The Prince that was Promised - AGOT mod AAR

OConner said:

This looks good. I look forward to seeing the Golden Company beat the snot out of everything in their path.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I quite like Aegon's starting position in this scenario. The Golden Company gives you a strong starting force, but it's a finite resource and can't go tow-to-tow with the levies of one of the Lord Paramounts.

Red Cesar said:

quick nitpick, Daemon Blackfyres brother was Aegor Bittersteel, not Aegon

Click to expand...

Fixed. Thanks for the spot

Lord Durham said:

The Golden Company. I like that. Quick question. I'm currently reading Feast For Crows. Will any of the early spoilers cover that book?

Click to expand...

I'm a sucker for mercenaries with flashy names. Feast of Crows and Dance with Dragons happen roughly concurrently, and the starting point of the AAR is near the end of that. I will try and keep things spoiler light by focusing on the game itself (which, I imagine, will rapidly diverge into the realms of insanity) but there are bound to be some. Just the nature of the beast, unfortunately. So let me exhort you to read through the books as quickly as possible so you can read my AAR spoiler-free!

guillec87 said:

A nice idea, let's see where the path takes you

Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll admit, I played a quick trial run before this which ended in an embarrassingly quick, if not quite defeat, then slide into irrelevance. Hopefully this will go better.

Victor227 said:

I've been on team Aegon since he pulled off in two chapters what Dany failed in five books. Everyone was sort of settling into their scheming corpse-picking routine in Feast for Crows, now -boom- Golden Company is in the house, taking the Stormlands and generally being badasses all over the place.

Click to expand...

I love the Golden Company and their potential to shake-up the current power balance in Westeros. Here, I hope to overturn it entirely. We'll see if 10,000 bad-asses are up to the task.

Dovahkiing said:

For the Black Dragon!
JK, I do think there's a chance Young Griff really is Aegon.

Click to expand...

I'm quite torn on the matter, as Aegon as a Targaryen is a better fit to be the third member of Daenerys' dragon trio, but I love the Blackfyres and the idea that he's actually the long-lost heir to that line. If the latter were the case, I would pay money to see him recover Blackfyre the blade. The lost heir wielding the lost heirloom. It would be awesome.

*
First full update will be later tonight!

Landfall

I am finally home, Jon Connington told himself for third time, though it felt no more true now than it had before. Being back in Griffin's Roost was a surreal experience; there were times when he'd never expected to see it again. Yet here he was, standing in the ancestral seat of his house, once more master of its keep.

The ease with which they'd taken the castle had surprised him. Under the cover of darkness, and by sticking to the woods, Franklyn Flowers had been able to sneak his men within twenty yards of the gates without being spotted, their battering ram with them. Though closed, the doors turned out to be unbarred and burst open on the second blow. Black Balaq's archers had brought down the sentries on the walls as well as the ravens the defenders had attempted to send. Connington had thought he might lose a hundred men. Instead, he had lost only four. His cousin, Ronnet, the current Knight of Griffin's Roost, had been away at the time and his younger siblings, Raymond and Alynne, had been captured unharmed. For that much, at least, Connington was grateful; it would have been ill to start this campaign by spilling the blood of his kin.

In fact, events so far had unfolded far better than he would have dared hoped. The Golden Company had made its way across the Narrow Sea without incident. The Crown's fleet seemed to occupied elsewhere; even the weather itself had offered little resistance. The men had put ashore in good order and with almost their entire strength intact. I told Harry he worried too much, Connington thought to himself. Himself, he'd been against the invasion, at least at first, not wanting to risk the life of his ward on a gamble. But once he'd come round on the idea, Connington had committed to it fully. To be timid now was the greater risk. To hesitate was to invite disaster. And so he'd argued long and hard for an aggressive landing, and aggressive march schedule, to be moving always with speed and force so to keep the enemy off balance. Take the initiative, and once you have it never let the enemy take it back. He'd failed at that before, at Stoney Sept during the Rebellion. He'd wasted days searching through houses and hovels for the Usurper while the Starks and Tullys had rushed more men to the field. His delay had cost him the battle, and that battle had cost him his Prince and so much more.

Had I caught Robert then, I could have ended the war, he thought to himself bitterly. There would have been no battle at the Trident, and Rhaegar would not have died. He would be King, and I might be his hand. Still at his side, now and forever.

But Robert had escaped, and Rhaegar had died, and Jon Connington had been left with the knowledge of his failure and his grief. Aegon was his redemption, a chance at last to make up for his mistakes. He'd raised the boy, watched over him, guided and protected him as he grew. Griff and Young Griff, they'd been. It had almost been a life. Then the time had come for the boy to become a Prince once more. Word had come from Westeros. The time was right, the eunuch had said, for the Targaryens to return.

Jon hated it, all of the intrigue and deceit that had led up to this. Despite all they had done, he couldn't bring himself to trust Varys and Illyrio. A eunuch and merchant, and not an honest word between them. Still, they were as much responsible for this as he was, though he was loathe to admit it.


Jon sighed. Varys would be waiting. Per arrangement, he'd come down to give meet Connington, to bring him up to speed on the current situation in the Seven Kingdoms and to help in what ways he could with securing the Stormlands. If he could help win this war, then Jon would tolerate him. There would be time to deal with men like Varys once this was over.

He found the eunuch in the Solar, going through the various correspondence that Ronnet had kept.

“Your Maester is to be commended,” the bald man said as Connington walked in. “Managing messenger ravens requires a particular talent, especially when so many in their flock have been killed.”

Jon frowned. He can't resist the chance to show how much he knows, to flaunt his secrets. “Haldan's only half a maester,” he growled, “but he gets the job done. I hope you can do the same.”

“Implying that I'm only half a man, come now, Lord Connington, I expected better from you,” Varys tittered. “Men in our position should be beyond such inuendo. It is Lord now, is it not? I saw your letter to King's Landing, wherein you declare your intentions to take back your seat and title.”

Varys was referring to a letter he'd written, addressed to King Tommen, claiming that he was simply pursuing his rightful claims and professing a desire to avoid conflict with the throne. It avoided any mention of Aegon or the Gold Company.

“A clever ruse,” the eunuch continued, “but not one that will last long, I'm afraid. A man with your name returning from the dead will raise questions.”

“Feigning my death was your idea.”

“A necessary precaution,” Varys chided. “A noble exile would have drawn too much attention and put our young prince in danger.”

Connington grit his teeth. It had been Varys' idea to spread the rumors that he'd died a drunk and a disgrace, ruining his name so that he'd be more quickly forgotten. He'd agreed, but it had rankled, and he'd never quite gotten over the matter.

“All it needs to do is buy us time to establish ourselves here,” Jon replied coolly. “Once we've secured the Stormlands it won't matter. All of Westeros will know of Aegon's return.”

“Yes, they will. I imagine it will be quite a surprise. It seems death isn't quite the permanent condition everyone thought it to be. I can think of a number of people who will be relieved to hear so.”

“Enough,” Connington interrupted. “What news do you bring?”

“Euron Greyjoy has led a fleet of Ironborn against the Reach. Mace Tyrell is leading his host west to deal with them, some thirty thousand men at arms. That leaves scarce more then twelve thousand men to defend the Crownlands.”

With the Reachmen gone, the numbers are almost even, he mused. That was good. The men of the Golden Company were hardened soldiers, while the forces left in King's Landing were likely to be no better than peasant levies. In a fight, discipline would beat numbers every time.

“What of the Westerlands?” Jon asked.

“The majority of the Lannister forces remain in the Riverlands. They're currently engaged in a siege of Riverrun, trying to break the last of the Tully's resistance.”

“Who leads them?”

“Daven Lannister, the new Warden of the West. At least, he did until recently when Jaime Lannister arrived to replace him.”

“The Kingslayer,” Connington muttered darkly. He bore no particular love for the late King Aerys, but still...

“The same. It seems that being maimed has had a motivating effect on Lord Jaime, a condition I can empathize with,” Varys added with a slight smile.

“Just don't forget who are enemies are.”

“Don't judge a man by appearances, my lord,” Varys chided. “I may look soft, but a man's appearance can be such a flighty thing, first one way, then another. I choose how I look so as to best play the game. And I have been playing for a long time indeed.”


Jon sniffed. “Spare me your lectures. Do you think Riverrun will hold?”

“It may be,” Varys shrugged. “Brynden Tully is a capable commander, for sure. With luck the Riverlands may remain divided for some time to come.”

“Good, better if we can keep those Lannister men where they are and away from the capital.”

Varys touched his chin thoughtfully. “It's not their men I'm worried about.”

“You're a fool, then. Our enemy might outnumber us six to one if they gathered all their strength together.”

“We are outnumbered, yes, so much so that the addition of the four or five thousand soldiers in the Riverlands hardly seem to make our situation much worse. No, it's not those men I'm worried about, but one man in particular”

“The Kingslayer worries you this much?”

Varys shook his head. “Not Jaime Lannister. Tell me, my lord, what do you know about a man named Petyr Baelish?”

“Baelish? The one called Littlefinger? He was the Usurper's Master of Coin.”

“And so much more. The Lannisters have promised him the Lord Paramountcy of the Riverlands, once it is subdued. That is not something we should wish come to pass.”

“Why is that?” Connington asked.

“Because Littlefinger has too much power already. Believe me when I say that he is a dangerous man, my lord. A most dangerous man.”

“If you say so.”

Varys smiled his insufferable smile once more. “You are free to make your own mind, of course. I suppose men see danger in different places. With that concluded, let me welcome you home, Lord Connington. I trust we will have great days ahead.”

There was that word again: home. Home was before the Rebellion. Home was youth, and dreams, and my Silver Prince. Gone forever. There was no going home.

“Are you staying here with us?” Jon asked.

“No, as much as I might wish to stay and enjoy the hospitality, I return for King's landing on the morrow. I can be of better service to our young prince there.”

“Very well.” The further away from Aegon, the better. “If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to.”

Varys bowed slightly as Connington left the room.

These are our allies. These are the men we must stake our fortunes on: liars and cutthroats and mercenaries. And they're our best hope. Gods help us.

It would be a long, hard road to put Aegon on the Iron Throne, with plenty of enemies along the way. No matter how difficult, however, Jon Connington swore that he would see it done.

I failed the father, but I will not fail the son.

guillec87 said:

A good update! I hope I can remember to compare your narrative arc with the one Geroge Martin created for the 6th book, which I hope will have a lot more of chapters about the young Prince

Click to expand...

Thank you! I too hope that Aegon will get some more face time in Winds of Winter, though I'm not sure how well my story will compare to it.

Victor227 said:

JC's a great guy, and a great character. He's one of the few genuinely honorable people in the Seven Kingdoms, and unlike some, he managed to survive the brutal, disproportionate punishment for being so, and is now returning stronger, smarter, and better prepared to lead. The Greyscale was definitely a true tragedy, but also added an urgency to his character too that helps push things through. The Griffin Reborn was one of my favorite Dance chapters to be sure.

Click to expand...

Yes, honorable men don't seem to do so well in Westeros. Connington's gotten off better than some (alas, poor Starks!) but he's still taken his scars. You're absolutely right in that, unlike some others, he's getting a second chance at it. We'll see if he still chooses to act honorably or if his need to atone has become more important.

Enewald said:

ASOIAF <333

I will follow thee!

Click to expand...

Thanks Enewald, glad to have you along!


Thanks for reading, everyone. Next update will be later today.

Waiting


The Stormlands fascinated Aegon. It was a land of contrasts. Harsh, yet also lush. Bright and sunny one day, wracked by storms the next. Rolling hills, dropping cliffs, crashing waves, and verdant forests. A half a dozen different climes withing a weeks ride, and this was only one part of Westeros. From the blistering sands of Dorne, to the lofty peaks of the Vale, to the frigid snows of the North. Westeros, seemingly, had all the world in it. He'd read about it, of course, with Haldan as he was growing up, and Griff had described it at times, but he was finding that being here himself was something else entirely. He wanted to see it all. Maybe that would be the first thing he would do when he was king, he decided, to tour the Seven Kingdoms and learn firsthand about the places he was to rule.

The Golden Company had landed first at Rain House, at castle the eastern tip of Cape Wrath, had been the first place secured. It's harbor couldn't compare to Storm's End or King's Landing, but it served well enough to put men and horse ashore. When the Company pushed on to Griffin's Roost, Griff, Lord Connington, had insisted that Aegon remain here. The time for hiding was drawing soon to an end, he'd said, but for just a little longer they needed to keep their enemies in the dark. That was why Aegon needed to stay, to keep out of sight. Aegon suspected that Griff was merely trying to keep him safely away from battle but, after a fierce row, had finally acquiesced.

Chafing at being left behind, Aegon had taken to exploring the surrounding countryside with Ser Rolly, or 'Duck', as his only traveling companion. He knew Griff would be angry and think him reckless, but this only spurred him on.


Just the other week he'd ridden down to one of the small fishing villages that dotted the coast. The smallfolk had reacted with fear at first, to see to armed riders approach, then suspicion. The sight of Aegon, head bare, the blue dye long since washed clear, had been compelling however. Curiosity eventually got the better of some and brought them out of their homes; even the most ignorant peasant knew what silver hair and purple eyes meant.

Duck had been uneasy when they dismounted. Several weeks ago Aegon had named Ser Rolly the first to his Kingsguard, and the knight was taking his new duties very seriously. He walked around, hand forever on his sword, ready to draw on anyone who might pose a threat to the Prince. Not Septon nor merchant nor fisherman were free of suspicion in Duck's eyes. Aegon privately wondered if perhaps Griff had said something to him.

Touring the village, he'd seen one of the fishermen rigging his little boat. Aegon remembered reading about that sort of thing in one of Haldan's books, so he'd gone over and asked the fisherman if he'd show him what he was doing. Reluctant at first, after some time and effort he was going on enthusiastically about his work and explaining how this knot was best for this kind of line, and so on. After Aegon had succeeded in tying one of the more complicated ones, though not til his sixth or seventh try, the man had grinned broadly and proclaimed that they'd make an honest worker out of him yet.

All in all, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time. It reminded Aegon of his days on the Shy Maid. It was better than sitting around in the too-small castle back at Rain House, waiting for other men to win his throne for him.

Griff had no right to keep me behind, he thought the hundreth time. I am to be King, and a king's place is at the front, leading his men. That was how Rhaegar had led. Aegon had grown up with stories about his father, of how great a man he'd been and how greater a king he could have made. Griff spoke solemnly of it, sadly even, but with such certainty that Aegon never once questioned it. Griff had been his father's close friend, after all; who would know better?

“M'lord,” Duck spoke up, interrupting his thoughts, “perhaps we mightn't ride so far afield.”

“What's the matter, duck?” Aegon asked, half irritated. This caution from his companion was a recent, and unwelcome, development. “Afraid the fisherfolk will net you as a meal?”

“Not at all, m'lord,” Duck said with a sour face. He hated jokes about his name. “But you know Jon and 'Arry aren't like as to be pleased to know you're doing it.”


“Those two can be dreadfully old womanish when the mood takes them,” Aegon replied flippantly. “They worry too much.”

Duck frowned. “That may be, but if I'm to be your Kingsguard then I need to think of your safety. You should at least let some men from the Company go with you.”

“There's few enough fighting men here right now to waste on escort duty. When the Captain-General finally arrives with the second wave we can think about those sorts of things. Until then, you'll just have to make due, Duck.”

It was Aegon who'd first proposed the landing in Westeros to try and capitalize on the present chaos, rather than waiting for his aunt Daenerys to come from the East. Once Connington had come 'round he'd urged they move as swiftly as possible. Harry Strickland, the Captain-General of the Company, had urged caution, however. Eventually, they'd split the difference. Connington took what men were ready to depart and sailed West from Volantis, while Strickland had stayed behind to finish preparations and gather whatever additional supporters or sellswords were available. He was supposed to arrive only a couple months later, but the latest word from across the Narrow Sea was that his departure had been delayed. A large pirate fleet had been sited and made leaving Volantis by sea practically impossible. Instead, he was attempting to come overland to Pentos where Illyrio could arrange transport.

“Perhaps I should head south and visit my Uncle,” Aegon mused out loud.

“Isn't Lemore already there?” Duck asked.


“Yes, but she's just a Septa. I don't see why she was sent to Sunspear and not me; I'm Prince Doran's nephew after all. If anyone is going to convince him to join my cause it'll be his own blood.” Aegon dreamed of that mission, how he would win over the nobles and march north with an army of Dornishmen at his back.

“And I hear the Dornish women are something else,” Duck said in a mischievous tone. “As fiery as their food, I hear tell.”

“Yes, I suppose,” Aegon said with a slight frown. Women were nice and all but who had time for that when there were kingdoms to win?

“It might be that you'd even find a wife,” Duck continued. “Princess Arianne is supposed to be quite a beauty. Probably take one look and fall into bed with you.”

Aegon looked back, annoyed. “I'm to be wed to Daenerys. They say she's the most beautiful woman the world. And besides, my aunt has dragons.”

“But she's back in Meereen still, isn't she?” Duck insisted. “I thought that was why we came west in the first place, to put you on the throne yourself instead o' waiting for some girl?”

“Well, yes...” Griff and Illyrio didn't agree on too much but on this point they'd been of the same mind. Aegon was to marry Daenerys, simple as that. It would cement the new Targaryen dynasty and restore the bloodline. It would dispel any doubts as to his legitimacy. And she had dragons! They'd never even really discussed the possibility of him marrying someone else.

Of course, things had changed so much from the original plan, would that need to change as well? What if his aunt never left Meereen? He would need to find another Queen, but who? The thought troubled Aegon.
I'll need to talk to Griff about this, Aegon decided. But in the meantime, I don't intend to sit idle. “Come on, Duck, we're going back to Rain House.”

Duck nodded. “As you will.”

“When we get there, I want you to go through the keep and see what extra weapons and armor can be found. Then round up whatever smiths there are to be had and set them to work making more.”

“Alright, m'lord,” Duck said thoughtfully. “Do you think Harry'll have trouble finding equipment and the like?”

“I think I'm tired of waiting.” Aegon's voice had iron in it. “We're going to raise our own men and arm them. When Lord Connington marches to siege Storm's End, I intend to meet him there. And I won't go alone.”

Sorry about the delay! Some unexpected guests arrived from out of town so I have been doing some entertaining the past few days. Anyway, here is the promised update, albeit late, wherein we get our first look at our titular Prince.

I may as well note here that I have made some deviations from cannon where necessary or where it felt appropriate. The first, which is alluded to in this update, is in regards to the strength of the Golden Company. In lore, this stands at 10,000, which is what you start the game with. However, if Aegon is successful in his war for the Stormlands a second group of 10,000 show up as reinforcements, presumably to give Aegon a decent shot at actually winning the Iron Throne. To accommodate that piece of gameplay I have fudged the strength of the Company to slightly larger than in the books while also including other sell-swords and the like to make up the difference. Hopefully this explanation is a palatable one. If any of these sorts of changes come up that seem particularly wonky, feel free to post or shoot me a pm and I will look at trying to write it as something more reasonable.