The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 32: Small mercies

Daenerys walked slowly across the battlefield, Grey Worm and two men of the Imperial Guard by her side. Huge flocks of carrion birds circled the night sky, waiting to feast on the piles of corpses, but Drogon's presence deterred them.

"According to previous counts, we have five thousand dead and seven thousand wounded", said the Field Marshal. "We took nearly thirty thousand prisoners, most of them wounded. What should happen to them, my Empress?"

"What would you suggest?", Daenerys replied.

"Let's kill those who are wounded and let the healthy work on our fields and in the mines", said Grey Worm. "But we would have to guard and feed them. We would have the least difficulty if we just kill them all."

The Empress sighed and shook her head. "No. Tend to the wounded as much as possible - our own wounded have priority, of course - and then send the prisoners to the eastern provinces. There they can plow fields or do other work - of course as prisoners of war, not as slaves. After the war we will release them all."

"As you wish, your Majesty", said Grey Worm, but he looked visibly dissatisfied.

"Not so long ago I would have done what you suggested", Daenerys said. "Back then, I said that we can't hide behind small mecies. But that's wrong. It's the small mercies that count and that make this world better."

"Yes", said Grey Worm without any emotion.

Daenerys looked seriously into his eyes. "I never told you how sorry I was for you about Missandei. I had completely forgotten over my own grief that she meant something to you too."

"I ... I don't hold it against you, Majesty", said the Field Marshal uncomfortably. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"Losing Missandei hurt both of us deeply. The pain of this loss made us relentless. You know what that led to. What I'm saying is that Missandei was a good person ... and she would be ashamed of both of us. More of me than of you, I think", added the Empress bitterly.

As dawn broke, Daenerys, standing next to her dragon, gave a victory speech. She wore scaled armor made of blackened steel, and from under the brim of her chiseled helmet her hair oozed like a silver cascade. Her hand rested on the pommel of her short sword, Flame. In the light of the first rays of the morning sun, the Empress almost looked like a goddess of war.

She thanked the men and women of the Imperial Army for their courage and bravery, gave Grey Worm the title of 'Hero of the Empire' and awarded many soldiers with the Order of the Black Dragon. Daenerys then visited the tents with the wounded. She comforted dying soldiers and those who had been crippled. The Empire would compensate their families.

The Empress also went to the captured enemies. She wanted to show them that she wasn't the monster she was painted to be in Westeros and the Free Cities ... at least not anymore. So she talked to them, tried to make it clear that they would be treated well, and listened to their questions. Some found the courage to speak to her about King's Landing. Daenerys could only tell them that she regretted the destruction of the city. A small lord from the Reach wanted to know if she still wanted rule over Westeros and could hardly believe it when the Empress assured him that this was not the case. The common peasants did not care about the political reasons for the war, as they said, and they only went into battle because they were either called up by their lords or because they saw no prospect in war-ravaged Westeros. Except for poverty and hunger, there was nothing for them there.

The news of the victory at Volon Therys silenced all voices in the Imperial Capital that cast doubt on Daenerys' ability to defend the Empire. While the ruler was celebrating the third name day of her twins, Grey Wurm and his troops pushed north to retake Valysar and Selhorys. The Empress stayed in Volantis until the Empire Day celebrations, after which she returned to the theater of war. Within a few weeks, the Alliance was completely driven out of the area on the lower reaches of the Rhoyne. Next, a foray to the west, into the Disputed Lands and to Myr and Tyrosh, was planned.

With all this, Daenerys did not neglect her combat practice. At her request, the Faceless Men had sent someone to teach her how to best defend against assassins. This might be the first time in history that the notorious assassins trained someone who was not one of them to fight their own kind. Daenerys' new teacher was a strange man named Jaqen H'ghar.