Crimson Sea

Sunlight spilled across the whitecapped sea, gleaming with a faintly blood-tinged golden light. Thick oars slapped the water, kicking up even more spray.

Harren Shade, younger brother of Count Toland, stood on the deck of the flagship Desert Dancer, watching the sky with some unease. Beside him stood the captain of this three-hundred-oared warship, Hayek Tamas of Lys.

In this age where turmoil and peace coexisted, three of the Nine Free Cities—coastal Myr, island-bound Lys, and Tyrosh in the northern Stepstones—had joined forces. Their magisters and governors had sworn upon their respective gods to establish the Three-City Alliance, known as the Kingdom of the Three Daughters. Their ships had repeatedly suffered at the hands of the Valaerys fleet and had even temporarily lost the eastern trade route. Meanwhile, in the Narrow Sea, the Kingdom of the Three Daughters' pirate operations had also been dealt a severe blow by the Velaryon family.

After those setbacks, the Kingdom of the Three Daughters desperately needed to replenish its strength. Then the Toland family came knocking with a vast amount of gold. Was that not exactly what they wanted? They could even spite an old rival in the process, so why not? Thus, the Kingdom of the Three Daughters readily assembled fifty large warships to help the Toland family transport its main infantry force.

Count Shariel Toland personally led nine hundred cavalrymen and two hundred temporarily hired mercenary riders north by land. They were to join the Jordayne family's fifteen hundred spearmen, then combine forces with Count Uller and advance on the Borderlands troops stationed in Spirits Gorge, at the border between the lands of Wyl and Yronwood.

While Count Toland marched north, the Martell family also began gathering troops. A massive force of six thousand spearmen and twelve hundred cavalrymen slowly converged on Sunspear. Though Dorne was in utter chaos at the moment, quite a few lords of East Dorne and Central Dorne still chose to raise troops for the Martell family, even if they did not command as many men as the great nobles.

But Harren Shade had no mind to spare for events on shore. The lead ships had sent up flag signals—they had spotted the Valaerys family fleet. At least twenty large oared warships and five great sailing ships were escorting dozens of enormous merchant vessels toward Dorne's eastern coast. Upon discovering the Kingdom of the Three Daughters' fleet, the escort force left three warships behind to continue guarding the merchant ships while the rest turned and sailed toward the enemy fleet.

"My lord Gonsor, we don't have as many ships as those three whores. If they swarm us, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold them off," said a gaunt old man with a white beard.

He wore battered leather armor, its breastplate painted with a blue sea serpent. He was Myles Stone, captain of the three-hundred-oared warship Azure Sea Snake, a bastard from the Vale. In his youth, he had sailed the seas alongside Count Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake. The Azure Sea Snake itself had been bought with wealth accumulated from those voyages. In his old age, Myles longed to shed the name of bastard, so he had headed south to try his luck with Lonzell.

After all, Lonzell had issued a recruitment order in Blackhaven to expand his household.

Gonsor Jieyan gripped the railing of the warship's lookout platform and shook his head. "Captain Myles, you are all being too cautious."

He pointed to the sky. "His Highness's dragon is nearby. It can come to support us at any time."

"His Highness the prince? How would he know?"

"The silver dragon watches everything from above the clouds. He and young Lord Valar have been taking turns patrolling the area and protecting the sea route." Gonsor's tone carried a trace of reverence. "Send the signal. Tell His Highness the prince that we've caught enemy warships."

A Silver Blood Army soldier immediately lit the smoke signal prepared aboard the ship. A straight column of black smoke shot into the sky, piercing the clouds above.

On the shore, Vomysor was tearing into half a charred whale when he suddenly raised his head and looked toward the thin black plume in the distance. In this regard, dragons were far more perceptive than humans. Lonzell tilted his head toward the direction of Vomysor's roar and immediately understood what his companion had found.

"Good work, Gonsor." Lonzell drank the last of the broth from inside his helmet, adjusted the padding, and placed it back on his head. He clambered onto Vomysor's saddle, grunting with effort, then lightly patted the dragon's broad back.

The dragon shook its head and let out an enraged roar toward the sky.

"Roar."

"Vomysor, take flight." The command rang out in High Valyrian. The dragon spread its wings and leaped from the sea cliff. Its massive claws skimmed the water, throwing up a burst of white spray. With one beat of its wings, it soared skyward and vanished above the clouds within a few breaths.

"Prepare the great ships to ram." Gonsor braced himself against the coming impact. "Everyone, prepare for close combat." He drew his longsword. Captain Myles also raised his long-handled axe. "Lord Gonsor, in a sea battle, this thing is what really gets the blood pumping." The old captain grinned ferociously at the rapidly approaching Kingdom of the Three Daughters' ships.

"Prepare for impact. Archers, archers! Fire! Fire!" Commander Hayek likewise directed his fleet. He positioned his Lysene warships at the rear, with Myrish warships leading the charge while the Tyroshi ships spread out in a line, preparing to encircle the Valaerys fleet from both sides.

The sea was instantly covered by a rain of arrows and flaming stones. The Valaerys family's great sailing ships had towering bows and sterns, their hulls rising high above the water. From that height, they loosed volleys of arrows and hurled stones down upon their foes. The low oared warships could gain little advantage against them.

Yet the oared warships had their own strengths. The Kingdom of the Three Daughters had more ships, and they turned more nimbly. Like a pack of wolves, they hunted the Valaerys family's great sailing ships beneath purple sails.

One great sailing ship was soon set ablaze. But beside it, at least three oared warships were burning as well, while one or two more slowly sank beneath the waves.

"Boom!"

The Azure Sea Snake's ram smashed an oared warship cleanly in half. Another Kingdom of the Three Daughters oared warship seized the chance to pull alongside. A burly black man from the Summer Isles flung out grappling hooks, while Dornish spearmen aboard the ship hurled their spears.

But every one of them was blocked by the large wooden shields Myles had arranged. Using the time bought by the thrown javelins, the Dornishmen leaped onto the Azure Sea Snake. Gonsor cleaved through a Dornish spearman's wooden spear with one stroke, then slid forward and cut off the man's head in the same motion. Myles swung his battle-axe as well, first chopping through a spear, then through a head—one seamless, fluid movement.

The Silver Blood Army soldiers aboard did the same. Armed with battle-axes and spears, they fought fiercely against the Dornish spearmen who had boarded.

A somewhat smaller Valaerys warship also charged forward, slamming into another Kingdom of the Three Daughters vessel that had been trying to pull alongside for boarding. The enormous crack capsized that warship, which was only slightly larger than a small boat. Yet its crew did not wait helplessly for death. They leaped onto the smaller ship one after another, attempting to seize it.

On that warship, a bare-chested young man wielded a long-handled battle-axe. Every Dornishman who tried to approach him had either his spear or some part of his body severed by the axe as it whirled like a storm.

"Hm?" Gonsor neatly beheaded a Dornishman in scale armor. When he looked up, he saw the young man wielding the long-handled battle-axe like a whirlwind. "Is that your grandson?" He glanced at Myles Stone, who was panting as he pulled his battle-axe from a corpse.

"Huh?" The old captain narrowed his eyes and took a look. "That damned brat—does he have a death wish, going without armor? When this battle's over, I'll tan his hide until it blooms."

"What's your grandson's name?" Gonsor slashed off a Dornishman's right hand, then sealed his throat with another stroke before he could even scream. "His Highness will like him."

"Samwell. Hmph, that damned brat." Myles sounded disdainful, but Gonsor could hear the old man's pride. He sounded exactly the same whenever he spoke of Sebastian.

"Dragon! The prince is here!"

A Silver Blood Army soldier atop the lookout platform suddenly shouted.

A fireball fell from the sky, striking the flagship carrying Harren and Commander Hayek with perfect accuracy. The three-hundred-oared giant warship shattered in the heat blast in the blink of an eye. Those nearby could even see the instant human bodies evaporated in the flames.

Fireballs followed one after another, and nearly every one of them could blast apart a Kingdom of the Three Daughters ship. The bronze-colored dragon suddenly dove from the clouds, its enormous wings nearly casting the entire battlefield of the sea battle into darkness.

"Vomysor, dragonfire."

A dangerous glow flickered in Vomysor's throat.

A long stream of flame poured forth. Ships exploded wherever it passed, while people floating in the sea were boiled alive amid their screams.

Even the seawater was boiling.

After circling the fleet and breathing a full sweep of dragonfire, the dragon slowly climbed higher. Almost every Kingdom of the Three Daughters ship had fallen into an inferno.

Gonsor ran excitedly to the bow, admiring the dragon as it sent enemy warships one after another into the flames. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he shouted, "Captain Myles, have every ship withdraw to the outer perimeter, quickly!"

Captain Myles looked at the ships being blown apart one by one by the flames and at the increasingly boiling sea. He instantly understood what Gonsor meant, then stumbled toward the lookout platform and pulled out a horn.

"Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh!"

The deep horn calls rang out from ship after ship. Nearly all the warships flying purple sails turned around at once and fled at full speed toward the outer perimeter.

At that moment, Vomysor also roared toward the sky, unleashing his fiercest burst of flame upon that stretch of sea.

The seawater boiled, and the oak burned.

The fleet was reduced to ashes.