111 AC
Kings Landing
City Watch East Barricks
First-person POV
Aemon Targaryen
XXX
There's a rhythmic thumping of metal against metal as I enter the main hall before the gates of the barracks. I take careful steps down wooden stairs in my new armor. I walk in just behind my father a little to his left. For a moment I take the time to remember this sight.
Over 600 men stand in line, thumping their chests in unison. Each of them is in two lines separated by the chests we had moved in here earlier. We make it down to the last step and one of the captains shouts.
"Commander on the floor!" With all his might. All 600 black stomping their chests as his words ring out filling the hall.
It was an absolute pain to get all their new armor and weapons into the city without getting caught. Plus we had to split that amount of gear between all the barracks and do it unseen within a month. It took multiple groups of trained smugglers which we paid a pretty penny for and we made sure they didn't talk after.
We had to outfit 2,000 men after all but what we've made out of those 2,000 had been worth the effort. Before they were unruly and would barely listen to a single command. Now thanks to our training every single man around stands with discipline. They were brand new black armor a short swords, shields, and spears as well.
I decided against having our house's sigil placed on it as I didn't want any resentment against the gold cloaks coming at the royal family yet. I plan on using them for more than just policing in the future but for now, that's their main purpose.
Carefully a group of assigned men spread them out in even rows and stood ready to open them with keys. The last box of the group is lifted and set down before me and my. The two men stand passively on each side and salute. The motion I specifically had them practice was based on the survey corps from Attack on Titan. I thought it a fitting little reference to put in their training plus it's kinda funny to think of them all as Chuunibyou.
"Open it." My father smirks as he takes a key off his chest molded to fit all of these chests. He hands it to the man closest to him who crouches down to open the box. The man fiddles with the lock for a few moments before it clicks. I motion for the others to unlock their boxes as well and wait a minute as they do so.
"Return to your places, men," I say, and they follow my instructions without qualms carefully rejoining the lines. My father clears his throat and steps forward. Then he starts his speech. Daemon isn't a bad speaker but he's certainly not the best either and frankly, it was hell getting him to work with me on anything at all. Always more of a knife fight than a negotiation sometimes literally a spar. But honestly, this particular speech was something I didn't fight him on at all because I knew it was a pretty good one. All I did was add a few suggestions but honestly, he carried it himself.
"When I took command of the watch you were stray mongrels." He says slowly lifting his voice so that all the men around can hear him. I see each of them following him with their eyes. Just in case I enhance the awe they feel in the room. I stick close so that the effect doesn't die off as he gets farther from me.
"Starving and undisciplined!" He says turning dramatically. It's almost enough for me to roll my eyes but I stay quiet. The men look at him with admiration even as he speaks of their previous state.
"Now you're a pack of hounds!" He shouts and I can see several of the men start to nod with passion. They're eager for this moment it's what trained them for what they've been waiting for.
"Sated and honed for the hunt!" He says and I can almost feel the excitement and enthusiasm of the men ripple out from them and in unison they howl like wolves. I almost want to join them even though I'm getting a little carried away. But I'm no beast and so I keep my silence.
"My brother's city has fallen into squalor. Crime of every breed has been allowed to thrive!" He carries on as we continue to walk around making our way back to the front chest. Eyes follow both of us and I'm not surprised to find that most of them are practically chomping at the bit to get going.
"No! Longer!" He says as he throws open the main chest and shining within are several golden cloaks covered in countless runes each handcrafted by me and my rune writers. Daemon reaches into the chest filled with the magical objects and lifts one out. Raising it above his head and holding it up high for all of me to see I hear a slight ripple of gasps and other shocked sounds. This is what they trained for the right to wear these cloaks and to their credit every man here today has earned it.
"Beginning tonight! When you put on these cloaks you have earned the right to wear them for the first time!" He exclaims, and I gesture for a few men off to the side to walk over one last special chest in hand. I take another key from my neck I had added to my necklace this one different from all the others. The two flank is at the front and set the box down behind us.
"King's Landing Will Learn To Fear The Color Gold!" He finishes, and they all cheer wildly at the end of his speech. If we both had the men's respect before, we have all of their admiration now. Frankly, it's almost startling how easy it is for me to gain loyal followers these days with my skills. Sure it took years of effort at the start but soon enough with its help I've been able to do all sorts of things from starting my cult of mountain tribesmen to having men like these see me as a hero. They all howled in joy and anticipation for the night's events and started preparing.
All thanks to the system and its myriad of gifts not that I would ever tell it that. We honestly don't talk that often these days and it's almost a little sad. But remembering how rude it was at the beginning I don't regret it. Apparently, that part was due to the fact that the system AI was a reflection of my own mental state according to it. Now it's very calm and quiet which I'm not sure what that says about me though.
"Aemon it's time." My father's voice calls out to me and refocus on my surroundings. We lock eyes and I nod turning around to face the two soldiers behind me with the special box. I take the key and unlock it. Inside we're two specialized capes mode for the two of us. One was black with golden runes and the Targaryen sigil in gold on its back. The other was similarly uniquely designed. It too had runes however they were black and the cape itself was orange instead of gold.
Like the armor of the others although mine was black. However, it also had a few orange highlights but the standout part was the helm. It was similar to but slightly different from Daemon's own helmet. Its shoulders were spiked and inspired by dragon wings. The chest plate had been shaped to mimic dragon scales and the inside had as many protective and reinforcement runes as I could fit so it wouldn't affect my performance.
The gauntlets also had orange runes on them as well. They glowed slightly but to be fair were wearing golden cloaks and armor so subtlety had already gone out the window. To fair though the point of today wasn't to be subtle actually, it was quite the opposite. We were going loud, proud, and symbolically violent for today's events. So it would probably get a lot of blood on our dance new armor not that I was against that really.
After all those runes had a purpose, all of them do of course but the ones on my armored fists were meant to give me quite a bit more punch than usual. Sure if it hit full force I could kill a man with a punch. But with these babies, I can do so much damage to objects as well as people. Plus my gauntlets also had clawed fingers which didn't get in my way much.
As for the rest of my gear I was rocking mostly mundane objects save for my two dragon steel daggers and a regular long sword. Most men would need two hands to wield this but I only need one. Besides I didn't use shields anyway not because I couldn't but because I usually preferred a second weapon in hand. As much as I loved using a sword because it's badass it had been mostly easy as I had yet to go up against anyone wearing armor just yet. At least not in any serious battles. The wildlings I've been fighting for the past few years all wore furs and bits of stolen armor.
Th only other people I've faced in true combat have been the occasional bandit or pirate. Most bandits are actually just untrained poor people and they don't exactly have the resources to be able to fight a fully armored knight head-on. As for pirates they don't really wear armor either just boiled leather mainly because it's smart. If you're going to be fighting on lots of ships and islands it's a bad idea to wear heavy metal armor. One wrong move, trip, or fall and you'll land right in the water. Not even I can swim in this stuff at least not yet. So most don't just out of fear of drowning in the sea. I have done it but that was really because I didn't have much of a choice at the time.
I also made sure to lighten the weight of it as well. Not just because of water though but for speed reasons. After all, I was already superhuman even with heavy armor on but with rune enhancement it was basically negligible in weight. Sure I would have a few articulation and agility issues but what armor doesn't have that problem?
Who didn't occasionally think about dressing in awesome spiky black armor sometimes though? After watching clips from The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, who wouldn't want to dress like Sauron on occasion? Plus I already live in a medieval fantasy world so it's fine if I look a little evil. Plus I look badass and this is just what I've dubbed my "Scary Time" armor anyway. It's very different from my "Beloved Hero" armor. So I have my black spikes and winged helm.
However, that wasn't my favorite part of the new outfit rather my favorite part was my brand new personal sigil on the back of my cape. I liked it and more than that I designed it myself. Though I did need Anna's help to sew it into the cape itself. Still, it represented me and today it would make its debut.
[Armor image here]
The sigil was the classic house Royce orange with black tubes however, instead of some nonessence pebbles at the center I had something a bit more special. Sure it did have some pebbles that outlined it that I would probably change in later iterations but the more important part was the other sigil at the center.
It was the classic Targaryen three-headed dragon but instead of red, which would throw off the color scheme it was black. That's right I'm the damn black dragon not my father's bastard namesake! More than that each dragon head had eyes of a different color which were actually gems. The front head had a blue sapphire eye that represented Silverwing and her azure fire. The back head had a yellow piece of topaz for an eye that was symbolic of Vermithor's own yellow-orange eyes. But the middle head had a finely cut piece of purple Amethyst that represented Ancalagon's purple eyes and his flames as well.
[Personal Sigil Here]
Putting on our respective cloaks the two of us finalize tonight's preparations in the barracks and head out into the streets. Since I was appointed temporary vice commander by my father I have my own raids that I'll be leading as well. But as my men flood the streets my mask of Aemmon Targaryen fades and the prince of Runestone returns.
My inner dragon roars in anticipation of the blood well shed today and in truth, I am excited as well. To be honest, I've never really liked killing people. Sure there is the rush of adrenaline and the flood of joy that comes with the flow of points. But I've never really liked ending lives but as I raid hideout after hideout and break in door after door with my bare hands I smile. Not in joy but in a sort of raw thirst for blood and brutality. I know that I can be cruel or cold or even a bit inhuman sometimes. Perhaps it's because of my change in species that has affected my behavior. I may look mostly human on the outside but the system itself has already confirmed that I'm not human anymore. Though I feel different from them I can't help but identify with my former species.
So rounding up criminal and deviant scum is rather easy for me tonight. Sometimes it's dragging a group of grown men off a twelve-year-old girl they're gang raping. Other times is lifting and throwing a thief by the neck into a prison cart. A few times my justice comes a little early when I hit a little too hard. Guess I put a little too much extra punch into my gauntlets huh? But to be fair even some normal humans like the mountain, the hound, Jaime Lannister, or even my father can kill a man with one punch so it's not too unusual.
Today at first I only meant to take part in the punishments so far as the chopping off of hands and heads. But then I remembered the age-old saying that I love. The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. So I've had to castrate a few men but it's all in service of the greater good. But it's not all grim work occasionally I have fun with it.
For example, right now two criminals are hiding out in an alleyway ahead of me. It seems they saw or heard us coming after we raided the area. On the other side of the ally a board of my men passes by. The two crouched behind the barrels are looking at them pass. I creep closer normally they would have noticed the glow of my armor by now but I used the command "Dagaz Kenaz" (ᛞᚲ) normally I'd actually shine brighter however I reversed the runes so they get darker instead. It was a neat little trick I discovered a few years ago. After all, I picked up rune magic a while ago, and seven years of experimenting whilst not getting directly accused of which craft by the faith is a little difficult. But I've managed to pull it off with minimal suspicion, not too shabby if I do say so myself.
But as the gold cloaks pass by eventually leaving one of the two criminals pipes up. "Are they gone?," he whispers to his partner.
"I don't know maybe we should hide for a little while longer," Says the other a younger boy only a few years older than me I wager. He's tall for his age with dirty blonde hair. The other is a bit older than him and he wears a bag of stolen goods on his waist and what are probably stolen clothes too. The two are rather well-dressed for small folk, but if anyone would be I suppose it would be a successful thief. "Maybe, but it's best not to take the chance. Let's wait a little while longer," The other says crouching lower. The older of the two is twenty years old or so if I had to guess. I crept closer to my extra light afmore making minimal sound. Eventually, I get close enough to grab the two.
"Who are we hiding from?" I whisper quietly and without even turning around the older one responds. "The city watch obviously they've been on a rampage tonight," He whispered back slightly frustrated at my ignorance.
"Do you think they'll kill us if they find us?"
"I don't know but I'm not going to take the chance… wait a second!" His head whipped around and his eyes met mine. I grinned and slammed my helmeted head into his forehead knocking him back into the barrel behind him. The other one startled and turned to face us with shock. I didn't care and with one hand I grabbed the man in front of me by the skull and smashed him through the barrel ahead of me.
"Let go of him!" The other roared and charged me drawing a knife from his waist. He tried to bring it up to aim for my face. But I was faster and I didn't even need any of my special eyes to keep track of it. I evaded the strike casually, the other criminal was still in hand, and I quickly threw out a counter.
'Smart for a thief but not enough to face me.' I struck out with my left hand swiftly gripping him by the throat, and I choke slammed him into the alleyway wall. He choked out a noise as I lifted him into the air but he didn't drop the knife. Instead, he lifted it with one hand trying to jab it into my eyes.
'I admire the determination but he's outclassed. Perhaps he could be useful in the future. Since he's just a thief he won't die here.'
"Stop resisting!" I shout echoing police mems from my previous life and editing the urge to laugh. I throw him out of the alley and slowly walk after him. I activate my skill and direct it at him at about half strength. I sense the fear in him and I smirk harder as I enhance the sensation in his chest. He stares at me in terror, but Its not enough for him piss himself or anything. Instead, he scrambles up and tries to run away.
"Weve got a runner!" I ran out of the alley after him and shouted to the distant patrol. They turned almost immediately and saw me chasing the man as well. They too wore rune-enhanced armor but only on the inside of their armor and they didn't have nearly the same level of quality that I had. Still, they were remarkably fast for men in their gear. I slowed to a walk letting them catch up to me, and stopping one momentarily.
"Spear!" I ordered and the man handed me the spear quickly instead of chasing the criminal down I twirled the weapon, lofted it over my head, activated the sky dragon eyes, and threw.
With a quick cry of "Ahh my leg!" It wasn't long before we caught the now crawling man. I walked over to the group of city watchmen surrounding the fallen criminal. And Ignoring the cries of the man and the berating words I noticed he still has the knife in his hand. I almost chuckle but instead I yell.
"Watch out he's got a knife!" Before I start to kick him. The others take a moment to look at each other then they start to kick him as well. After all the fun and games were over I dragged the man back to the punishment area by the hair along with his friend. Two chopped-off hands later and the city had two fewer criminals to deal with.
A few hours and several "City watch open up!" situations later our work was done and the sun began to rise. Frankly, I had fun and we decided to celebrate after all of the men got some proper rest. So with that, I was walking with my father back into the red keep in the morning.
[Chapter image here]
XXX
Sorry about the late release of the chapter. It would have been out this morning but I lost my headphone case and looked for it for hours. Then I got a bit busy had to take a long drive and finished MHA via marathon. 10/10 show by the way. Anyway rememberto drop some stones and comment on what you all think about the new chapter.