided to change the subject, determined that he didn't want to show nonconformity in front of Azrael on the subject of Moat Cailin.
The last thing he would want was to get into trouble with the man who would free his son from captivity, "Can we go somewhere more private? What I have to discuss with you is delicate," Azrael commented rather than answer Aerys' question directly, willing to converse somewhere more private from the gossiping eyes and ears of the Keep, especially considering the issues that would be raised.
"All right, the royal chambers will do," Aerys said softly, downplaying the matter, "Ser Barristan, you come with us as well, or weren't the three of you going to rescue Prince Rhaegar?" Azrael asked as he saw that Ser Barristan was going to stay at the drawbridge of Maegor's Keep.
"I must stay to guard the entrance," was the old knight's short but respectful reply, but only to be dismissed by Azrael, who was quick to disagree, "Zirqo and Gezro will stay for the time being, I need you with us." Ser Barristan did not reply but looked to Aerys, who nodded, giving him the order to accompany them.
"What do you wish to speak of?" Aerys asked immediately as the eleven entered the king's chambers. There were no servants; they had all been evacuated moments before, so no one could serve wine or appetizers, but that did not matter to Azrael.
"I'll go north of the Wall," he said simply, and Aerys couldn't help but be confused, "North of the Wall? I don't understand, what's north of the Wall for you to fly to that part of the world? It's full of wildlings, there are many dangers, not to mention the biting cold of the place."
"It is precisely the wildlings that motivate me in going north of the Wall," Azrael said, and this time Aerys no longer knew what to think, instead, he decided to sit in one of the comfortable armchairs in the place. "Now I'm afraid I'm more confused about it," Aerys said after a few seconds, "the wildlings have no social order, they are uneducated barbarians, they won't kneel, I don't see any appeal to it."
Azrael nodded, to Aerys' point of view, nothing good would come out of an encounter with the wildlings, but the matter was different, a strong hand could fix a lot of things, and besides, there was always the trump card in using the books of enchantment.
"Xandar is very large, it practically encompasses the territory of Westerland, the North, Riverlands, and the Reach, however, three-quarters of my kingdom is desolate, there aren't many people to settle in Xandar, that's why I set my sights on the wildlings, or as they like to call themselves, free people."
Azrael was silent for a few seconds, waiting for Aerys to understand what he wanted, "you want to take them to Xandar and populate part of your realm", and Aerys understood, "Yes, if my estimates are correct, it could easily be more than three million people, children, women and men, in Xandar they will be very well received, they will receive quality education and learn all that is needed to belong to a society with rules".
Aerys nodded, the idea of envisioning something like that was promising, if only he could implement that for Westeros, but then he dismissed the idea, the great Lords would not agree to allow wildlings to cross the Wall, and allowing over three million conflict-loving, rule-less, law-of-the-fittest people through would only present problems.
"Not only that, but it will be a blessing for Westeros, especially the North, that means no more wildling skirmishers plundering their lands every time they manage to scale the Wall," and with that, Azrael got Aerys' support, "all right, I approve, but I must ask, how will you do it? North of the Wall is very vast, and finding human settlements there can be difficult, and transporting them to Xandar obediently is much more complicated."
"Don't worry about it, my fleets will take care of that, as for the other thing... Well, let's just say a dragon can prove to be very convincing." Azrael said with a chuckle, but that simple sentence was enough to unnerve Aerys and his Kingsguard.
But Azrael didn't notice that, or didn't care, he simply moved on to the other important topic, "Now, as for Prince Rhaegar, I suppose he must be in one of the cells in Duskendale, protected by a large contingent of guards, especially now that he became the only thing keeping them alive, so forcing his way into the city is out of the question."
Aerys nodded, turning serious, in part he felt responsible for his son's condition, but he kept repeating that it was better that way, rather than them holding two hostages instead of just one. "Now, while it would take an army to get Rhaegar back, in this case, it will not, it will only rely on the skills of Ser Barristan, Ser Gerold, and Ser Arthur."
As they were named, the three knights became more tense, attentive to whatever Azrael was planning to allow them to rescue the prince, "these are potions, you must already know them, however, instead of healing, they cause the one who ingests it to gain certain attributes," Azrael explained, taking a leather satchel from his hip and beginning to pull out three small vials.
"Potion of strength, Potion of speed, and Potion of invisibility," he named them one by one, "Stronger than a mammoth, faster than a shadow cat, and invisible as air, this is what I offer, each has a five-hour effect, during that time, they will be unstoppable, and it would already be under the actions of these three men to take full advantage of them."
With that said, Azrael leaned back against the back of the couch, waiting to see how the magic was created.
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