18 Duskendale
Kings Landing
3rd Pov
277 AC
After Prince Rhaegar's return from Dorne he was quickly embroiled in the recent ongoings of court.At the time Lord Darklyn's proposal for a city charter was hanging in the balance.
Lord Darklyn decided to stop paying his taxes and started garrisoning his lands lightly. There was a great discussion on how to move forward with this new development.
Eventually after Lord Tywin Lannister recommended calling Lord Darklyn to court to answer for his crimes, King Aerys decides to go to Duskendale to treat with the lord and resolve the issue.
It doesn't work.
King Aerys was captured and imprisoned. His guards killed and a message saying if anyone came into Duskendale he will kill the King.
An uproar in Westeros.
Never has a king been held hostage by his vassal. People were frothing at the mouth at the symbolism. Cause if Darklyn manages to succeed in this endeavor. Their vassals can do the same thing. The hatred for Aerys was set aside for their own security. Some still planned to sabotage it (Tywin) but doing it discreetly.
For four months Duskendale was under siege. No going in ir out. No food was coming in. Letters being sent for a concession between the parties based on the safe return of the king.
By the beginning of the fifth month a plan was hatched between Rhaegar and Tywin. They would send two people undercover to rescue Aerys. Ser Mihawk volunteered said he can get around the observation haki users and Barristan also followed him.
First they dyed their hairs black before putting on an outfit of boiled leather brigadine that was also dyed black. They snuck in using the cover of night.
Ser Mihawk wrapped Conqueror Haki around them both (very tasking mind you.) they made their way into the keep. With their daggers they started eliminating stranglers outside the keep that may mess with their eventual escape. They whitled down the numbers as they continued searching for the king. Eventually found him in a dungeon cell, battered and bruised, in filth with some of his nails pulled out.
Obviously Barristan was enraged but eventually calmed down. No matter how strong he is, he can't take on a whole castle full of guards with just two people.
They eventually picked up the king after reassuring him that they were who they saud they were. Barristan hauled the king onto his shoulder and started moving. Their plan involved Mihawk staying a little behind them to block amd counterattack their attacks with his devil fruit.
As Barristan ran Mihawk was attacking the guards. Using gravity to lift them up amd throw onto others. Moving furniture and their surroundings to create cover.
Eventually Barristan reached the walls and used armament haki on his fingers to dig into the wall and scale it with the king. He looked over at Mihawk and saw an arrow sticking out of his back and stomach as he faced Lord Darklyn and two other guards at once.
Barristan jumled over, got into the camp and dropped the king onto a chair. He informed them to immediately start invading that Ser Mihawk is fighting alone and was almost killed.
Immediately some knights followed Barristan lead of using haki on his fingers to climb over. They met a view many would sing songs of. There were bodies piling around, ground had glass-like crack marks. Ser Darklyn was on the floor heavily breathing with his left arm and right leg missing. There were more guards pouring in from the keep all running at one man.
Ser Hawkeye was barely on his feet standing with a sword lodged into his stomach. His blade Yoru in his right arm held tight you could see his knuckles whiten. Still looking at them defiantly like he was sure he would kill them all in his condition.
Barristan immediately attacked them as more of the royal soldiers and knights infiltrated the place. The clash continued until they put every man to the sword. Dragged out the Darklyns from their keep.
Ser Mihawk had already been dragged to a maester to be attended to before the end of it. He had lost a lot of blood and was stitched up. It was send he would need medical attention for a few moons.
If killing Maelys Blackfire made Ser Barristan a legend then rescueing the king made him untouchable. The same can be said that The Defiance of Duskendale made Ser Mihawk a legend too but of a different scale. He was seen as the warrior reborn.
As though he walked out of the pages of the Age of Heroes. Every boy wanted to be Arthur Dayne, Every Knight wanted to be Hawkeye.
In later years when the journal of Maester Cullen (the maester that treated him) it was found he asked how he survived the onslaught before he was rescued. He answered,
'How I survived? I awakened my fruit when I was at the edge of death… I did it after so long I crossed the barrier that confined me with the rest of you.'
People still speculate what he meant by awakening his fruit. Is there a facet to the devil fruit we don't understand. Was that why he was so powerful in later years.
But that is a story for another time.
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3rd Pov
After putting almost all the Darklyns to the sword by King Aerys command except a squire Dontos Darklyn at the behest of Ser Barristan.
The King visited where Ser Mihawk was recovering in private and asked what he wants for a boon. Ser Mihawk initially was thinking of holding on to the favor but remembered how Aerys would soon become so he tested the waters by asking if he can takeover the castle of Duskendale and all its original lands. Surprisingly the King agreed even giving him a tax exception for five years. Officially he ous sworn to the Crownlands but his loyalties will always be to the North.
Just like that created a new cadet branch of the Mormonts in the south.Ser Mihawk became the new lord of Duskendale.
