Chapter 48: Chapter 48 - Demetrian Titus and Sigismund (I)
"They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest weapons will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and magic such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Angels and they shall know no fear". - God Emperor of Planetos.
Credits: Vrati (Patreon)
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The day after the family talk, in the city of Volantis.
Aenar wore a cloak to hide his appearance as he watched the city with curiosity. It was the first Free City he had actually visited, in the City of Braavos, he didn't get to know the city, he just stayed on the boat with Bellegere. So, he was curious about Volantis.
Behind Aenar, not far from him, five red guards pretended to be patrolling the streets, but they were secretly protecting their master from other people.
The reason Aenar was in the city was simple: he saw an interesting scene in the future, a scene he wanted to see for himself. And if it really happened like the future he had predicted, he would have his first two generals from two future legions he would create.
Along with these two legions, there would be eighteen more legions, but he would create them later in life.
Walking through the city, Aenar couldn't help but notice that some of the customs of the Red Faith had been incorporated into the people and buildings around him, which didn't surprise him.
Most people were slaves and wanted to be free; the Red Faith gave them that. In times of need, most people turned to God for help.
Aenar walked on, he visited the whole city, except behind the Black Walls, he didn't want to burn those people alive if they angered him. If there was a more selfish people in the world, it was the descendants of Valiria behind the Black Walls of Volantis.
Suddenly, Aenar's footsteps stopped, and he raised his head to look down the alley. A smile appeared on his lips and the Targaryen prince moved toward the alley. Strange sounds of fighting and growling could be heard coming from the alley. A battle was in progress.
Entering the alley, what Aenar saw made him realize once again the cruelty of this world. Two teenagers, thin as sticks, could be seen at the end of the alley, cornered by equally hungry dogs. They were so thin, small, and dirty that he could count how many ribs each had.
One of the teenagers had a piece of bone containing some meat in his hand, apparently the reason for the fight with the dogs to begin with.
But it was the look in the eyes of these two teenagers that made Aenar truly feel that this journey was worth his time.
A look that, even in death, showed no fear, only regret for not continuing the fight for survival.
The look in the eyes of the two teenagers made Aenar's heart grow with admiration for them. He saw many different futures, brave men dying, heroic men dying, men full of honor dying.
But if there was one thing they had in common, it was the look in their eyes as they faced imminent death, even though they were men who would be remembered for their deeds, fear filled their gaze.
However, the pair of teenagers in front of him, even in death, showed such a calm and cold look that it made him wonder if there was any emotion in these two teenagers.
Pulling out two daggers, Aenar threw both blades at the boys and waited idly for the scene to unfold. He didn't say anything or ask them for anything, he just waited in silence.
The two teenagers were surprised to see the two daggers falling in front of them, but there was no hesitation in their actions, the desire for extreme survival made them act as fast and deadly as they could at that moment.
However, the dogs weren't slow in their actions either. They lunged at the teenagers with a crazed, enraged look on their faces.
An exchange of bites and stabs began in front of Aenar, a brutal and cruel fight for survival. He watched it all in complete silence and with a coldness that could send shivers down a person's spine.
Blood flew in the air as bites and scratches were exchanged for a meager piece of flesh no bigger than a palm.
One of the teenagers, despite the bloody bite marks on his arms, with a crazed look on his face, managed to drive the blade into the dog's neck, which, with a sad, whimpering sound, stopped moving on top of the boy.
The dog's hot, ferrous blood fell onto the boy's body as the dagger was removed from the dog's body, he threw the canid's body aside and quickly looked over to where his brother was desperately fighting two other dogs.
"ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Without hesitation, the boy advanced on the dogs with a loud, intimidating shout.
The boy, who looked older, was fighting two dogs, he had bite marks on his arms and chest, there was one in particular on his neck that showed he had almost died a few moments ago.
However, the boy looked like a wolf, fending off the dogs' bites using his own arm as a shield, he seemed to feel no pain as he attacked at the right moment.
As a result, he managed to finish off one of the dogs, although he paid a high price, with a lot of his blood dripping from the horrible wounds on his body.
Luckily for the boy, his younger brother had arrived and, with a blow from behind, drove the blade into the dog's skull, which died almost instantly.
But the younger brother wasn't happy, especially seeing the number of wounds on his older brother's body.
"Let's go to the Red Temple to see one of the Red Priestesses." The younger brother spoke quickly while breathing heavily, he tried to lift his brother's body, but it was no use, he didn't even have the strength to walk at the moment, let alone carry someone else.
"Titus." He looked at his younger brother, who was trying to lift him up to walk, and spoke in a dry, hoarse tone. "I won't survive..."
Ignoring his brother's words, Titus screamed loudly and finally gathered the strength to stand up, but after taking two steps forward carrying his brother's body, he slipped and fell to the ground, breaking his nose in the process.
Young Titus didn't care, and even though he was down, he dragged himself toward the exit of the alley. Even though the chances of not getting help weren't great, the slightest chance caused his body to produce large amounts of adrenaline.
"Your brother will die and you with him." Titus didn't know who was speaking, but it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. The language the voice was speaking reminded him of his own, but much more sophisticated and elegant.
Looking up, Titus, with his indomitable eyes, fixed on the purple eyes of the person in front of him.
Aenar couldn't help but smile at the sight of those eyes. It was like a calm fury of nature, deadly and silent with a strength and resilience that even he felt inferior to.
"Do you want to survive? Do you want to find a purpose? A purpose for which you feel honored and proud even if you have to die for it?" Aenar asked, crouching down as he touched the dirty ground with one knee.
"The only thing I ask in return is absolute loyalty."
"Will my brother live?" Titus asked, feeling his vision begin to fail from the lack of blood in his body.
"Yes. He will be much more than just a man trying to survive, fighting for scraps in the streets day after day." Aenar replied with a smile as he took the dagger from Titus' hand.
"I accept." There was no hesitation in his words, no trembling or fear, no emotion or anger at the fate that had been thrust upon him and his brother at that moment.
Aenar showed no hesitation either, slashing his own wrist with the dagger in one swift motion. Blood soon began to ooze from the wound.
Aenar began to mutter his first spell in the art of blood magic, which he had been taught by Queen Visenya.
"You will leave the life you know behind and be reborn from the cocoon of blood and fire."
"From my blood you will be reborn. Your lives will have no other purpose than to serve me with your body and soul. Even if one day you are unable to walk or die on the battlefield, you will still have fought in my name for all eternity."
"From my blood you will be reborn. You will be my steel and iron in the fight against the evil of humanity."
"From my blood you will be reborn. You will command my legions in my name, you will bring death and chaos to my enemies and peace and prosperity to mankind."
Titus and Sigmund didn't know what was happening to them at that moment, but they both tasted blood in their mouths and heard every word he said as a deafening sound in their minds.
In the end, their bodies were as hot as if they had been thrown into a forge and they both lost consciousness, only his purple eyes deeply engraved in their souls for all eternity.
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