The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 63: The end of the war

"I would like to speak to your Empress personally", said the king.

This seemed to surprise Illyrio Mopatis, but he immediately recovered. "Then I will take this matter to Her Majesty, Your Grace. It goes without saying that Daenerys will not go to the Red Keep. The meeting should take place outside of King's Landing."

Brienne's face clearly showed what she thought of it, but Bran just nodded.

The next day, Bran was carried to the King's Gate in a litter and put there in his wheelchair. Ser Podrick, accompanied by Brienne, pushed it to an agreed place a few hundred yards outside the city wall. Tyrion, the Small Council, Sansa, Arya, Jon Snow, as well as a large number of courtiers and gold cloaks watched from the battlements.

A little later, Drogon ascended on the southern bank of the Blackwater to cross the river and land fifty yards from the king. Empress Daenerys climbed off his back. She wore a black robe and her silver hair was braided.

Bran indicated to his two bodyguards that they should leave him alone. Reluctantly, Brienne and Podrick obeyed and moved thirty paces away as Danerys approached the king.

For the first time since that terrible day, Jon saw the woman he loved but had betrayed. Of course, from this distance he couldn't see her face. Daenerys herself would not see him among the many people standing on the wall, especially since she believed him in the north.

Longing filled Jon and now he would like to just walk through the gate to Daenerys ... although he had no idea what to say to her. "I'm sorry that I stabbed you" seemed a little pathetic to him. Besides, Bran had urged him to be patient again.

Daenerys and the King apparently exchanged a few words of greeting, then the Empress sat on a sawed-off tree stump. While they were talking, Drogon waited some distance on one side and Brienne and Podrick on the other. It seemed as if the dragon and the two knights of the Kingsguard were watching each other, just waiting for one to make a wrong move.

Brandon Stark and Daenerys Targaryen spoke for over an hour. Then the Empress went to her dragon to fly to the Imperial camp on the other side of the river, while Bran had Brienne and Podrick bring himself back to the city.

At the gate the king was expected by his court.

"Your Grace", said Tyrion. "Did you come to an agreement with Empress Daenerys?"

The king nodded and turned to the assembled: "My lords, my ladies, I have good news. Daenerys Targaryen will waive all claims in Westeros with the exception of Dragonstone and withdraw with her force across the sea. She also agrees to pay compensation for the destruction of King's Landing. The armistice will be signed tonight. At a later date there will be negotiations on the level of compensation and other open questions regarding the post-war order. Daenerys says the Free City of Braavos is willing to host these negotiations."

Silence reigned as the courtiers and common people within earshot realized what Bran's words meant: the invasion had been averted and no one would die.

"Long live the king!", one of the lords shouted and the crowd joined in. "Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!"

Sansa gave Tyrion an amused look who couldn't help but smile. People believed that Bran had persuaded the Empress to give in and that saving the realm was entirely due to him. Except for the Small Council, Sansa, Arya and Jon, nobody in Westeros knew what it really was like.

As they returned to the Red Keep, the king and his entourage were celebrated by the citizens of the capital. One would have thought that the Alliance had won the war.

As is so often the case, Bran's face showed no movement. But Tyrion noticed that his eyes turned milky for a few minutes. Apparently he was having one of his visions again. The gnome drew his pony next to the king's litter and spoke to him about it.

"I saw the Titan of Braavos", said Bran. "Two dragons danced high in the sky over the city."

"Two full-grown dragons?", asked the Hand.

"I think so, but I'm not sure. One was bigger than the other. The vision was fleeting and imprecise."

Strange, thought Tyrion. Sansa had told him that two of Drogon's offspring had grown pretty tall. But Daenerys had been very careful about the young dragons so far, and had kept them in Volantis. It made no sense for the Empress to take them to Braavos.

The armistice was to be signed on board the 'Missandei', the flagship of Grand Admiral Salladhor Saan. Tyrion Lannister, Podrick Payn, Edmure Tully and Sansa Stark took a ferry across to the mighty Imperial galeass. A roaring bronze dragon head graced the bow of the warship, but the sails were down and the oars pulled back. The Targaryen flag waved on the tallest of the three masts.

To get to the 'Missandei', the ferry had to maneuver between the innumerable ships of the Imperial fleet. Sailors eyed Tyrion and his companions curiously from all sides. Many of them were female, which the Westerosi found strange, even unnatural.

A rope ladder hung on the side of the flagship and was used to get the Westerosi on deck. Illyrio Mopatis and Salladhor Saan were already waiting for them there.

"You didn't take Lord Davos with you?", asked the Grand Admiral. "What a shame. I wanted to congratulate this scoundrel on his prank in Tyrosh."

Tyrion looked around. The deck was full of sailors and marines, but there was an alleyway that led to a table near the main mast. "Empress Daenerys is not here?", the dwarf wanted to know.

"No, my lord", replied Illyrio. "Her Majesty has already left for Essos. But she will be present at the negotiations in Braavos."

"I thought so", the Hand murmured. Jon would be disappointed. He had asked to go with Tyrion in hopes of meeting Daenerys, but the king forbade it. Rightly so, as Tyrion thought. It was definitely the wrong time to open old wounds. Even if the Empress was not on the ship, her people might have taken Jon's presence as a provocation.

The delegation followed Illyrio to the table on which there were several documents that were weighed down with objects so that they would not be blown away in the wind. Tyrion, Sansa, and Edmure read the papers carefully. After it was established that there were no formal errors and that everything was correct, the deeds were signed by Illyrio, Tyrion, Sansa and an envoy from the Ironborn and the Braavosi. Thus ended the most devastating war of this age.