At Dragonstone, the Vermilion Guard Legion had secured the island and placed the Imperial banner on top of the castle. Stannis had left a few people to tend to the castle while he was away, but it was not enough to stop the Vermilion Guard from taking the island.
Although Dragonstone itself fell in less than an hour, the true surprise came when the surrounding islands capitulated without resistance. Claw Isle, Driftmark, and Sweetport Sound all surrendered, fearing retribution from the Imperials.
Maximus had called for all Lords of the Stormlands to come to Storm's End in a month and swear fealty or their castles would be reduced to ashes. Many of the Lords were already on the way as they had switched sides the moment his soldier's boots landed on the continent. They heard about the fall of Storm's End and knew what it took to survive.
The Vermilion Guard did not pillage, nor did they take hostages. What they did was reinforce the islands in preparation for whatever came next. They collected all weapons and had anybody who had connections to Stannis gathered. There were soldiers who wanted to be part of the Battle at Storm's End, but they were not allowed to join despite how much they requested.
Five massive airships flew above Dragonstone with their supply crates being lowered onto the ground. They were filled with weapons, food, and building materials to reinforce the islands and prepare troops stationed on the islands.
In Storm's End, the Imperial Harem had gathered as the first children were going to be born. Sitting within the delivery, several nurses and attendants ran around the room checking over Hela, Arianne, and Lilith. It was only a few hours later when Hela was the first to give birth to a boy.
The boy's first cry filled the stone halls of Storm's End. Hela cradled the newborn in her arms as the nurses quickly wrapped him in a cloth bearing the imperial dragon sigil. Maximus entered moments later, flanked by two guards who stopped at the door. He crossed the room without a word, dropping to one knee beside Hela's bedside. She lifted the boy toward him.
"A strong one," she said, voice filled with exhaustion.
Maximus gently took the infant, looking at his son's face, broad forehead and clenched fists. Blood of two great lines flowed through this child: the Asgardian bloodline, and his own.
"We'll name him Lucan," Maximus said. "Lucan Invictus." One of the nurses jotted down the name on a document.
A week later, Arianne began to scream as Maximus's second child was about to be born.
She was surrounded by her attendants, hands gripping the sheets as another life fought its way into the world. Her labor was harder, longer. The Doctor was called twice, and twice he shook his head. Yet Arianne refused to break.
When at last the second child was born, a girl, there was a moment of silence, as she coughed once, then screamed, as fierce as her brother.
Arianne collapsed back against the bed, a satisfied smile appearing on her lips.
Maximus took the girl in his arms. She stared up at him as she began to calm down.
"We'll call her Seraphina," he said. "Seraphina Invictus."
The midwives barely had time to clean the bloodied linens before Lilith's cries signaled the third birth was beginning.
Lilith, the quietest of the three, endured her labor without complaint, teeth clenched, eyes wide. Hours dragged by before at last, Lilith gave birth to another boy, smaller than Lucan.
Maximus lifted him up into the light, the boy's hair black as night.
"Aureon," he said simply. "Aureon Invictus."
By morning, three heirs were born. Messages were sent across both Continents announcing the birth of three Imperial heirs. Out of the Great Houses, the ones who already had faith in the Imperial Union were House Martell, House Tyrell, and House Arryn. Messages were sent to the rest of the continent by Tywin letting them know that House Martell and House Tyrell alongside House Arryn were traitors to the continent and needed to be squashed like bugs.
House Greyjoy also received a message from Tywin Lannister. He had grown to respect them as they were some of the only houses who didn't join the Stark cause. They had continued their tradition of raiding and pillaging, almost uninhibited by anything else. Robb thought he had the North secured by marrying a Frey, Edmure thought he had Riverrun secure by being the garrison, but both were wrong. The Ironborn raiders had taken Deepwood Motte, Torrhen's Square, and now had their sight on Riverrun and Moat Cailin.
There were ships raiding Seagard, Saltpans, Fairmarket, and even a rumored raid on the Twins. The rest of this part of the Continent was open for the taking as they thought the Ironborn wouldn't dare attack while the Northern banners were gathered to fight the Lannisters. Tywin proposed an alliance with the Greyjoys promising them the Starks heads if they were to assist the Lannisters in ending the rebellion with the condition of kneeling to Joffrey. In his eyes, Moat Cailin was Stark land and if the Greyjoys took it and raided the North from the sea, then Robb Stark would have nowhere to run when he finally turned his army around and headed home.
Tywin's plans to fight the Starks and Imperials had changed once more, especially with Edmure Tully and other Lords of the Riverlands becoming more cautious and gathering within Riverrun as the Ironborn started to raid their lands. With no immediate threat from the South, Tywin would let the Ironborn raid and take control of the North before he made his move. Then he would take what was left of the Northern Host after they were weakened from fighting the Greyjoys.
In Winterfell, there was a raid on the castle by the Ironborn since most of the guards were fighting in Robb's army. But the raid had failed, and all the attackers were captured alive by agents of the Shadowhand who were ordered to protect the members of the Stark family.
Theon Greyjoy who betrayed Robb and re-joined the Ironborn was in the dungeons alongside his sister who was captured alongside him. They had tried to raid and take Winterfell but ultimately failed when they met the agents of the Shadowhand.
Thanks to this, Robb could focus on the war in the South. But the Shadowhand were only protecting the Stark family, so places like Deepwood Motte, and Torrhen's Square had fallen quite easily to the Ironborn's raids.
It had been brought up many times by other Lords that a small portion of the army should split off and deal with the Ironborn. But since they were so close to Lannisport, Robb wanted to continue. He believed that they could take Lannisport and force the Lannisters in time for them to deal with the Ironborn.
———
A few weeks later in Storm's End.
The Lords of the Stormlands had gathered within the hall of Storm's End, awaiting the emperor to walk in. They came from every corner: Tarth, Connington lands, Penrose, Estermont, and even stragglers from Massey's Hook.
A few moments later the doors to the hall opened causing the Lords to become quiet. The first to enter was Maximus who quickly walked to the throne at the other end of the room, followed by the Imperial Guards.
"My Lords," Maximus began. "I am pleased your journey was so quick. Let's see if your loyalty moves with the same speed." His eyes examined each of them. "You know why you're here. You've seen what becomes of those who defy me." The room was silent.
One of the first to kneel was Lord Connington, known for his opportunistic alliances. "The Stormlands are yours," Connington said as he rose. "I served Robert and Stannis. But you, Emperor, are no false King." Maximus gave him a nod, content that the first declaration had been made. The other Lords, with less hesitation than he anticipated, followed suit. Some were eager to pledge new loyalty, others resigned to it.
Each knew there was no other choice. Just as the last of the noble houses completed their oaths, the doors swung open again. Three members of the Shadowhand walked in with Commander Edrick of the Grey Legion. Behind them, stumbling and bound, were Stannis Baratheon and Renly Baratheon. The former kings looked at the gathered men, bitterness and anger in their eyes.
The Lords of the Stormlands shifted uncomfortably, watching their once lieges be brought to their knees in chains. Maximus stood up from the throne and looked at them. "Stannis," he said flatly. "Renly." The Lords of the Stormlands stood on either side as the former Kings were shamed. "These two men," he continued, "took the names of King and left the realm to burn. Their crowns were built on arrogance. Now that arrogance is now ash that will never have a chance to burn again." Maximus wasn't going to kill them despite how much they deserved it.
He had them moved to the side still in their chains as he continued on with the gathering. "The Stormlands will undergo a massive change in order to match Imperial Standards. All Noble families present today will retain the current lands they own and will be granted more depending on their status and such." The gathered Lords eyes widened in surprise. Many thought they would lose land because of this war and be replaced by foreign nobles.
But hearing that not only would they keep their lands but would also get more land caused them to look forward to the future with much enthusiasm.
The following hours consisted of laying out the new structure of the Stormlands and how it would all be transitioned. The Lords themselves would govern under new titles. This was just a draft to see how things would function before making an official decision.
With the Lords and Ladies of the Stormlands submitting to Maximus, the Lannisters had only Robb Stark and the North to contend with before it was too late. Tywin Lannister understood that if they could make the North bleed, the Imperials would be forced to shift massive amounts of help to the North. He did not count the Lannisters out of this war yet, not by a long shot.
Stannis's wife, Selyse Florent, and daughter, Shireen Baratheon were placed under house arrest rather than thrown into the dungeons like Stannis had been. They had nothing to do with this war besides being part of the Baratheon household through either marriage or birth. As such, they were not punished or treated harshly.
———
In Kingslanding, Joffrey had just ordered the army under his command to set up a massive fortification leading into the Stormlands to prepare for an incursion from the Imperials. The small council had to move quickly to secure things before the eyes of the emperor turned in their direction. They had already raised an army of 40,000 men from the surrounding crownland Lords and were looking to reach 60,000 by the end of the year.
At the port of Kingslanding, the construction of the Royal fleet was going well and would soon reach 500 ships by the end of the year. This number was nowhere near the number of ships that the Ironborn were building nor were they built as fast. But they hoped it would be enough to fend off against Imperial ships. Thanks to studying Imperial ships, the Royal fleet had cannons on the decks of their ships.
They had managed to get a schematic of how Imperial Cannons were built and used that to start building their own. Now they had Cannons for both their Royal fleet and Royal army. But even with these cannons, they didn't have the dragons and other aerial creatures that the Imperial Union had.