Chapter 48: The Flames of Death (88-96 AC) (Aerea, Lianna) (Part 3)
88 AC
The young Kingsguard Aemorys had little time to adjust to his duties as just months after taking the white, he was tasked with completing a quest by his grandmother, the Queen of Skulls.
The dragon Moondancer, former mount of King Vaemond the Strong had long resided in Riverrun after its claiming by Daena Targaryen, and in that time laid a single green dragon egg.
The Tully’s, with Daenas help, managed to hatch the egg, and from it emerged the dragon Tridax, so named for the Trident river which flows through much of the Riverlands.
None of Daenas young children, who had the blood of the dragon through their mother could bond with the dragon however, and eventually the small dragon flew off from the courtyard of Riverrun and despite days of searching was not recovered by the Tullys scouts.
The Queen did not much like the thought of a wild, albeit small dragon alone in the realm,it was bad enough her daughter Daeorils dragon, Flameweaver had disappeared shortly after her death, flying into the Rainwood and had not been seen for years, though some sources claim that Volantene ships crewed by mercenaries had been seen landing on the coast and it is possible they seized the dragon…though whichever Essosi faction captured the dragon they wisely kept it under wraps from the Queens web of informants.
The Queen sent the young Kingsguard to scour the Riverlands for the dragon and not return till it was once again securely under the crown's influence. Aemorys set out with a small party of mounted men, among them his cousin Aenys and rode north to the Riverlands.
Finding the beast was no easy task, Tridax was still quite small and not a confident flyer, making it difficult and unlikely to be spotted in the sky, nevertheless there were some sightings, which when put together by Aenys small group of informers, suggested the dragon was somewhere north of the Red Fork, but not so far north as the blue fork, both of these rivers being tributaries of the aforementioned Trident.
First they searched through the ruins of Oldstones, thinking it the perfect place for a dragon to make its lair, but no trace of Tridax was found. For weeks they searched small caves along the riverside with similar results before turning their attention to the Blackwood Vale, a large fertile valley home to House Blackwood.
For two weeks they searched, and it must be said the Prince Aemorys, who already doubted their mission would be successful from the beginning had fully begun to lose hope, just when it seemed hopeless however, the party came across a hollowed hill in the valley, huge roots of Weirwood trees running through it. Inside they found the dragon Tridax, which would quickly bond with Aemorys and be brought to the Dragonpit of Kings Landing, once again under the influence of the crown.
89 AC On the Affairs of Essos
The beginning of 89 AC saw several events both in and across the narrow sea take place.
A fleet of longships from the Skulls, filled with raiders, both Ironborn and Essosi pirates under the leadership of the Drumms in the Stepstones landed on the island of Nerrisa to loot and plunder the crown's frontier territories. Lord Elesham was quickly forced to retreat into his keep and watch helplessly as the local fishing villages were looted, and his keep would soon follow, with the Lord of Nerissa barely escaping with his family.
The Queen, who had once responded to raids on the crowns territories with fire, blood, and vengeance did no such thing this time, still despondent and grieving the loss of her youngest daughter, she ignored the desperate missives from the Stepstones, her daughter Lianna tried several times to convince her mother to intervene, eventually raising her own fleet in Dragonstone and sending it to aid the frontier, but by the time they had arrived the pirates were long gone and fled back to their hideouts, though the few remaining reavers were captured, sentenced by Lianna herself at trial and hung outside the looted keep of Nerissa, a warning to future pirates. the Queen was most wroth at her daughters defiance and raising of the fleet which she saw as a frivolous expense stating that the Lords of the Stepstones must learn to defend themselves or perish.
This time period would be one of major instability and change in the Free Cities, some of which will be of some import to the future of our tale.
The first of these changes involved the resurgence of the the Tall Men of Sarnor, a once mighty and proud people laid low by the Dothraki long before the conquest. Following the near genocidal defeat of their people by the barbarians, the civilization of the Tall Men which once spanned for many hundreds of miles was confined to just a few settlements and one true town, Saath.
Though much of their population had been killed or enslaved by the Dothraki, over the centuries Saath slowly grew in strength until King Visruth the Cunning decided it was time to once again reclaim their place as a powerful kingdom.
Taking advantage of the ever divided Lorathi, the Tall Men captured the Lorathi settlement of Morosh, though the neighboring Protosh resisted them and would retain their independence.
This conquest had just been a small test however, and the true expansion would come when the chariots of the Tall Men swept from Saath through the Kingdom of Qohor, and by the end of it almost all the rich forests of Qohor were incorporated into the resurgent kingdom, though the city of Qohor itself retained its independence due to its strong garrison of Unsullied making it impractical to attack, though the city was much weakened by the loss of the majority of its hinterlands, following this conquest Visruth the Cunning would name himself King of Qohor and Saath.
Of much more import to our story however are the wave of slave rebellions that tore through several of the Free Cities in the 90 AC period.
Tyrosh and Myr had long been involved in the slave trade, relying heavily on slaves for their economy. The most common source of slaves were Lyseni and Volentene slavers, who commonly prowled most every corner of Essos, from the Basilisk isles to the Shivering Sea.
The most common place to find these slavers however were the shores of the Summer Isles and Naath, who made easy targets due to their disunified and generally peacefully nature, Tyrosh and Myr bought large amounts of these slaves and incorporated them into their economy.
This was not sustainable however as an ambitious enslaved man named Dallalhor, who had been taken from the Summer Islands as a boy would soon come to the forefront of Essosi politics. Together with his enslaved countrymen, as well as slaves kidnapped from near every corner of Essos, a massive uprising took place in which much of the nobility of Tyrosh was brutally slain by their slaves and the local peasant population of Tyrosh, and by the end of it, the Free City of Tyrosh was truly free.
Dallalhor did not stop there however, and the flames of rebellion quickly spread into nearby Myr, and Dallalhor sent men, arms, and support to the enslaved people in Myr, which was dealing with several internal problems making it quite weak…the result in Myr was the same with much of the nobility being massacred and power being taken by the formerly enslaved people, who incorporated Myr into Dallalahors new Kingdom. The fighting would spread outside the city proper and into the hinterlands of Myr and Tyrosh, and eventually all the old nobility were subdued, with some being allowed to keep their ancestral seats while the lands of more cruel masters were redistributed to Dallalhors loyal followers. The Tyroshi disputed lands, led by the old nobility would resist fiercely however and eventually swear allegiance to Lys to avoid having their lands taken by slaves and aggrieved local peasants.
Still not satisfied, Dallalhor would set his eyes on what he viewed as the greatest enemy in his wars of liberation….Lys.
Gathering a large albeit ragtag army raised from Myr and Tyrosh, he declared war on Lys. This war would not prove as successful as his previous conquests however, and Lys would smash Dallalhors makeshift navy outside of Tyrosh, and despite the loss of several of their inland territories would surround Tyrosh and force it into submission.
Dallalhor was forced to agree to a truce lasting 20 years, in which he promised not to wage or support war against Lys and recognize their right to sell slaves, though Tyrosh and Myr were to be considered ‘’Free Zones’’. This peace would not last however and will have some significance to the future of our story.
Dallalhor would not long survive his ascension however, being murdered shortly after by a jealous relative, though the Summer Islanders would continue to rule the Tyroshi and Myrish union.
The last of these slave rebellions took place in Norvos, when a Yi Ti’sh seneschal led a rebellion against the Beardest Priests, the Theocracy of the city. While initially successful, this conquest would not last long and within two years the Norvoshi would regain control of their land, though it was a general not a bearded priest who recaptured the city, naming himself the King of Norvos, ending a centuries long tradition of religious rule of the city. This would lead to decades of civil war and strife within Norvos as the supporters of the Bearded Priest and Theocracy clashed with various monarchists and self-styled kings.
Some have theorized that this period of Essosi turmoil should be considered a second ‘’Century of Blood’’ but this is an exaggeration, this time period, though tumultuous comes nowhere close to the unprecedented bloodshed following the Doom, and various wars in Essos are the natural order of things among the Free Cities.
Returning to Westeros, 90 AC would also be the year of a particularly tragic event in Kings Landing which would leave three individuals dead in its wake.
5th Moon, 90 AC
The Dragonpit, Kings Landing
It was a warm day in King's Landing, The muffled sounds of the city could be heard down below from atop Rhaenys Hill, but Aerea could hear none of it, staring at the apple cakes in front of her with a blank expression, a muffled buzzing in her ear and nervousness making her stomach a sinking pit.
I have to do this She thought to herself, not even hearing her sister's voice.
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, startling her from her thoughts.
‘’Did you hear what I said Aerea?’’ Her older sister Vissera asked politely.
‘’Uhhhh…no.’’ Aerea replied after a moment, her throat dry and her voice coming out as a croak.
‘’I was just telling Jaenyra what a great job she did reading the book….don't you agree?’’ Vissera asked, running a hand through the silver hair of their four year old cousin, who was sitting in her lap, while she held the book open with the other hand, some children's tale about the animals of the forest.
Aerea nodded her agreement, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden, she had never been a very good reader, the words always got jumbled up in her head and she always did her best to avoid them, and the memories of the castle maesters annoyed eyes whenever she misread something during their lessons came rushing back to her.
She studied her sister intently as she returned to helping their young cousin read the book.
It's so easy for her She thought to herself.
Her sister was everything Aerea wasn't, she was incredibly witty, putting Aerea to shame at pretty much anything, numbers, history, weaving, and their readings of the seven pointed star with the septas, she played the high harp, sang, and wrote poetry…her sister was always trying out new things, and always seemed to be immediately good at it, which her friends and ladies in waiting that accompanied her were never late to let her know of.
To be sure she could not hate her sister, no matter how hard she tried. Vissera always invited Aerea to go with her and her companions on their adventures, it always started the same, Aerea was always excited to be included, and the day would end with her being utterly humiliated.
Once they had gone riding outside the city to take the sun in, galloping on several fresh young horses through the Kingswood, and everyone had thought it would be fun if they tried to outride their escort and give them a scare, Aerea had surprised everyone and had been leading the group, hollering and laughing with the loudest of them, eager to show off her skills…and she had…until she rode straight into a branch, flying from her horse like a sack of potatoes. The others had paid her little mind and had wanted to continue but Vissera had made them all stop and they waited for their escort to arrive, and Aerea had to ride in the saddle with Ser Josmyn Bettley of the Kingsguard on the way back, unable to ride due to her bruises and subjected to the wine stench of the Kingsguard that served as a second cloak for him.
There had been countless other incidents, like the time she had eaten so many lemon cakes on their picnic she had thrown up, or the time at supper her grandmother had asked her to pass something. Aerea had been so surprised that her grandmother, who for all intents and purposes ignored her and never spoke to her was asking her something she was so shocked all she could do was sit dumbly with her mouth agape like a fish out of water before Vissera had saved her and passed the salt.
No, she could not hate her sister, even after all that, after each humiliation it was her sister that was there to comfort her, or to stop the snickering of her friends, in truth her sister was her only true friend and the only person that bothered to talk with her, except her grandfather Jaekar who occasionally would have a sweet or a kind word for her, her mother was busy drinking or crying about some trivial thing most days, though occasionally her mother would seem to be herself for a short period of time and they would go into the city to listen to the bards, who were banned from the Red Keep for some odd reason no one would explain to Aerea, and her mother had instantly gone into hysterics when she had asked her.
The laugh of her little cousin Jaenyra brought her back to her current reality. It had been Visseras idea for them all to take a trip up to the Dragonpit together. Their aunt Lianna had come from Dragonstone to the capitol to attend to some business or another, and had brought her daughter to court for the first time. Vissera had suggested they go to the Dragonpit and make a day of it, showing their little cousin the dragons and then breaking their fast outside the dragonpit, Aerea had agreed to go, for she needed to get to the dragonpit somehow.
Vissera had claimed the dragon Aelesar the previous year….another show that her sister was good at anything she put her mind to, learning the Valyrian commands in just a single week and claiming the white and gold dragon on her first attempt, much to the applause of the dragonkeepers, Aerea had asked her mother when she might begin preparing to claim her own dragon and her mother Jaehara had just sadly smiled, smelling of wine and told her that not everyone had it in them to be a dragon rider.
The thought of dragons had never left Aereas mind however, and she dreamed of flying among the clouds while all of King's Landing looked on in awe, and it seemed that every night she dreamed the same dream of dragons, the dragon speech calling to her, yet the words forgotten whenever she awoke.
The decisive moment had come however when she was looking for her mother and overheard her and her grandmother, the Queen speaking behind a closed door. They had been talking about her sister Vissera and her betrothal to Ronnel Baratheon, heir to Storm's End and son of their aunt Daeoril who had died in a fire several years earlier.
She heard her mother raise the question that Aerea was in need of a match as well, and Aerea had eagerly pressed her ear to the door, excited to hear which handsome prince or son of a great lord she would be marrying.
It came then as a rather sharp blow when she her grandmother had only asked ‘’the stupid one?’’
The worst part about it that would cause Aerea much tears afterwards had been her mother had not even denied it or stood up for her., and all Aerea had heard was the refilling of a wine glass.
In tears, Aerea had overheard her grandmother mention something that perhaps a spot in the motherhouse in Oldtown was a better prospect for her future than a royal marriage and running a household.
Aerea had fled to her room, eyes blurry with tears and she fell upon her bed and let the silks take her.
That night she dreamed of dragons.
By the time she awoke, the tears had passed and a sense of determination and ambition had set in….she was not content anymore to be Aerea, the stupid little girl who threw up after eating too many lemon cakes or could barely read….she was Aerea Targaryen, the blood of the dragon, she would be a dragonrider, and marry a High Lord, and give birth to princes and kings.
It was for that reason she had accepted her sister's outing to the dragonpit, it was the perfect opportunity, she did not think she could sneak out of the castle or make her way through Kings Landing alone, she would never get a better chance than now.
Her sister soon gave her it.
‘’I'm going to take Aelesar up, can you hold Jaenyra, I promised I would let her watch.’’ Vissera asked.
I'll meet you up there Aerea thought to herself with a smile as she took Jaenyra into her arms.
She watched as her sister made her way towards the dragonpit which housed all but one of the Targaryen dragons in King's Landing, the Dragonkeepers moving about in preparation to release the beast, distracted…now was her chance.
She gave a glance towards her escort.
Luckily for her, it was Ser Hugh Arryn that had been assigned to escort them through the city to the dragonpit, hardly an obstacle.
The Kingsguard knight peacefully dozed in a chair set a few feet away from their own table, snoring under the heat of the day.
‘’Stay here.’’ She whispered to Jaenyra, placing the infant down on the seat, fortifying herself with a last bite of apple cake and making her way towards the pits.
There were two large structures designed to house the Targaryen dragons atop the hill of Rhaenys, the larger one held her sisters dragon Aelesar, the dragons of her grandparents and all the others housed inside, it was swarming with Dragonkeepers however as they pulled up various chains and shouted commands to prepare Aelesar for flight.
It had not been her target anyway, her eyes turned to the second pit, smaller than the first yet still extremely huge in its own right….unlike the other pit however it contained just a single pit and a single dragon….Meraxes, the silver death and the largest dragon in the world. If she was going to gain respect…that was the dragon she must claim.
It was almost completely deserted as most dragonkeepers were busy in the other one, Aerea could scarcely contain her glee….she had outwitted them and waited for the perfect moment. She knew exactly where to go to avoid the dragon keepers posted at the main gate as well as she had watched some enter through a side entrance while they had ate.
She quickly tried to remember the tales she had heard about her grandmother's own exploits of sneaking into the dragonpit when she claimed Vhagar, and remembered that her mother had issued commands in Valyrian.
For the first time since she had stood up, nervousness began to eat at her,Valyrian had never been her best subject, the words were complicated and she could never remember them afterwards, but she thought as hard as she could of what Vissera had said when she had claimed Aelesar.
I am the blood of the dragon She remembered suddenly.
‘’Iksa…Iskan..Se…So.’’ She mumbled to herself as she made her way around the back entrance of the pit, trying to remember her Valyrian lessons.
She heard shouts of encouragement and looking up she saw her sister Vissera had taken to the skies.
That gave her all the motivation she needed…..today she would fly among the clouds…..the first day of her new life.
She made her way inside the pit, finding herself in a coliseum of stone seats, and below was a huge sandy pit….and in the middle of it lay Meraxes, coiled like some gigantic silver snake, over a hundred feet long.
The nervousness truly hit her then, and she was tempted to flee back to the comfort of the iced milk and apple cakes but she forced her legs, which felt like blocks of lead to move forward, running with something the old Aerea would have done.
I will be a Queen one day She told herself, taking a deep breath, her grandmother had claimed Vhagar in order to be seen as a worthy of the Iron Throne….when Aerea claimed Meraxes perhaps her grandmother would do the same after seeing Aerea was not ‘’the stupid one’’, but a worthy member of the House of the Dragon.
She could not find the stairs leading downwards so she made her way to the railing and pulling a leg over began to climb down towards the pit, she thought she heard a shout from the other side of the walkways but she ignored it.
She had underestimated how difficult the climb would be however, and her arms were shaking from nervousness and her palms were sweaty.
She tried to move to the next notch but instead fell, landing with a tumble onto the sand, pain shooting through her leg.
She heard another frantic shout of a dragon keeper but could not make out what he was saying.
Groggily she pulled her head from the sand and felt a strange vibration.
The sand and the small rocks were shaking upon the ground slowly.
She looked up.
The dragon Meraxes had awoken and roused itself to find the source of the unwelcome intruder to its lair.
It was staring at her, its massive maw open wide, eyes like molten gold.
I am the blood of the dragon Aerea opened her mouth to say, hoping she would remember the Valyrian.
All that came out was a croak, she felt heat surrounding her while a cold arose in her, terrible paralyzing fear like a shard of ice flowing through her veins., she could move nothing, not her arms or her legs, only her eyes, which looked straight at the massive teeth, sharp like swords, glowing bright like torches.
A single shrill scream rang through the dragonpit.
Meraxes answered with dragonfire.
90 AC (6th Moon-12th Moon)
It must be said that the Queen of Skulls was not particularly aggrieved due to the death of her granddaughter Aerea, with some sources claiming that at the funeral she was known to state that ‘’the idiot child had no business being a dragonrider.’’
Nevertheless, a princess of the royal family was dead, and there had to be consequences.
The first to be held responsible were rather predictably the Dragonkeepers, and over a dozen were judged negligent at trial by the Princess Lianna for failing to properly guard Meraxes’s pit, and were blinded on the orders of the Queen of Skulls and banished from the city.
The most significant individual to face charges however was the Kingsguard Ser Hugh Arryn, who had been asleep on duty and had failed to stop the whole affair. Ser Hugh was the brother of Oswin Arryn, Lord of the Vale and Hand of the Queen.
Oswin Arryns mind had begun to wander lately however, and he was prone to long rants and would frequently starve himself for long periods of time, only breaking his fast on food flaked with gold.
On the first day of the trial, Lord Arryn had stood up and addressed the throne room, demanding the right to champion for his younger Kingsguard brother in a trial by combat, and no attempts could be made to dissuade him.
Lianna had tried to get the Queen to call off the whole affair, claiming that the death of Lord Arryn could destabilize the realm but the Queen allowed it to go on, no doubt seeing it as an opportunity to have an unpredictable former ally dealt with.
Lord Commander Bruce Woyne of the Kingsguard represented the crown, and during the course of the duel gave Lord Arryn every chance to yield, but the man refused, even striking a blow to Woynes chest when the man tried to coax him to lay down his sword.
The Lord Commander was given no choice after that and swiftly finished the Hand of the King, slashing the man's throat with a well placed strike under his falcon helm, and the Lord of the Vale bled to death in the sight of the court in front of the Iron Throne, leaving his title to his young daughter.
Following this, Hugh Arryn was found guilty in failing his duties as a Kingsguard and was beheaded in the courtyard of the Red Keep by the Lord Commander, who strike was strong and true, despite his recent wound.
With this ended the events of 90 AC, and the Princess Aerea Targaryen’s attempt to claim Meraxes would lead to the deaths of herself and two proud nobles, three if Lord Commander Bruce Woyne, who would never truly recover from the chest wound he took and would die some years later, is to be included.
91-96 AC
Faced with the need for a new Hand, Laena appointed Ser Yohn Redfort, hero of Mylenos and the Pentoshi war as the new Hand of the Queen. Though not a skilled administrator, it was not beyond the Queen that, despite having several dragons under the crowns influence, there was a distinct lack of seasoned battle commanders to lead the crowns armies, save for Lord Qoherys, and appointing a famed general in Ser Yohn would make the realm think twice about any potential treason.
The time period between 91 and 96 AC was a generally peaceful time in the realm with few conflicts or threats to the crown emerging.
It was however, a time of great change in the royal family as several new members of the house of the dragon would be born.
The marriage between Jaerion and Belle Tully proved to be quite a fertile one, and in 91 AC, they would welcome their second son, a boy named Valerion. Two more children, both boys would soon follow, with Vaeron being born in 95 AC, and Aelor being born a year later in 96 AC, with the birth of these four boys cementing that the House of the Dragon was secure for another generation.
Just as the House of the Dragon gained new members however, so too did the blood of the dragon thin from the kingdoms, as many deaths occured in this time period.
The first of these was the death of Boros Baratheon, son of Cymella Targaryen and husband of Princess Larrisa. The Lord of Storm's End had always been a big man, and one that had enjoyed the comforts of the feast….this affinity for rich food had afflicted Boros with the gout, and in 91 AC the man would succumb to the illness at just 38 years old, leaving his son by Daeoril, Ronnal Baratheon as Lord of Storm's End, ruling alongside his wife Princess Vissera, he also left behind a son and a daughter by Larrisa.
While the Kingdoms were largely peaceful during these five years, there was one significant conflict which took place in Dorne.
Prince Rhodry Martell, the son of Princess Larrisa and the Lord of Dorne had been left alone when his mother went to the Stormlands to marry Boros Baratheon, a marriage his mother had made to strengthen his position, but in her absence he had grown into a ruthless and arbitrary man, caring little for justice.
Upon his ascension he began a campaign of persecution against the Rhoynar, who he viewed as heretics, despite the majority having taken up the faith of the seven. He ordered the destruction of many of the Rhoynish water temples along the greenblood river, and several elders still teaching the old faith of the Rhoynar were murdered or banished.
Rhodry had grown into a jealous and proud man as well, always making sure he got his due from his vassals, making them repeat their oaths of fealty every year. When Lord Fowler of Skyreach refused to make the journey one year, Rhodry had the man seized and beheaded in full sight of the court…and shortly after this a noble woman of Reachman stock was accused of conspiring against him and was stoned to death. Even a visit from his mother Larrisa could not sway him from his path of tyranny and he refused to change his ways.
Not surprisingly, these actions did little to endear Rhodry to his subjects, and in 93 AC the Lords and Ladies of Dorne revolted against Rhodry, led by Gesmund Martell, the younger brother of his grandfather Rhodry (The former hand of the King).
This revolt was successful despite Larrisa sending a host of Stormlanders to assist her son, and at 24 years of age, Rhodry was deposed from his throne, with Gesmund Martell becoming the Prince of Dorne.
Larissa urged her son to come to Storms End, promising she would find him land, title and position in his younger brothers court but Rhodry refused, instead taking advantage of his great uncle's offer of land in the Dornish Marches…Gesmund Martell, despite leading the revolt was for all intents and purposes a kind and patient man, who still believed his wayward kinsman could make something of himself.
This decision would be Rhodrys death….within three years he would be poisoned in his castle and his killers would never be found, some have speculated Gesmund Martell could have had him killed but given what we know of the man's temperament this seems unlikely, the young Prince had made no shortage of enemies, and it is possible the orphans of the greenblood, the Fowlers or the family of the murdered reach woman completed their vengeance against him.
The thinning of the blood of the dragon was not yet complete however.
The Princess Vissera, daughter of Jaehara Targaryen, granddaughter to the Queen and sister of the aforementioned Aerea had been married to Ronnal Baratheon for several years, and had given birth to three children, a son Richard, and two girls.
Whilst riding from Storms End with her husband to a neighboring castle however, the Princess, always a kindhearted woman stooped down to pet a hunting hound belonging to one of the men-at-arms in their party and was bitten upon the hand.
Within days the wound had begun to fester and the Princess took to the sick bed with a fever, mumbling delirium, losing first her mind and then her life….she was just 21 years old.
Storm's End would be hit with another death as the Princess Cymella, daughter of Vaemond the Strong and last surviving sibling of the Queen of Skulls would suffer a stroke at supper and pass away later that night at the age of sixty, having outlived both her children.
It must be said the Queen of Skulls seemed to care little about the deaths of her grandchildren, and was described as being almost giddy when news of Cymellas death reached her…..however she would not have long to celebrate her sisters death as in 94 AC she would suffer a far more significant loss.
On the 4th day of the 8th Moon, Queen Laena would awake to find her husband of almost 50 years, Jaekar Targaryen, her cousin and the son of Matarys Targaryen dead beside her at the age of 68.
The King Consort, a quiet and humble man never wielded much power at court, though he was beloved by all for his kind nature, standing in stark contrast to his wife the Queen. Though he never truly held the power associated with a King Consort, some have theorized that the more quiet years of the realm and the smaller amount of killings attributed to the Queen in the later years of 80 and 90 AC coincided with the Queen returning to his bed, suggesting that Jaekar was able to use their improved relationship to temper most (though not all) of the Queens worst impulses.
It is even said that at the funeral of her husband, there are those that swear they saw the hint of tears in the Queen's eyes as her daughter Lianna and her golden dragon Kastax set his pyre to flame. We will never know the truth of this, though what we know of the Queen's stern and tactile nature it seems unlikely, though her husband's death must have surely made the queen become aware of her own mortality.
This time period also saw the death of the Lord Commander Bruce Woyne had never fully recovered from the wound he suffered in Oswin Arryns trial by combat. In his place, the Queen appointed her grandson Aemorys Targaryen as the next Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at just 24 years of age…being the youngest member of the Kingsguard at the time he gained command of it.
The Prince Aemorys did not necessarily wish for this appointment, yet he would do what was commanded of him, serving well and relying heavily on the more experienced knights below him to ensure his family's safety.
The rather uneventful period of Targaryen rule would be coming to an end however, as developments on the island of Dragonstone would change the course of Targaryen rule.
10th Moon, 96 AC
Princess Liannas Chambers, Dragonstone
The Princess of Dragonstone sat at her desk, watching the flames dance in the hearth of her chambers, sending shadows through the dark chamber.
The letter called to her, sitting in the middle of her desk and she reached towards it hesitantly before pulling her hand back, not quite ready to read its contents.
She stood from her desk and pulled on a shawl before making her way out of her solar and opening the door to the hallway, accepting the offer of an escort from the guards posted outside her doorway.
She made her way towards the nursery of Dragonstone, a common destination of hers when she could not find sleep, which was a common occurrence most nights, the thoughts of her work, the affairs of the realm and what must be done keeping her from her bed.
She gestured for the guards to wait outside the nursery and made her way inside.
A cool sea breeze came in from an open window as moonlight poured inside the chambers, illuminating a faded tapestry of the Targaryen sigil hanging from a wall. The moonlight reminded her of another night many years ago, a night of pain and grief that she had been powerless to confront from her bed, the tranquility of the night overcome by the screams of a newborn and a mother in anguish.
She pushed the thought from her mind and pulled a chair beside the cradles of her two youngest grandchildren, Vaeron and Aelor, who lay side by side in two cradles, both sound asleep.
She watched them for a while, seeing them always calmed her, taking in the quiet noises of the gulls and the night outside the window and their quiet steady breathing.
She ran a hand though Vaerons silver hair, which shone in the moonlight before turning her attention to Aelor, pulling his blankets up over him, he was smaller than his older brother Vaeron and instead of silver his hair was chestnut brown, despite his small size, the little lad had a fierceness to him.
He has his mothers look She thought to herself, that along with his bright blue eyes made him look far more Tully than Targaryen…but he was the blood of the dragon all the same.
She returned to her seat and began to whisper a poem to the sleeping princes, a favorite of hers.
They held each other close,
And turned their backs upon the end,
The hills that split asunder,
And the black that ate the skies,
The flames that shot so high and hot,
That even dragons burned,
Would never be the final sights,
That fell upon their eyes,
A fly upon a wall,
The waves the sea wind,
Whipped and churned,
The city of a thousand years,
And all that men had learned,
The Doom consumed them all alike,
And neither of them turned.
When she had finished she sat in silence, she supposed it was not the best of poems to give sleeping princes sweet dreams, as it was devoted to the doom of Valyria which had destroyed the Targaryen ancestral homeland, but for some reason it always calmed her, and reminded her that their family alone had endured.
After some time she stood, softly kissed her grandchildren upon the cheek and left the nursery, making her way back to her own with her escort close behind before she heard the soft opening of a door.
She turned and saw her oldest grandson Aurion emerge from it, groggy with sleep, his chestnut brown curls astrew.
‘’Is everything all right nana?’’ The boy asked him as she motioned him forward, even at just 9 years old the boy stood nearly as tall as her.
She looked into his purple eyes and nodded, running her hand through his hair.
‘’Your grandmother just needed to think is all.’’ She said.
‘’Did you find the answer?’’ He asked.
Lianna shook her head ‘’No…..but I am ready to now….go to sleep now.’’
She kissed his forehead and sent him back to his chambers before returning to her own.
The flames in the hearth had burned low, so she added a new log to it, watching the embers spark and crackle before returning to her seat,finally ready to face the letter.
She gently picked it up, breaking the lion seal set in crimson red ink.
My men and the Westerlands stand with you in what is to come your Grace.
~Willem Lannister
The contents of the letter were short, as they knew it would be, one way or another, Willem Lannister, Master of Coin, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West was not one to waste words.
Despite the short nature of the letter, merely 15 letters, it changed everything….the path forward was not just a thought in the Princesses mind, but a plan….a plan which had moved to treason.
And so it begins Lianna thought to herself as she took the letter and placed it into the candle flame, watching it blacken and smolder to nothing, its contents reduced to ash.
It had all started that one night so many years ago, the night of Jaekars birth, and the night he had been taken from her, ripped from her arms and sent across the narrow sea.
That was when she had truly begun to despise her mother. To be sure they had always had their differences, arguing over the best path forward, but Lianna had always done her duty.
That had been before that night….and the cries of her newborn child being taken away had replaced her sense of duty towards her mother with one of hatred.
Even though she could not prove it, she still believed her mother had something to do with the death of her former lover Nakados Tendryis, her mother had murdered and schemed for nearly thirty years, Lianna had come to realize that a small amount of ruthlessness was necessary to rule, a stark change from her younger self…but one could not rule on fear alone or subject their people to cruelty for no reason…justice was needed, and that was a concept that was wholly foreign to her mother.
I have learned your lessons mother Lianna whispered to herself, her mother often said that no measure was too extreme in order to defeat one's enemies…and the Queen of Skulls was an enemy, not only to Lianna but to the realm…her rule would soon come to an end.
It was to happen in a coup, the Princess had no wish of the conflict escalating to a full out conflict which could subject the realm to dragonflame and civil war. Lord Willem, as master of coin had a household guard of Lannister knights and men at arms, and the Princess would not arouse suspicion if she arrived in the capitol with an escort of her own, as Master of Laws she was a common sight in the capitol, and she visited her husband Ronnel, who was still serving as commander of the Red Keeps dragon cloaks, quite frequently.
It would be a difficult matter to convince him to take part in the coup and rebel against the crown, but Lianna meant to find witnesses that could point to her mothers role in his brother Raymonts poisoning all those years ago…their relationship had never been the same after he had discovered her affair with Nakados Tendryis, but time slowly heals such wounds, and she knew that he would trust her if she brought sufficient evidence that his brother had been murdered by the Queen of Skulls.
Even with control of the Dragoncloaks, and the guards of herself and Willem Lannister her mother would no doubt have some supporters in the castle, some measure of bloodshed was unavoidable, her mother had her Queensguard and no doubt some loyal followers that would defend the crown, and her sister Vaella had a personal guard as well.
It was for that reason that her son Aemorys, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at just 25 years of age would prove a complication, had he been a simple sworn brother she would have found it easy to find some pretext to withdraw him from the castle as her own personal kingsguard, but now that he was Lord Commander removing him from the Red Keep would prove more difficult, she did not know how her son would react in such an event, but she could not see him doing anything other than his duty, even if in a hopeless struggle, which would lead to his death.
I must tell him Lianna thought to herself, it was a risky decision to be sure but she would not take the risk of her son being killed in the coup. She would also have to tell Jaerion, she meant to be present during the coup personally, and if something should happen to her he must be prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions.
At least she was spared the worry of what her father, who had passed some years prior might do, knowing him he would have fought for her mother till the last, as honor would demand, though perhaps she might have been able to negotiate a surrender of the castle with him. The thought of her father caused a sharp pain to run through her body, she missed that old man every day and prayed he could forgive her, wherever he was.
As for her mother and Vaella, Lianna was not quite sure what she would do with them. The hatred she felt towards her mother was no less strong towards her sister Vaella who had also stolen her son and been complicit in many of her mothers murders. She had considered everything from blinding and mutilation to exile, though life imprisonment in a tower cell was likely the best option, though she planned to order Vaellas hands, which had been used to rip her child from her breast, cut off by an ax on the block.
Despite her wish for the conflict not to spread outside of the Red Keep and to be finished within a day, she knew she would need to make some contingency plans.
The idea of overthrowing her mother had been on her mind for many years, and she knew she could trust her sister Larrisa, the two had always been close ever since childhood, and with Larrisa came the loyalty of the Stormlands due to the marriage Lianna had organized, as even with Boros’s death she was the regent and had been a mother figure to their sister Daeorils son Ronnal, the Lord of Storm's End and he would follow his aunts lead. Once she might have counted on Dorne, but her nephew Rhodry had been poisoned earlier that year after being deservedly overthrown three years prior.
Willem Lannister had good cause to hate her mother as well, the Queen of Skulls was not popular in the Westerlands after she had done nothing to punish the Ironborn for their second attack on Lannisport or the death of Willems mother Lady Fiona.
The seeds you have sown have finally grown mother She thought
If it came to war the Riverlands would also no doubt flock to her side due to the marriage between Belle Tully, daughter of Daena, and Liannas son Jaerion.
It won't come to war Lianna promised herself, but if it did she was not going to back down, even if it meant her own or her mothers death, the Queen of Skulls reign of murder and injustice would come to an end, no matter the cost.
She thought once again of the true reason of this whole affair, a bastard boy across the Narrow Sea.
She had seen the boy one time after he had been taken from her, while visiting the Sealord of Braavos on a diplomatic mission she had gone to the coastal castle of Freneros, home of the Tendryis family on a reckless whim.
The Tendryis’s had welcomed her and had permitted her to see her son…but from a balcony and had forbidden any direct contact with the child so she had to be content to watch, with an equal amount of joy and anguish from above as the silver haired boy sat hard at work with an abacus in the garden courtyard of the manse, blissfully unaware that his mother was just feet away.
That had been a decade before however, and the child she had seen was likely now a man.
I will see him again Lianna promised herself, when everything was over she would send for the boy and tell him the truth, who she was, who he was and why he had been sent away.
But first she had to win the throne.
She pulled out several pieces of parchment and began to draft a letter to her sister Larrisa and one to Lady Daena of Riverrun, ignoring the tired feeling in her eyes and the throbbing headache behind her skull, she would sleep when everything was done.
The young Kingsguard Aemorys had little time to adjust to his duties as just months after taking the white, he was tasked with completing a quest by his grandmother, the Queen of Skulls.
The dragon Moondancer, former mount of King Vaemond the Strong had long resided in Riverrun after its claiming by Daena Targaryen, and in that time laid a single green dragon egg.
The Tully’s, with Daenas help, managed to hatch the egg, and from it emerged the dragon Tridax, so named for the Trident river which flows through much of the Riverlands.
None of Daenas young children, who had the blood of the dragon through their mother could bond with the dragon however, and eventually the small dragon flew off from the courtyard of Riverrun and despite days of searching was not recovered by the Tullys scouts.
The Queen did not much like the thought of a wild, albeit small dragon alone in the realm,it was bad enough her daughter Daeorils dragon, Flameweaver had disappeared shortly after her death, flying into the Rainwood and had not been seen for years, though some sources claim that Volantene ships crewed by mercenaries had been seen landing on the coast and it is possible they seized the dragon…though whichever Essosi faction captured the dragon they wisely kept it under wraps from the Queens web of informants.
The Queen sent the young Kingsguard to scour the Riverlands for the dragon and not return till it was once again securely under the crown's influence. Aemorys set out with a small party of mounted men, among them his cousin Aenys and rode north to the Riverlands.
Finding the beast was no easy task, Tridax was still quite small and not a confident flyer, making it difficult and unlikely to be spotted in the sky, nevertheless there were some sightings, which when put together by Aenys small group of informers, suggested the dragon was somewhere north of the Red Fork, but not so far north as the blue fork, both of these rivers being tributaries of the aforementioned Trident.
First they searched through the ruins of Oldstones, thinking it the perfect place for a dragon to make its lair, but no trace of Tridax was found. For weeks they searched small caves along the riverside with similar results before turning their attention to the Blackwood Vale, a large fertile valley home to House Blackwood.
For two weeks they searched, and it must be said the Prince Aemorys, who already doubted their mission would be successful from the beginning had fully begun to lose hope, just when it seemed hopeless however, the party came across a hollowed hill in the valley, huge roots of Weirwood trees running through it. Inside they found the dragon Tridax, which would quickly bond with Aemorys and be brought to the Dragonpit of Kings Landing, once again under the influence of the crown.
89 AC On the Affairs of Essos
The beginning of 89 AC saw several events both in and across the narrow sea take place.
A fleet of longships from the Skulls, filled with raiders, both Ironborn and Essosi pirates under the leadership of the Drumms in the Stepstones landed on the island of Nerrisa to loot and plunder the crown's frontier territories. Lord Elesham was quickly forced to retreat into his keep and watch helplessly as the local fishing villages were looted, and his keep would soon follow, with the Lord of Nerissa barely escaping with his family.
The Queen, who had once responded to raids on the crowns territories with fire, blood, and vengeance did no such thing this time, still despondent and grieving the loss of her youngest daughter, she ignored the desperate missives from the Stepstones, her daughter Lianna tried several times to convince her mother to intervene, eventually raising her own fleet in Dragonstone and sending it to aid the frontier, but by the time they had arrived the pirates were long gone and fled back to their hideouts, though the few remaining reavers were captured, sentenced by Lianna herself at trial and hung outside the looted keep of Nerissa, a warning to future pirates. the Queen was most wroth at her daughters defiance and raising of the fleet which she saw as a frivolous expense stating that the Lords of the Stepstones must learn to defend themselves or perish.
This time period would be one of major instability and change in the Free Cities, some of which will be of some import to the future of our tale.
The first of these changes involved the resurgence of the the Tall Men of Sarnor, a once mighty and proud people laid low by the Dothraki long before the conquest. Following the near genocidal defeat of their people by the barbarians, the civilization of the Tall Men which once spanned for many hundreds of miles was confined to just a few settlements and one true town, Saath.
Though much of their population had been killed or enslaved by the Dothraki, over the centuries Saath slowly grew in strength until King Visruth the Cunning decided it was time to once again reclaim their place as a powerful kingdom.
Taking advantage of the ever divided Lorathi, the Tall Men captured the Lorathi settlement of Morosh, though the neighboring Protosh resisted them and would retain their independence.
This conquest had just been a small test however, and the true expansion would come when the chariots of the Tall Men swept from Saath through the Kingdom of Qohor, and by the end of it almost all the rich forests of Qohor were incorporated into the resurgent kingdom, though the city of Qohor itself retained its independence due to its strong garrison of Unsullied making it impractical to attack, though the city was much weakened by the loss of the majority of its hinterlands, following this conquest Visruth the Cunning would name himself King of Qohor and Saath.
Of much more import to our story however are the wave of slave rebellions that tore through several of the Free Cities in the 90 AC period.
Tyrosh and Myr had long been involved in the slave trade, relying heavily on slaves for their economy. The most common source of slaves were Lyseni and Volentene slavers, who commonly prowled most every corner of Essos, from the Basilisk isles to the Shivering Sea.
The most common place to find these slavers however were the shores of the Summer Isles and Naath, who made easy targets due to their disunified and generally peacefully nature, Tyrosh and Myr bought large amounts of these slaves and incorporated them into their economy.
This was not sustainable however as an ambitious enslaved man named Dallalhor, who had been taken from the Summer Islands as a boy would soon come to the forefront of Essosi politics. Together with his enslaved countrymen, as well as slaves kidnapped from near every corner of Essos, a massive uprising took place in which much of the nobility of Tyrosh was brutally slain by their slaves and the local peasant population of Tyrosh, and by the end of it, the Free City of Tyrosh was truly free.
Dallalhor did not stop there however, and the flames of rebellion quickly spread into nearby Myr, and Dallalhor sent men, arms, and support to the enslaved people in Myr, which was dealing with several internal problems making it quite weak…the result in Myr was the same with much of the nobility being massacred and power being taken by the formerly enslaved people, who incorporated Myr into Dallalahors new Kingdom. The fighting would spread outside the city proper and into the hinterlands of Myr and Tyrosh, and eventually all the old nobility were subdued, with some being allowed to keep their ancestral seats while the lands of more cruel masters were redistributed to Dallalhors loyal followers. The Tyroshi disputed lands, led by the old nobility would resist fiercely however and eventually swear allegiance to Lys to avoid having their lands taken by slaves and aggrieved local peasants.
Still not satisfied, Dallalhor would set his eyes on what he viewed as the greatest enemy in his wars of liberation….Lys.
Gathering a large albeit ragtag army raised from Myr and Tyrosh, he declared war on Lys. This war would not prove as successful as his previous conquests however, and Lys would smash Dallalhors makeshift navy outside of Tyrosh, and despite the loss of several of their inland territories would surround Tyrosh and force it into submission.
Dallalhor was forced to agree to a truce lasting 20 years, in which he promised not to wage or support war against Lys and recognize their right to sell slaves, though Tyrosh and Myr were to be considered ‘’Free Zones’’. This peace would not last however and will have some significance to the future of our story.
Dallalhor would not long survive his ascension however, being murdered shortly after by a jealous relative, though the Summer Islanders would continue to rule the Tyroshi and Myrish union.
The last of these slave rebellions took place in Norvos, when a Yi Ti’sh seneschal led a rebellion against the Beardest Priests, the Theocracy of the city. While initially successful, this conquest would not last long and within two years the Norvoshi would regain control of their land, though it was a general not a bearded priest who recaptured the city, naming himself the King of Norvos, ending a centuries long tradition of religious rule of the city. This would lead to decades of civil war and strife within Norvos as the supporters of the Bearded Priest and Theocracy clashed with various monarchists and self-styled kings.
Some have theorized that this period of Essosi turmoil should be considered a second ‘’Century of Blood’’ but this is an exaggeration, this time period, though tumultuous comes nowhere close to the unprecedented bloodshed following the Doom, and various wars in Essos are the natural order of things among the Free Cities.
Returning to Westeros, 90 AC would also be the year of a particularly tragic event in Kings Landing which would leave three individuals dead in its wake.
5th Moon, 90 AC
The Dragonpit, Kings Landing
It was a warm day in King's Landing, The muffled sounds of the city could be heard down below from atop Rhaenys Hill, but Aerea could hear none of it, staring at the apple cakes in front of her with a blank expression, a muffled buzzing in her ear and nervousness making her stomach a sinking pit.
I have to do this She thought to herself, not even hearing her sister's voice.
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, startling her from her thoughts.
‘’Did you hear what I said Aerea?’’ Her older sister Vissera asked politely.
‘’Uhhhh…no.’’ Aerea replied after a moment, her throat dry and her voice coming out as a croak.
‘’I was just telling Jaenyra what a great job she did reading the book….don't you agree?’’ Vissera asked, running a hand through the silver hair of their four year old cousin, who was sitting in her lap, while she held the book open with the other hand, some children's tale about the animals of the forest.
Aerea nodded her agreement, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden, she had never been a very good reader, the words always got jumbled up in her head and she always did her best to avoid them, and the memories of the castle maesters annoyed eyes whenever she misread something during their lessons came rushing back to her.
She studied her sister intently as she returned to helping their young cousin read the book.
It's so easy for her She thought to herself.
Her sister was everything Aerea wasn't, she was incredibly witty, putting Aerea to shame at pretty much anything, numbers, history, weaving, and their readings of the seven pointed star with the septas, she played the high harp, sang, and wrote poetry…her sister was always trying out new things, and always seemed to be immediately good at it, which her friends and ladies in waiting that accompanied her were never late to let her know of.
To be sure she could not hate her sister, no matter how hard she tried. Vissera always invited Aerea to go with her and her companions on their adventures, it always started the same, Aerea was always excited to be included, and the day would end with her being utterly humiliated.
Once they had gone riding outside the city to take the sun in, galloping on several fresh young horses through the Kingswood, and everyone had thought it would be fun if they tried to outride their escort and give them a scare, Aerea had surprised everyone and had been leading the group, hollering and laughing with the loudest of them, eager to show off her skills…and she had…until she rode straight into a branch, flying from her horse like a sack of potatoes. The others had paid her little mind and had wanted to continue but Vissera had made them all stop and they waited for their escort to arrive, and Aerea had to ride in the saddle with Ser Josmyn Bettley of the Kingsguard on the way back, unable to ride due to her bruises and subjected to the wine stench of the Kingsguard that served as a second cloak for him.
There had been countless other incidents, like the time she had eaten so many lemon cakes on their picnic she had thrown up, or the time at supper her grandmother had asked her to pass something. Aerea had been so surprised that her grandmother, who for all intents and purposes ignored her and never spoke to her was asking her something she was so shocked all she could do was sit dumbly with her mouth agape like a fish out of water before Vissera had saved her and passed the salt.
No, she could not hate her sister, even after all that, after each humiliation it was her sister that was there to comfort her, or to stop the snickering of her friends, in truth her sister was her only true friend and the only person that bothered to talk with her, except her grandfather Jaekar who occasionally would have a sweet or a kind word for her, her mother was busy drinking or crying about some trivial thing most days, though occasionally her mother would seem to be herself for a short period of time and they would go into the city to listen to the bards, who were banned from the Red Keep for some odd reason no one would explain to Aerea, and her mother had instantly gone into hysterics when she had asked her.
The laugh of her little cousin Jaenyra brought her back to her current reality. It had been Visseras idea for them all to take a trip up to the Dragonpit together. Their aunt Lianna had come from Dragonstone to the capitol to attend to some business or another, and had brought her daughter to court for the first time. Vissera had suggested they go to the Dragonpit and make a day of it, showing their little cousin the dragons and then breaking their fast outside the dragonpit, Aerea had agreed to go, for she needed to get to the dragonpit somehow.
Vissera had claimed the dragon Aelesar the previous year….another show that her sister was good at anything she put her mind to, learning the Valyrian commands in just a single week and claiming the white and gold dragon on her first attempt, much to the applause of the dragonkeepers, Aerea had asked her mother when she might begin preparing to claim her own dragon and her mother Jaehara had just sadly smiled, smelling of wine and told her that not everyone had it in them to be a dragon rider.
The thought of dragons had never left Aereas mind however, and she dreamed of flying among the clouds while all of King's Landing looked on in awe, and it seemed that every night she dreamed the same dream of dragons, the dragon speech calling to her, yet the words forgotten whenever she awoke.
The decisive moment had come however when she was looking for her mother and overheard her and her grandmother, the Queen speaking behind a closed door. They had been talking about her sister Vissera and her betrothal to Ronnel Baratheon, heir to Storm's End and son of their aunt Daeoril who had died in a fire several years earlier.
She heard her mother raise the question that Aerea was in need of a match as well, and Aerea had eagerly pressed her ear to the door, excited to hear which handsome prince or son of a great lord she would be marrying.
It came then as a rather sharp blow when she her grandmother had only asked ‘’the stupid one?’’
The worst part about it that would cause Aerea much tears afterwards had been her mother had not even denied it or stood up for her., and all Aerea had heard was the refilling of a wine glass.
In tears, Aerea had overheard her grandmother mention something that perhaps a spot in the motherhouse in Oldtown was a better prospect for her future than a royal marriage and running a household.
Aerea had fled to her room, eyes blurry with tears and she fell upon her bed and let the silks take her.
That night she dreamed of dragons.
By the time she awoke, the tears had passed and a sense of determination and ambition had set in….she was not content anymore to be Aerea, the stupid little girl who threw up after eating too many lemon cakes or could barely read….she was Aerea Targaryen, the blood of the dragon, she would be a dragonrider, and marry a High Lord, and give birth to princes and kings.
It was for that reason she had accepted her sister's outing to the dragonpit, it was the perfect opportunity, she did not think she could sneak out of the castle or make her way through Kings Landing alone, she would never get a better chance than now.
Her sister soon gave her it.
‘’I'm going to take Aelesar up, can you hold Jaenyra, I promised I would let her watch.’’ Vissera asked.
I'll meet you up there Aerea thought to herself with a smile as she took Jaenyra into her arms.
She watched as her sister made her way towards the dragonpit which housed all but one of the Targaryen dragons in King's Landing, the Dragonkeepers moving about in preparation to release the beast, distracted…now was her chance.
She gave a glance towards her escort.
Luckily for her, it was Ser Hugh Arryn that had been assigned to escort them through the city to the dragonpit, hardly an obstacle.
The Kingsguard knight peacefully dozed in a chair set a few feet away from their own table, snoring under the heat of the day.
‘’Stay here.’’ She whispered to Jaenyra, placing the infant down on the seat, fortifying herself with a last bite of apple cake and making her way towards the pits.
There were two large structures designed to house the Targaryen dragons atop the hill of Rhaenys, the larger one held her sisters dragon Aelesar, the dragons of her grandparents and all the others housed inside, it was swarming with Dragonkeepers however as they pulled up various chains and shouted commands to prepare Aelesar for flight.
It had not been her target anyway, her eyes turned to the second pit, smaller than the first yet still extremely huge in its own right….unlike the other pit however it contained just a single pit and a single dragon….Meraxes, the silver death and the largest dragon in the world. If she was going to gain respect…that was the dragon she must claim.
It was almost completely deserted as most dragonkeepers were busy in the other one, Aerea could scarcely contain her glee….she had outwitted them and waited for the perfect moment. She knew exactly where to go to avoid the dragon keepers posted at the main gate as well as she had watched some enter through a side entrance while they had ate.
She quickly tried to remember the tales she had heard about her grandmother's own exploits of sneaking into the dragonpit when she claimed Vhagar, and remembered that her mother had issued commands in Valyrian.
For the first time since she had stood up, nervousness began to eat at her,Valyrian had never been her best subject, the words were complicated and she could never remember them afterwards, but she thought as hard as she could of what Vissera had said when she had claimed Aelesar.
I am the blood of the dragon She remembered suddenly.
‘’Iksa…Iskan..Se…So.’’ She mumbled to herself as she made her way around the back entrance of the pit, trying to remember her Valyrian lessons.
She heard shouts of encouragement and looking up she saw her sister Vissera had taken to the skies.
That gave her all the motivation she needed…..today she would fly among the clouds…..the first day of her new life.
She made her way inside the pit, finding herself in a coliseum of stone seats, and below was a huge sandy pit….and in the middle of it lay Meraxes, coiled like some gigantic silver snake, over a hundred feet long.
The nervousness truly hit her then, and she was tempted to flee back to the comfort of the iced milk and apple cakes but she forced her legs, which felt like blocks of lead to move forward, running with something the old Aerea would have done.
I will be a Queen one day She told herself, taking a deep breath, her grandmother had claimed Vhagar in order to be seen as a worthy of the Iron Throne….when Aerea claimed Meraxes perhaps her grandmother would do the same after seeing Aerea was not ‘’the stupid one’’, but a worthy member of the House of the Dragon.
She could not find the stairs leading downwards so she made her way to the railing and pulling a leg over began to climb down towards the pit, she thought she heard a shout from the other side of the walkways but she ignored it.
She had underestimated how difficult the climb would be however, and her arms were shaking from nervousness and her palms were sweaty.
She tried to move to the next notch but instead fell, landing with a tumble onto the sand, pain shooting through her leg.
She heard another frantic shout of a dragon keeper but could not make out what he was saying.
Groggily she pulled her head from the sand and felt a strange vibration.
The sand and the small rocks were shaking upon the ground slowly.
She looked up.
The dragon Meraxes had awoken and roused itself to find the source of the unwelcome intruder to its lair.
It was staring at her, its massive maw open wide, eyes like molten gold.
I am the blood of the dragon Aerea opened her mouth to say, hoping she would remember the Valyrian.
All that came out was a croak, she felt heat surrounding her while a cold arose in her, terrible paralyzing fear like a shard of ice flowing through her veins., she could move nothing, not her arms or her legs, only her eyes, which looked straight at the massive teeth, sharp like swords, glowing bright like torches.
A single shrill scream rang through the dragonpit.
Meraxes answered with dragonfire.
90 AC (6th Moon-12th Moon)
It must be said that the Queen of Skulls was not particularly aggrieved due to the death of her granddaughter Aerea, with some sources claiming that at the funeral she was known to state that ‘’the idiot child had no business being a dragonrider.’’
Nevertheless, a princess of the royal family was dead, and there had to be consequences.
The first to be held responsible were rather predictably the Dragonkeepers, and over a dozen were judged negligent at trial by the Princess Lianna for failing to properly guard Meraxes’s pit, and were blinded on the orders of the Queen of Skulls and banished from the city.
The most significant individual to face charges however was the Kingsguard Ser Hugh Arryn, who had been asleep on duty and had failed to stop the whole affair. Ser Hugh was the brother of Oswin Arryn, Lord of the Vale and Hand of the Queen.
Oswin Arryns mind had begun to wander lately however, and he was prone to long rants and would frequently starve himself for long periods of time, only breaking his fast on food flaked with gold.
On the first day of the trial, Lord Arryn had stood up and addressed the throne room, demanding the right to champion for his younger Kingsguard brother in a trial by combat, and no attempts could be made to dissuade him.
Lianna had tried to get the Queen to call off the whole affair, claiming that the death of Lord Arryn could destabilize the realm but the Queen allowed it to go on, no doubt seeing it as an opportunity to have an unpredictable former ally dealt with.
Lord Commander Bruce Woyne of the Kingsguard represented the crown, and during the course of the duel gave Lord Arryn every chance to yield, but the man refused, even striking a blow to Woynes chest when the man tried to coax him to lay down his sword.
The Lord Commander was given no choice after that and swiftly finished the Hand of the King, slashing the man's throat with a well placed strike under his falcon helm, and the Lord of the Vale bled to death in the sight of the court in front of the Iron Throne, leaving his title to his young daughter.
Following this, Hugh Arryn was found guilty in failing his duties as a Kingsguard and was beheaded in the courtyard of the Red Keep by the Lord Commander, who strike was strong and true, despite his recent wound.
With this ended the events of 90 AC, and the Princess Aerea Targaryen’s attempt to claim Meraxes would lead to the deaths of herself and two proud nobles, three if Lord Commander Bruce Woyne, who would never truly recover from the chest wound he took and would die some years later, is to be included.
91-96 AC
Faced with the need for a new Hand, Laena appointed Ser Yohn Redfort, hero of Mylenos and the Pentoshi war as the new Hand of the Queen. Though not a skilled administrator, it was not beyond the Queen that, despite having several dragons under the crowns influence, there was a distinct lack of seasoned battle commanders to lead the crowns armies, save for Lord Qoherys, and appointing a famed general in Ser Yohn would make the realm think twice about any potential treason.
The time period between 91 and 96 AC was a generally peaceful time in the realm with few conflicts or threats to the crown emerging.
It was however, a time of great change in the royal family as several new members of the house of the dragon would be born.
The marriage between Jaerion and Belle Tully proved to be quite a fertile one, and in 91 AC, they would welcome their second son, a boy named Valerion. Two more children, both boys would soon follow, with Vaeron being born in 95 AC, and Aelor being born a year later in 96 AC, with the birth of these four boys cementing that the House of the Dragon was secure for another generation.
Just as the House of the Dragon gained new members however, so too did the blood of the dragon thin from the kingdoms, as many deaths occured in this time period.
The first of these was the death of Boros Baratheon, son of Cymella Targaryen and husband of Princess Larrisa. The Lord of Storm's End had always been a big man, and one that had enjoyed the comforts of the feast….this affinity for rich food had afflicted Boros with the gout, and in 91 AC the man would succumb to the illness at just 38 years old, leaving his son by Daeoril, Ronnal Baratheon as Lord of Storm's End, ruling alongside his wife Princess Vissera, he also left behind a son and a daughter by Larrisa.
While the Kingdoms were largely peaceful during these five years, there was one significant conflict which took place in Dorne.
Prince Rhodry Martell, the son of Princess Larrisa and the Lord of Dorne had been left alone when his mother went to the Stormlands to marry Boros Baratheon, a marriage his mother had made to strengthen his position, but in her absence he had grown into a ruthless and arbitrary man, caring little for justice.
Upon his ascension he began a campaign of persecution against the Rhoynar, who he viewed as heretics, despite the majority having taken up the faith of the seven. He ordered the destruction of many of the Rhoynish water temples along the greenblood river, and several elders still teaching the old faith of the Rhoynar were murdered or banished.
Rhodry had grown into a jealous and proud man as well, always making sure he got his due from his vassals, making them repeat their oaths of fealty every year. When Lord Fowler of Skyreach refused to make the journey one year, Rhodry had the man seized and beheaded in full sight of the court…and shortly after this a noble woman of Reachman stock was accused of conspiring against him and was stoned to death. Even a visit from his mother Larrisa could not sway him from his path of tyranny and he refused to change his ways.
Not surprisingly, these actions did little to endear Rhodry to his subjects, and in 93 AC the Lords and Ladies of Dorne revolted against Rhodry, led by Gesmund Martell, the younger brother of his grandfather Rhodry (The former hand of the King).
This revolt was successful despite Larrisa sending a host of Stormlanders to assist her son, and at 24 years of age, Rhodry was deposed from his throne, with Gesmund Martell becoming the Prince of Dorne.
Larissa urged her son to come to Storms End, promising she would find him land, title and position in his younger brothers court but Rhodry refused, instead taking advantage of his great uncle's offer of land in the Dornish Marches…Gesmund Martell, despite leading the revolt was for all intents and purposes a kind and patient man, who still believed his wayward kinsman could make something of himself.
This decision would be Rhodrys death….within three years he would be poisoned in his castle and his killers would never be found, some have speculated Gesmund Martell could have had him killed but given what we know of the man's temperament this seems unlikely, the young Prince had made no shortage of enemies, and it is possible the orphans of the greenblood, the Fowlers or the family of the murdered reach woman completed their vengeance against him.
The thinning of the blood of the dragon was not yet complete however.
The Princess Vissera, daughter of Jaehara Targaryen, granddaughter to the Queen and sister of the aforementioned Aerea had been married to Ronnal Baratheon for several years, and had given birth to three children, a son Richard, and two girls.
Whilst riding from Storms End with her husband to a neighboring castle however, the Princess, always a kindhearted woman stooped down to pet a hunting hound belonging to one of the men-at-arms in their party and was bitten upon the hand.
Within days the wound had begun to fester and the Princess took to the sick bed with a fever, mumbling delirium, losing first her mind and then her life….she was just 21 years old.
Storm's End would be hit with another death as the Princess Cymella, daughter of Vaemond the Strong and last surviving sibling of the Queen of Skulls would suffer a stroke at supper and pass away later that night at the age of sixty, having outlived both her children.
It must be said the Queen of Skulls seemed to care little about the deaths of her grandchildren, and was described as being almost giddy when news of Cymellas death reached her…..however she would not have long to celebrate her sisters death as in 94 AC she would suffer a far more significant loss.
On the 4th day of the 8th Moon, Queen Laena would awake to find her husband of almost 50 years, Jaekar Targaryen, her cousin and the son of Matarys Targaryen dead beside her at the age of 68.
The King Consort, a quiet and humble man never wielded much power at court, though he was beloved by all for his kind nature, standing in stark contrast to his wife the Queen. Though he never truly held the power associated with a King Consort, some have theorized that the more quiet years of the realm and the smaller amount of killings attributed to the Queen in the later years of 80 and 90 AC coincided with the Queen returning to his bed, suggesting that Jaekar was able to use their improved relationship to temper most (though not all) of the Queens worst impulses.
It is even said that at the funeral of her husband, there are those that swear they saw the hint of tears in the Queen's eyes as her daughter Lianna and her golden dragon Kastax set his pyre to flame. We will never know the truth of this, though what we know of the Queen's stern and tactile nature it seems unlikely, though her husband's death must have surely made the queen become aware of her own mortality.
This time period also saw the death of the Lord Commander Bruce Woyne had never fully recovered from the wound he suffered in Oswin Arryns trial by combat. In his place, the Queen appointed her grandson Aemorys Targaryen as the next Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at just 24 years of age…being the youngest member of the Kingsguard at the time he gained command of it.
The Prince Aemorys did not necessarily wish for this appointment, yet he would do what was commanded of him, serving well and relying heavily on the more experienced knights below him to ensure his family's safety.
The rather uneventful period of Targaryen rule would be coming to an end however, as developments on the island of Dragonstone would change the course of Targaryen rule.
10th Moon, 96 AC
Princess Liannas Chambers, Dragonstone
The Princess of Dragonstone sat at her desk, watching the flames dance in the hearth of her chambers, sending shadows through the dark chamber.
The letter called to her, sitting in the middle of her desk and she reached towards it hesitantly before pulling her hand back, not quite ready to read its contents.
She stood from her desk and pulled on a shawl before making her way out of her solar and opening the door to the hallway, accepting the offer of an escort from the guards posted outside her doorway.
She made her way towards the nursery of Dragonstone, a common destination of hers when she could not find sleep, which was a common occurrence most nights, the thoughts of her work, the affairs of the realm and what must be done keeping her from her bed.
She gestured for the guards to wait outside the nursery and made her way inside.
A cool sea breeze came in from an open window as moonlight poured inside the chambers, illuminating a faded tapestry of the Targaryen sigil hanging from a wall. The moonlight reminded her of another night many years ago, a night of pain and grief that she had been powerless to confront from her bed, the tranquility of the night overcome by the screams of a newborn and a mother in anguish.
She pushed the thought from her mind and pulled a chair beside the cradles of her two youngest grandchildren, Vaeron and Aelor, who lay side by side in two cradles, both sound asleep.
She watched them for a while, seeing them always calmed her, taking in the quiet noises of the gulls and the night outside the window and their quiet steady breathing.
She ran a hand though Vaerons silver hair, which shone in the moonlight before turning her attention to Aelor, pulling his blankets up over him, he was smaller than his older brother Vaeron and instead of silver his hair was chestnut brown, despite his small size, the little lad had a fierceness to him.
He has his mothers look She thought to herself, that along with his bright blue eyes made him look far more Tully than Targaryen…but he was the blood of the dragon all the same.
She returned to her seat and began to whisper a poem to the sleeping princes, a favorite of hers.
They held each other close,
And turned their backs upon the end,
The hills that split asunder,
And the black that ate the skies,
The flames that shot so high and hot,
That even dragons burned,
Would never be the final sights,
That fell upon their eyes,
A fly upon a wall,
The waves the sea wind,
Whipped and churned,
The city of a thousand years,
And all that men had learned,
The Doom consumed them all alike,
And neither of them turned.
When she had finished she sat in silence, she supposed it was not the best of poems to give sleeping princes sweet dreams, as it was devoted to the doom of Valyria which had destroyed the Targaryen ancestral homeland, but for some reason it always calmed her, and reminded her that their family alone had endured.
After some time she stood, softly kissed her grandchildren upon the cheek and left the nursery, making her way back to her own with her escort close behind before she heard the soft opening of a door.
She turned and saw her oldest grandson Aurion emerge from it, groggy with sleep, his chestnut brown curls astrew.
‘’Is everything all right nana?’’ The boy asked him as she motioned him forward, even at just 9 years old the boy stood nearly as tall as her.
She looked into his purple eyes and nodded, running her hand through his hair.
‘’Your grandmother just needed to think is all.’’ She said.
‘’Did you find the answer?’’ He asked.
Lianna shook her head ‘’No…..but I am ready to now….go to sleep now.’’
She kissed his forehead and sent him back to his chambers before returning to her own.
The flames in the hearth had burned low, so she added a new log to it, watching the embers spark and crackle before returning to her seat,finally ready to face the letter.
She gently picked it up, breaking the lion seal set in crimson red ink.
My men and the Westerlands stand with you in what is to come your Grace.
~Willem Lannister
The contents of the letter were short, as they knew it would be, one way or another, Willem Lannister, Master of Coin, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West was not one to waste words.
Despite the short nature of the letter, merely 15 letters, it changed everything….the path forward was not just a thought in the Princesses mind, but a plan….a plan which had moved to treason.
And so it begins Lianna thought to herself as she took the letter and placed it into the candle flame, watching it blacken and smolder to nothing, its contents reduced to ash.
It had all started that one night so many years ago, the night of Jaekars birth, and the night he had been taken from her, ripped from her arms and sent across the narrow sea.
That was when she had truly begun to despise her mother. To be sure they had always had their differences, arguing over the best path forward, but Lianna had always done her duty.
That had been before that night….and the cries of her newborn child being taken away had replaced her sense of duty towards her mother with one of hatred.
Even though she could not prove it, she still believed her mother had something to do with the death of her former lover Nakados Tendryis, her mother had murdered and schemed for nearly thirty years, Lianna had come to realize that a small amount of ruthlessness was necessary to rule, a stark change from her younger self…but one could not rule on fear alone or subject their people to cruelty for no reason…justice was needed, and that was a concept that was wholly foreign to her mother.
I have learned your lessons mother Lianna whispered to herself, her mother often said that no measure was too extreme in order to defeat one's enemies…and the Queen of Skulls was an enemy, not only to Lianna but to the realm…her rule would soon come to an end.
It was to happen in a coup, the Princess had no wish of the conflict escalating to a full out conflict which could subject the realm to dragonflame and civil war. Lord Willem, as master of coin had a household guard of Lannister knights and men at arms, and the Princess would not arouse suspicion if she arrived in the capitol with an escort of her own, as Master of Laws she was a common sight in the capitol, and she visited her husband Ronnel, who was still serving as commander of the Red Keeps dragon cloaks, quite frequently.
It would be a difficult matter to convince him to take part in the coup and rebel against the crown, but Lianna meant to find witnesses that could point to her mothers role in his brother Raymonts poisoning all those years ago…their relationship had never been the same after he had discovered her affair with Nakados Tendryis, but time slowly heals such wounds, and she knew that he would trust her if she brought sufficient evidence that his brother had been murdered by the Queen of Skulls.
Even with control of the Dragoncloaks, and the guards of herself and Willem Lannister her mother would no doubt have some supporters in the castle, some measure of bloodshed was unavoidable, her mother had her Queensguard and no doubt some loyal followers that would defend the crown, and her sister Vaella had a personal guard as well.
It was for that reason that her son Aemorys, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at just 25 years of age would prove a complication, had he been a simple sworn brother she would have found it easy to find some pretext to withdraw him from the castle as her own personal kingsguard, but now that he was Lord Commander removing him from the Red Keep would prove more difficult, she did not know how her son would react in such an event, but she could not see him doing anything other than his duty, even if in a hopeless struggle, which would lead to his death.
I must tell him Lianna thought to herself, it was a risky decision to be sure but she would not take the risk of her son being killed in the coup. She would also have to tell Jaerion, she meant to be present during the coup personally, and if something should happen to her he must be prepared to deal with the consequences of her actions.
At least she was spared the worry of what her father, who had passed some years prior might do, knowing him he would have fought for her mother till the last, as honor would demand, though perhaps she might have been able to negotiate a surrender of the castle with him. The thought of her father caused a sharp pain to run through her body, she missed that old man every day and prayed he could forgive her, wherever he was.
As for her mother and Vaella, Lianna was not quite sure what she would do with them. The hatred she felt towards her mother was no less strong towards her sister Vaella who had also stolen her son and been complicit in many of her mothers murders. She had considered everything from blinding and mutilation to exile, though life imprisonment in a tower cell was likely the best option, though she planned to order Vaellas hands, which had been used to rip her child from her breast, cut off by an ax on the block.
Despite her wish for the conflict not to spread outside of the Red Keep and to be finished within a day, she knew she would need to make some contingency plans.
The idea of overthrowing her mother had been on her mind for many years, and she knew she could trust her sister Larrisa, the two had always been close ever since childhood, and with Larrisa came the loyalty of the Stormlands due to the marriage Lianna had organized, as even with Boros’s death she was the regent and had been a mother figure to their sister Daeorils son Ronnal, the Lord of Storm's End and he would follow his aunts lead. Once she might have counted on Dorne, but her nephew Rhodry had been poisoned earlier that year after being deservedly overthrown three years prior.
Willem Lannister had good cause to hate her mother as well, the Queen of Skulls was not popular in the Westerlands after she had done nothing to punish the Ironborn for their second attack on Lannisport or the death of Willems mother Lady Fiona.
The seeds you have sown have finally grown mother She thought
If it came to war the Riverlands would also no doubt flock to her side due to the marriage between Belle Tully, daughter of Daena, and Liannas son Jaerion.
It won't come to war Lianna promised herself, but if it did she was not going to back down, even if it meant her own or her mothers death, the Queen of Skulls reign of murder and injustice would come to an end, no matter the cost.
She thought once again of the true reason of this whole affair, a bastard boy across the Narrow Sea.
She had seen the boy one time after he had been taken from her, while visiting the Sealord of Braavos on a diplomatic mission she had gone to the coastal castle of Freneros, home of the Tendryis family on a reckless whim.
The Tendryis’s had welcomed her and had permitted her to see her son…but from a balcony and had forbidden any direct contact with the child so she had to be content to watch, with an equal amount of joy and anguish from above as the silver haired boy sat hard at work with an abacus in the garden courtyard of the manse, blissfully unaware that his mother was just feet away.
That had been a decade before however, and the child she had seen was likely now a man.
I will see him again Lianna promised herself, when everything was over she would send for the boy and tell him the truth, who she was, who he was and why he had been sent away.
But first she had to win the throne.
She pulled out several pieces of parchment and began to draft a letter to her sister Larrisa and one to Lady Daena of Riverrun, ignoring the tired feeling in her eyes and the throbbing headache behind her skull, she would sleep when everything was done.
The letter would never be sent.
That morning, the Princess Lianna Targaryen, Lady of Dragonstone and Heir to the Iron Throne would be found slumped over her desk,her head lying over several letters, discovered by her son Prince Jaerion.
The Maesters would attribute the Princesses sudden death to what is called an aneurysm, and sources from Dragonstone claim Lianna was under considerable stress at the time, and rarely slept, making it likely that her death was indeed a natural death and not the result of foul play.
There has been some discussion as to the contents of the letters the Princess was rumored to be found beside, though we shall never know the truth of the matter as they were quickly burned, though one can be quite certain in assuming the Prince Jaerion was privy to their contents.
The death of his mother caused significant change within Prince Jaerion, the new Lord of Dragonstone. While by no means a diligent ruler, the Prince took a greater interest in ruling than he had in his past when he was described as being a rather lazy young man, though this rather sudden change did come with its fair share of stressors.
Perhaps more importantly though, the Prince became much more ambitious and focused following the death of his mother, with those around him claiming the young man had great plans for when he would ascend the Throne, often speaking of great conquests against the Free Cities, finally taming the Stepstones and even establishing a colony in Valyria.
It is also around this time period that it is said the Prince Jaerions frequent trips to hunt, hawk, dance, and feast around the realm began to serve a rather different purpose than mere entertainment…..
That morning, the Princess Lianna Targaryen, Lady of Dragonstone and Heir to the Iron Throne would be found slumped over her desk,her head lying over several letters, discovered by her son Prince Jaerion.
The Maesters would attribute the Princesses sudden death to what is called an aneurysm, and sources from Dragonstone claim Lianna was under considerable stress at the time, and rarely slept, making it likely that her death was indeed a natural death and not the result of foul play.
There has been some discussion as to the contents of the letters the Princess was rumored to be found beside, though we shall never know the truth of the matter as they were quickly burned, though one can be quite certain in assuming the Prince Jaerion was privy to their contents.
The death of his mother caused significant change within Prince Jaerion, the new Lord of Dragonstone. While by no means a diligent ruler, the Prince took a greater interest in ruling than he had in his past when he was described as being a rather lazy young man, though this rather sudden change did come with its fair share of stressors.
Perhaps more importantly though, the Prince became much more ambitious and focused following the death of his mother, with those around him claiming the young man had great plans for when he would ascend the Throne, often speaking of great conquests against the Free Cities, finally taming the Stepstones and even establishing a colony in Valyria.
It is also around this time period that it is said the Prince Jaerions frequent trips to hunt, hawk, dance, and feast around the realm began to serve a rather different purpose than mere entertainment…..
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