The light in the Governors Mansion's council hall was murky. Bloodstains had been hastily washed away, leaving large dark watermarks that seeped into the stone cracks like dried veins.
The air was mixed with gunpowder, the smell of the sea, and a decaying scent of burnt wood stewing in the summer heat.
Aegon sat in the high-backed chair at the head of the table, blackfyre resting across his lap, and dark sisters leaning against the side of the chair.
He closed his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the scabbard, making a regular tap-tap sound.
Sounds faintly drifted in from outside: the chants of those carrying corpses, the intermittent moans of the wounded, and the rough shouts of the Soldiers.
A city was licking its wounds, and its ruler had to stop the bleeding first, then cut out the rot.
Footsteps echoed in the stone corridor, coming closer, a steady rhythm with an imperceptible heaviness hidden within.
Aegon's tapping fingers stopped.
The door opened.
Luciana walked in.
She had changed into a long dress, but its hem was once again stained dark red by the blood she had passed.
The dust on her face had been washed away, revealing her underlying pallor, with heavy dark circles under her eyes.
Her purple eyes seemed to have a thin layer of ice, freezing her emotions deep within. In her hand, she held a thick roll of parchment, its edges creased from being clutched.
She stopped a few steps from the long table and bowed slightly: "Your Highness."
Aegon opened his eyes. His violet pupils appeared exceptionally dark in the dim light.
"Speak."
Luciana unrolled the document.
Her voice was steady, clear, without fluctuation, yet each word was heavy, as if soaked in ice.
"The initial count is complete."
"The Skull Squad, over eight hundred before the war, now two hundred eighty-three remaining. Forty-one are severely wounded and unlikely to recover. Among the fallen, one hundred seven bodies are unrecoverable."
"The original lysene garrison of two thousand two hundred, less than five hundred can now be found. Only nine officers remain, the highest-ranking being a Company Commander. The rest have either died, fled, or are mixed among the civilians, making them indistinguishable."
"Civilian casualties…"
She looked up at him, a crack appearing in the ice, revealing the bottomless fatigue beneath.
"Cannot be precisely calculated. In the Port district streets, bodies had to be cleared by cart. Estimated… no less than seven thousand."
"Seven sections of the city wall are damaged, and the main structures of the West Gate and South Gate need to be rebuilt. Half of the Port docks are destroyed, with only two of six berths usable. The Spice Warehouse and three large Godowns burned down, resulting in an estimated loss of three hundred thousand gold dragons in stock. Trade will be suspended for at least a month."
She closed the document, no longer looking at the numbers, but directly at him:
"Karl's left arm tendons and bones are completely severed, and the wound is festering. The physician says… it's fortunate his life was saved; he might never be able to wield a sword again."
"Henry was stabbed in the abdomen and just woke up after a continuous high fever."
"His first words upon waking were: 'I didn't disgrace Your Highness!'"
"Luke was seen by Soldiers killing at least thirteen during the defense of the city, and personally executed eleven during the suppression of the rebellion."
"Now… he stands guard at the Governors Mansion entrance, silent, only repeatedly wiping his blunted sword."
She took a deep breath, which trembled slightly in her chest, and when she exhaled, she had regained her composure:
"We held on, Your Highness, fighting to the last moment until you returned."
"But the cost… you've seen it all."
She raised a hand, lightly tapping her temple, then her chest. Not just on paper, but in memory, in every wound of this city.
Aegon was silent.
The sounds from outside faded, leaving only the stagnant air in the room and the heavy echo of her last words.
A subtle ripple passed through his eyes, quickly receding into darkness.
After a long while, he spoke, his voice exceptionally clear and calm in the silence:
"For those who fell, all whose names can be identified are to be recorded."
"In the Port Square, facing the sea, erect a monument with their names engraved. The cost will come from the Tyrosh spoils of war. Every year on this day, the entire city will toll its bells in remembrance."
"If Karl is incapacitated, grant him the seaside manor south of the city, double his Salary, and establish the position of Captain of the Guard for him. He need not wield a sword, but will see for me with his eyes and hear for me with his ears."
"Henry must receive the best medicine. If he pulls through, I have important tasks for him. If not… his family will be generously compensated."
He looked at her, his gaze lingering for a moment on the dark red of her skirt: "You did very well. Go back and rest first; there are still things to do tomorrow."
Luciana nodded, but did not leave.
She pulled out another, thinner scroll of finer parchment from her bosom, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards his hand.
"There is one more matter that requires Your Highness's decision."
On the unrolled paper, there were only names and brief annotations. A list.
"A roster of those who participated in the rebellion or intended to collude with the enemy when the city fell." Her voice lowered, taking on a chilling edge.
"The principal conspirators, the Varian family. Twenty-one direct male descendants, eleven collateral relatives involved in the conspiracy, a total of thirty-two people, have been imprisoned. Their nineteen family women and children are being separately detained."
"The nine families involved in the conspiracy, one hundred eighty-seven core members, are separately confined."
"There are also three families whose attitudes were ambiguous, showing unusual movements before the war and remaining behind closed doors when the city fell. There is no direct evidence, but their intentions are hard to fathom."
She pointed to a name on the list that had already been crossed out in red ink.
"When the siege was fiercest, and the West Gate was in critical danger, a noble attempted to bribe the guard captain to open the West Gate, but was immediately cut down by Luke, who happened to arrive."
"His wife and two young children under ten years old… hanged themselves in their sealed mansion last night. When discovered, their bodies were already cold."
Aegon's fingers slowly moved across the list, finally stopping on a few names.
His gaze was cold, devoid of anger, only a near-absolute calmness that weighed life and death.
The afternoon light outlined his profile like a stone carving, the other half hidden in shadow.
"The Varian family, these thirty-two people, will be publicly hanged tomorrow at noon in the Port Square. The rest will be stripped of everything and exiled to the Disputed Lands, never to return."
"Do not treat them harshly on the journey, nor with undue favor. Their fate is their own."
"For the nine families involved in the conspiracy, the patriarchs and adult offspring will be beheaded, and their assets confiscated. The rest will be expelled from lysene, never to return."
"For the three ambiguous families, half of their assets will be confiscated."
"Key members will have their freedom restricted and remain under observation for now. If they re-offend, or if evidence is found…"
He looked up, his purple eyes shining intimidatingly in the gloom.
"You know what to do; no need to report again."
Luciana was silent.
Her slender body stood perfectly straight, looking at the names about to be erased by ink and blood.
After a long while, she quietly asked: "Your Highness, do you think… this punishment is too lenient or too severe?"
Aegon did not answer directly.
He leaned back into the chair, his gaze fixed out the window, as if he could see the scarred city, and further out, the sparkling sea he had just taken into his grasp.
"Tomorrow at noon, a judgment platform will be set up in Port Square. I will be present. Let all lysene people come to see, let the surviving commoners see, let the nobles and wealthy merchants with other thoughts in their hearts see, and let the newly surrendered Tyrosh officers see."
"I want them to clearly see the price of betrayal. To see how blood flows, how heads fall, how families vanish like smoke."
"I also want them to clearly see…"
He turned his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, capable of dissecting all pretense and lucky.
"Those who follow me and fight to the death for me, even if the city is on the verge of falling, I will surely return. And those who betray me and stab me in the back, even if the city is on the verge of falling, I can and will settle accounts later, not missing a single one."
"This is not vengeance, Luciana, this is setting rules. The blood that has been shed, people must know why it flowed!"
"The price that has been paid, people must remember who made them pay it."
"From now on, in this city, on this sea, my word is the rule."
"Obey, and there is a way to live, and rewards. Betray, and there is only death, with kin implicated."
"Go prepare. Arrest people according to the list, act according to the judgment. Tomorrow, let lysene see blood once more, and then…"
He paused, his voice devoid of emotion: "Let it begin to learn how to live under the new rules."
Luciana looked at him deeply, her gaze containing weariness, understanding, and perhaps a faint, indescribable something.
Then she lowered her eyes and bowed: "Yes, Your Highness. I will see to it immediately."
She picked up the list, turned, her skirt rustling softly, and walked towards the door.
Just as her hand was about to touch the doorknob, Aegon's voice came from behind her again, calm and unruffled:
"Have Luke come see me, now."
"Some matters require… silent people like him."
Luciana pulled open the door and looked back one last time.
In the dim yellow light, the black-clad, silver-haired youth sat alone in the high chair, black sword across his lap, and a sword leaning beside him.
His shadow stretched long on the ground, solitary, cold, like a mountain.
Then the door closed, separating inside and outside into two worlds.
One world where rules needed to be established through bloodshed, and another… learning to breathe under new rules.
Silence returned to the council hall, with only Aegon, sitting in the high-backed chair, blackfyre across his lap, and dark sisters leaning beside him.
The Skull Squad's structure had been utterly destroyed in the flames of war.
However, the reconstruction plan had already taken shape in his mind before he even left lysene. Now, it could be built from scratch according to his vision.
Old disciplines would be abolished, and new rules would be promulgated.
And names.
The title "Skull" belonged to those peripheral troops of the past who were consumed as cannon fodder, dying without even a shroud.
Now, they had proven their worth with loyalty and blood. These survivors deserved a name befitting a regular army.
This was the third day since the fall of lysene.
The gunpowder smoke had not dispersed, the blood had not cooled, but a new order had to be established immediately from these bloody, hot ruins.
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