Chapter 4 — The Dragon Over Qarth
The year was 94 AC, and the Undying Ones felt it first.
Deep within the blue‑lit chambers of the Warlock Council, the air thickened magic swelling like a storm tide. The warlocks stiffened in unison. Their veins glowed faintly, their eyes brightened, their spells sharpened for a heartbeat.
Then the pressure became unbearable.
A roar split the sky.
Not a normal dragon's roar.
Not a sound any living Qartheen had ever heard.
A roar so vast it shook the pillars of the council chamber and rattled the glass lanterns.
The Pureborn reacted instantly.
The first to burst from the council doors was Xaro Qho Vezhan, his jeweled robes trailing behind him. His face normally calm, polished, unreadable was pale with shock.
The second was Thennaro Xhen Moreth, the wealthiest man in Qarth, clutching his staff of carved ivory as if it might shield him from whatever monster waited outside.
The third was Qirassa Qhi Soreth, the most feared political mind in the city, her dark eyes narrowed with calculation rather than fear.
These three—the most powerful people in Qarth—stepped into the sunlight and froze.
Above them, circling the city like a living eclipse, was a dragon so massive it blotted out the sky.
The Red Death.
The only name their minds could form.
People in the streets screamed. Merchants abandoned their stalls. Children ran for cover. The guards scrambled to the walls, dragging out scorpions and bolt‑throwers.
But the moment the first scorpion was aimed upward, the dragon reacted.
A jet of deep scarlet flame erupted from her maw so hot it warped the air, so intense it nearly melted the stone battlements. The defenders dropped their weapons and fled, armor glowing red from the heat.
The Pureborn stared in horror.
Thennaro Xhen Moreth whispered, "A… Targaryen. It must be. Why would they attack us?"
He looked around wildly, expecting a second dragon to appear, expecting a fleet of Valyrian sails on the horizon.
But there was nothing. No warning. No spies reporting movement. No magical informants whispering of danger.
Qirassa Qhi Soreth shook her head sharply.
"Are we sure this is a Targaryen? I have never heard of them having a dragon this size."
Her voice trembled despite her iron composure. The Red Death was so large that even the sun seemed dim behind her wings.
The dragon swooped lower, flapping her wings once just once and the entire city felt the shockwave.
Then a voice echoed across Qarth.
POV Shift Aelor Drakarys
Aelor knew he was about to do something reckless.
Maybe even stupid.
But it would get their attention.
Before he burned the city to the ground.
He reached into the Infinite Bag and pulled out the Crimson Crown, wrapped in cloth. The moment he touched it, magic surged through him raw, overwhelming, intoxicating. Power he had never been able to grasp before now flowed through his veins like liquid fire.
He placed the crown on his brow.
The world sharpened.
He inhaled, gathered the magic, and cast a spell he had only ever theorized a spell to amplify his voice across an entire city.
His words boomed like thunder:
"Listen to me, people of Qarth!
I am Aelor Drakarys of House Drakarys.
I do not know how long I have slept, or how much has changed.
But one thing is certain
this place is now mine."
The city fell silent.
"Leaders of Qarth, you will meet me outside your gates before nightfall.
Bring food.
I do not want my friend to grow hungry…
and decide to eat some of you."
Gasps rippled through the streets. The Red Death growled approvingly.
Aelor ended the spell. The crown's glow dimmed. He removed it and placed it back into the bag. The magic drain hit him hard but gods, it felt good to use it again.
He patted the Red Death's neck.
"Fly, girl. Inland. Just ahead of the gates."
She obeyed instantly, soaring away from the city but remaining close enough that every Qartheen could still see her colossal silhouette.
Aelor slid off her back, landing lightly on the sand. He stayed close to her flank close enough that any arrow would hit her scales or his shield first.
He cut his palm with a small blade, letting a few drops of blood fall. With a whispered incantation, he shaped the blood into an invisible barrier around himself a shield strong enough to block five scorpion bolts before shattering.
It would have to do.
When the spell settled, he sat down beside his dragon. He pulled out a small packet of food dried meat, fruit, and bread he had taken from Valyria's stores.
He ate slowly, watching the city walls.
Waiting.
Knowing the Pureborn would come.
Knowing the Undying Ones had already felt him.
Knowing Qarth would never be the same.
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This will be his takeover of essos this would be the beginning of where he would start his own War mind you in this version of events Rhaenys Targaryen has not been married to corley's in the black dread has not died yet
I just got inspired to make a character who is The Reincarnation of Heracles his mother would be House Blackfyre and got married to a a reasonable wealthy man in essos don't know where she will have Blackfyre this would be after the Rebellion