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High Tide, Chapter 68: Heirs of the Red Dragon
🕑 Added 2024-05-14 10:18:39 +0000 UTCEighth Moon, 131 AC
Rhaenys
The funeral of a Queen Consort was a grand and solemn event. Lesser in scale perhaps to the funeral that would be given to a King or Queen Regnant, but grand nonetheless. Her mother was old and had been declining for years, her death came as no surprise, but Rhaenys still grieved, she couldn’t not grieve.
Yet despite her grief, she was already quite accepting of the loss. It was her mother’s time, and though she had had some regrets, including the strain on her marriage with her father due to their many disagreements on the Velaryons and other matters of state, she had been happy and fulfilled and she and Father had inevitably reconciled in their old age.
With her mother’s death, Rhaenys was now the Lady of Storm’s End and Lady Paramount of the Stormlands. And though she hated to think of losing her second parent at the funeral of the first, she knew that her father did not have much left longer to live, he was already 76, a year older than her grandfather had been when he had passed. The years had not been kind to her father, as he was worn down by the rigors of governance and the loss of his two closest siblings, Uncle Baelon and Aunt Alyssa, and now her mother.
Despite their disagreements, Rhaenys had long wanted to help alleviate her father’s burdens, but he had chosen not to make her his Hand after Uncle Baelon had passed, naming Lord Lyonel Strong to the position instead. Still Rhaenys could not fully protest that choice, Lyonel was an immensely capable and loyal Hand and she meant to retain him for her own council when she ascended the Iron Throne.
She was already looking forward to that future and planning for it. One of the first things that came to mind was that the Stormlands and Crownlands would be held by one person and Rhaenys intended to solidify that into law and annex the Stormlands into the Crownlands, dissolving any legal, feudal, and administrative divisions between them and giving all the Stormlords the privilege of swearing directly to the Iron Throne.
That would be the simplest and easiest task for her to accomplish. They had been preparing for the unification of the Crownlands and Stormlands for almost forty years, ever since her mother had inherited Storm’s End when her brother and his whole family had died in that storm in Shipbreaker’s Bay.
In general, the Stormlands would benefit from direct Crown oversight, protection, and favors, and they had dragons to smooth over any few ruffled feathers. Rhaenys thus expected that the annexation of the Stormlands would proceed without any complications, with one possible exception.
The island of Veil had been owned by House Baratheon for decades but was legally answerable to the authority of the Governor of the Stepstones, not that either her mother or uncle had ever paid any heed to the dictates of Otto Hightower or Tyland Lannister. It was suggested once long ago that the island be formally transferred to the Stormlands since there was a proposal to make the Stepstones a Lord Paramountcy under House Velaryon but those plans had never materialized.
Since then and even before it, Veil had been seen by Rhaenys’ family as a way to implicitly remind their Stepstones Governors to remember their place. Now that the Stormlands were soon to be annexed into the Crownlands, Rhaenys wondered if their new proximity to the Stepstones would make it practical to annex them fully into the Crownlands and dismiss Tyland Lannister from his post as Governor of the Stepstones, giving the Crown full control of the fleets and tolls in the region without the need for an intermediary. Rhaenys imagined that it would prove extremely useful in many of her plans.
She had long considered what could be her legacy. Her grandfather’s legacy needed no description of course, Jaehaerys the Conciliator had made the Seven Kingdoms one realm and healed them after the hurts and divisions in the reigns of Aenys and Maegor. Her father Aemon had built on her grandfather’s work, continuing his infrastructure and roadworks development while also finally crafting the unified law code her grandfather had attempted to make. What would she do?
Rhaenys wasn’t lacking in accomplishments of course. As Princess of Dragonstone, she had overseen the successful conquests of Dorne and the Summer Islands as well as the suppression of the revolt in the Iron Islands, greatly increasing Targaryen power and prestige. But those were campaigns carried out under her father’s authority. What would she do as Queen in her own right? And what would she make of her legacy beyond just war and conquest?
The future queen thought that she had an idea. Centralization. Her grandfather and father had made great strides here already with their work unifying laws and building infrastructure and also taking control of the Faith and Maesters and relocating their orders to King’s Landing, but Rhaenys meant to go further than they had.
She already had plans to annex the Stormlands and Stepstones into the Crownlands and the Iron Islands and Summer Isles were under appointed governorates, but why stop there? There was much that she could do with the rest of her kingdom.
The Riverlands and Reach were under the rule of House Tully and House Tyrell respectively but neither house had ever had the legitimacy or power to actually rule so much of the work administrating those regions and arbitrating disputes between its vassals fell to the Iron Throne instead. It wouldn’t be that difficult to find some politically justifiable excuse to remove Tully and Tyrell from their Lord Paramountcies to appoint governors in their stead or outright annex the regions into the Crownlands. The same could not be said for the rulers of the remaining four regions however.
Dorne was ruled by her cousin Daemon as a principality. While they had had their differences, she trusted and loved Daemon and his son and heir Jaehaerys was married to her daughter Rhaenyra. Not to mention Dorne was still being rebuilt from the devastation it had experienced during its conquest and given that it would be ruled by her grandchildren as a cadet branch of House Targaryen, Rhaenys had little worries about Dorne, though she did have some long-term concerns that would likely not ever be relevant within her or Aegon or even Aemond’s lifetimes.
Any potential separatist movements had been crushed in both Dorne and the Iron Islands and the Crownlands, Stormlands, Riverlands, and most of the Reach were too culturally similar and politically and economically entangled to be separated at this point. However, there were some regions in Westeros that could potentially split off or stand against House Targaryen and were kept in check only by their dragons.
The Westerlands and parts of the Reach, particularly Oldtown and the Arbor, were growing increasingly powerful. The so called Western Alliance or Bloc continued to grow in wealth and influence and the Lannisters’ own moves to cement their power over the West with their infrastructure developments and their university advancements was a little concerning. Rhaenys would have to build relations with Lannister vassals like the Reynes and carefully leverage her house’s dragons to keep the Lannisters in check and away from getting any ideas.
Sadly, unless they were stupid enough to rebel, it would be too much of a hassle to outright remove them and seize their fiefs, even if that would make things easier for the Iron Throne. Still so long as her successors made sure to keep dragonblood and dragons out of the Lannisters’ hands, she was certain that there would be no threat from them. They would have to rule out any Lannister match for a spare Targaryen princess from now on though, that was for sure.
Unfortunately, it was rather too late for them to do that when it came to House Arryn and House Mooton. Her aunts Daella and Saera had married into both houses respectively and had then shocked House Targaryen when they had married their children together despite their well-known mutual animosity. The reason for that became clear years later when her cousins Aemma and Aegor had tried stealing their grandfather’s dragon after his funeral. Thankfully Daemon had been there to stop them.
Relations had been strained ever since. Though they were still kin and they still backed them against their rivals inside their kingdoms for stability (and also because those rivals were allied with a certain house Rhaenys really did not like), knowing the Arryns and Mootons lusted for dragons of their own meant they were now keeping them at a distance.
Both houses continued to innovate and develop their fiefs and economies, growing their wealth and power and military strength with every passing year. Rhaenys knew all too well that both houses were planning to get the fiefs of their rivals that would hopefully be attainted eventually for their alliance with a certain house of seahorses. She would have to make sure that didn’t happen.
Dragons or not, she didn’t want to imagine how much more powerful House Arryn would become if they got Runestone or Gulltown or even both for their personal demesne and as the liege of those fiefs, if their lords committed treason they had a very strong claim to them. Still whether it was liked or not Rhaenys could and would use the Iron Throne’s power to name alternative lords to those fiefs, ones that would be more loyal to the Crown than the Eyrie even if they were sworn to the latter.
House Mooton’s designs on the lands of House Celtigar was much weaker, originating from Pre-Conquest claims to the lands of Crackclaw Point from the ancient histories when House Mooton had tried and failed to conquer the region. Perhaps they were hoping that enthusiastic bootlicking and opportunistic ‘loyalty’ to her house would see them rewarded with their rivals’ lands? Well Rhaenys saw no need to disabuse them of that notion, nor the Arryns either.
They would serve well and be protected from usurpation but Rhaenys would never allow overly grasping and ambitious dragonblooded houses to acquire too much power even if they didn’t have dragons. She had learned from her grandfather and father’s mistakes.
It was almost sad in some ways. House Targaryen was so powerful but they could only rely on themselves ultimately. Most of Westeros were Andals or First Men, loyal on the surface, but Rhaenys wondered if that loyalty would still hold true if their dragons were not used to keep them in line. House Baratheon was extinct and its legacy lived on only in Rhaenys and her descendants. The Velaryons and Celtigars had proven duplicitous and the Arryns and Mootons were cut from the same cloth even if they hadn’t had the opportunities to show it as much.
Of all of the closely allied houses and Valyrian kindred they could once count upon, it seemed only House Qoherys remained true to them without ulterior motives and while Rhaenys trusted and liked that house, she kept them at a distance even so. She had seen for herself how yesterday’s trusted allies and kin could become tomorrow’s bitter rivals.
She wondered if the Arryns would experience the same phenomenon. Their alliance with the Mootons was strong for now, but it was one born out of mutual opportunism and such snakes had a tendency to turn on each other as much as their common foe. They had a new addition to their alliance making things even more complicated as well, with the marriage of Aelor Arryn to Irina Stark.
Ah the Starks. If there was any house that concerned Rhaenys with the potential for separatism or independence movements, it was House Stark and the North. That house had too much history, prestige, and legitimacy and with the recent prosperity and growth the North was experiencing, they could easily declare independence were it not for her family’s dragons. As it was the North was mostly autonomous and tended to pay lip service to King’s Landing’s decrees unless they actively flew up north to enforce them. They were also kin to the Velaryons through Lord Cregan’s mother Vaella who was the niece of Corlys the Sea Snake.
It was part of why she had raised an eyebrow when she had heard of the alliance between the Starks and the Arryns. Then again their ancient rivalry had been buried long ago and perhaps Vaella Stark and her descendants were too distant from House Velaryon to truly care about the house’s interests anymore now. She had little doubt the Arryns, opportunistic as ever, had been pleased with Irina Stark’s Valyrian descent and dragonblood, even if it was only a few drops, and the fact that she was the sister of Lord Stark and brought a powerful alliance between two Great Houses with her made it only better.
The Lannisters, Arryns, and Starks were all former kings and had ruled their respective regions for thousands of years. They all had too much legitimacy, tradition, and prestige backing up their rule to be easily removed without causing unnecessary dissent. Their continued existence also helped maintain the existence of regional identities in each of those regions that subverted the greater Westerosi identity the Conqueror and his Queens had tried to create.
Rhaenys foresaw them as being the foremost challenges to her centralization plans. She would have to work to undermine them by building relations with their most powerful vassals as well as making and strengthening bureaucrats, laws, and institutions that would reinforce the Iron Throne’s authority in those regions in a way that bypassed their former royals.
It would be a long and tedious process to do so subtly and with the least dissent possible. She could just use her family’s dragons to force the matter quickly but she had learned from her grandfather who had religiously studied the reigns of his father and uncle and had realized that sometimes, a more subtle method gave you less headaches to deal with. If possible, make the lords want what you wanted or otherwise sweeten the deal for them, and only use the threat of dragons as a last resort.
That philosophy had served her grandfather well, it was why he was called the Conciliator and not the Cruel like his uncle. Rhaenys aspired to be like him, no better than him, and so she would listen to his advice in this matter. She was young yet and she trusted in both Aegon and Aemond’s capabilities to continue her work in this matter, there was no need for them to rush.
Especially when there was a more pressing matter at hand. Rhaenys narrowed her eyes as she noticed Corlys the Sea Snake and Viserra Seastar skulking around the Great Hall. No one present liked them, save her father perhaps, and yet they had still come to show their faces at her mother’s funeral, the only members of their house that dared, not that Rhaenys truly missed the presence of her arrogant cousins but it spoke volumes of their respect for their lieges.
Rhaenys also suspected something was afoot. Word had come of an outright battle between the Velaryon Navy and ships from the South Sea Company in the Summer Isles, a dispute her father was struggling to arbitrate and manage in the midst of his grief for her mother. Tensions were rising and her cousins were conspicuously absent from the funeral of her mother?
It indicated something laid ahead in the near future. Something that did not put her at ease. In her heart, Rhaenys felt that war was imminent. She did not relish in it, knowing that there would be a cost to pay for victory, but she knew that it was for the best.
It was highly unlikely House Velaryon would submit to her long list of demands, so proud and self-serving were they. War was the likely outcome and it had to be soon. The Velaryons had 22 dragons to her family’s 17. Though their dragons were on average much larger, there was a not insignificant gap in the number of dragons and riders and as the years passed, the dragons the Velaryons had would only continue to grow in both number and size until they overwhelmed House Targaryen. That was an unacceptable outcome. For the sake of her family, for the sake of the realm, House Velaryon had to be reined in and humbled, perhaps even destroyed if need be.
It was not a simple task. Though they held the advantage still, House Velaryon grew stronger with every day and had many fearsome dragons and renown riders. Still Rhaenys’ family had not been slacking off in their preparations. They had been working with the Western Alliance and the Arryns and Mootons to mutually grow their wealth and prepare their respective armies and fleets. They had also built infrastructure in Dorne and the Stormlands that would support an invasion of the Triarchy by sea as well as drawn up plans for the seizure of Driftmark and Massey’s Hook and the Velaryon allies of Celtigar, Grafton, and Royce.
On the matter of dragons, they had responded to Corlys the Younger’s acquisition of Sheepstealer with acquisitions of their own. Shortly before her mother had died, her dragonless grandsons, Aelyx and Gaemon, had succeeded in claiming the Cannibal and Grey Ghost, with the former having since been renamed Aegarax.
It was an awe-inspiring feat, the Cannibal was a fearsome and terrifying dragon who had never been ridden, yet Aelyx, a boy of twelve, had successfully bent the beast to his will. His younger brother had accomplished a no less noteworthy feat tracking down the elusive Grey Ghost and winning his trust at the age of ten. Of course both of her grandsons had had help from the rest of the family but that did little to diminish their accomplishments.
Aelyx and Gaemon had joined the rest of her grandchildren in intensively training alongside herself and the other adults of the family. If they were to face so many enemy dragonriders, they would have to hone their skills in dragonriding as best as they could. They had been doing this for the past four years, doubling their efforts after they had heard whispers of the Velaryons’ own children playing ‘games’ with their dragons that were little more than combat training in disguise.
Though many of her grandchildren would be far too young to fight in the battles to come, Rhaenys felt confident they were skilled enough to protect themselves and get to safety, especially since all of their dragons, even little Vaella’s Goldfyre, were quite large. Only Elaena still had no dragon though Rhaenys had little doubt that she would claim Caraxes once her father had passed away.
Still, Rhaenys knew all too well the Velaryons had been preparing on their own, quite possibly for years or even decades at this point. They always had some trick to get themselves out of a bind. Not to mention, who knew what secrets they had learned in Gogossos?
She had already ordered the skies around King’s Landing watched at all times ever since word had first reached them of the troubles in the Summer Isles. Her father, for all his insistence that peace was still possible, seemed to have accepted deep down that it was a long lost hope. He had consented to move Caraxes to the Dragonpit and in his place Rhaenys had stationed both her husband’s Silverwing and her grandson Aemond’s Vhagar at the Red Keep alongside her own Meleys to deter any surprise attacks and ensure they could respond to any threat at a moment’s notice.
Not that she thought such an attack was likely at the moment given that the latest reports indicated that the rest of House Velaryon was in Myr, but Viserra the Sea Dragon was dangerous enough even on her own. It was best to be cautious of her and her snake of a husband.
Steeling herself, Rhaenys decided to approach the pair. “Had enough skulking around Lord Corlys, Aunt Viserra?” she asked as she approached where the two stood sipping some wine near a pillar in the Great Hall, away to the side from the feast thrown to commemorate her mother’s life after her funeral.
Viserra scoffed. “Velaryons don’t skulk in the shadows.”
Rhaenys made a show of looking around at their surroundings in the remote corner of the room. “Well forgive my misunderstanding then.”
“Can we help you Princess Rhaenys?” Lord Corlys said bluntly, deciding not to mince any words today like he usually did.
“You could actually. You’re still the Lord of the Tides, the self-proclaimed Archon of the Triarchy. You could rein in those errant children of yours and work with me. If your family comes to terms and agrees to submit, we could still come to an arrangement.”
Viserra looked like she was struggling not laugh. Corlys on the other hand looked unimpressed. “We made many attempts to come to an arrangement with your house. All of them were stopped by you Princess. I’m afraid that that ship has sailed.”
“Arrangements that were inherently unfair and rewarded you and your family for wrongdoing,” Rhaenys countered. “I seek to make a new arrangement, one that would fairly acknowledge the grievances both families have with each other.”
“So you say,” Corlys said. “Somehow I don’t believe you. I wonder why.”
Rhaenys glared at him.
“Come Viserra. Let’s not entertain this errant child any longer,” Corlys said disdainfully.
“You know you can’t win right?” she called out to them as they left.
They stopped in their tracks before Corlys turned back and stared at her. “That may be so. But are you truly prepared the pay the price for your victory Princess Rhaenys? Think on that a little.”
As she watched the arrogant Lord of the Tides and his wife walk away, Rhaenys couldn’t help but worry about his words. Was he implying something? Some kind of plan or secret weapon or power they had gotten from Gogossos? For the first time in years, Rhaenys found herself doubting her resolve, recalling how even her mother had confessed to her before she died that she had eventually come to understand why her father had tried to do what he did.
What if she was wrong? What if she was making a mistake? Yet as she looked over to where her children and grandchildren were seated and remembered all the years of broken promises and shattered friendships, the threat House Velaryon posed to them, she knew she didn’t have a choice either way.
There was no room for doubt. House Velaryon would submit willingly, or she would make them submit.
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Eleventh Moon, 131 AC
The Second of his Name
“Save your strength Grandfather,” Aegon pleaded as his grandfather tried to rise from his bed.
Tiredly his grandfather laid back down before grousing out his complaints. “Isn’t age cruel Aegon? I remember being so much stronger than this. In your youth you think so many things will go right for you, so many things are sure to come true, but there’s only one thing certain in life in the end. It’s that we die, that’s all.”
“A rather grim worldview no Grandfather?” Aegon replied.
“Bah. Grimness comes naturally when you’re an old man on his deathbed,” his grandfather said as Aegon poured him a cup of water from the jug and handed it to him.
He thanked him and gulped the water down greedily before he spoke again. “I’m old and tired Aegon. I told myself that I was going to outlive my father and I have. And I outlived Jocelyn, Baelon, and Alyssa as well. Life has no meaning and purpose for me at this point. Death is almost a comfort at this point, a freedom from all my worries and burdens. If there is an afterlife, I can see everyone I lost again, and if not, at least I can finally rest,” he said wearily.
Aegon nodded sadly. “Do you have any regrets?”
“Regrets? Too many to count. But my greatest regret… is that I didn’t put my foot down and go through with my peace treaty regardless of your mother’s protests. Now look what I have done. You could have married Laena and kept your friendship with Daeron, if only I had been brave enough.”
At that, Aegon was silent.
“Nothing to say? Don’t you miss them?” his grandfather asked.
“It doesn’t matter anymore does it? The words said cannot be taken back. And with everything else…” he trailed off.
His grandfather sighed. “I suppose you are right. That’s the thing about regrets, they’re useless, and serve only to torment you. You cannot undo what has been done, the past is already written.”
Aegon looked downcast.
“But the future isn’t,” his grandfather urged him as he grasped onto his arm with the little strength he had left. “Instead of brooding over those useless regrets, make sure that you’ll never have to regret anything ever again.”
“What are you saying?” Aegon demanded, but he knew in his heart what he meant.
“Let an old man be frank then. Once I die Aegon, your mother will ascend the Iron Throne and she will use its power to try and rein in the Velaryons, as she has long desired.”
“Is she wrong?” Aegon said defensively. “Look at what they did in Gogossos, in their ‘Triunification’. Who knows how much further they’ll go? Don’t they have to be reined in?”
His grandfather looked unimpressed with his outburst. Aegon sighed. “Forgive me Grandfather. I spoke out of line.”
“Do you think that I do not disagree with you Aegon? Hmm? I do. I always have. I am a proud Targaryen”
“Then why? Why – “
“Because there is more to life than pride Aegon!” his grandfather said firmly, raising his voice. “More than just paranoia or a ceaseless competition trying to decide who was wronged more or who can conquer more. When you’re on this deathbed like I am, I pray that you’ll understand that.
“For all they have wronged us and we have wronged them, the Velaryons are our family Aegon, our kin. My sister, your cousins, your first love, the man that you called brother. Does the thought of going to war with them and killing them make you feel nothing? Not an ounce of hesitation or reluctance?”
Aegon did not answer but his grandfather did not relent.
“Even if it doesn’t, what of your wife and your children, whom you endanger with these reckless actions?”
“They’re in danger either way!” Aegon finally shouted back.
His grandfather was silent. Aegon continued. “The Velaryons have twenty-two dragons to our seventeen. Vhagar grows old. In twenty or thirty years, how many more dragons could they have and how large could they be? Could they overwhelm us with sheer numbers by then? How much more of Essos could they conquer to grow their wealth and power to an unimaginable level?
“We are being surpassed Grandfather, have been already if we are being frank. With all the grievances they have with us, imagined or otherwise, how much longer will we be safe from them? The only option we have left is to act while we still can.
“And before you say anything about marriages to put aside the bad blood, we’ve all seen for ourselves how pointless that is. It just delays the inevitable and makes it so much more painful than it has to be. I will mourn my cousins, but I can’t regret what I have to do.”
His grandfather did not speak for many moments, when he finally spoke again, there was no more emotion in his voice. “Leave me,” he ordered.
Aegon obeyed, rising to his feet from the chair. He bowed before he took his leave. As he closed the door behind him, he could hear his grandfather weeping quietly. “I tried,” he said.
As he walked, Aegon was haunted by the memories. He didn’t know where he was going, he just wanted to get away from it all.
In his mind’s eye he remembered bouncing Baela and Rhaena in his lap, chasing them around and tickling them, he remembered their laughs and smiles. They had been like little sisters to him once, as much as Rhaenyra was.
He could still recall Daeron’s spear clashing against his sword as they trained in the yard, days of carefree youth japing and playing when they had been the best of friends, brothers in all but blood.
And he remembered Laena, her beautiful indigo eyes that had so enthralled him, her heart-shaped face full of love and life. He remembered the day she told him she loved him for the first time, the nervousness and excitement she had had, the moments they had shared from then on, their hearts filled with the joy of each other’s company. But when he closed his eyes, he found that he could no longer remember the feel of her lips on his, or remember the way that she had tasted.
Those memories were long gone, tainted and ruined with the reminder of what she and Daeron had done. Of what he had done.
Deep in his heart he missed them still though, he missed his best friends. The friends he had grown up with ever since he was six years old, his brother and first love, they were lost to him forever and he could never get them back. He regretted the words he said in anger that day, the false accusations he had made just to hurt them as they had hurt him with their rejection, and he regretted that his own actions had made them come true.
Above all, he wished that they hadn’t let their families drive them apart. He wished that he had been braver, he wished that he had just married Laena when he could have, just gone over his parents and aunt and uncle and straight to his grandfather. He wished that he hadn’t let them convince him not to marry her, because he was sure, he was sure that if he had, he could have had her by his side even unto this war. Daeron too.
Ah Daeron. Aegon regretted losing him as much as he did Laena. He wished that he had never realized that Daeron would marry Laena if he couldn’t, never realized just how much he had grown to long for her, lust for her, love her. He regretted that he had let it cloud their last years as friends with jealousy and insecurity.
And then the regret and wistful nostalgia burnt away. Rage replaced it, a bitterness and disgust that festered in his heart when his mind dwelt on them for too long. They had betrayed him, he reminded himself. The woman who had sworn that she would only ever love him, the friend and brother who had promised to support them to the end, they had taken comfort in each other’s arms and had six children. Children that could have been his, should have been his.
And that was after they had lied to him, tried to manipulate him, tried to downplay their family’s opportunistic and grasping ambitions. He knew now that even if they had wed, Laena and Daeron would have always had him under their spell, swaying him to favor their accursed house. And when he had given them one last chance to choose him, to be loyal to him above their parents as he had been to them above his, they had rejected it and spat in his face.
They had chosen their house over him and begrudgingly, bitterly he could accept that in some way as much as it hurt. But not when they had also chosen Jacaerys over him. How he loathed the man.
Even when they had first met as boys he had disliked him. He had always seemed so arrogant, so full of himself, so haughty and condescending to Aegon’s house, and so dangerous. His eyes had never been content, always full of ambition, always lusting for more power, more wealth, more lands, more of everything. His twin Lucerys was little better, enabling his brother’s ambitions and aiding him in them.
He had kept silent and kept his peace for Laena and Daeron’s sake, but he had never liked how close they were to Jacaerys and Lucerys and how much they had worshipped them. He had thought them unworthy of their affections. And he had been right.
With Lucerys by his side, Jacaerys had beaten up his uncle and mentor in the training yard, breaking his nose in an act of savagery and humiliated him. Then they had taken his baby cousins and seduced them, twisting them to their side with their false promises and fake charms. Then they had used them to conquer the Basilisk Isles and the Triarchy in their ceaseless campaigns and conquests, never content with what they had, always seeking more, even at the cost of others.
House Targaryen could never have trusted or tolerated vassals like those two. Aegon hadn’t had a choice but to side with his mother after what had happened in the Basilisk Isles and the Triunification had only cemented it in his mind as the right choice, for all that it had cost him dearly.
Aegon laid the blame for everything at the feet of Jacaerys, his arrogance, his ambitions, and his insatiable hunger for power. Because of him, he had lost his first love, his brother and best friend, his cousins, and who knew how much more he would lose putting him down for good? It was because of Jacaerys Velaryon that they had no choice but to go to war with House Velaryon.
Even in the heights of his bitterness and anger, Aegon knew that killing Laena or Daeron would hurt him more than he could imagine, but he would do it if he had to. He had no such qualms when it came to Jacaerys or Lucerys however. He relished the idea on the contrary. If they dared to challenge him in the skies, he would kill them and perhaps the satisfaction of that kill would finally make him feel like all he had endured was worth it.
As he snapped out of his thoughts, he found that his feet had carried him to the last place he thought he would go but knew deep in his heart he needed. Helaena’s chambers. The guards posted at the door nodded to him in acknowledgement. “My prince,” they said.
“At ease,” he answered before he looked back to the fine oak door. Sighing, he mustered up his courage and knocked on it.
“Who is it?” He could hear his wife’s voice through the door.
“It’s me.”
“Oh. Well come in then.”
Nodding and taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked inside. As befitting the future Queen, Helaena’s chambers were fine, ornate, and luxurious. The decorations were not glaring or flamboyant though, but rather subtle and elegant and perhaps even a little somber, befitting her personality some would say.
Helaena was in front of the vanity near the door, brushing their daughter Jaehaera’s hair using it.
“Father!” Jaehaera said excitedly, trying to run to him but Helaena held her in place.
“Patience darling. Let me finish with your hair first. I’m sure your father can wait a little while?” she said assuredly, not even bothering to check with him first.
“Your mother is right Jaehaera. What are you getting so dressed up and pretty for huh?” he said to his daughter.
“I want to go watch Aem and the others in the yard but Mother says I have to look like a proper princess while doing so. So,” Jaehaera waved to her own frilly little dress and her mother behind her. Helaena was done with the brushing and was now trying to do her hair in the traditional Valyrian braids their family used.
A memory flashed in his mind briefly of how beautiful Laena had looked when she had watched him and Daeron train, egging them on against each other and cheering one or the other. He squashed it immediately.
“Your mother’s right. You look wonderful darling,” he said as Helaena finished with the braids and let Jaehaera twirl around and show him.
“You can go now Jaehaera,” Helaena said, ushering their daughter to the door. “Make sure you don’t leave the sight of your guards, understand?”
Jaehaera nodded hurriedly before running off, her little stride easily kept up with by her assigned guards. Helaena closed the door before she turned to him.
“Can I help you Aegon?”
He smirked. “Is it so wrong for a husband to seek out his wife’s company?”
“Any other husband perhaps not. But from you? That’s rather out of character.”
Aegon’s smirk faded as he winced. He knew Helaena loved him but he had never been able to return her feelings. He had tried, he had tried so hard to fall in love with her but the love he could give her was only that of a cousin. When he thought of love, he thought of indigo eyes and a mischievous smile.
It was awkward and hard on them both and so at times he avoided Helaena, for the both of their sakes. That didn’t mean he didn’t care for her though. He did, even if it was only the love you gave a cousin or a sister. And Helaena had given him three children, the greatest gift anyone had ever given him, and for that he would always love and care for her, even if it wasn’t in the way she wanted.
“I am sorry about that. It’s just hard sometimes.”
“I know. It’s hard isn’t it? Hard that I have two too many letters in my name.”
Aegon flinched. He did not want to remember that day. He had gotten drunk on his wedding night and Helaena’s name was so similar to Laena’s he had called her by it. She had never really gotten over it.
“Why are you here Aegon? You only come to me when you need something, so what is it? Is it my body? It’s relieving to know that at least attracts you if nothing else. Maybe another child? It’s been quite some time since we had Jaehaera but we’re both still young enough to have a fourth,” Helaena said plainly.
“None of that Hel. In truth, I don’t know why I came,” he said as he took a seat. “I was just talking to my grandfather…”
“And what did Uncle Aemon have to say?”
“The usual. Trying to convince me not to support my mother’s plans for House Velaryon, regrets and war, so on and so forth, you know how it goes.”
“So what? Did you come to me so I would slap you in the face and tell you to get over your first love and best friend who betrayed you so you can do what has to be done?” Helaena said mockingly, though there was some trace of mirth in her eyes.
Aegon couldn’t help but smile a little, remembering the last time she had done that. It had been how they had conceived Jaehaera after all. “That would be nice actually.”
“Well I’m sorry, but I can’t. As much as I would like to, I really can’t. And it’s not because I care one whit for Laena and Daeron Velaryon. I’ve always resented them for hurting you and holding a part of your heart away from my reach despite that, but I can’t do it this time, not when my own sisters would be caught in the crossfire.”
If it was even possible, Aegon’s mood became even more downcast and bitter. He still cared for and loved Baela and Rhaena but they were no longer his Targaryen cousins. They were Velaryon ladies now and loyal to that house and to their husbands and children. If and when it came to war, Aegon had little doubt that they would stand with House Velaryon.
He needed to get over any sentimental attachments he still had to them that could cloud his judgement and make him hesitate at a critical moment in the battle. They might have those attachments for their parents and siblings, but he was pretty sure they didn’t have any left for him. They had never forgiven him for the slight of ‘trying to steal their husbands’ birthrights’ (like Driftmark was worth that much anymore) and no doubt they would hold him and his mother responsible instead of their husbands if and when the war pitting them against their parents and siblings started.
And speaking of said war, it was one of the greatest challenges that laid before him and his mother. How would they sway Daemon, Gael, Jaehaerys, and Helaena to support their attempt to rein in the Velaryons even with the risk of escalation into war? Because they really couldn’t do it without them.
Uncle Daemon was his mentor and he had always been close to him, Aunt Gael, and their children. Jaehaerys had been his squire as he had been Uncle Daemon’s, he was like a little brother to him and he knew he was fiercely loyal to him and married to his own blood sister as well. And Helaena? She didn’t want to but she loved him still and she loved their children too much to leave their father to fight alone. But would those bonds be enough to overcome the bonds they had with Baela and Rhaena?
“I guess we both have attachments to people who’ve left us behind that we need to overcome,” Aegon said drily.
Helaena looked stunned momentarily before she steeled her expression. “It seems so.”
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The Youngest Generation of House Targaryen, circa 131 AC
Born to Aegon and Helaena Targaryen:
- Aemond Targaryen, born 116 AC, 15 years old. Rides the great dragon Vhagar, the largest and oldest in the world, bronze with greenish blue highlights and bright green eyes. She hatched from an egg laid by one of the four older dragons of House Targaryen before Balerion in the Century of Blood and is now 184 years old.
- Maelor Targaryen, born 119 AC, 12 years old. Rides a ferocious male dragon with scarlet wings and horns, black scales streaked with scarlet, and eyes as red as coals named Nightfyre which hatched from an egg of Dreamfyre in 119 AC.
- Jaehaera Targaryen, born 122 AC, 9 years old. Rides a cunning male dragon, with dark jade-green scales and wings, molten gold-bronze eyes and orange-yellow flames shot through with veins of green and black claws and needle teeth, named Jadewing.
Born to Jaehaerys and Rhaenyra Targaryen:
- Visenya Targaryen, born 117 AC, 14 years old. Rides an olive-green male dragon with pale orange wing membranes named Vermax that hatched from an egg of Syrax in 117 AC.
- Viserys Targaryen ‘the Younger’, born 117 AC, 14 years old. Rides a pearlescent white male dragon with golden eyes and chest named Arrax that hatched from an egg of Syrax in 117 AC.
- Aelyx Targaryen, born 119 AC, 12 years old. Rides the Cannibal, now renamed Aegarax. The male dragon is black as coal with menacing green eyes. It hatched from an unknown parentage at an uncertain time though now commonly held by House Targaryen to be sometime in the 30s AC and from an egg laid by Vhagar and sired by Balerion.
- Gaemon Targaryen, born 121 AC, 10 years old. Rides Grey Ghost, who is believed to have hatched from an egg of Silverwing in the year 115 AC, during Prince Viserys’ residence on Dragonstone with his wife Rhaenys, the Princess of Dragonstone. Grey Ghost is a rather shy dragon and even now only enjoys the company of his rider. He is a pale grey-white, the color of morning mist.
- Elaena Targaryen, born 123 AC, 8 years old. She has claimed and now rides her recently deceased great-grandfather’s dragon, Caraxes the Blood Wyrm who hatched from an egg sired by Balerion and laid by Vhagar in 54 AC on Dragonstone and was later moved to the Dragonpit with his parents in 56 AC.
- Vaella Targaryen, born 126 AC, 5 years old. She is bonded to the young male dragon Goldfyre, who hatched from an egg of Dreamfyre in Vaella’s cradle in 126 AC. The majority of the dragon’s scales are cream but his horns, wing bones, and spiral crest, are gold. His teeth are shining black daggers, his eyes pools of molten gold, and the flame for which he is named is a pale gold shot through with red and orange. Goldfyre’s egg initially belonged to Prince Aemond but upon his claiming of the dragon Vhagar, he gave the egg which had not hatched in his cradle to his recently born youngest Targaryen cousin Vaella.
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Author’s Note: Hope you guys liked this chapter and the peak into Aegon’s mind which I hope has restored some of his nuance and complexity. Just one more chapter until the Dance Arc begins! Stay tuned!
Lmk your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below or in the patron chats over on Discord! https://discord.com/invite/NSEwuzpcWm
Comments
Tertius711
They know they have VS and dragons, magic has been kept secret. They dk bout it.
NJ
That's what is most startling, Targaryens know they have Valryian steel and armor galore , magic and dragons too. I would be extremely wary if I was them
Tertius711
What can I say. Targaryens amirite. Overconfident and arrogant af.
NJ
Rhaenys and Aegon still seems too dismissive still of the existential threat to the Targaryen's a war with the Velaryons is going to be, like Aegon seems awfully sure that killing the Velaryons is going to be some walk in the park, sure your families dragons are bigger but size isnt everything and you know that they also know that fact too and have had 15 + years to figure out all sorts of scary Valyrian magic from Gogossos that you have no idea what it is.
Tertius711
Go reread Ch24 again if you are uncertain but basically they followed the Velaryon example.
Thomas Terracciano
Hey Tertius you mentioned the Lannister's university or something of the sort this chapter. Just curious, did they make their own equivalent of the citadel or did they attempt to follow the Velaryon' s example more closely?
Tertius711
XD. Well stay tuned to see how that ominous picture plays out!
Thomas Terracciano
Yes Tertius. I like the ominous picture with which you depict the prospects of the Targs. Gooood
Tertius711
Sometimes there are just too many people for that. Plus if you kill everyone, it's economically worthless.
Tushar Srivastav
I do not think tragy will ever get triarchy but i do not think theyvwill concern themself with people loyality them seem more like burn them all and repoulate
Tertius711
The Narrow Sea would be the main front I imagine, the Stepstones, Dorne, Stormlands, etc. And it would likely be very big on the dragon/aerial combat compared to canon. Summer Isles may have some conventional warfare too.
Edmeister
I'm curious as to where even will the war be fought? Like, they're a sea apart. The Velaryons have basically abandoned their Westerosi holdings. The only thing I can see is a naval invasion, which the Velaryons are prepared for. Not to mention the Targs haven't done much recon on the new Triarchy. They don't know any defenses they may have. While the Velaryons have been heavily invested in this from the moment it became inevitable. Like all hand on deck.
Tertius711
She sounds rather too proud to go for that though. Plus they may not have the dragons. Likely the Velaryons or inconclusive. Either way.
Tertius711
Not sure it fits but maybe. I'm ruminating on epithets for her.
Maciek
That's true, fur sure.....I wonder whether after sufficient number of Targaryen riders killed, Rhaenys would be desperate enough to send for Mooton-Arryn Targaryens and offer them free dragons to replenish their numbers. BTW, who won that Battle at Summer Isles mentioned in the beginning?
Maciek
If Targs loses the Dance, I wouldn't exclude Rhaenys being called an "Aenys with teats"
Tertius711
We are told they killed dragonlords not the dragons. I'mma be real it makes absolutely no sense how a mob of peasants killed the dragons in the Storming of the Dragonpit and there's no way in hell they took on the dragons in Lys and Tyrosh either IMO. You severely underestimate fire breathing's power (it melted Harrenhal ffs) and greatly overestimate a crowd's willingness to challenge a ginormous firebreathing monster even when grounded. These ain't Skyrim NPCs lol. CaekDaemon's theory makes the most sense to me. In his story A Northern Dragoness, he had the dragonlords killed by poison/stabbing in their guest residences by the locals and their confused dragons flew back home to Valyria and died in the Doom.
Amerdism
Its far from an unbelievable bit of lore, just not explained very well, it'd take alot to rile people up enough to think trying to kill a dragon with just whatever is on hand is a good idea but its not like its unplausible. Dragons are not invinvible, and a grounded dragon is very vunerable, the biggest advantage they have is their ability to fly, but once on the ground, if their wings are damaged, like the membranes, then they ain't going anywhere fast, in which case killing them is fairly easy for a large crowd as it would just require someone to get a lucky hit in the eye or snout or one of the other few vunerable areas, the whole fire breathing is an issue, but far from a big one as they can't keep it up for very long before needing to stop to just take a breath or something. Honestly, its possible for trained men with the needed bravery to do (I'd imagine), and theoretically an angry crowd could do it, but I just don't see a mob, no matter how angry being willig to take on multiple dragons without an absolutely ironclad reason which don't come around very often. Maybe a crowd of zealots would give it a go but yeah, its an iffy piece of lore and isn't explained very well beyond these peasants where angry and killed these dragons, no mention of how to my knowledge.
Tertius711
Yeah the Targaryens aren't that stupid, they can see the writing on the wall but are still too dumb to avoid all mistakes. So long as they have dragons, surely all will go well for them! Well... we'll see about that.
Tertius711
I mean I disagree about riots killing dragons being in any way sensible but the rest of your points are solid. Thanks for the comment!
Jack K
Ok, honest assessment here is that the Targaryen’s are being competent/proactive in a sense that war is coming but falling into the trap of every an armchair general. They aren’t seeing the forest for the trees and checking all their bases. They’re assuming everyone not directly in line with the Velaryons will fall in line and take orders blindly while also accepting Targaryen’s blatant disregard for handing out rewards/new lands to those who would theoretically deserve them because it’s not practical for their “future”centralization. Big mistake there.
Amerdism
People, house Targaryen has not invested in its people, the velaryons have and are greatly invested in their people, even if the targs conquer the triarchy, I doubt they can hold it, the people would revolt again and again because they opposed them for years and basically attacked their religon. Dragons are not an end all be all answer, the riders are very vulnerable and I don’t doubt that Corlys will have more than a few killed when they are dismounted. Didn’t a riot kill a couple dragons in canon? They aren’t invincible clearly. And house Targaryen seems to be incapable of not underestimating house velaryon and overestimating themselves, that will be their undoing. I agree, the targs are too focused on dragons and haven’t invested enough if at all in anything else.
Tertius711
Fair enough. He's not an SI. I intentionally didn't give Cannibal to Corlys or any of his family members to avoid the trope but I can get the implausibility feeling. It's just Targaryen blood and luck. No SI plot armor involved.
Tertius711
It was mostly confirmation bias to justify herself. See See! I offered them peace and they spat in my face! They can't be reasoned with, there must be WAR!! As for who the Targaryens can turn to, well who knows. They've dug themselves into a very insular and isolationist pit.
Tertius711
Since she's ascended the throne already, the precedent (and law) is locked in. Ala Bloody Mary of England. But yeah gonna be a pretty umm... interesting reputation let's just say.
Tertius711
Ahh. Well let's see how it goes!
Omar
I mean unlike the Velaryons, the Targaryens did not invest to deeply on a spy network, army, loyalty, and most importantly magic. So those four assets will probably tilt the scales to the Victor.
Kolek
I have to say, the Cannibal not eating the 12 year old trying to tame him feels a bit like plot armor. Not impossible, but I think all the fan fics have caused me to associate his taming with a Mary sue self insert. Maybe Aelyx is a SI that is very confused with the state of the world?
Maciek
Given Rhaeny's overall plans and convictions I'm suprised that she even bothered to talk with Velaryons. And her musings about others... I wonder who'll be left for her to turn to after Targaryen's decimation during Dance.
Tom Tat
Rhaenys wanted to be remembered as another Jaeharys. However I have the feeling after her rule, Targaryen will have more reasons not to support queen as candidate for the throne.
Tertius711
Yeah she’s an Age of Dragons Targaryen, dragons are the end all be all. Let’s see how it goes for the Dance and whether it will bite her. What would you consider it biting her in the back?
Omar
You know, I noticed that Rhaenys plans always involve using only dragons to solve her problems. Kind of shows that Targaryens are dangerously dependent on them. I wonder if that’s ever gonna bite her in the back during the Dance
