The clanging of steel rang through the camp as Jaenyx and Visenya sparred. While Visenya thrusted Dark Sister towards her husband's torso, he parried the blade with his dagger while attempting an upward slice to Visenya with his other sword. Unfortunately for him, she was just as fast as he was and spun around while arching her back and slightly sticking out her core to avoid his blade. Regaining her footing, she assumed an inside left stance, bending her front right leg while straightening her back left leg. She brought Dark Sister close to her chest, the blade parallel above the ground with its short point aiming at Jaenyx. In response, he stepped back, slightly bent both of his knees, and held out the dagger in his left hand diagonally while putting his sword in a middle guard.
Jaenyx saw Visenya lunge forward, expecting her to attempt another thrust with Dark Sister that would again be parried with his dagger. However, just before the dagger touched Visenya's blade, she pulled back and spun to her left in a full circle. He tried to pull back, but he realized too late that she had pulled a feint and had used the momentum from her spin to bring Dark Sister up before swinging it straight downwards onto the dagger. Although he could use both hands equally, the sheer power from Visenya's downward swing was more than enough to force the dagger from his left hand and drop it to the dirt.
Jaenyx acted quickly by jumping sidewards to avoid another swing from Visenya. With his dagger gone, he assumed a hanging left stance, with his left leg in front of him and bent, right leg behind him and straightened, and sword pointed downwards. He steadied his breathing, which quickened whenever he was caught in unexpected situations in sparring. A good combatant always had a plan of attack and defense, coming up with multiple ways to strike at an opponent and avoiding the opponent's charges. However, like all warfare, deception played an important role in ensuring victory in a spar and the one falling for another's ruses either yielded or just steer clear away from them. When the latter happens, emotions flare as the serenity required in a good combatant is threatened to be expunged from the mind. Maintaining serenity was critical, as that allowed a combatant to not feel fear or hesitation. That left only pure, implacable focus and made possible for the warrior to rely on instinct and reflex rather than logic or emotion to counter their opponent's movements.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Jaenyx kept his focus on Visenya, who had assumed a side stance. Feeling calm, he saw her swing Dark Sister horizontally towards his torso, causing him to spin his arms to repoint his sword up and swing to meet Dark Sister. Remembering that the blade was not the only part of the sword, he moved fast by sliding his right hand on the flat side of the blade, far enough to not cut his hands, towards a point where he could hold down to make a pivot. At the same time, he used his left hand to bring the helm up, but not to strike Visenya in the head. He used Dark Sister's flat side to push his sword along its length and thrust downwards towards Visenya's belly. He stopped just before the point touched her skin.
But before Jaenyx said "yield," he felt Dark Sister in between his left shoulder and the left side of his neck. He had never attempted something like what he just did and while his move utilized his opponent's blade against him, he also exposed his neck to the other's blade. Had this been a real fight, he might have gotten the kill but would also die himself.
" Draw ?" Jaenyx asked.
Visenya nodded. " Draw ." They then heard clapping from the group that had formed to see husband and wife engage in swordplay. All had heard about the combat prowess of Lord and Lady Belaerys, but it was another thing for them to witness it with their own eyes. Visenya was the fastest warrior among Aegon and Orys, while Jaenyx was fluid and controlled. What they both shared in common was their creativity, coming up with different ways to strike and defend against their opponents' attacks. Probably with some modifying, that last move could be quite effective in real combat , thought Jaenyx.
With the spar finished, both Jaenyx and Visenya withdrew from their stances and clasped each other's arms as would any swordsman after a friendly session. However, they were husband and wife instead of regular sparring partners, so both smashed their lips against each other to openly show their affections. This prompted more applause from the onlookers, some of whom started to make lewd comments but all pleased to see some intimacy between Lord and Lady Belaerys.
Jaenyx was practicing with his katana and Seablaze against a training dummy when Visenya interrupted him. She commented on his use of two swords as an effective way to have more reach than his adversaries, but dual usage of two long blades sacrificed speed. Visenya reminded him that his style relied heavily on speed, so there was no point in using two swords in combat when the movements became slower from their combined weight. She had him put down his katana and instead gave him a dagger. She struck at him a few times while Jaenyx was able to block her blade with his dagger while attacking with his longer sword. However, the important thing that Jaenyx noticed was that he was able to move and react faster while using the dagger in concert with Seablaze. He was able to move very fast with the dagger in his left hand, allowing him to parry his opponent's strikes quickly and thus giving him time to strike back. He kissed Visenya deeply for her suggestions.
On a deeper level, Jaenyx noticed similarities between using the dagger and sword in conjunction and how he was taught by Master Haru. Before becoming a shinobi, Konno Haru was a master in a technique called nitōichi, which in nihongo meant "two swords as one." The technique called for the warrior to use both a large sword and a "companion sword", specifically the katana and wakizashi. The idea behind nitōichi was to maximize usage of both the katana and wakizashi, with the former used in large spaces and the latter drawn for close-quarters combat but previously never at the same time. In combat, nitōichi greatly enhanced the striking and parrying capabilities of the warrior, with the wakizashi being used to ward off and neutralize the enemy's weapons during a grappling while the katana would strike back. There were only a few warriors in Nihon who could properly apply nitōichi in combat without injuring themselves, and Konno Haru was one of them.
Once she saw that Jaenyx realized the validity of her suggestions, Visenya recommended using the katana and wakizashi against unarmored opponents and in stealth attacks while using Seablaze and the dagger during heavy combat. She had also learned about and trained a bit in nitōichi from Master Haru after politely asking him. While she had a long way to go before she could fully understand the essence of Yi-Tish swordsmanship, she understood enough to allow her to apply certain principles and techniques into her own style. Seeing her mixing knowledge from Westerosi combat styles via Quenton Qoherys and Yi-Tish styles from Master Haru prompted Jaenyx to ponder and develop his own style. He remembered Master Haru's emphasizing the importance of adapting to the environment, so that was what he intended to do in regards to his combat techniques.
Breaking from their kiss after their public sparring session, Jaenyx sheathed Seablaze and walked alongside Visenya back to the command tent while she sheathed Dark Sister. They would have liked to continue their sparring, but they had to resume planning for next advances into the Storm kingdom.
Two weeks ago, the army at Haystack Hall received one thousand more reinforcements, all of whom had crossed the bridge over the Wendwater, and bringing their total numbers to twelve thousand to face potentially thirty thousand Durrandon bannermen. Rhaenys told them that Jaenyx would have to call for more troops from the riverlands since he was officially supervising the region if they needed more. Jaenyx immediately wrote the orders and signed them with his own seal. However, it would take some time before sizable numbers arrived from the riverlands, so they would have to make do with their twelve thousand troops.
Their first instinct was to advance straight towards Bronzegate, as the capture of the fortress will open the road to Storm's End while the villages and farms surrounding the castle would be a good base from which to advance further into the Storm kingdom. At the same time, they also understood that the enemy would expect such a move from them and would move more troops into Bronzegate's vicinity. What was especially concerning for them was that the first of the marcher lords, the Swanns of Stonehelm, along with the Mertyns of Mistwood had assembled their banners and began marching north. If Argilac Durrandon managed to bring the weight of his crack troops to bear against them while they were advancing deeper into the forested areas of the northern reaches of his dominion, their advance would stall. Time was of the essence, as they needed to neutralize the Durrandons before Argilac assembled more of his troops. Unlike Black Harren, the houses throughout the Storm kingdom were very loyal to their king and would answer his call.
In a council at Haystack Hall, it was decided that they would split their forces. Aegon and Orys would retain the regular infantry, men-at-arms, and heavy cavalry and march towards Bronzegate. Meanwhile, Jaenyx and Visenya would take the army's light infantry and light cavalry and bypass Bronzegate. The idea was to keep the enemy focused on Bronzegate and move their strongest forces to reinforce the castle, which would open up the rest of the Storm kingdom's northern domains and expose their flanks. Jaenyx and Visenya would then strike at the Durrandons' lighter forces and baggage trains, thus splitting their enemy's focus and keeping them off-balance.
Key to the plan was hiding the dragons. The burning of Harrenhal might have achieved the intended goal of making their opponents afraid of them, but fear was a double-edged sword. Should the enemy be aware of the dragons' presence prior to battle, they would either hesitate or withdraw from the field, thus making the goal of destroying their armies more difficult to accomplish. While they could use the dragons to burn the fortresses throughout the Storm kingdom, destroying fixed targets only worked in the short term as long as the enemy could field troops. So, Aegon, Visenya, and Jaenyx took great pains to hide their dragons so as to keep the enemy advancing towards them. Aegon made Balerion fly over the seas next to the Storm kingdom during the day and only allowing to come to him at night, as he was the biggest of the dragons and would be easy to spot even when flying in the sky. For Vhagar and Cloudwynd, they were only slightly smaller than either Balerion or Meraxes, but they were just small enough to avoid being seen by the enemy as long as they soared very high in the air. Like Balerion, they were only allowed to come back to their riders at night, not that it mattered much to them since their dragons enjoyed flying around each other and hunting together.
For the past two weeks, Jaenyx and Visenya led their light troops through the forests west of Bronzegate. They were careful to avoid the many patrols of the Durrandons throughout the wooded areas in their domain's northern reaches alongside any villages, which they both knew would warn nearby Durrandon forces of their presence. Helping matters was the fact that they had two thousand men under their command, comprising of Tarareon horsemen, Blackwood light cavalry, and light infantry from various other houses. They also had thirty former drifters-turned shinobi to serve as their advance screen. So far, they haven't encountered the enemy yet, which was a good sign since that meant they were still undetected.
" It's been very quiet for the past two weeks, Jae ," Visenya began as they walked with their hands entwined back to the command tent. " Don't you think it's strange ?"
Jaenyx nodded. " We've been careful to conceal our movements, however. If we didn't have contact with the enemy yet, we're doing something right. "
" But we don't know these forests, Jae. The Durrandons command some very good bowmen, courtesy to the many conflicts with the Dornish. These woods are excellent for ambushes, and I know because that's what I'd use them for. "
" The last report we've heard of the Swanns is that they were still a week away from Bronzegate. If our knowledge of this area is correct, then we would be southwest of Bronzegate and therefore bypassing the marcher force and the Mertyn bannermen. All we need to do is find either their baggage train or their weaker troops ," Jaenyx continued.
" Shouldn't we be more cautious about these woods ?" Visenya brought the conversation back to the likelihood of an ambush in the forest.
" We have men taking watch and our camp has a tight perimeter. Also, Cloudwynd and Vhagar are flying above us. Once we give them the word, they'll fly down and help us ," Jaenyx reassured.
They had made camp on top of a ridge covered in forest. Setting up camp anywhere along the shores of the Wendwater further inland or on level ground were easy ways to have the enemy pounce on them. While there were still risks with being encamped on a forested ridge since they couldn't see past the trees, it was always better to have the high ground in case of any attack.
" I'm serious, Jae. I am confident of our chances against the Arrogant king, but we need to be more careful. Fighting in the woods requires us to be exactly that ."
In all honesty, Visenya had every right to be concerned. They had no problem with using their dragons in the riverlands and they had favorable geography at Rook's Rest and Wailing Willows. However, both of those battles contained some amount of open ground, where there was none where they were encamped. Cloudwynd and Vhagar could save them from being attacked and overwhelmed, but the risk of their flames igniting an inferno among the trees and harming their own troops was too great. In essence, their greatest assets could not be fully brought to bear.
Jaenyx considered Visenya's uneasiness. " Kenzou and the others should be back soon. We'll have more information then ."
Before they entered their tent and as if on cue, they heard the bushes behind their tent rustle. On instinct, Visenya drew Dark Sister and Jaenyx drew Seablaze while they both approached the bush. Before they moved closer, three hooded figures covered in foliage and branches emerged. Upon seeing them carrying a mix of katanas, wakizashis, and ninjatō, they both relaxed as they realized that Kenzou and the others had returned. Part of the practices of the shinobi was hensōjutsu, which was their art of disguise and camouflage. Jaenyx witnessed firsthand how good they were at hiding in natural landscapes, essentially being invisible to the eye. What was scarier, however, was how well they could assume various disguises. Like theater actors, they were good at impersonating different types of people such as craftsmen, farmers, merchants, and even warriors. This meant that there was no safe place for any of their targets.
"Cho tsu to shinpai shite ku re tano ne. Houkoku ha ( You had us worried for a moment. Any report )?" Jaenyx sheathed Seablaze with Visenya following suit.
"Nikui shirase ga a ru ( We have bad news )," Kenzou replied. "Teki o mi tsu ke ta ( We found the enemy )."
"Sono nikui nyusu ha dou desuka ( How is that bad news )?" Jaenyx asked.
"Teki ha watashitachi ga shi tsu tayori mo chikai desu. Ho n no suujikan no kyori ( The enemy is closer than we thought. Only a few hours away )," Kenzou answered with apprehension.
Jaenyx nodded, hiding his surprise. "Tsuteiu ma demo nai ( I know you have more to say )."
Kenzou took a breath. "Arera ha wareware ga do ko ni iruka chi tte ru ( They know where we are )."
Jaenyx's eyes widened, as did Visenya's. "Arera ha douyatte chi tte ru ( How do they know )?" Visenya asked. Despite the immediate danger they were now in, Jaenyx couldn't help but be impressed at how quickly she was picking up nihongo.
"Chiisana juumin ha wareware yorimo kono mori o yo ku chi tte i ru. Arera ha watashitachi o mi ta. ( The smallfolk know these woods better than we do. They saw us )."
Jaenyx and Visenya looked at each other in concern. How did we not see them see us? That was a question for another time. Now, they had to prepare for a fight ahead.
"Wareware ha ka ni chokumen shite i ru nodesu ka ( How many are we facing )?" Jaenyx wanted to put on his armor as quickly as possible, but feared that he wouldn't have time.
"Shi ha sennin to io jin no guntai o kazoe mashi ta. Sore rano ooku ha ite dakedenaku, iku tsu kano dansei-atto-ude ( I counted three thousand troops. Many of them archers and men-at-arms but also armored cavalry )," Kenzou replied.
"Ana ta ha arera no hata o mi mashi taka ( Did you see their banner )?" Visenya pressed.
"Soreha shiratori no you ni mie mashi ta ( It looked like a swan )," Kenzou shrugged.
Shit , cursed Jaenyx. They would have to fight a marcher lord sooner than they thought. They wouldn't have to worry about the men-at-arms and cavalry, since they would have a difficult time advancing on their positions on high ground, but the archers were a cause for concern. From Jaenyx gathered, their bowmen were fast at drawing their bows while being deadly accurate. The main weapon of choice for archers sworn to marcher lords was the longbow, which was comparable to the yumi bow used in Nihon in that it required years to master. However, unlike the yumi, the longbow was used by common troops and therefore could be used in larger numbers. Combined with their knowledge of the landscape, that made them deadly opponents to face.
" We need to get ready to fight ," Visenya began. " Our best chance to beat them back is to hold our positions. As long as we hold the high ground, they can't dislodge us no matter how many arrows they let loose against us ."
" But we're on a ridge. Wouldn't they surround us then ?" Jaenyx knew there were also risks with occupying the higher ground. If they were surrounded, they could get cut off from retreat and then destroyed.
" Just as our enemy will use the forest to their advantage, we'll use it to ours. Take cover behind the trees and any bush and wait for them to charge at us. Once they come close enough, we'll let loose our own arrows and stick them with our blades and spears ."
Jaenyx nodded. " Sounds like a plan. We should also get Cloudwynd and Vhagar down here also ."
" Not yet, Jae ," Visenya shook her head. " Once we hinder their advance up the ridge, we'll call them and finish them off. "
Jaenyx sat with his back leaned against a large boulder that both he and Visenya found. After Kenzou warned them of the enemy approaching them, they had Chrass Rivers, who was accompanying them, take half of their troops and bring all of their horses to a safe distance away from the ridge. Meanwhile, Jaenyx, Visenya, Kenzou, and Rhaedar Tarareon would remain at the ridge with the other half to hold off the oncoming force. The basic plan was to blunt their charge up the ridge while using the bushes and trees as cover against their bowmen.
" Damn ," Jaenyx muttered. " Should have known that we were compromised ."
" It's better that we're fighting them now than later ," Visenya turned her head to Jaenyx. " If we waited for them to come to us, then we would be fighting against a much larger host and all of them probably under one commander. By fighting them now, we should be distracting them while blunting a portion of the Durrandons' elite troops ."
Jaenyx couldn't deny that logic. " But this is where our dragons would have some difficulty. They might not see well through the trees and therefore hurt our own troops in the process ."
Visenya put her hand on Jaenyx's shoulder. " Let's trust Vhagar and Cloudwynd to know friend from foe, then ," she reassured.
Just then, they saw an arrow lodge into a tree behind their boulder. Before they could react, a storm of arrows landed around their boulder while some bounced off of it. They turned to their right and saw a man, a Blackwood by the sigil on his armor, lie dead with arrows sticking into his face and neck.
"Keep your heads down!" Jaenyx shouted. "Avoid the arrows!"
" They might be trying to keep us under cover so that their infantry and cavalry could move up the ridge without resistance ," Visenya pointed out.
Taking that into consideration, Jaenyx peeked out the side of the boulder. Sure enough, he saw rows of bowmen letting loose their arrows at their positions on the ridge while the armored men-at-arms and knights began to advance towards the base of the ridge. If they were able to engage in close combat with their lighter troops, they would not stand a chance.
"Kyuuhei o junbi shi ro ( Get the archers ready )!" Jaenyx shouted to Kenzou. Some of the shinobi had crossbows and all of them carried bolts that could pierce plate armor. Still, they were told to aim for the head, neck, and shoulders as the armor was usually thickest around the torso. "Get your arrows out! Do not let loose until I give the order!" Jaenyx shouted to the rest.
Meanwhile, arrows from the Swann and Mertyn forces landed on their positions. A few were killed while the rest struggled to avoid them using any trees, bushes, or boulders that they could find. Yet, Jaenyx noticed that the arrows came in waves, meaning that the enemy bowmen used volleys. Once they proceeded to renock arrows, that was when Jaenyx and Visenya's own bowmen would shoot back.
Soon enough, it happened. "Volley! Loose!" Visenya ordered.
A wave of armor-piercing arrows and bolts descended upon the men-at-arms and mounted knights as they struggled up the ridge. As instructed, they aimed for the head and neck and many struck true to their mark as scores of their armored adversaries fell to the ground dead. However, they had to take cover as the enemy bowmen shot back at them.
" Good start, but not enough ," Visenya peeked over the boulder. " We'll have to be fighting them in close combat if things go on like this. We both might have a chance, but I'm not sure about the others ."
" Call the dragons ?" Jaenyx suggested.
" And if the fire gets out of control ?"
" We'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to get rid of those archers ."
Visenya nodded. " I'll call Vhagar ."
Jaenyx looked up to the sky. Cloudwynd, girl. Help us .
While their own archers shot back at the marcher bowmen, two dragon roars pierced through the chaos in the forest. A stream of orange and blue dragonfire burned through the thick treetops and a large portion of the enemy archers. Screams echoed as blue and orange fires turned flesh into ashes while igniting the easily flammable foliage and bushes around the ridge. The trees quickly caught fire and smoke filled the air above the fighting.
Jaenyx and Visenya glanced over the boulder and saw that the enemy host had descended into a frenzy. While the archers were burning, the armor of the men-at-arms and mounted knights were melting on their bodies from the very heat of the flames. Many struggled to get them off, with some being picked off by armor-piercing arrows and some others falling onto the ground as their bodies cooked inside the metal layers of the things that were supposed to protect them.
Jaenyx and Visenya saw that there were still soldiers who were unscathed, but too overwhelmed by the fires burning through the shrubs and the smoke now filling the air around them around them to get back into formation. Jaenyx and Visenya shared a look with each other, both seeing their chance. Drawing their swords, they emerged out from behind the boulder.
"CHARGE!" Visenya ordered. As one, Tarareons, shinobi, Blackwoods, and troops from other houses dropped their bows and rushed down the ridge, avoiding tree trunks and bushes while raising their spears, swords, and axes.
As Jaenyx ran down the hill, he jumped onto a man-at-arms that had luckily avoided the dragonfire. Remembering the exposed areas of plate armor, he drew his dagger and stabbed the man through the opening above his throat. Standing up, he saw their troops engaging the armored but disorganized marcher force. Although lighter than their adversaries, that made them more mobile and they used the weight of the plate armor against them as they went for the weak spots.
But as Jaenyx observed the fighting, he coughed as he felt his eyes sting. There was too much smoke going around and the fires were starting to get out of control as there was just too much fuel for them to burn. At the same time, they needed to eliminate this force before they could withdraw as that meant one less marcher lord to worry about.
Rubbing his eyes, Jaenyx let out another cough as he heard someone yelling from behind him. He turned around and saw an armored knight charging at him on horseback. He ducked just in time to avoid his blade before grabbing him from behind and pulling him from his horse. He struck at the knight's helmet with Seablaze's hilt, stunning him long enough for Jaenyx to lift up his helm and stick his dagger into his eye.
Jaenyx stomped through the flaming bushes and trees as the troops began to really cut down on the marcher force. He saw Kenzou throttling a man-at-arms from behind before slicing through his exposed throat with his shuriken. He saw lightly-armored Blackwoods turning the heavy armor of their opponents against them, either by driving their swords and daggers through the weak spots or pushing them towards a shrub touched by dragonfire and letting its flames cook them from the inside as the metal melted. He saw Rhaedar unhorse a knight by hitting him straight with a spear's shaft on the torso before he slammed his axe down onto his helm, splitting his head into two.
Before he moved further, Jaenyx felt something slam into him and a sharp pain on his left side as he fell to his knees. He looked to his left and found that an arrow had lodged into an exposed part of his armor, specifically between his left leg and torso. However, he sensed that it didn't hit anything vital and seeing that he couldn't get the arrow without help, he forced himself back up as he moved forward while careful to not snap the arrow.
Seeing that he would not be able to fight on foot with the arrow, Jaenyx mounted a horse and wheeled around the ridge. Although the smoke and fires would prevent enemy archers from accurately aiming at him, he didn't take chances and kept himself low so as to make it more difficult for them to shoot at him. However, he found that being on horseback also made him higher in the air and thus exposing his eyes to thicker smoke. He quickly decided to use the horse to find an opponent before he would jump onto him. He didn't have to wait long, as he found a group of archers trying to flee from the ridge.
Once he was close enough, Jaenyx jumped onto the archers, bringing two down with his weight while he slashed Seablaze through the calves of two others. He stabbed one of the archers through the side of his neck while he stood back up before plunging Seablaze into the back of the other. However, he failed to notice the last archer charging into him and bringing him back down to the ground. The archer brought his longbow to Jaenyx's neck and attempted to throttle him.
Jaenyx struggled against the archer, as the smoke got much thicker and making breathing for him much more difficult. He looked to his side and saw his dagger just out of reach for him. Looking back at his enemy was also getting harder as the smoke was stinging in his eyes. Still, he would not let go without a fight. Keeping his gaze onto the archer, he saw that the archer had his own dagger strapped to his left side. Acting quickly, he reached for that dagger, unsheathed it, and stabbed him between the ribs. Reversing the positions, Jaenyx pinned him on the ground as he continued to stab at the struggling archer.
Jaenyx was taught self-control, but the pain searing from his leg and the smoke stinging his eyes and making it difficult for him to breath unleashed the fire in him. Everything drowned out as he cut into the archer's flesh over and over again with his own dagger. He went for the neck, then the face, and then his eyes. However, something told him to keep going as he used the dagger's handle to smash onto the archer's face. He ignored the bone cracks, the squish for flesh, blood squirting on his face, and the sting in his throat as he let his savage side out into the open. He lost count of how many times he bashed the archer's face in.
Before he went further, Jaenyx felt someone pull him from the archer. He pushed that someone off before he felt another person restrain him. He screamed before someone slapped him hard. Blinking, his eyes regained focus and his breathing became slower as he stared upon the face of Visenya. Her face was coated in blood and her braid was covered in dirt and ash while her eyes were tearing up from the smoke's sting.
"That's enough, Jae!" Visenya shouted.
Feeling calm return to him even while the fires spread further, Jaenyx looked towards the archer, or what was left of him. While the body remained intact, he could not see a face. All he saw was a nose, broken cheekbones, teeth spread out all over the ground, skull cracks, and brain matter spilled through them. The archer was no longer recognizable.
Despite the smoke, Jaenyx felt his eyes widen. He promised Master Haru that he would maintain control even during battle and he broke that. And now, he was reminded of why hot blood never belonged in battle. People were not supposed to lower themselves to the likes of beasts and this was what happened whenever a thinking being let the baser instincts of the self take control.
Jaenyx saw that Kenzou was holding him. Seeing that his father's student had regained control of himself, he let go. Jaenyx nodded his thanks, which Kenzou returned.
" You're hurt ," Visenya noticed the arrow lodged in his leg.
" It's fine, Vis ," Jaenyx tried to brush off her concerns. That only got him another slap.
" It's not fine, Jae, " Visenya glared at him. " We'll have one of Taygor's men look at you right now. "
Jaenyx was about to protest, but Visenya silently warned him not to. His mind then focused on other matters. " Any prisoners ?" He didn't doubt that they won.
" A few ," Visenya replied. " But first, we'll get that arrow out of you ."
Visenya had the troops move away from the burning areas of the forest, but like them, she had to rub her eyes as they marched away. She had Taygor's son, Aedor, look at Jaenyx. Unlike Rhaenys, the arrow was not lodged deep in the flesh and he could pull out by grabbing onto the shaft with his forceps. Visenya held his head tight as he gritted his teeth in pain. Fortunately, it didn't last long and he started to disinfect the wound. Unfortunately, after he was bandaged, Jaenyx walked with a limp. Aedor reassured that it was only temporary and that he would walk normally by the end of the week.
Not that Visenya cared. Helping him walk, she put his arm over her shoulders and quipped, " Now we can really lean on each other ."
" Don't we do that already ?" Jaenyx jested.
" Shut up . All I can think of right now is how I can comfort you while you heal ," Visenya looked at him suggestively.
Jaenyx sighed, but more in amusement. " Whatever you say, my dragon ."
They strode towards a knight that had requested an audience with them. However, considering the circumstances of their last battle, Visenya had him brought to his knees by Rhaedar.
The knight looked up at them. "I am the son of Ashton--"
"Take your helmet off while addressing us," Jaenyx interrupted him.
The knight did so while still kneeling. Clearing his throat, he smirked. "I am the son of Ashton of House Mertyns of Mistwood."
And? Jaenyx and Visenya stared at him while Rhaedar stood behind him with his arms crossed.
As if expecting them to know his meaning, the knight gave a look of confusion. "I am accorded the privilege of ransom," he stated as he smirked again.
Jaenyx quietly groaned, annoyed. He didn't limp all this way to hear a kneeling man demand that he be released just for a small lump of money. He was aware that fifty sacks of gold was the regular ransom, but this knight was foolish if he thought that they would need it.
"This is true," Visenya replied while helping Jaenyx back to their tent. Jaenyx gave Rhaedar a nod. Rhaedar then took out his axe, stood straight behind the kneeling knight, and brought the axe down on his unprotected head, brain matter and skull bits scattering as the knight fell down on the ground dead, his eyes and mouth slightly twitching.