Chapter 29.5- The Seadragon's Roar

“Brother” he turned to the side, watching his younger brother walk up to him.

“They are acquitting themselves adequately at the very least” He spoke of the battle at the front of the fleet. The fleet’s tip was in battle with what was obviously a fringe element of the wider Velaryon fleet, and they were struggling to win. That was harsh, he admonished himself. It was not so much as they were struggling to win in that the Velaryon sailors were well acquainted with the concept of not losing. They were on faster ships, and so were content to remain at a distance that made ramming and boarding impossible while exchanging fire with their scorpion bolts. They had managed to sink three Dornish ships so far.

The Dornish ships were attempting to return fire with arrows and their catapults, but those were proving less than successful. In a proper engagement, their ships would win. So was the number disparity. But the Velaryon sailors did not give them a proper engagement. They led them on a chase. It must have looked a queer sight to the gods as they watched from above. Ninety-one ships giving chase to a dozen and the dozen somehow managing to remain ahead in the accounting.

“Adequately. What a word to use to say they are failing miserably. You deserve command of this fleet, not that idiot.” Icarus scoffed. His brother, for all his age and experience was yet to outgrow certain childish sensibilities. One of them being the idea that it was possible to deserve something in this world and get it. No one got what they deserved. You could only get what you fought for, worked for, killed for, and even those were far from certain.

“I would not want to be the one in charge of this mess” He said. And it was true. Let Yronwood be the one to herd these cats. Already House Santangar was near abandoning their place in the formation in the search of individual glory. And of course since they were doing it, Toland would not be left behind. Their arrowhead formation was falling apart at the seams, and Icarus would watch it all.

“Maintain position” He ordered when he noticed a few of his men look his way.

“But brother we ought to push forwards to fill the gap Toland leaves behind to keep the formation stable”

“Our orders were to maintain formation even if the skies themselves began to fall. And we will do that. Hold” He said.

And of course, that was when the sky decided to fall. Icarus had not seen the dragon approach. He had not been watching for it either. But House Toland got to be the first Dornishmen of the new generation to taste the fury of a dragon’s flames. The fire washed over their ships, setting them alight in seconds, and then the Red Queen, as he had heard her referred to was gone.