Chapter 16.5- The Seadragon's Roar

First things first, was taking the Stepstones. We had full control over one of the islands now— Grey Gallows. The lack of communication from Daemon’s contingent told me they were yet to fully take Bloodstone as well. While I thought about Daemon, I made the choice to have a message sent informing him of Corlys’ death. If he was going to betray us, then it would be better he did it now. If he reneged from the war effort later on, then it would be harder to figure things out if he did so now, I could just plan for the future and move on

Beyond Daemon though, there were other things to think about. Burning Tyrosh’s fleet had been designed to delay the Triarchy from meddling and I doubted they would be able to do anything for a while. If both Lys and Mar moved without Tyrosh being able to contribute then they would find themselves in a situation where part of the Triatchy were moving forwards but another part of it was stagnant. Needless to say, that was how partnerships came to an end. Dorne was another matter to consider. Nothing from them, yet. But that could change between one day and the next. They probably would step in if only it looked like we were winning and not just burning all the Realm’s young men in a fool attempt half a world away from their homes.

Altogether, the Stepstones had twenty-three islands that were big enough to matter in any way. Of the twenty-three, the three largest were Bloodstone, Grey Gallows, and Torturer’s Deep. We had taken out the Pirate ships so all that remained were the landings, the exterminations, and the garrisoning. With how long travel could take and how much time that I expected each of the pirate kings to last, I anticipated that the war would be over by the end of next year, and that meant I had to get to the hard part— ruling. Thankfully, in a year and a half, I would still be fifteen and change. I’d have time here before I had to return and take charge of Driftmark proper. Maybe enough time to build something useful. Of course, that all relied on there not being any delays from Dorne or the Triarchy. If they managed to cause useful resistance to my plans then that could see things here stretch on by another year.

I was relegating figuring out Daemon till later on. Corlys might have changed his mind on giving the islands away at his deathbed, but that was not going to be something I pushed. After we won, I would crown Daemon, and I would give him the chance to rule. To rule in truth even, not as a puppet or whatever. I was going to ply him with so many problems and decisions that he would inevitably leave to lay the crown at Viserys’ feet. After that, taking over as administrator was just a matter of doing it. Either way, I could guarantee that sooner or later, House Velaryon would rule the Stepstones. It would be here I would forge my legacy, on these barren storm-swept stones. Driftmark’s glory was Corlys’. What I would do here would be mine entirely.