6th Month of 286 A.C. Stepstones
Lord Monford Velaryon
Growing up Monford had dreamed of becoming another Seasnake or another Oakenfist, he wanted to bring glory to his house and make it the powerhouse it had once been. His father had served as master of ships to King Aerys the mad king, but had not been a true Velaryon, a snivelling and conniving man his father had been, a man who had been disappointed that Monford had not been born a girl so that he could marry into the royal family. His father and his two elder brothers had died on the God's Eye fighting under the Targaryen banner leaving Monford alone on the Driftmark to pick up the wreckage. Their family had become a laughing stock, no longer the proud and true house they had been in ages past, bad mistakes and even worse decisions had cost them a lot and it was his time to make that right. He had married Laena Celtigar two years before the war had begun and they now had two sons, Corlys and Monterys, and Monford was determined that they would never know the shame he had known.
The fighting in the Stepstones was his chance to prove that House Velaryon was on the rise once more. Oh he had fought against the Greyjoys had taken some sort of pride in knowing he was the understudy to Paxter Redwyne, but he hungered for true glory and now that chance had come. Redwyne was gone resting at the bottom of the sea and now Monford having taken up command was going to bring about the end of the Tyroshi and Lyseni threat. They had broken the army of sellsails that Tyrosh had left in command of the damnable islands at Grey Gallows breaking through their ships and destroying their fleet that had been the battle that had seen Redwyne die. The taking of the islands had been easy enough the sellswords and Essosi gathered there were disunited and broken, and Monford had ordered their deaths watching and listening as they all squealed for mercy. A fitting punishment for oath breakers.
With the islands in their possession there was the matter of the two cities that would undoubtedly come calling once more. That was what Monford had called a war meeting for. Beside himself and Lord Adrian Celtigar, Lord Stannis Baratheon, Lord Selwyn Tarth, Lord Eldon Estermont, Lord Massey and Lord Lucifer Hardy were present. All of them were very opinionated people and were determined to have their say. Monford of course spoke first. "We know well what our position is my lords. We hold the Stepstones but if we want a realistic chance of maintaining that hold we must deal first with Tyrosh and then Lys. Tyrosh at this point in time is not too big a threat it was the majority of their strength that was holding Grey Gallows and Bloodstone. Still I would hear your thoughts."
Lord Adrian Celtigar Monford's goodfather was a bitter old man and it showed when he said. "Tyrosh must be reduced to ash and sunder. They have caused great pain and agony to us, and must know that we do not take such things lightly. Let us burn their city to the ground and destroy what little economy they have."
A hard statement made by a bitter old man who lost his love to the Archon of Tyrosh many years ago. Monford speaks then. "Burning Tyrosh will gain us nothing but their enmity my lord. Whilst I can sympathise with the desire to see the damnable place reduced to rubble, we must remember what the Lord Regent has asked us to do. We are to take the Stepstones which we have done, and then we must subdue Tyrosh and Lys to prevent them from trying to attack the islands when we are gone."
"And how else are we to do that other than by reducing them to rubble?" Celtigar asks.
Monford looks at the man and then at the lords gathered and says. "Conquest. They cannot cause us harm here if they owe it to us that they are still standing. We bring them under the Iron Throne's rule and that is one sure fire way to ensure they shall not try to break the peace again."
Silence and then Lord Stannis speaks. "A reasonable suggestion my lord. But is it a realistic one? It will take a lot of time to bring both cities under our command, and that is time we do not have. We were given clear instructions, breaking their strength makes sense. Even reducing them to nothing more than ash makes sense, but conquest? That seems fanciable to me."
Monford looks at the Baratheon lord, a man he had had his doubts about but someone who had proven to be a good commander of men. He takes a breath and then says. "I can understand why you might think that my lord. And yet reducing them to ash and rubble would take far longer than merely bringing them to heel and conquering them. Tyrosh is nearly spent, we know that for a fact. Their ships are doing more and more defensive manoeuvring a sure sign that they are breaking. And Lys looks as if they are counting their eggs. Now is the perfect chance to reduce them to nothingness."
Baratheon speaks his mind once more. "And yet that would also cost us resources and men. We need both mainly to garrison the Stepstones and to begin ensuring that the throne's hold on the islands does not give way."
"That is why we must take Tyrosh and Lys. We must bring them under the throne's control otherwise we shall be plagued by activity for the next five years I can tell you that much. Tyrosh is easily dealt with, it is weakening, and with the influx of nobles from Volantis they will be looking for safety not more war. Lys is another matter, they are still strong but remove Tyrosh and they shall have nowhere to turn to." Monford emphasises.
The Baratheon Lord remains silent but Lord Estermont speaks then. "And what will we do should we go to attack Tyrosh and Lys comes to strike us from behind? We do not have enough ships to hold off a joint attack such as that. Myr itself could become involved."
Monford looks at the old man then and says curtly. "Myr does not want to get involved they have made that much clear. They are too busy looking towards Pentos and Braavos and worrying about what is going on there. No, they shall remain out of this fight, and I intend to ensure that by the time they even consider getting involved there is nothing for them to take part in."
"And what of Lys my lord? What will you do if they should decide they want the Stepstones?" Estermont asks.
Monford knows he is taking a big gamble here but he says. "I do not think Lys shall be moving from their island anytime soon. They are too divided over their course of action after the fight to take the Stepstones. They are riven by internal divisions. We shall have enough time to take Tyrosh and still deal with Lys."
Lord Selwyn Tarth speaks then. "Lord Monford is right. The Lyseni are known for not being the most amicable of people at the best of times. And now that they are losing this war, soon enough there shall be little of them left to fight us. I say we push forward and hit Tyrosh with all the strength we have now."
Murmurs of agreement are heard in the tent and then when it seems the lords have been convinced plans are drawn up for the attack on Tyrosh. The royal fleet shall form an arrow head formation with Monford commanding the tip, whilst Lord Celtigar commands the left side and Lord Selwyn commands the right. Baratheon commands the Stormlander ships that will form a probing force. The aim, to draw out the Tyroshi fleet and then ensnare them between the stormlander ships and the wider fleet as a whole. Monford is confident that the plan should work and yet he cannot help but feel nervous as they leave the tent and begin preparing for the fighting.
Monford says a quick prayer before boarding his ship the Pride of the Driftmark, and then once on the ship he begins barking commands, getting his crew ready for the battle to come. A horn is sounded and then they begin to set sail, preparing for the eventual fight that they all expect to come. The sun is beginning to set as they reach the middle point between the islands and Tyrosh, waiting, and waiting. If the Tyroshi have any sense or curiosity they shall come out to inspect what is happening, and that is when Monford and his men shall attack. It seems as if they have been waiting for nearly an hour when Monford sees the Fury coming towards them, curious Monford waits to see what happens. And when he sees Stannis Baratheon stood on the deck of his ship, with a man who can only be the Archon in chains, Monford wonders if the world is beginning to change. The Fury comes to a halt and Stannis calls out. "My Lord, I present you Archon Rohan, the Archon of Tyrosh. He and his men came aboard my ship in peaceful surrender. It seems they do not wish to fight anymore."
Monford nods and then calls out. "Is this true Archon Rohan? Do you wish to surrender?"
The man is silent and then says. "Yes my lord/. But I would prefer to speak to you on the deck of your own ship rather than calling out to each other like some sort of village idiot."
Monford laughs at that, and orders for the man to be brought aboard, which he is. Once he is on deck Monford looks at him, Archon Rohan has blue hair and violet eyes but the eyes look somewhat blue as well. Supposedly a descendant of Rohanne of Tyrosh from her second marriage, Monford wonders briefly if this man might prove more of an ally than a threat. "So Archon, why did you decide to surrender rather than fight?"
The man is apparently quite conscious of the fact that the whole crew is looking at him and his response is soft. "I did not wish to see my city and people burn in the fighting. We have suffered much for very little reward. I had thought it was time to end that. For so long Tyrosh and Westeros have had a coloured history, why not merely join together to end the threats that we both imagine we pose to one another."
Monford considers this and then asks. "And what are you proposing? An alliance?"
The man nods. "An alliance between the Iron Throne and Tyrosh. A chance for us to gain mutual advantages through better trade deals and easier access. You already have the Stepstones you control the way through to Tyrosh now from elsewhere."
Monford looks at the man and then says. "The King shall need to hear the terms of the alliance that you wish to propose. For now though if you are willing we could work together. You would have after all spent a great deal of time working with the rulers of Lys."
The Archon looks at him then and says. "Yes, I did. What of it?"
"You know of their plans and movements do you not? You would know where they intend to strike. In fact one might wonder if this surrender is not but a ploy with which to lure us into a false sense of security." Monford explains.
The man laughs then. "Oh I do not wish for the Lyseni to be successful. They are stark raving mad, to believe they could stand against the Iron Throne. But if that is to be the cost of our temporary alliance then I see no harm in telling you everything. Right from the beginning."