The doom

-101 years before Aegons Conquest-

The golden spires from one of the cities many temples could be seen through the window arches beside her as she was walking along the corridor to the lower parts of the palace.

She knew the way. Her father had shown it to her when she was a little girl and her family had lived in this place.

The guards did not react when they saw her carrying a tray full of food. Even if it seemed strange to them, they would never dare question her. As long as her father or anyone else in her family did not see her, everything was fine.

She had to talk to the man of her dreams. And this was the only chance she would get. She snorted as she thought about how her parents had warned her against getting close to the prisoner. Simply being close to him could be dangerous, they said. She seriously doubted that the prisoner was capable of any magic at all after such a long time of being imprisonment.

The other dragon lords had tried everything in the last two hundred years to get the man to reveal his secrets. Initially, Valyria almost fell into civil war because the families could not agree on who would first interrogate the foreign magician. Each of the Dragon Lords wanted his apparent immortality for themselves.

As time went by however, it became clear that whatever they did was not working. The prisoner either did not want to reveal his secrets, or he was not able to. So they tortured him. Again. And again.

She shuddered as she thought about how long the man had not seen sunlight, and what must have been done to him.

Her silver hair was blowing in the wind as she passed through the Courtyard and toward the large steel door that marked the entrance to the dungeons. The two guards beside the door only gave her a quick glance before the older one nodded to her and opened the heavy door. It was the last days that her family would spend in this palace. Her father had sold all of his last possessions in the Freehold and in a few days the departure was due.

This was her last chance to talk to the mysterious man she kept seeing in her dreams.

The descent into the dark depths lasted almost ten minutes. After all, this place was chosen because of its special cells. The cells on the lowest level were imbued with the strongest protection spells the Valyrian Freehold could produce.

Even if the man had to endure many tortures, freezing was not one of them. In the lowest level there was a pleasant warmth. Probably from one of the nearby volcanoes.

The lone cell door at the end of the damp stairs was made of solid steel, littered with runes and long forgotten symbols. Fresh blood ran down the door. The last sacrifice had been made recently.

Two guards standing outside the door were wrapped in armor plates and looked at her silently. For the first time since she started the descent, she spoke in a clear and melodic voice.

"I have my father's permission to see the prisoner. He hopes I'll see something when I talk to him. "

She spoke in a firm voice and hoped that the guards in the silent corridor could not hear her fast heartbeat.

These guards were sworn to her father personally. They were the only ones who might inform him.

With bated breath, she waited while the guards stared at her with a calculating look. A few seconds passed before the right guard bowed slightly and a deep voice boomed from within the plate helmet.

"Of course my lady"

The guard opened the heavy mechanism that kept the door locked and waited for the various clicking sounds to stop.

With a strong jerk, he opened it. She tried to calm her heartbeat and said firmly

"I wish to speak undisturbed with the prisoner. It does not take long."

The guard just nodded and waited quietly. She entered the dark room with firm steps. The guard lit a torch and attached it to the wall in the small room. He turned to her and spoke again.

"I advise not go too close my Lady. Even if the last ritual was recent and he is tied up. He often finds ways to do damage."

The guard stepped out of the door. He did not close the door completely but left it slightly ajar.

The Valyrian beauty was now alone in the room that held the Freehold's most dangerous enemy.

For a cell, there was relatively much space available. The walls were bare and had no windows. The only sound being heard was the water dripping from the walls.

In the middle of the room stood an altar-like stone block on which the magician was chained. Several blood-soaked steel chains wrapped around his limbs and upper body, handcuffing him to the altar. A slight magical glow emanated from the back stone block and the chains.

The mans torso and his extremities was covered in wounds. Surprisingly, his face was free from injury except for a scar on his forehead. His long black hair hung in his face in oily fringes. Despite the injuries, it was apparent that his body had resisted the decay of time.

She knew that he was hundreds of years old yet she could not help but be astonished when she saw the body of a young man. He did not look older than twenty years. She approached carefully and set down the tray of food near the altar.

The man was still asleep. With light steps she approached the altar and leaned slowly and uncertainty over the captive's face.

Even in his sleep, he made a tortured sight.

The man had an attraction she could not explain. Even before she could tear herself together, she ran her finger gently over his pale cheek. It was as if she had been struck by a small lightning bolt. She jerked her arm back reflexively and took a step back.

The prisoner opened his eyes abruptly and fixed her with a piercing look.

She was captivated by his gaze.

For a brief moment after the man opened his eyes she felt as if she was staring straight into the sky late at night. A deep black littered with stars that sparkled in incredible intensity. But the moment was over before she could be sure that it was no imagination. She blinked and continued to stare unbroken into the now dark green eyes of the ancient magician.

He was obviously in pain. The man was still silent. She mustered her courage, picked up the tray of food from the floor, and approached the altar. She dipped the hard bread into the water pitcher and spoke in a clear voice.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I want to help you."

He just kept staring at her. He did not even seem to be trying to speak.

She made an eating gesture with the bread and slowly began to feed him.

The man did not resist and when it became clear that she would not trick him with the food, he began to choke down the bites she handed him.

"Slowly. You have not eaten anything for a long time. Even for you, that can not be healthy."

He closed his eyes during the bites and listened to her words. He fixed her with his eyes again and opened his mouth for the first time to speak.

"Wh….y?"

The word came out broken. His voice had the sound of rough stone rubbing against each other.

She had not really expected the man to say something. According to the stories, he had been silent for over one hundred and fifty years.

She kept feeding him as she spoke in a low voice.

"I've seen you in my dreams since I was a little girl. For a long time I did not understand what or whom I saw. "

She gave him a moment to chew and drink some water. He continued to look at her with a hard but interested look.

"It was not until I got older and heard the stories about you. And after my father had shown me your sword, I knew that you had to be the man who always appeared to me"

"For years the same dream. A man with black hair is standing in front of a bare white tree. A black cloak hangs around his shoulders and flutters in the wind. A black scabbard with a sword hanging on his side. The hilt made of Bones. Red leaves cover the ash black soil around it. Behind him I can see the burning battlements of the towers of Valyria. The whole city is on fire. "

A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the dream. She put down the now empty tray and the water jug.

"The terrible shriek of dying dragons ,lords and slaves at the same time permeates the flame-saturated air. The next moment, the black-haired man turns to me and stares at me with your deep green eyes. "

The prisoner only raised an eyebrow but said nothing else. She took another deep breath and continued.

"Several pictures then always patter on me in rapid succession before I wake up with the last. " "The first shows you standing on a bloody hill, dressed in black armor, looking at a city with thick walls in the distance."

"Then A fleet of black sails fighting a terrible storm. lightning flashing in the sky"

She shuddered as she thought of the last picture.

"At the last moment, you stand on a huge wall of ice, next to you is a black-haired man dressed in the traditional Targaryen armor with the thre headed red dragon. Ice is forming on your cloaks ". "And then the dream ends. I wake up sweaty every time."

The young silver-haired woman grabbed for something at her neck and pulled out a necklace. She showed him a symbol that hung on the chain. A red three-headed dragon on a black ground graced a gold shield. The eyes of the dragons seemed to be made of bright diamonds.

The young lady straightened her spine, looked deep into his eyes, and spoke in a firm voice.

"I am Daenerys Targayren. Daughter of Aenar Targaryen. One of the Forty Great Dragon Lords of the Valyrian Empire. " "The three-headed dragon is the emblem of our house."

Daenerys had taken a step back for safety after she introduced herself.

She studied the prisoner and waited for a response. But he did not respond except to the staring of his green eyes.

"I know you can speak"

She was getting a little impatient. She was not sure what exactly she had expected. But certainly not silence. The man had no idea how careful she had to be to tell him of her dream. Or what her lord father would do if he found out.

Before she could get upset the prisoner spoke in broken Valyrian.

"It's been a long time since I last spoke."

The talking seemed to cause him great pain.

His voice was still very rough.

"My name is Harry."

For the first time since he woke up, a small smile seemed to flash across his face before one of his many injuries caused him pain again.

"How long ... How long have I been here?"

Daenerys Targaryen seemed uncomfortable with the question. She fidgeted a little but finally answered softly.

"In a fortnight, the new year is breaking. That will be the 189 years of your captivity."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes.

"It feels like it's been at least a thousand years."

Daenerys noticed one of the guards in front of the door giving her a look and a nod. Her time was slowly used up.

She took another step toward Harry and spoke softly in a haunting voice.

"I'm sure Valyria will go down. It will not be long. I am here to warn you. Be ready. The moment of your freedom may be within reach. You must survive whatever comes. I dont know why but I'm sure without you darkness will prevail."

Harry did not answer. His green eyes just kept staring at her intensely while Daenerys collected the tray and left the cell with one last look at the mysterious magician.

Harry

The days went by without anyone coming looking for Harry or interrogating him again.

Despite his hope for more untainted food, Daenerys Targaryen did not return.

It would not have changed his opinion anyway. All of the dragonlords would get to feel the heat of demonic fire If he ever got free of this prison. No act of compassion would safe them from his wrath.

He tried to move. But the magical chains were too strong. And the Ward that helped suppress his magic was still at full strength. And yet his head was clearer than ever. Presumably, the little food he had received from the guards had been poisoned. Although that should not have been a problem for his blood.

Harry was not sure how many days had passed when voices were heard outside the door. With a crunch, the heavy metal door opened. The two usual guards entered the room. They flanked a middle-aged man with fair hair. His facial features showed a stern man.

He wore expensive dark blue silken robes. His blue eyes gave the impression of a man used to dominate. The man smirked when he realized that Harry was watching him. He stopped a few meters short of the altar and spoke in a gentle and soft voice.

"I see you are awake. We did not have the pleasure yet. Let me introduce myself. "

"I am Argan Valyn. The Lord of House Valyn. The noblest and oldest of Blood in all of Valyria. "

The man spoke with pride about his family.

"It was my great grandfather that caught you when you tried stealing those eggs all those years ago."

The Dragon Lord folded his arms behind his back.

"For nearly two hundred years no one has managed to get your secrets out of you. We tried almost everything to kill you. Your immortality is incredible. "

The fascination and greed were written into the Lord's face.

"I still think we should have tried to remove your limbs. I am sure without your head, you would not have survived."

He made a derogatory gesture.

"Alias my revered members of the council did not want to take the chance to lose you as a ... test subject ..."

His features took on a manic expression.

"But now it's finally time. Using the Shadowbinders of Asshai, I've been able to create a ritual that will transfer your powers to me. And if everything goes right, then I will be just as invulnerable as you are now. "

"Unfortunately this will result in your final death if I am not mistaken"

The Dragon Lord seemed to revel in anticipation for a moment before nodding his head and ordering the guards.

"The reinforcement will arrive in a few minutes. You will take him to the ritual hall." The Guards nodded and started to bring in a series of large iron bars to attach the chains to.

Their Lord spoke again in a warning tone.

"Be watchful. The chains are freshly reinforced, but we do not want to take any chances."

The blond-haired dragon lord turned on his heel and left the vault.

The ritual hall was an extra sacrificial room. The hall had a circular floor plan and fell slightly towards the middle. Harry had been blinded with a rag and carried here. He had felt the magic on the chains weakening by the seconds, but he still could not use his powers before again being chained to the floor in the middle of the bay in the hall. His sword Bane that he had believed lost was placed next to him. Out of reach.

Harry could not see anything. Only the screeching of, he assumed, several dragons could be heard. They sounded very young.

With a loud jolt, the doors of the hall opened. Footsteps were heard and someone tore the black bandage from his eyes.

The ceiling was a good ten meters above him. The hall had to be huge.

At Harry's side stood Lord Valyn. As Harry could see now, at the edge of the circular basin, the room held dozens of young dragons chained to pillars. They hissed and screamed together. They all tried to free themselves but without success. Behind each dragon there was a person completely wrapped in a black cloak.

The Shadowbinders, suspected Harry. There were at least 40 dragons and these priests scattered around the hall.

The Dragon Lord had a long knife in his right hand. The steel seemed covered with smoke-like ripples. At the end of the handle was the biggest Ruby Harry had ever seen.

Lord Valyn proclaimed in a triumphant voice.

"Today is the day I become a God. As it was foretold by my ancestors. "

The priests and the Valyrian lord began to sing in a dialect that Harry did not understand. Had he not known that this was a sacrificial ritual for him, he would have described the song almost as reassuring. His chains began to glow stronger and burned on his skin.

Suddenly the priests stopped singing and only Lord Valyn could be heard. From his peripheral vision, Harry could see the figures in the robes pulling out long swords and slaughtering the young dragons. They had no chance. None of the young dragons seemed to be able to spit fire. It was carnage. And in a few minutes it was over and again it was only the voice of the Lord to hear.

The dragon's blood flowed into the room and Harry felt the warm liquid cover a large part of his body. It covered the bare feet of the Lord before him. The magic in the room thrummed, making every cell of Harry's body vibrate. The singing became louder again and the Lord raised both arms to the sky.

When he dropped them again it appeared to be a signal.

The Shadowbinders in the background dropped to their knees and at the same time, all of them cut their throats. The men's blood continued to fill the pit and the blood now reached Harry's ears. His upper body was just bared.

The magic in the room was so thick that Harry could barely breathe.

Harry closed his eyes. He was not sure if the ritual would work. But he hoped it. Surely death would help him or even let him rest at peace if he died. He would have to find someone else for his job.

Even as these thoughts passed through his mind, he felt a knife being rammed into his heart with brutal force.

The Lord shouted the last words of his ritual out into the world as he rammed the knife into Harry's chest.

For a moment nothing seemed to happen, as if time stood still.

Harry felt no pain. For a fleeting second he had the feeling of being sucked out of the cut in his chest. His strength and everything else that made him. But the feeling left him immediately, and for a split second he saw a very old man with a bony smile bent over him. He fainted before he could think more about it.

He did not notice how his body started to glow.

The valyrian Lord was visibly surprised that nothing had happened. He tried to ram the knife into Harry's heart again. But the attempt failed. The knife slid off the side of Harry's body.

The shock was written on the face of the nobleman. It could not be. Something had gone wrong.

The glow that Harry gave of increased and became blindingly bright.

Lord Alyn had to cover his eyes and take a few steps backwards.

Before he could try to flee, a massive shock wave emanated from Harry's body.

The first wave threw the lord across the room to the wall further back. The noblest of all the valyrian lords slumped against the wall like a sack of potatoes. His body broken beyond repair.

The doors were torn open and guards and family stormed into the room to get to the bottom of the quake.

Even before anyone could reach the fallen Lord, Harry's second shock wave, several times stronger, went off.

The palace, built on a small hill just outside the town of Valyria, was immediately destroyed.

Every human being and every animal within a radius of several hundred meters was torn to pieces by the magical wave that rolled over the land.

Not only over the earth was the devastation catastrophic. The plates of the world on which Valyria stood shifted and caused hundreds of strong earthquakes.

The circular wave rolled through the towns towards the volcanic mountains. The battlements and towers of the architectural masterpieces throughout the peninsula collapsed as they were struck by never-ending earthquakes.

While half of the Valyrian peninsula was already burning and in ruins, a third shock wave exploded from Harry's throbbing body. It destroyed everything that had not been burned by the first two waves and killed everyone within a fifty kilometers radius.

The soil tore open and let small mountains emerge. With a big bang, the shock waves reached the volcanic mountains.

In a massive chain reaction, all of the Volcanoes of Valyria exploded.

All the Dragons that had nested there were instantly dead.

Burning boulders the size of houses and palaces were thrown across the country. Toxic gases blew up and killed everything and anyone who had somehow survived. Parts of the land broke off and the sea raced inland.

Within a few minutes, the Valyrian Empire was destroyed.

I changed a few things in this chapter in preparation for the next one that will be coming in about two weeks. Shoul be the normal rhythm from then on.