House of The Dragon-A God Amongst Men-Chapter 222: Error II

(Third Person POV)

[The Dark Shade] frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Saera got to her knees, "N-No...." She said as softly as she looked at the wall of flames, "H-How....what happened....?"

She saw that the Tree was engulfed by flames, seeing that something was in the ground in front of her.

"Daranne..." Saera said softly as her entire head was throbbing, "N-No....how...."

Next to her, the Red Cultists got to their feet, narrowing their eyes at the tree.

"Did it work?" one of them said, "The Chosen Flame detonated....."

"I do not know." The other said, "What could have happened? I do not feel a difference...."

Suddenly, a figure crashed down from the sky in front of them, a powerful shockwave staggering them.

Saera watched as Drakken stood in front of them, two massive dragon wings sprouted from his back as it faced her.

"M-My Love...." She said softly

The Cultists widened their eyes, "It cannot be...." one of them said, "He's-"

Their entire bodies were shredded completely as Drakken's wings furled and merged into his back as he simply stared ahead.

He said nothing, seeing that the flames began to be absorbed by the Tree as it was engulfed by it. He noticed a shift in the power of the Dark Shade, sensing how it was responding to the foreign source of magic.

He made no noise; his eyes were directed at the Tree.

At the base, he saw the injured Guardian, which was whimpering as it tried to move. It's lower half was blown apart, possibly due to the explosion. It could be assumed that it had used its body to shield the Tree and suffered greatly from it.

Drakken then saw that on the ground, Daranne's motionless body was being dragged towards the tree by red roots.

"D-Daranne...." Saera said, "M-My Love, Daranne is...."

Drakken said nothing, simply stared at this. He noticed that the Marks on both Daranne and Saera were deactivated, the power being drained by the Dark Shade due to his Error. 

He took a step forward, but felt the ground shake as he felt the Dark Shade's response. Before he could even think of anything else, Daranne's body was completely taken into the Tree, her body and mind being absorbed completely as he simply took the sight in, no emotion in his eyes.

He noticed that all of the flames were suddenly absorbed by the Tree and the others surrounding it, the magic power siphoned as the entire ground shook. Drakken did not need to think too much about what had happened; someone tried to compromise the Foundation and the magic used was absorbed by the Dark Shade.

He then slowly walked over to the Foundation, ignoring the injured Guardian. He then stopped at the tree, looking around him on the ground, barely registering that Daranne was on the ground, her eyes closed and body mostly charred.

He then gently raised his hand and placed it on the tree, closing his eyes and studying the Dark Shade's Foundation. The Guardian let out pained grunts as it tried to get up, its injuries preventing it from doing so.

Drakken then opened his eyes, a glint of shock in them.

It didn't take long for him to figure out what had happened as he took a step back.

What happened was that Daranne's Mark was drained by the Dark Shade and after the explosion, both her and the flames were sucked in by the Foundation to repair the Error that Drakken had overlooked. The same Error that would have left the Foundation vulnerable. The power that was in Daranne's mark, alongside her flesh, were both used as a blood sacrifice through a directive the Dark Shade had.

Daranne Drakkengard was dead. And her mind and body were in the Foundation, sealed completely.

Drakken had no words for this, his entire face going pale by the second as he stood there, looking at the Foundation, repairing itself.

Saera was on her knees, watching this, her mouth agape. The tense silence told her everything she needed to know.

She knew that Daranne was gone, nobody needed to tell her anything.

Drakken turned around and slowly walked towards Saera, a serious look on his face.

"M-My Love..." She said softly, "I tried stopping her.."

Drakken reached her, placing his hand on her shoulder without saying a word.

They both then disappeared.

**********************

[The Twins]

Dara was standing in front of the fireplace when Drakken and Saera appeared in front of them.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, "L-Lord Drakken!"

Jon was walking inside when this happened, "W-What happened?" He asked as he looked at both of their faces, "My Lord....."

They both saw that Saera was on her knees, a bit of tears forming on her eyes as Drakken's face was stone-cold.

He slowly walked over to Jon and stood there, not making eye contact with him. He placed his hand on the Lord-Commander's shoulder.

"All of them." He said lowly and calmly

"A-All of them?" Jon frowned

"Gather all of them." Drakken told her, "The Duskguard."

"O-Oh...." Jon said with a nod, "At once."

Dara looked at Saera and then at Drakken, "Wait..." She said, "Was the Princess not with Daranne? Where is she?"

Drakken lowered his hand and looked down, his back facing Dara.

Dara frowned, "Lord Drakken...." She said softly, "Where is my sister?"

Drakken said nothing and Dara saw that Saera looked down, clutching her dress as she tried to hold some tears back.

Jon realized what this meant, "Wait...."

"No." Dara said softly, "That cannot be....she bore the Mark....she was immune....to everything....."

Drakken said nothing still, his fists slowly clenching as he looked down. Jon took a step back and felt the immense pressure that his Lord was exuding.

"I will rally them all, My Lord." Jon said after clearing his throat

Dara walked up to him, "Tell me it isn't true!!" She shouted with tears in her eyes, "Lord Drakken!!!"

She pulled on his coat as she flailed her arms at his back, hitting him as Drakken stood there, not moving an inch.

"Dara." Jon said as he tried to move her away

"N-No!!" Dara cried, "N-Not her, not my sister!! P-Please, Lord Drakken! Please....she's.....she's my sister, I.....I love her....anyone but her...."

Drakken then looked to the side, seeing that at the door of the room, Sylas was standing in the doorway, looking at his Father with a look of surprise.

"What..." Sylas said, "Where is Mama?"

Drakken's face hardened and turned around, "Keep them safe." He simply said, "Jon, I leave it to you."

He then disappeared, leaving them there.

****************

[Harrenhal]

Mya stood in front of Aemon and Baelon, aiming her bow at them as she had an arrow nocked, a serious look on her face. They were outside of the castle, on the other side from where Balerion had landed.

"Another step and your dragons won't be quick enough to save you from an arrow through the eye." She said

Aemon was clutching his shoulder, "Curses.." he said, "This wound really hurts...."

Baelon had his sword drawn, "This woman..." He said, "She slaughtered almost all of our men....she's really dangerous."

"Yes, I am." Mya said, "And the only reason I have not killed you yet is because Maegelle holds you both dear. And she means plenty to me, so I am doing you a favor. What I am doing is simply stalling...."

"Stalling?" Aemon said, "For what?"

Then, some remaining soldiers emerged from the castle, their swords drawn. They charged right for Mya who merely scowled in annoyance.

"You got to be kidding me...." She muttered

"Kill her!!" the soldiers shouted

Drakken then appeared out of thin air and all of them were shredded completely. This surprised even Mya who widened her eyes as she looked at him.

"L-Lord Drakken!" She exclaimed

Drakken pointed his palm at Aemon and Baelon, "Begone."

Suddenly, both Aemon and Baelon were transported atop the saddles of their dragons, respectively.

"W-What?!" Aemon exclaimed, "He sent us here?!"

"Return To King's Landing" 

A simple command reached the Dragons, in which they could not disobey, causing both Caraxes and Balerion to take flight into the sky, shocking their dragonriders.

"W-What?!" Baelon exclaimed as the Black Dread headed into the skies, "No, what in the hells is this?! Drakken!!!!"

As they left, Mya looked at Drakken, who stood there, a serious look on his face.

"It is not like you to use commands on Targaryen Dragons." She said with a frown, "What happened?"

Drakken looked at her, "Daranne...." He said,

"She's dead."