"Are you sure this is authentic Grandmaester?" Kevan asked as he pointed at the piece of parchments with the broken seal of House Tarth and House Swan. Two ravens had come from Stormlands and both of them brought news of dragon banners flying atop the walls of Storm's End, Kevan mused.

"They are authentic my lord. Why…Lord Selwyn Tarth uses a peculiar colourful wax with a distinct smell belonging…"

"I did not ask you to go into a long-winded explanation Grandmaester. Your word is enough." said Kevan not at all in a mood to entertain Pycelle and his penchant for complicated and oftentimes boring explanations.

"Forgive me lord hand." Pycelle coughed in embarrassment, "Yes, these letters are authentic my lord. I am sure of it."

"Then we have a problem one that is on a scale similar to Euron Greyjoy." Said Kevan as he grimly looked at the parchments that lay before him on the table.

"Oh, there is nothing to worry at all my lord hand. My son, Garlan, has rallied the Tyrell banners and soon the squids will be thrown out of the Mander. He is a strong lad, my son." said Mace Tyrell puffing up his chest in self-importance.

Kevan really wanted to remind the man that Shield Islands had already fallen and this attack on the Mander was likely a distraction but he held himself back. Already, he had dispatched the Master of Ships, Lord Paxter Redwyne, to deal with the Ironborn menace and that was enough.

Kevan was the Hand of King Tommen Baratheon and that means his duty was to ensure the enemies of the king to be dealt with. Now that Tywin is not here it fell to him to secure his brother's legacy. If the Tyrells wanted to see the invasion of the Reach as a simple matter he was not going to correct them. Instead, he was going to use this opportunity.

"Yes, I have heard the martial powers of your second son and the brilliance of your eldest. King Tommen is blessed to have such skilled goodbrothers. In time when the King comes to age, we can hope his goodbrothers would stand by his side and help administer the seven kingdoms." Kevan shamelessly stroked the pride of the Oaf of Highgarden.

"Of course. King Tommen can always count on my sons to protect him from his grace's enemies." Mace Tyrell declared pompously and he could see Randyll Tarly roll his eyes from his designated seat as Master of Laws.

"As Ser Garlan will undoubtedly put an end to the squids as Lord Tyrell assures us we must turn our sights to Dorne and Stormlands. I don't believe it is a coincidence this Aegon Targaryen landed on Storm's End and the subsequent actions of Dorne. They most likely are colluding with each other. With the Lannister and Crownland armies on the way to Riverlands it falls to the Reach and Stormlands to resist Dorne and this Aegon Targaryen. I will be sending messages to the Marcher lords to prepare for an attack from Dorne. Can the king expect aid from his goodfather?" Kevan directed the query to the lord of Highgarden.

"Of course. I shall personally see to this my lord hand."

That alarmed Kevan more than any possible inaction from the Tyrells.

"Oh no my lord. Your counsel is invaluable to the king. Might I suggest lord Randyll deal with this Aegon Targaryen and his Golden Company?" Kevan silkily suggested with vague compliments as a cover.

"Oh yes…yes. The king will be in need of my counsel. Besides this Aegon is likely some Blackfyre pretender especially with those horrid sellsword company at his side." Mace scrunched up his nose in disdain.

"Lord Tarth informs us that Jon Connington is by this Aegon's side. There might be some truth to the identity of this Aegon as the babe all those years ago was hardly recognizable." Kevan mused out loud as his mind went back to that day. It was a horrible day and what happened that day was in some ways more horrible than what his better did to the Reynes. At least, the Reynes were drowned and their children were not butchered like cattle. Elia Martell and her children were mutilated beyond recognition and now the actions of his brother have come back to haunt the family.

"The Golden Company is a ragtag group of failed men. All they have achieved till now are consistent failures in every Blackfyre rebellions they participated. This time will be no different especially if that failure of a Connington is advising this mummer dragon." Mace Tyrell proclaimed with a huff and Kevan exchanged a silent look with Randyll Tarly. Both men knew the Golden Company was nothing to scoff at. Each time the sellsword company has advanced further and further towards their goal in placing a Blackfyre on the throne and this time they have already taken Storm's End. With Stormlands as weak as it is after the war of five kings the well-disciplined men of the Golden Company would roll over Stormlands with ease especially if the Dornish army joins them.

"Jon Connington was young back then my lord. Now, he is tempered by time and he won't rush as he did in his younger years. We have to assume he is a serious threat especially in the wake of the fall of Storm's End. It is imperative that the host of the Golden Company to be routed before the Dornish army can make way through the Marches." said Kevan who was very much aware that time was of the essence. If the Westerland army was in the capital then he would have sent them against the Golden Company and let the Tyrells deal with the Dornish. But without two armies he will have to gamble and trust in Randyll Tarly to break the Targaryen host long before it can gather its full strength. He just hoped that Lord Tarly will prove to be as effective as he was against Robert Baratheon in the Rebellion. If the Stormlands fall then King's Landing and the Reach will be threatened by an imminent invasion. Now, all that was lacking is the Dragon Queen of the East in the madhouse that was Westeros but thankfully she was stuck in Mereen fighting slavers.

The only piece of good news so far was that the Vale army was in the process of crossing into the North. There were confusing reports to be sure but Cersei had assured him that the Vale was under the King's peace. He was not so confident about the loyalty of the Vale lords especially with Baelish at the helm. That man was too ambitious and it seems Lord Baelish was just moving further up the ladder after each war was concluded. Kevan was already seeing a pattern where the Lannister power was steadily declining while Petyr Baelish was simply ascending. The man had become the lord of Harrenhall, a useless title for sure but with his control over the Vale, the threat posed by Baelish was significantly higher.

There were too many enemies, Kevan realized. Even the allies that we have are turning out to be a curse. Although, the blame has to be laid at Cersei's feet. His foolish niece has unleashed the Faith Militant into the kingdoms and this time there were no dragons to force them into submission. Sometimes he wondered what kind of legacy his brother was preaching about. Looking around the small council and the fractured but broken kingdoms he was struggling to hold together he could see no everlasting legacy. Frankly, he was at a loss and he had the feeling that certain doom was approaching his family.

"Thought you would have accompanied the Red Priestess, Ser Davos." Brianne commented as she stepped next to Davos who was observing Sansa say her goodbyes to her royal cousin now that the bulk of the army was marching for Hornwood.

"I like to keep my distance from that woman, my lady. Now that she has been asked by his grace to leave for Volantis my wish has been granted. Although, I doubt that woman would stay there for too long. She seemed awfully happy about going to Volantis and his grace wouldn't tell me what that's all about."

Although surprised by the Onion Knight's answer she was careful not to show it.

"That's strange. I had thought you would be upset to see her leave seeing as you both served Stannis Baratheon." Brianne was careful to not show her true feelings about that man but she noticed the knight gritting his teeth.

"That woman led Stannis into ruin. He was an honourable and just man until that woman came to Dragonstone. She began whispering into the ears of men and soon she was at Stannis's side as well and she changed him for the worst."

"Until I put him out of his misery." Brianne commented coldly staring ahead without a twitch but her eyes held a certain satisfaction which shocked Davos.

"My lady?" Davos asked in shock.

"I executed him for murdering Renly Baratheon using blood magic."

Her answer stunned Davos into silence but both of them stopped further conversation as Sansa joined them.

"My lady." Both of them greeted the eldest daughter of Ned Stark with a bow.

"It seems I am to ride for White Harbour. According to my dear cousin I will be safe over there rather than by his side." Sansa complained with a huff as she scowled at her cousin in the distance.

"Well, he is not wrong." said Davos which earned him a glare from Sansa.

"The Boltons already have your brother my lady. Your cousin is right to ensure your safety in White Harbour where the Boltons have no influence." Said Brianne as she let out a silent sigh of relief happy that she didn't have to escort Sansa into battlefield after battlefield.

"I wanted to see the look on Ramsay's face when Daeron turns his precious army into a pile of ash." Sansa scowled not at all happy being denied to watch the last hope leave her former tormenter's eyes.

"I think you will get that chance and more my lady. Your cousin seems to have already issued orders to all troops to not kill Ramsay Snow." said Brianne and she worried what was waiting in store for the future. The Targaryens were not of sound mind in the last few generations and she rightly worried for her charge's safety. Her father had always said that the Dragons were temperamental and looking at Daeron Targaryen she feared how he will turn out especially with that dragon under his command.

"Is that a message for Lord Manderly?" Davos asked looking at the sealed parchment in Sansa's hand.

"No, Ser Davos. My cousin asked me to send a raven to one of his friends in the Citadel—one Samwell Tarly I believe." said Sansa

"Knew the lad. A good lad…" Davos trailed off as his eyes widened in surprise. "What are those two doing down there?" asked Davos and Brianne quickly followed his line of sight to see Podrick and Daeron securing a harness of some sort over the dragon.

"It is the saddle that Daeron had commissioned specifically for Rhaegal. Took a week to make that one from what I heard." said Sansa looking curiously at what's going on down there.

"I've got to admit my lady. Your squire got balls of steel to stand that close to that dragon." Davos nodded at Podrick who was helping Daeron to tighten the straps of the saddle.

Brianne noticed that the King had already climbed atop the dragon and was setting up the saddle from the dragon's back.

The three of them and a whole lot of other Northern lords that gathered at Ramsgate watched with bated breath as the dragon leapt into the air with a roar that shook the lands. For the first time since the Dance of Dragons concluded Westeros was graced with a dragon rider and this time the rider was of Northern descent. The King has finally taken to the skies.

AN: It was a short chapter but thankfully I managed to find some time for this one. Don't know when I will be free to post another update but hopefully soon like this one. Although, now that the war is heating up longer chapters is a must. That will take up some time. I have tried to correct the mistakes of wormholes in the plot. If someone is kind enough to proofread and pint out any mistakes I will really appreciate that.

a.xmeave: I thought it was obvious by now. The pairing is Daenerys x Daeron (Jon Snow).

InfinityMask: Yep, Daenerys is learning. Tyrion and the others are sceptical. They will be questioning her and her plans in the coming chapters.

VPSale: I noticed that. I have edited some of the wormholes in the plot. If you don't mind please take a look and see if anything stands out to you.

Ashborn2271: There is no time for another Dance of Dragons. The end of the fucking world is here dude.

vyoom: You have the right of it. Varys and Tyrion will have serious concerns at the turn of events. We will see how they tackle this but first, they must land on Westeros.

lalalamb: I don't see why Drogon can't deal with a fleet all on his own. The Black Dread burned the fleet of Volantis when they tried to invade Lys. All Drogon did was burn a few ships and set the sea on fire.