Sixth Moon, 8013

Pirate Fortress of Sunstone, the Narrow Sea

Aegon sat atop the back of Balerion, a cool breeze hitting his face as he surveyed the force arrayed in front of him.

The Lyseni pirate had nearly 40 galleys in front of the rocky Island of Sunstone, fully manned, the tips of steel spears glinting in the sun and even visible from Dragonback.

The force sailing against them was much smaller, the Targaryen fleet only numbering 16 galleys, their black and red banners fluttering in the wind. Aegon had not yet appointed a master of ships so Corlys Velaryon led the small fleet with some 1600 men from Dragonstone, a task he was more than capable of due to his Velaryon heritage.

The King's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms had ended, but Aegon still had ambitions for further expansion, but he quickly found such a thing was easier said than done. In order to expand, he needed his master of laws Edmyn Tully to fabricate a claim on any land he wished to take, convincing his vassals of the worthiness of the campaign, it had taken many years but at long last Edmyn had fabricated a claim on the island of Sunstone.

The Stepstones were a collection of 9 islands in the Narrow Sea, separating the coast of the Stormlands and Dorne from Essos. The islands were not controlled by any of the free cities however and sheltered independent pirate lords who preyed on shipping across the Narrow Sea.

Aegon had long eyed the islands as a place of potential expansion, not only would the conquest of an island give Westeros a foothold in the narrow sea, but he also had to think of the future. His son Vaemond would hold Dragonstone upon his 16th nameday, but it would not be long before his second son Matarys was of age. He had not seen his son in many years, but he hoped that the time spent under Nestor Royces tutelage had toughened the boy up. One island was no fit inheritance for his second son but it was a start, in time perhaps he could set up his son as Lord Paramount of the Stepstones.

Before he could do any of that however, the pirates first needed to be destroyed. The lysene pirate lord Mero was not alone, when news had reached the Stepstones that the Dragonlord planned to attack, they had formed a coalition, with over 4000 pirates assembled to defend Sunstone with more on the way.

The King had taken Balerion high into the sky, where he doubted even the Pirates could see him, the plan was that the Pirates would see the small targaryen fleet which they outnumbered over two to one and leave the shelter of their rocky coves to open sea.

The pirates did just that, with the King hearing the faint sound of trumpets signaling the pirate fleet forward to attack the Targaryens.

Aegon planned to use a similar tactic as he had in the courtyard of Yronwood, diving straight down with the sun at his back, obscuring the defender's vision.

He waited until the ships were directly under him and urged Balerion downwards, the sounds of fighting evident below as the pirates and the men of Dragonstone began boarding one another.

Aegon spotted his first target and hurtled downwards. Balerions wing encased the ship in shadow, causing the unfortunate sailors on the boat to look up in horror as the black dread descended upon them, bathing the wooden ship in flames. Pirates screamed in pain as they shared in the flames, many jumping into the narrow sea in a futile attempt to put out the flames.

The pirates of the Stepstones were many things, but brave was not one of them. Immediately after seeing Balerion appear from the sky, the ships began to flee in all directions, some back to Sunstone and others fleeing to other nearby hideouts.

Aegon took two more ships before turning his attention to the island, leaving the wooden carcasses to slowly sink into the narrow sea, their crew along with them. The surviving Targaryen ships followed Aegon towards shore, though their work for the day was done.

The King flew towards the keep of sunstone, a small squat keep of stone with wooden towers, he had sworn to never again subject the castles of his people to Dragonfire after the tragedy of Yronwood,however this pledge did not apply to Pirates, the castle was largely deserted when Aegon bathed it in flame, killing the few that did oppose him and burning much of the keep. He was aware it was rather unnecessary and it would take years to repair, making for a poor inheritance for Matarys but he needed to teach the pirates a lesson and there were other islands he could gift his son.

By the end of it 7 pirate galleys lay at the bottom of the narrow sea, along with over 600 men, a further 100 pirates burnt in the castle. The victory had not been bloodless however, the pirates had managed to sink 4 of the 16 Targaryen ships, though luckily Corlys and his Kingsguard were unharmed, though the same could not be said for near 400 Dragonstone men, who had been killed, heavily wounded, or went missing under the waves.

Nonetheless, Sunstone had fallen, and King Aegon had his foothold in the narrow sea, securing an important strategic position.