14 Departure to Redwater

In September 274 AC it was finally time for the Red Viper Regiment to start their first conquest.

The goal of this conquest was to occupy the stronghold in the south of Redwater and eliminate any enemies on the island. This would mean to kill or capture any pirate that is currently occupying Redwater. Best case would be to kill the leaders and capture the rest as working slaves.

A pirate is a robber who travels by water. Though most pirates targeted ships, some also launched attacks on coastal towns. We often think of pirates as swashbuckling and daring or evil and brutish, but in fact most of them are ordinary people who had been forced to turn to criminal activity to make ends meet. Pirates are variable in their cruelty or kindness as other people are, but all were ultimately living outside the law, and their very worst instincts had free rein. 

Among pirate tortures...one is to stretch their limbs with cords, and at the same time beat them with sticks and other instruments. Others had burning matches placed betwixt their fingers, which were thus burnt alive. Others had slender cords or matches twisted about their heads, till their eyes burst out of the skull.

This is the bottom of the barrel, of course; not all pirates treated people this way. If they were not resisted, had no religious or nationalist hatred toward their enemies, and had no scores to settle, pirates could be merciful and sometimes even generous to their victims. Still, the behavior of pirates toward their victims is often as fiendish as that of slavers, of witch-hunters, or in short, of any people allowed to do as they wish to others without repercussions. If people knew half of what real pirates did, they wouldn't let their kids admire them as heroes of the sea.

On the day of the departure Victor stood in front of five large ships. Those ships were newly crafted by the Nahohr family and can carry roughly 100 people each. The Nahohr family also added sailors for each of the ships and bought craftsmen slaves for the stronghold on Redwater. Of course, they would also take a share in the benefits of Redwater, as they urgently needed new resources of wood and iron. Overall, nearly 600 people were part of the journey towards Redwater, 300 combat personal. 

"I wish you all the best Oberyn. Don't have mercy on the pirates, there is no need for the scum of the sea. Bring back Attilius and the five elite soldiers, they are a valuable part of the Di Natale family. If you manage to conquer three islands of the Stepstones the DI Natale family will hold a grand festival in Lys for the Red Viper of Dorne, to spread your fame and achievements across the Known World." Victor said as a parting speech.

"Don't worry Victor, if I can't even handle a pirate stronghold I will go back to Sandstone and spend the rest of my life drinking and whoring myself to death. I will lead the Red Regiment to become famous across the Narrow Sea. You better hurry to grow up, before I become the new King of the Stepstones." Oberyn was very proud of his new fleet. Finally, being able to make his own achievements was very valuable for him. As a second son of a major ruling house, he was never meant to become powerful or famous throughout Westeros. After all the suffering he had the possibility to prove his worth.

Victor and Anika, Attilius' wife, stayed on the shore until the ships disappeared in the horizon. Even though Anika agreed with Attilius' lust for adventure she still couldn't hide the pain of a wife and mother to losing the husband and father of her child.

"Don't worry Anika, we will keep you and your son safe until Attilius returns from his conquest. I will now issue you an invitation on behalf of my mother to live with her for a few weeks. There is guest house available at our estate. You can take care of little Sirius and Giulia together. I don't think staying alone at your house for months would be good for your nor your son." Victor offered with good intentions.

"Thank you, Lord Victor and Madame Isabelle, for your grace. I will move in tomorrow." Anika answered with tears in her eyes, as she kept staring at the distant sea.

After returning to the estate in Canahs Victors life returned to peace. He kept focusing on his physical training and spending time with his family. He started attending gatherings of the noble families of Lys and met the younger generation of Lys. He didn't meet anyone worth befriending though, as most children didn't like him from the start. Victor was the typical example used to teach the noble sons and daughters after they made mistakes, as he was very well known as the little genius of the Di Natale family. He met many daughters of the noble families, but honestly couldn't gather any interest in interacting with 5–7-year-old girls. And his mother was not allowing him anywhere near older girls, as she had very high hopes for Victor's future and wanted to prevent any kind of schemes or deceptions from even reaching him.

At first Victor disagreed. He was a mature soul and really didn't think highly of a few youthful noble girls. But after listening to his mother talking about all the darkness and deception used by many of the noble daughters during her growth he was really frightened. After being educated in the well protected Germany in modern times Victor really lacked respect for the darkness and even wisdom of woman in feudal society.

As such months went by and Victor nearly forgot about the Red Viper Regiment. It was not until three months later, two days before his birthday in January 13th 275 AC he finally got definite news about the results of the conquest.