LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 143: The Final Dance
(Third Person POV)
Aerion sat atop Vermithor, the Bronze Fury flapping his wings and making his way straight towards them.
Aemond's eye widened in pure anger, "A-AERION!!!!" He shouted
"Aemond." Aerion responded as Vermithor reached their vicinity, "Have you recovered from our previous battle? The one you ran from?!"
Aemond steered Vhagar away from Caraxes and right at Vermithor who roared loudly, "I will have your head!!!" He shouted, "Every single life you've taken will be avenged!!!"
"Like you care about the lives thrown away for the sake of this war!!" Aerion shouted, "Come!! I'll show you what a true dragonrider looks like!!"
Vhagar opened her maw and fired a stream of flames right at Vermithor, who dipped down to avoid them. Aemond steered Vhagar to dive straight down, following the Bronze Fury who glided right above the lake, his claw slowly passing through the water.
The massive figure of Vhagar cast a deep shadow of the God's Eye, the sound of the gargantuan dragon's wings were heard all throughout the air, the vibrations caused by said flapping were enough to ripple the waters of the lake. Vermithor quickly flapped his own wings to ascend right back up, throwing Vhagar off-balance as he flew right in front of her and the old dragon tried to bite at him.
Vermithor spun around and opened his own maw, firing flames right at the turning Vhagar, hitting her side and missing Aemond.
"Tch!!" Aemond shouted as he steered Vhagar back up as Vermithor straightened up in the air, right below Caraxes and Tessarion, "You fucking....!!!"
Aerion looked up to see Daeron atop Tessarion, "Daeron!!!" He shouted, "I have heard of what happened!! I want to hear it from you!! Did you kill Lucerys?!"
"No!" Daeron shouted back, "I would never! I made a vow, Aerion!! I intend to keep it at all costs!! I am not like my brothers, yet I am forced to fight for them!! I have made my choice, Aerion, I cannot back down!! Too many lives have been taken, I....I can't let you walk away from this!! Jaehaerys and Jaehaera's death must be avenged, Justice must be served!!"
"You're too good for your own good, Cousin." Aerion said, "I will try to spare you, should you surrender."
Daeron was about to speak when he saw the incoming figure of Caraxes flying right at him. He steered Tessarion to avoid the Blood Wyrm, who let out a roar as Daemon's laughter was heard. Daeron held onto his saddle's handles and had Tessarion gain distance from the much larger dragon.
Below Aerion, Vhagar let out a roar and flew right up at them.
"Let's end this." Aerion said as he clenched his own handles
"Angos"
Vermithor dove right down at Vhagar, letting out a vicious roar as he flew right at the old dragon. As the two of them were about to clash, Vhagar opened her mouth to attempt a flame breath but Vermithor spun right under her belly and clutched onto her neck, his sharp teeth digging through her hide.
Vhagar abruptly released a cloud of flames and smoke as she tumbled violently, "Vhagar!!" Aemond shouted as Vermithor clutched onto her hard, "Dammit!!"
Vermithor then ripped a chunk out of her flesh, and pushed himself away as the massive dragon was about to counter-attack with her claws. Vhagar flapped her wings and straightened up, blood flying out of her neck as smoke emitted from her mouth.
"Getting rid of that sag, old hag....." Daemon smirked as he saw this, "Nephew!! Do not run from me!!"
Tessarion circled around Caraxes, who let out a roar and flew right at her.
Daeron scowled, "Damn...." he said as he steered Tessarion above Caraxes, "I guess there's no choice....this is our final stand...or flight..."
"Dracarys, Tessarion!!!"
The Blue Queen fired off a stream of flames at Caraxes, who easily avoided them as Daemon laughed.
"You're too green!!" Daemon shouted as Caraxes flew right past Tessarion, ascending into the sky, "I should've taught you a thing or two!!"
Back to Aemond and Aerion, the two dragons had clashed against each other, struggling in the sky as the spun around, spitting flames at each other. Despite the point-blank breaths, Vhagar and Vermithor were resilient enough to withstand flame breaths from each other. Vhagar's claws ripped through Vermithor's underbelly, blood spewing out and spraying down below to the lake.
Vermithor stopped his breath and bit the much larger dragon in the chest, ripping apart another chunk which caused Vhagar to push herself away, flapping her massive wings which created shockwaves that stumbled the Bronze Fury.
Vermithor let out a quick but prominent pained whimper that was immediately followed by a vicious growl as he flapped his own wings, ascending a bit further into the sky as he bled.
"It's alright, Old Grouch.....you're alright..." Aerion consoled the dragon in High-Valyrian, "You can still keep going, right? We're far from done...."
Vermithor let out a roar, assuring his rider that he was far from done.
"Perfect.....you and I, Vermithos.....we were fated to fight together...." Aerion said, "We are the Fury of The Queen, nothing shall stand in our way, not even this one!!"
Aerion's words raised Vermithor's morale as the Bronze Fury let out another roar, louder than the previous as he dove right back down to Vhagar, who was composing herself from the previous attack.
"The Queen's Fury, eh?" Aemond said with a smirk, "You are both dead!!!"
As the two clashed once again, Vermithor's claws ripped against the side of Vhagar's wings and immediately pushed himself away, firing off a quick burst of flames to disorient the old dragon. Vhagar let out a deafening roar as she flew past the cloud of smoke and flames, glaring right at Vermithor as she flapped her wings forwards.
Aerion leaned forwards, "Viserys, forgive me....." He whispered, "I did not ask for this...."
Suddenly, interrupting both of them, a stream of flames fired right at Vermithor which caused the Bronze Fury to stumbled away from Vhagar.
Aerion looked up to see that it was Caraxes, Tessarion chasing him from above, "D-Daemon?!" He exclaimed, "What in the hells are you doing?!"
Caraxes flew right at Vermithor and attempted to bite his neck, but the Bronze Fury spiraled down to avoid the attack. Aerion was a bit surprised by this sudden blindside, not expecting Daemon to make some sort of move at him so soon.
Caraxes then flew right at Vhagar, firing a condensed stream of flames at the dragon's wounds, "Bugger off, boy!" Daemon shouted, "You're not wanted here!!"
"You fucking...!!" Aerion scowled beneath his helm, "I'll....!!"
Vermithor then avoided Tessarion who dove right for him, extending her wings as she glided towards Vhagar and Caraxes.
"Daemon!" Daeron exclaimed, "That was cowardly, attacking your own son who is not your enemy!!"
"What do you know, brat?" Daemon said as Vhagar bit at Caraxes, beginning a brief clash
The Blood Wyrm unleashed flames at Vhagar, hitting her in the face as the old dragon swiped one of her claws at him, cutting through his ribcage and opening a massive gash, which caused Caraxes to stop his flame breath and let out a pained shriek.
"Well..." Daemon said as Caraxes flapped his wings in retreat, "That is embarrassing..."
Vermithor dove right through Vhagar and Caraxes and lunged right at the old dragon, swiping his own claws at her and ripping open more gashes on her belly, blood spewing out everywhere. Daeron had steered Tessarion to lunge at Caraxes, the smallest dragon biting off a small piece of his webbing as the Blood Wyrm spun and swiped his own claws at her, ripping through her back, nearly getting Daeron.
This was a surreal sight, four dragons engaging in a devastating Battle Royale in the middle of the sky above the God's Eye, firing flames that were capable of destroying any ordinary man against each other.
From below, the fighting men stopped and looked up into the sky, taking in the divine sight; The Final Dance of Dragons. The clouds above the fighting beasts were darkening, the sound of thunder began to fill the air and the smell of rain was prominent.
This was the final battle between dragons. And the reason this Civil War was even called The Dance Of The Dragons in the coming years and beyond. The battle above the God's Eye involved four Targaryens. Two brothers fighting against a Father and Son, this was the moment that cemented the fate of the realm. At least in the spectators' eyes, the men who watched this, and those who could hear the bellowing of dragons. They believed that gods were clashing, dictating the future of Westeros.
Little did everyone know that despite who came out on top, the result would remain the same. And the Fate of Westeros would be decided by an unknown force, who lurked in the shadows. This War was merely an unexpected interruption in their plans.
Vhagar let out a roar as she ripped another wound in Caraxes's side, Aemond sitting atop her as he laughed, "You're too old for this, Uncle!!!" He shouted, "You have lived too long!."
"On that much....we agree...." Daemon muttered as Caraxes flew away to compose himself
Tessarion, who had taken a swipe from Vermithor, stumbled into Caraxes's way and the Blood Wyrm opened his mouth, biting into her neck hard.
"N-No!" Daeron exclaimed with shock
Daemon saw that they were atop the shore of the lake and looked at his nephew, "It seems Fate is cruel to you, Nephew." He said with a menacing stare, "If you've done something to keep Lucerys from dying, then I might've been merciful."
Caraxes crushed Tessarion's neck, the Blue Queen letting out a final shriek of live.
"I...." Daeron said as he clutched onto his handles, "U-Uncle!"
Caraxes then flung Tessarion down as the Blue Queen went limp, tumbling straight down to the ground below as the Young Prince fell to his death.
Aerion watched this with a shocked look in his eye, "No..." He said with disbelief, "Daeron....."
Aemond's eye became filled with rage, "N-NO!!!" He shouted as he flew Vhagar right into Vermithor, pushing him away and towards the ground, right outside the lake, "I'll kill you both!!!!!"
"Shit!" Aerion said as he looked off into the distance
Caraxes was slowly descending to the ground, bleeding profusely as Vermithor was being tackled towards the ground.
"Come on....." Aerion shouted in High-Valyrian, "This is NOT our end!!"
Vermithor pried himself free from Vhagar, who struggled to dig her teeth into his scales, due to taking Caraxes's flames earlier. The Bronze Fury then flapped his wings, flying over Vhagar and dug his claws into her side, using her momentum to push her down to the ground.
In the next coming seconds, everyone who had a view of the battle saw how Vhagar was crashed into the ground, a massive explosion of smoke and dirt replacing the view of the massive dragon as a loud and pained roar was heard, slowly drowned out by Vermithor's.
Vermithor immediately flapped his wings to jump up a bit into the air, ripping apart a massive gash on Vhagar who tried to straighten up but couldn't due to the blow of the crash. The Bronze Fury then bit into the old dragon's neck as Vhagar returned in kind, biting into Vermithor's chest.
Aemond frantically undid his straps, disoriented by the crash as Vermithor ripped out a massive chunk of Vhagar's neck, causing her to release her grasp on him.
Vermithor then opened his mouth and fired off a massive stream of flames on her exposed flesh, burning it off to a crisp as Aemond was hit by the intense heat as Vermithor bled from his wounds.
"A-Aghh!!!" He shouted as he forced himself to roll away from the saddle and down the dragon's body, "V-Vhagar!!"
Vhagar let out a pained roar as she tried to force herself through the flames but Vermithor immediately stopped and lunged at her face, biting into her face viciously as he stepped onto her neck with his claws.
Aerion undid his own straps and jumped out of Vermithor's back, landing on Vhagar's saddle and looked down to see Aemond on the ground, trying to compose himself.
"Aemond!!!" Aerion called as Vermithor and Vhagar struggled against each other
Aemond straightened up and looked up, "A-Aerion!" He shouted with an angry look in his eye
"I failed you, Aemond." Aerion said, "If I could've been better to you, none of this would have happened. You would not have supported your Grandsire...our House may not have been divided. You all would've honored his wish to keep Rhaenyra on the Throne!!"
"Fuck you, Aerion!!" Aemond shouted, "I should've killed her bastard children myself!!!"
Aerion sighed, "I hope your Father finds it in his heart to forgive me." He said, "For what I am about to do, Aemond. If only things could be different...."
"I am sorry."