JAEHAERYS

Only the high-pitched screams of a gull perturbed the silence of Claw Isle. If not, the little promontory emerging from the Narrow Sea would have been completely quiet and as still as death. When the gull stopped, a whispering wave filled the silence as the wind gave a stronger blow. When the sea returned as flat as before, a thunder roared soft between the black clouds looming over the horizon. A light mist, like a million microscopic wet hands caressing Jaehaerys's face, fell on the rocky holm as the ancient Lord stood on the long beach, his eyes closed.

"Come forth, coward."

Whenever Lord Celtigar was nervous, he felt an ever so slight twinge in his missing hand. Now, as he gazed upon the straight line of the horizon, looking for a sail that wouldn't come, that feeling was stronger than usual, and he almost felt the need to cut it off once again.

When he heard those wretched Iron Islanders were coming to claim his home, his first thought was that he couldnt possibly leave his subjects to fend for themselves: he brought the rest of his family to safety, moving them to King's Landing at once, and he put himself in great danger, returning to the desolated rock off Crackclaw Point.

My time is here... The thought kept coming. My time is here... and I'm ready to die.

"My Lord." said a Distant voice. Jaehaerys instinctively grabbed his sword, but it was just Rhaegarys, the captain of the meagre Celtigar Fleet and castellan of the hold.

"Rhaegarys..." He sighed, letting go of the weapon. "You bring good tidings, I hope." At that point, hope was the only way.

"Not Entirely, my lord." I thought as much. "an unknown fleet has been spotted in the Blackwater, my lord. I'm afraid we can only assume it's the Iron fleet."

"Would we be prepared to face an assault?"

"Well, my lord... our levies are raised. We mustered every able-bodied man we could find in Crabtown and..."

Jaehaerys interrupted him. "The treasure?"

"All gold was moved to the Rosby manse, as you requested..." But Jaehaerys wasn't talking about that treasure, and Rhaegarys knew that well. "...As for the family treasure, we have moved it to the vaults under the small sept."

"All of it?"

"All of it."

"The Volanteene glass? The Myrish Carpets? The wines?"

"All of it, my lord."

Jaehaerys gave a satisfied grin, observing the horizon once again. "Then we're ready." That treasure had remained untouched, in the ornate halls of Castle Celtigar for generations. Jaehaerys woudn't have let Ironborn Scum ravage the legacy of Crispian Celtigar and the other Celtigars that followed, not during his watch. Greedy men, they say... They all had crabs in their pockets they say... Well I say they were bloody good at keeping what was theirs. And so am I.