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Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 8 chapters ahead,
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—
Maidenpool
Ten thousand men had boarded the ships and were ready to sail to Seagard and then to the Iron Islands. The rest of the host were marching to Seagard with Argilac at the head and would board the ships once they returned after the first wave made landfall.
Slowly, the oarsman of the lead ship began to row, and the second step of the Ironborn campaign had started.
—
Seagard
It had always been imagined what having the Blue Fork connected to the Sunset Sea would be like. Ships from the western ports of Westeros, mainly Lannisport, could sail to the eastern coast of the Seven Kingdoms much faster, allowing trade to flourish.
Unfortunately, no one on the continent had the manpower or coin to see such an arduous task completed.
Until now.
Emrick watched as, with one final grinding of its cogs, the Thunder Dragon connected the Blue Fork to the Sunset Sea.
Just in time too, as the fleet was slowly approaching the town.
—
Emrick was waiting for Queen Argella's ship to dock. He had readied his men, the ships Seagard had, and supplies.
The galley, carrying the banners of House Tarth, had docked first, and down the gangplank, the queen came.
Donning purple and gold armor, she cut an imposing figure, and Emrick involuntarily averted his eyes.
"Your Excellency." Edmyn got on his knee, and the Lord of Seagard followed his friend's lead. After giving his oath, they boarded the ready vessels and set a course to the Iron Islands, since there was still daylight to burn.
With the extinction of House Hoare and the destruction of the second Ironborn fleet, the Iron Islands were experiencing a succession issue. Several claimants, whether by blood or desire, had already declared themselves the new King of the Iron Islands, so they were not in a place to fight together.
—
"This Aether sounds like a fine friend; I would have liked meeting him." Ei, having nothing to do while the fleet sailed, was sitting below the deck in a private area with Sasayuri.
Ei smiled at her friend. "I am sure you would have."
"Any plans on returning to Teyvat?" Sasayuri had been waiting to ask this for a while but had not found the opportune time.
The God of Eternity wavered for a second. "I don't even know if it is possible. The circumstances that sent us here were unique, and I can't think of any way to replicate them." Cutting open a hole between worlds, perhaps even dimensions, was not something she had ever considered.
"So we're stuck here, just the two of us." At least for the foreseeable future.
"Better than being alone." Even gods succumbed to it after all.
Months spent beyond the Wall and then in the Riverlands were all the harsher because Sasayuri did not have her friends. "Couldn't agree more. I had something else to ask. How was Yae doing after everything?"
"Better than me for sure. That little kitsune that could be swayed by some fried tofu became one of the most cunning and shrewd people on Teyvat."
Just remembering how Miko had teased Aether and Gorou
Sasayuri laughed. Kitsune Saiguu was merciless in her teasing; if Miko had become anything like her, then Sasayuri pitied her victims. "She sounds like a nightmare for the people she teases."
Fortunately, Miko was too busy with the shrine and her publishing house. "Not just that, she also had an excellent publishing house selling novels and other entertainment-related books all over Teyvat."
"If only Saiguu could have seen her."
"Could you imagine those two in cohorts? Inazuma wouldn't survive their schemes."
—
Kingdom of the Rock
Lannisport
As the Storm Kingdom's fleet sailed to the Iron Islands, news of the war in the Riverlands, and more, had reached Lannisport.
King Loren, still wary of a possible attack, was waiting in Lannisport with a sizable host. The King of the Rock was not sure if he had heard his cousin right.
"They did what?" Loren asked again to be sure.
Edwar, still in disbelief, repeated his earlier words. "A creature, one that looks like a flying serpent, dug a canal, connecting the Blue Fork to Sunset Sea. The Storm Queen already sailed to Seagard to invade the Iron Islands."
What in the name of the seven was happening in the Storm Kingdom, and more importantly, with Argella Durrandon? "What of Harrenhal?" If they were sailing to the Iron Islands, then the keep of Harren Hoare must have fallen.
His cousin fell silent again, and Loren began to notice that whenever Edwar ceased talking, his next words wouldn't be good. "Speak."
Edwar's throat bobbed, and he looked even more nervous. "My King, I swear on my family that I am telling the truth. Harrenhal is gone."
"How could a castle, one as monstrous as Harrenhal, be gone?!" Loren raised his voice, convinced that his cousin had lost his mind.
Everyone knew that Harren had built it to be seen as one of the great kings, since the Ironborn did not have a grand keep such as the Casterly Rock or the Highgarden.
What Edwar meant by it being gone did not make sense to Loren.
"People say that it was Queen Argella who struck the keep with a sword, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in the land."
His brow furrowed, Loren looked at the Lord of Ashemark as if the man had grown a second head. "And you believed this?"
Edwar shook his head. "We did not, Your Grace; that is why we went to ascertain what truly became of the castle."
"What did they find?" Loren felt that the answer was not something he would like.
"What the rumors said, my king. The land itself has been cursed, and we could not approach the hole." Edwar had personally gone to where Harrenhal used to be, and just the thought of Argella Durrandon's blade turning on the Kingdom of the Rock gave him nightmares.
Silence stretched on as Loren Lannister tried, and failed, to understand. "How is this possible?" What madness had gripped the world for such a thing to be possible?
"Witnesses say that Argella Durrandon is a god and destroyed Harrenhal as a warning."
—
Vale of Arryn
Eyrie
Queen Regent Sharra Arryn was not amused by the news brought to her.
"Are you mocking me, Ser Theros?" Shara Arryn, the Flower of the Mountain and the Queen Regent of her son, Ronnel Arryn, glared at the landed knight standing before her.
She had listened to his account of what had happened at Riverlands following the quick victories the Sorcerer Queen Argella had won, but it sounded like a fantastic tale more than anything else, more fit to be fairy tales read to children.
Theros bowed his head even further, shivering. Sharra Arryn was not one to hesitate in throwing traitors and those that mock her down the Moon Door. "I would not dare, Your Grace."
"You are telling me that the people of Riverlands and the Storm Kingdom are saying that Argella Durrandon is a god and that she destroyed Harrenhal as a warning, expecting me to believe it?" Either Theros had feasted on the poisonous mushrooms growing around the Vale, or he had a fever dream, because she refused to believe any of this foolishness.
"It is the truth, Your Grace; anyone who journeys to the Riverlands can see it." Theros had seen it and thanked the gods that the Vale and the Storm Kingdom did not have any disputes.
"That girl was never what one would expect of a princess, but this is too much. I shall send knights of House Arryn to see the truth." She would go herself, but Northern barbarians were acting up again.
—
Storm Kingdom
Nightsong
"Finally, I thought it would take forever to cross these mountains." The figure holding a map groaned. Though they were safe from the divine thunder, climbing and crossing those mountains was a nightmare with all the rain, mud, and wind.
The load carrier's eye twitched in irritation. "I am the one carrying all our load; what do you have to complain about?" Keeping all their supplies dry and clean was more challenging than climbing the mountain.
"Hey, figuring out how to use this power to its fullest is not easy." The first figure closed her hand, and a butterfly, short-lived as it may be, flew out of her hand, turning to dust a couple seconds later.
"As if you weren't a pain in the neck before, now you can create life out of thin air. Wonderful." The second figure's remark had no bite behind it, as the two were too close to let power disparity come between them.
The second figure's sly smirk was evident beneath her hood. "Is that jealousy I am hearing, my dear? It doesn't suit you. And the only reason you were even saved from being a feral monster for the rest of eternity is because of the time loop you found yourself in. We should be grateful for our fortune." Returning to her original form after some remnants of her memories consumed an unknown life force was too jarring an experience, and she had spent weeks trailing aimlessly, eventually ending up in a cave system where she had found her old friend.
Only then did she get herself together and try to help. It was a disturbing sight, watching as her friend went from being herself to a feral monster with one hand and a horn missing, and then into a disgusting monster, over and over again, with each loop taking mere minutes.
Saving her at the right time without getting caught in the loop had taken most of her strength.
"Never said I wasn't. Now, how long do we have until Storm's End?" Apparently that castle was Ei's current residence, or as she was called, Argella Durrandon.
How exactly did the God of Eternity come to be the daughter of a petty king eluded both friends.
The first figure checked the map, making calculations in her head. "It's almost on the other side of the land, so around three weeks."
"Then we will have to wait for her." They had considered joining the war, but by the time they were close enough to assist, the Ironborn would be defeated.
"It is Ei we're talking about; this war will be over quickly." She had already brought Musou no Hitotachi down once, which meant the Ironborn presence on the mainland must have come to an end.
Her musings were cut when her friend put down the luggage, pointing back to the mountain range. "Look."
Riders were surveying the mountain range on the Storm Kingdom side, and while one of the riders had a Dornish look, the other was carrying banners with a green hand on white.
"I don't think they are citizens of this kingdom."
"If not, how did they cross the storm?" Since the continent's main religion forbade sorcery and magic, then these scouts must have had a different way of crossing the mountain with the storm raging over it.
"Good question."
—
Storm Kingdom—Principality of Dorne—Kingdom of the Reach Border
Nightsong—Blackmont—Starpike
Two hosts, one outnumbering the other significantly, faced each other, waiting to see what the other would do.
From the Reach host, three riders, carrying the white flag of truce, approached the Dornish host, waiting in the middle of the clearing.
Nymor Martell, heir to Meria Martell, rode with two of his lords to meet King Mern Gardner.
"Prince Nymor, it appears we both had the same idea." Mern greeted the heir to Dorne, and in all honesty, he should have expected the Dornish to strike the Storm Kingdom.
Nymor Martell chuckled at the younger ruler. He would not entertain this parley any other time, but the Reach had brought near ninety thousand men, including the Faith Militant. "Indeed. What shall we do about it?" Hopefully, resorting to war will be avoided now.
"We might be enemies, but you must see that Argella Durrandon is the greater threat due to her sorcery." Mern had never been able to understand how that storm came to batter the forces of Reach before the Battle of Summerfield, but with Argella Durrandon's revelation, it all made sense now.
"Better to strike first before she does." Dorne and the Storm Kingdom were old enemies, and given time, Argella Durrandon would no doubt turn her considerable might against his home.
That could not be allowed.
"You read my mind. I suggest that, rather than coming to blows, we unite to strike the common enemy. Once the Storm Kingdom has fallen, we might continue our old feuds if your mother wishes." The Dornish were an afterthought to Mern now, and the only reason he even offered an alliance was because House Martell would not let them conquer the Storm Kingdom and surround Dorne on two sides.
It's better to be allies now and fight later than to start a war now.
"Should I agree, what will become of the conquered lands?" If a suitable agreement could be forged here, then Nymor saw no reason to refuse the offer to join forces.
"You take the southern half, we take the northern half."
It was an unfair offer for the Reach, as Mern's army would no doubt do more than Nymor's host could with their numbers.
Which made him suspicious. "An even split?"
"I want Storm's End and the honor of making Argilac pay. I can afford to give up some land for it." If he could secure the northern lands of the Storm Kingdom, the Riverlands would be next, and Mern still carried the flames of revenge in his heart.
Nymor grinned. "Vengeance? That I can understand."
—
"A secret passage? That could have been so useful." All that mud could have been avoided with this secret passage, and she wouldn't have to hear complaints about their supplies.
The other figure rolled her eyes. "We have bigger problems now. Since Ei took the army to war, these lands are basically defenseless. If we don't do something, these Dornish and Reachmen will slaughter their way across the Storm Kingdom until Ei hears what is happening."
Since Ei decided to summon a storm to cut both Reach and Dorne off, it meant she had taken a sizable portion of the army, most likely all of it, to war, unaware of the secret passage.
"They must have come in force; you won't be able to kill them all, and I haven't recuperated enough to do something large-scale." She could barely create a butterfly and had no chance to properly rest. Her friend wasn't faring any better, and even if she did, the numbers she felt on the other side of the mountain range were too much.
"You don't have to. We just need to seal that passage. Once Ei learns what happened here, she can handle it." The army would take too long to march to the border, but Ei could be here in seconds and end this war before it even started.
A foxy grin spread on the first figure's face. "There is no leyline for me to tap into, but while I can't make creatures strong enough to collapse the passage, I bet I can make you strong enough to do it by hand." Modifying an already existing organism was far easier than creating one from scratch.
"I am not sure about that." The Oni refused. She didn't want to experience whatever the Kitsune had in mind.
Her words fell on deaf ears, and hands glowing a gentle golden color reached for her face. "Don't be a chicken now, Chiyo; I know what I am doing."
Chiyo scrambled away, her voice clearly warning her friend to stay back. "Saiguu, keep those hands away from me."