Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
He has a lot of positive traits similar to Jaeharys for sure, and in the same vein as Jaeharys he is gonna have quite a few kids, unfortunately the similarities arnet just positive in nature, Aurion will have more than his fair share of tragedy in his reign, similar to Jaeharys, and I can confirm that at least one of his kids is going to meet a tragic fate like Jaeharys's children.
Caught up with the most recent chapter as well. Great standard, as always. It seems there may eventually be a reckoning betwee Valerion’s love for his brother and his own vaulting ambitions. One hopes it doesn’t come to blooshded. But this is AGOT, after all …
Caught up with the most recent chapter as well. Great standard, as always. It seems there may eventually be a reckoning betwee Valerion’s love for his brother and his own vaulting ambitions. One hopes it doesn’t come to blooshded. But this is AGOT, after all …
Ive hinted this earlier but things will reach a boiling point between Aurion and at least one of his relations, and it will be blood not water that boils over, as to whether Valerion will be involved only time will tell.
Grandmaester Owen, a young but exceptional man of 38 with curly orange hair and a thick beard paced the chambers, holding the little rod he used to point to the large parchment map which hung in the chamber where Maelyx and Balaeron took their lessons.
‘’We shall finish with this…..Which principal houses opposed the crown during the Lion's Rebellion?’’ The Reachman asked, pointing at Maelyx with the rod.
‘’Houses Lannister and Arryn.’’ Maelyx answered dutifully.
‘’I believe you are forgetting one my Prince.’’ The maester responded.
Maelyx paused, trying to remember their reading of the civil war which had embroiled the realm during the reign of his kinsman Vaemond the Strong, the Prince, a boy of eight was a dutiful if not diligent study, but that had not stopped him from skipping much of the background reading and going right to the battles.
‘’House Darklyn.’’ Balaeron whispered, as usual knowing the answer, Maleyx knew his kinsman had read their assigned passage no less than three times, never wanting to not know the answer to anything when called upon.
‘’House Darklyn, of Duskendale.’’ Maelyx quickly responded, remembering, and giving his fathers brother a grateful glance.
The Grandmaester nodded, rapping the rod against Duskendale on the map….’’Very good my Prince….I believe we are done for today….next week we shall begin Battles and Sieges of the Century of Blood by Master Joseth…..a tome i'm sure you two boys will enjoy.’’
Balaeron and Maelyx bid farewell to their tutor and left the chambers, walking one of the expansive hallways of the Red Keep.
The two Princes were fast friends, despite Balaeron being four years Maelyx’s senior, the two shared a strong bond, though forged largely through necessity, with Maelyx considering the older boy more of a brother than an uncle. Balaeron was the youngest of his brothers, with the closest to his age, Matarys, being away in Riverrun.
Maelyx was in a similar situation, albeit the opposite, his three younger brothers were all infants and not much for providing companionship. Maelyx’s father, the King Aurion similarly seemed to have little time for his son, having been gone from the capitol for well over a year, and even when he was in the capitol, his father always seemed to be busy with something, never having time for him. His father had promised him that he would accompany him on his next progress however and Maelyx counted the days until he could spend time with his father, but until then Balaeron was the only constant companion Maelyx had access too, though he enjoyed conversing with the sons of cooks, stablemasters, and knights whenever they came to the Red Keep, however these were constantly changing positions, with it being common for the Prince to make friends with the son of some knight or cook only to never see them again, Balaeron was his only constant friend.
The two were quite different however, with Maelyx, despite being years younger was growing into a stocky young man, while Balaeron was slim and lithe, though blessed with a dashing smile and deep purple eyes which were the delight of every girl in the Red Keep, though he seemed to have little interest in their advances.
Maelyx also had to admit his kinsman was more than a little odd, Balaeron had a reckless and bold streak to him, seemingly fearing nothing and at the same time seemed to go into a shell of submission and meekness whenever anyone, mostly his older brother Aelor criticized or mocked him, never attempting to argue or stand up for himself. Balaeron was also the hardest worker Maelyx had ever met, with his older friend having an obsession with not taking any shortcuts, often studying hours at a time before their lessons with the Maester and keeping his chambers completely organized and spotless, refusing to let the servants do anything. Maelyx had once heard his father remark quietly to his mother that the boy surely had more than a drop of the blood of the dragon, spoken in jest.
The two got on very well however, largely due to their love of talking, often conversing for hours at a time, sometimes from morning to dusk, just walking the halls of the Red Keep, Balaeron would talk to anyone, servants, cooks, soldiers, kingsguard…it made no difference.
‘’So…..what do you say…..can we go…it will be fun’’ Balaeron asked, despite being four years Maelyx’s senior his kinsman was often content to let the younger boy take the lead and make decisions as to their plans for the day.
‘’I guess……if you know the way.’’ Maelyx answered, Balaeron had been asking him to accompany him into the city for the past several days and Maelyx had no wish to deny him any longer.
Balaeron flashed him a smile and gestured for him to follow.
Maelyx assumed they were going to go through a tunnel, it was common knowledge among the Targaryen children that there were many secret passages in the Red Keep and Maelyx had no doubt that Balaeron, with his bold temperament had managed to find one, perhaps multiple.
However instead of some dark tunnel, Balaeron led him towards the back of the Keep, facing Blackwater Bay, waiting a moment for one of the patrolling Dragon Cloaks to turn the corner of the ramparts above, Balaeron kneeled at the base of the red brick walls and carefully removed a loose brick a few feet in width, grabbing a satchel stored within and slithered his way through to the rocky cliffs above the sea, gesturing Maelyx to follow, and he did, albeit with discomfort, Balaeron then placed the loose brick back.
‘’This way.’’ Balaeron said, without any hesitation dropping his body over the rocky cliffs, holding onto the jagged rocky outcropping with his bare hands and making his way downwards.
Maelyx paused, looking down the cliff to the swirling waters of the Blackwater Bay over a hundred feet below, it was a clear day and he could see the rocks in the clear waters below, once again he felt awe out how little Balaeron seemed to fear things that made his stomach turn.
‘’If I can do it so can you….i've made this climb at night…you can do it.’’ The older boy encouraged him, hanging from the rocks like some kind of monkey in Essos Maelyx remembered the Grandmaester showing them a drawing of.
Maelyx hesitantly followed, with the two of them slowly making their way down the rocks, Maelyx was strong for his age, but he found his arms and hands aching by the time they descended to the rocky pools below, several small scratches and cuts stinging as he maneuvered the salty wet rocks.
It took them at least half an hours turn wading through the rocks and watery pools, the Red Keep looming above them as they turned the corner, eventually coming to one of the wharves outside the city's formidable walls.
Before they approached, Balaeron reached into his satchel and pulled out two caps that boys their age often wore in the city to prevent lice Balaeron claimed, and a necessity for the both of them as they both had short silver hair which would betray their nobility quickly.
‘’You will have it easier than me since your eyes are blue…I have to avoid looking people in the eyes.’’ Balaeron explained, helping Maelyx pull on the cap.
They then made their way to the wharves and docks, the stink of fish heavy in the air but Maelyx paid it little mind, enthralled by the sight of so many people, the Red Keep was often quite crowded but there were hundreds of people walking around.
The two princes ran down the docks, looking at the days catch, with Balaeron inquiring to the shopkeepers as to what the most colorful fishes were called, more often than naught being met with a curse or a rap on the head for scaring the customers away, to which Balaeron would quickly retreat and begin speaking to the next fishmonger down the line, undeterred.
Having walked the length of the wharf, they made their way inside the city proper through one of the gates, the Gold Cloaks paying them no further attention they would any other gutter rat that was a common sight roaming the city.
‘’This way.’’ Balaeron gestured as they walked through the streets of Kings Landing, quickly leaving the crowded streets behind and turning into some rather shady looking alley ways.
Leaning against the moldy walls of a timber wine sink was an old man with one arm, dozing, a small wooden bowl next to him, Maelyx, feeling sorry for the man fished a few coppers from the purse he had brought with him and placed it in the bowl, and walking away, though a few feet away he stopped and turned around, his suspicions correct as Balaeron was kneeling and taking the coins he had left with the other pennies already in the bowl for himself.
‘’Put that back.’’ Maelyx said, annoyed, Balaeron had many oddities beside his insatiable appetite for conversation and recklessness, he also had a strange obsession with coin and money, despite his privileged upbringing, one time when he was younger he had even stolen some jewels from Maelyx’s mothers chambers, though Alicent had refused to let the boy be punished, seeing the return of the jewels and her young brother-by-laws apology as lesson enough, though unfortunately this had not hampered the young Princes kleptomaniac tendencies.
‘’What is he going to buy a new arm with it?’’ Balaeron jested, flashing a smile, but when he saw his younger friend's expression he became meek as he often did when chastised and put the coins back in the bowl.
‘’Sorry.’’ The older boy said glumly as they walked in silence.
‘’Why do you do it……we have anything we could want back in the Red Keep, you don't need any of the stuff you take.’’ Maelyx asked.
Balaeron was silent for a moment before answering ‘’I dont know…its just…exciting I guess….anyways were already here.’’
They arrived at a small walled gate, with a burly man in a patched vest standing in front of the entrance, Balaeron claimed he knew a way to sneak in but Maelyx insisted that they pay the few groat entrance fee, taking some more coins from the coin purse he had hidden in his shirt.
Once inside they came to a dingy courtyard, with several rough wooden benches set up facing a ramshackle stage of some sort, there was a good sized crowd there, mostly poorer folk Maelyx ventured by the rags they wore, the dirt on their faces and the smell of sour wine which adorned them like a cloak.
‘’What is this?’’ He asked Balaeron who excitedly told him he would see soon enough.
And see he did…..the event turned out to be a visiting troupe of actors from the Free Cities, who put on a play, the cast ranging from blue bearded Tyroshi, long haired Lyseni, and scantily clad women who looked to have received some sort of painful tattoo or brand of a tear shape below one of their eyes, but when asked Balaeron couldn't or wouldn't answer what that meant.
The actors were loud and boisterous, often times making jokes that Maelyx did not understand but he enjoyed the bright if often tattered dress of the actors and found the wooden sword fights entertaining and before long he was enthralled in the pageantry, laughing along with Balaeron, who seemed to find amusement in every line, laughing his head off.
There was a rather uncomfortable scene when the two main actors had come to the stage completely nude and began to wrestle. Maelyx, abashed and confused, quickly averted his eyes, though Balaeron seemed to have no qualms about watching, seemingly particularly interested in the tall Lyseni man with the long hair.
Overall however it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and Maelyx looked to Balaeron to tell him as much when he saw his older friend was missing. Not particularly alarmed and feeling hungry, Maelyx went over to the food cart and paid for some sort of grilled meat.
After he had eaten the food, grease still dripping from his fingers he turned and saw Balaeron, who was walking through the crowd and to Maelyx’s horror, saw him subtly snatch a small coin purse from the belt of an old bald man with a gray goatee and a faded brown cloak, who was so engrossed in conversation with one of the women actors he noticed nothing.
‘’Lets go.’’ Balaeron said, walking by quickly, not breaking his stride.
‘’Put that back.’’ Maelyx hissed.
‘’It doesn't work like that…I can't simply put it back on his belt.’’ The older boy said meekly, looking uncomfortable.
Maelyx was about to insist, grabbing the coin purse from his hand and intending to tell the man he dropped it when he saw the old man frantically patting around his belt, his eyes searching the crowd before he landed on the two princes, Maelyx quite literally caught holding the coin purse.
‘’OI…THIEF…THIEF.’’ The old man said, pointing and raising the cry.
‘’I didnt….’’ Maelyx began, attempting to explain but it appeared the patrons of the threatre and the man himself were in no mood for a nuanced discussion it seemed, rapidly approaching the two Targaryens.
‘’RUN.’’ Balaeron shouted, the slim and lithe older boy sprinting through the rusty gate and gesturing for Maelyx to follow.
The young Prince, dropping the coin purse did his best to oblige, yet he ran straight into the man who had been watching the gate, bouncing backwards to the ground with a groan.
The man, brown skinned and winburnt was on him in a moment, pinning him to the ground. ‘’You want to see how we deal with thieving little gutter rats in Volantis…..little shit.’’
‘’Don't….please.’’ Maelyx gasped, struggling to breathe.
Suddenly he heard the man grunt as Balaeron, who had already escaped, had apparently ran back to attempt to help his friend, lept on the back of the man, who rather predictably shrugged him off roughly.
Before the man could retaliate, a small patrol of Gold Cloaks, who had been summoned by one of the audience came by.
‘’What's going on ‘ere.’’ One of them demanded.
‘’Caught a couple of thieves picking pockets.’’ The gate guard said, glaring at the two boys.
‘’Alright…..its right to the dungeon with you lot.’’ One of the Gold Cloaks said, spitting to the ground and advancing to grab Maelyx.
‘’Wait….Wait…im a Targaryen….the King is my father.’’ Maelyx said desperately, causing the two gold cloaks to laugh, which abruptly stopped when Maelyx pulled the cap off of his head, baring his short silver hair.
‘’Il….Ill get the commander.’’ One of the Gold Cloaks said, rushing off.
Shortly later, their kinsmen Viserys Goldfyre arrived on horseback, his golden armor glinting in the late evening sun, looking none too pleased, dismounting he had a quiet word with the owner of the establishment before turning his attention to the two rogue princes.
‘’Balaeron….this is the fourth time this year you've been caught causing trouble in the city….perhaps I should have a word with the King upon his return…..you've been warned time and time again, some time in the dungeon might be the only thing that gets through to you….would you like to spend time with real criminals?’’ The Commander of the City Watch said sternly.
Balaeron bowed his head ‘’Im sorry…..It won't happen again.’’
‘’See that it doesn't.’’ He said sternly before his tone gentled somewhat ‘’You are going to get yourself killed boy….its a wonder you haven't already, I won't always be close at hand to save you…and to involve Maelyx,a boy of eight in this….use your head.’’ Viserys said, not unkindly and Balaeron once again meekly apologized.
Viserys then turned to Maelyx ‘’I trust you are unhurt my Prince?’’
Maelyx nodded slightly, the fear and adrenaline slowly abating.
‘’Good….I hope you learned your lesson…..come, ill escort you both back, your mother is most worried my Prince…about both of you I might add, god's help that poor woman, she has enough to worry about with three young boys, too add the Kings brothers on top of that…..I mean it Balaeron….this cannot continue.’’ Viserys said, most of his anger directed at the older prince.
The two princes were escorted back to the Red Keep and reunited with a worried, if understandably upset Queen Alicent, who made it clear to both boys in no uncertain terms what she had thought of their little escapade.
112 AC- 113 AC
King Aurion did not dwell in the capitol for long following his return from his progress, almost immediately riding to Sunspear after receiving an invitation to attend a great tourney in Sunspear, with Queen Alicent also accompanying him, joined by their eldest son Maelyx who was deemed old enough to make the journey, it was to be the Kings third visit to Dorne, and Alicents second, with the Queen holding a ‘’women's court’’ in the Water Gardens of Dorne.
Following this, the royal party returned to Kings Landing where Aurion made preparations for the future of yet another of his brothers, the Prince Vaeron having recently come of age while the King was away on a progress.
The boy had spent near all his life as a squire to Lord Commander Aemorys, as well as serving the other sworn brothers of the Kingsguard, residing in the White Sword Tower, and it was Aurions hope that his younger brother would take to the lifestyle. As chance would have it, a spot within the sworn seven was vacant after a recent death, and when Aurion politely suggested the prospect to his younger brother, who looked every image of the gallant knight with his long silver hair and strong build, Vaeron agreed. Strictly speaking the Kingsguard was meant to be made up of seven knights from different regions of the realm, and Vaerons appointment meant that there would be two Targaryens serving, but the King felt if anything warranted bending the rules slightly, it was to ensure the future of his own brother.
Shortly after this, Queen Alicent announced she was pregnant once again and the delighted King ordered preparations for a great tourney to be held in King's Landing to celebrate the news.
Knights, Lords, and Ladies from every corner of the realm made the trip to Kings Landing, joined by hedge knights, bards and merchants, all seeking to be apart of the splendor and lured by the promise of gold and renown, it was said the King was sparing no expense on the festivities and in addition to the jousts there would be an archery tournament, horse races, a tourney of singers and even a dismounted melee in the style of the Northerners.
Just days into the tourney, Queen Alicent would give birth to twins, a girl and a boy, whom would be named Baela and Yraenor. The streets of Kings Landing were close to bursting as the King and Queen appeared on the ramparts of the Red Keep with the two newest members of the royal family, with no cheers being louder than when the beloved Queen Alicent appeared holding the couple's first daughter, the girl the Queen had always wanted.
The tournament brought crowds that Kings Landing had never before seen, with the population of the city swelling to well over half a million for the festivities, though it would decrease after the conclusion of the tournament. The King did not dedicate himself wholly to idle pursuits and entertainment however, with so many nobles in attendance it was a rare opportunity for the King to converse with much of the realm in the comfort of his own city.
The Kings old friend, the famed sailor and heir to Highgarden Norman Tyrell was of course in attendance, and it was decided that six year old Prince Jaenar, the second child of Aurion and Alicent would accompany Norman Tyrell back to Highgarden to be fostered as a ward, the Queen Alicent would at first claim the boy was too young, but eventually gave her assent when Aurion assured her of his absolute trust in Norman Tyrell. Furthermore, Aurion took the opportunity to hold court after each day's jousts, with many powerful lords of the realm in attendance.
Many notable decisions came of these court sessions, with Aurion sentencing Lord Lewis Turnberry to abdicate his seat in the Westerlands and live the rest of his life as a brother of the Night's Watch when evidence was provided to the King the man had ordered a fifteen year old Reach lord killed. This was not to be the only significant case presided over by the King. At court, a minor member of House Kidwell in the Reach accused Lord Hobert Kidwell, the current Lord of Ivy Hall of attempting to murder him. King Aurion found the accusations serious enough to order Lord Kidwells arrest and preparation of a trial.
Lord Kidwell, who had arrived in the city with a retinue, had no intention of rotting in a cell, no matter how comfortable and demanded a trial by combat to prove his innocence, appointing a one Ser Samwell Kidwell as his champion. The King was resolved at first to face the man himself, however after a conversation with the Queen Alicent he rather reluctantly instructed his Uncle Aemorys to select one of the sworn brothers of the Kingsguard to stand for the crown in the upcoming trial by combat.
10th Moon, 113 AC The White Sword Tower, Red Keep
Vaeron stood in the plain chambers of the Tower of the White Sword Hand surrounded by his sworn brothers.
Maynard Mormont, the Northman, sat on a bench sharpening his two handed ax, an exceedingly fine weapon which had a snarling figure of a bear on the end of it, beside him, Ser Edmure Darry poured himself a glass of wine, as he always did before a fight.
Both of them would be the best choices…I surely won't be chosen The young Prince, a tall and attractive young man thought to himself as he stood against the stonewall of the tower of the Kingsguard, doing his best to hide his nervousness from his sworn brothers, his hand fiddling with the sword at his side.
Ser Edmure Darry was a well known tourney knight and a skilled fighter, Vaeron had seen his prowess first hand when he had won the small tourney Aurion had arranged for his brother years earlier, and Ser Maynard Mormont was one of the finest fighters in the realm, Ser Emerick Stonecrab and Ser Moribald Ambrose were skilled with a sword as well. There was also the chance his Uncle might decide to champion for Aurion himself, and why not….the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard was a strong and imposing man.
He will choose Ser Maynard, surely Vaeron thought, reassuring himself, he had faced that veritable bear of a man several times on the training yard, and it was apparent that there were few, if any that could match his strength and quickness with that two handed ax of his.
Vaeron to his credit was a competent sword, his size and strength gave him an instant advantage in most fights and he had a quick mind for when to launch a feint or spot a pattern his opponent was utilizing.
Vaeron had never feared the training yard, there were of course moments of nervousness before facing the best of his brothers, especially Mormont but training was training….there was no real risk involved….but the thought of a fight, a true fight where the other man was actually trying to kill him, especially with dozens, if not hundreds watching…it was a thought that quite frankly terrified Vaeron Targaryen.
He was shaken from his thinking by the opening of the door to the tower, seeing his brother Aurion walking in, with all the Kingsguard, Vaeron included, bowing their heads respectfully.
‘’Lord Commander……I trust you have come to a decision?’’ Aurion asked their Uncle.
Aemorys nodded, running a hand through his thick brown beard and looking at the gathered Kingsguard, his gaze resting on Ser Maynard Mormont, who got to his feet slowly, placing the whetstone on the bench, his ax in hand. Vaeron felt a wave of relief wash over him, Mormont had been the obvious choice.
This moment of relief washed away almost immediately when his Uncle's gaze suddenly shifted to him, Vaerons blood running cold.
‘’I think it best your brother, the Prince gets some experience your Grace…..the yard is one thing….but not all battles will be fought in the yard.’’ Aemorys, who had been his guardian for several years, said.
Aurion nodded slowly, also turning his gaze to his younger brother ‘’You are ready for this Vaeron?’’
Vaeron felt the eyes of all his sworn brothers converge on him at once, he forced himself to put on a brave face and nodded ‘’I've been ready for this for a while.’’
His Kingly brother looked relieved ‘’Well, the trial shall take place in two hours……I suggest you prepare….If you have need of anything come to me personally.’’
‘’We shall leave our sworn brother to ready himself.’’ Aemorys said, gesturing the rest of the Kingsguard to follow him, stopping just before he left the chamber.
‘’Vaeron….you will be needing this……wield it well….it's lighter than any blade you're used to…should you be wishing for a man to spar with, you need only ask…i'll send a man when it's time. ’’ His uncle said, holding out a sheathed Dark Sister towards him.
Vaeron gave a nod of thanks and accepted the Valyrian Steel sword, and his uncle withdrew.
With the room to himself, the Prince began to nervously pace the room, he reached for the flagon of wine Ser Edmure Darry had left behind and took a swallow before quickly putting it down…the last thing he needed was to show up drunk at a fight where his very life was in the balance.
He sat down on the bench, drawing Dark Sister from its sheath, turning it in his hand.
He was startled when the door opened and he saw his younger brother Aelor, a young man of 16 strut in, Vaeron stood to greet him, laying Dark Sister on the table.
‘’I hear you are going to fight today.’’ Aelor said, approaching him.
Vaeron opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a dry croak ‘’Yes.’’
‘’You cannot be that much of a craven.’’ Aelor said in disbelief, approaching him.
Vaerons jaw tightened at that, he had went to great pains to hide his dark secret and quite successfully he thought, but Aelor was the only one who knew, the two had a complicated relationship, but being quite close in age had spent the most time with each other during their childhood, during which time Aelor had ascertained his brothers true nature, Vaeron thought it possible his uncle and former guardian Aemorys had a suspicion…but Aelor was the only one who truly knew.
Aelor suddenly and without warning pushed Vaeron against the stone wall, hard, with Vaerons armor rattling from the collision and the Prince flinching involuntarily.
‘’What do you have to fear….you are bigger than most men….you have plate armor…and a blade of Valyrian fucking Steel.’’ He hissed, despite standing several inches shorter than Vaeron, he knew better than to interfere when the wrath was upon his younger brother and remained silent.
Seeing his brother wasn't going to respond, Aelor sighed, steadied Vaeron, and dusted off his armor ‘’Well…..I've gotten a look at your opponent in the yard.’’
‘’Is he good?’’ Vaeron asked, no small amount of nervousness stemmed from the fact he had no idea of who he was to fight.
‘’Aye….he's a better sword than you.’’ His brother said simply.
‘’Can I beat him…he surely must have some weakness.’’ Vaeron asked desperately, the prince had a sharp mind and knew that one's sword skill wasn't the only thing that mattered in a fight.
‘’You're bigger than him, and smarter id wager….not to mention your armor and blade is far better than anything he will be able to scrape together…but can you beat him…that comes down to you….if you go out there thinking you're going to lose…than its over.’’ Aelor said.
‘’Then give me something to work with.’’ Vaeron demanded.
Aelor sighed ‘’His technique is lazy…..and if you hold him off long enough it gets worse as he gets frustrated, he will try and trick you…don't get lulled to sleep by only focusing his sword…he will use his shield as well.’’
‘’In most fights the smaller man will try and dance around someone like you….don't let him….use your size and pin him in a corner…don't let him slip away, let Dark Sister do the rest.’’ Aelor continued before turning to leave.
Vaeron nodded slightly, it was good to have a plan and yet worrying at the same time now that he had a clearer picture of his foe.
Aelor stopped just before leaving ‘’For someone as smart as you, you are a fool to be worried….if worse comes to worse, you truly think our brother will just sit and watch you be killed, besides Kidwell would be an idiot to slay the Kings own brother in front of him…seven hells, if it comes to it, i'll put an end to it myself….this is no true battle, and that's all the better for you, not everyone has that luxury.’’
Vaeron opened his mouth to respond but his brother was already gone.
He spent the remainder of the time going through his stances, getting used to the light weight of the blade, for a while the nervousness abating slightly as he slipped into the familiar routine.
His Uncle Aemorys came to fetch him shortly after, but Vaeron remembered little of their walk to the courtyard of the Red Keep, the nervousness back stronger than ever and turning his Uncle's words to a murmur.
He saw several hundred people in the courtyard, forming a circle, standing in the middle was his opponent, an angry looking man with auburn curls and a scraggly beard, armored in leather and a steel half helm, with a sword and shield at his side.
‘’You are ready for this?’’ His Uncle asked, stopping him and placing a hand on Vaerons shoulder.
For a moment he wanted nothing better than to claim illness, to make some sort of excuse but his Uncle would see right through that….and he would truly know his secret then. ‘’I am Uncle.’’ He lied, forcing himself to adopt an air and voice of confidence.
Aemorys nodded and gave him a final squeeze on the shoulder and gestured for Vaeron to make his way towards the center of the courtyard.
The young Kingsguard heard little of what was said, trying to focus completely on his stance, he was so focused on trying to remain calm he did not even realize his brother had signaled for the fight to begin, with it coming as a surprise when his opponent began to launch a flurry of furious strikes with his sword.
He was taken so off guard that one of the strikes even took him across the face, just above his nose and under his eye in the eye slit of his armor, Vaeron desperately tried to regain his composure, backpedaling and raising his shield, all the while as he felt his blood running down his helmet and onto his mouth.
It's just like the training yard…nothing more than that He thought to himself as he desperately tried to regain his composure, catching one of his opponents strikes on Dark Sister, and launching a thrust of his own which Kidwell turned away with his shield.
He suddenly remembered Aelors warning that the man enjoyed to use his shield, just in time as out of the corner of his eye he saw Kidwell attempting to bash his shield from the side towards his helmet. Thinking quickly he backstepped quickly, dodging the shield bash and then stepped forward, barging into the smaller man with a plated shoulder and sending him stumbling towards the corner.
Determined not to let the man get away, Vaeron used his strength and size to block his escape and launched attack after attack with Dark Sister, hacks, thrusts, slashes, which his opponent was hard pressed to stop as the Valyrian Steel cut through the air.
Exhausted and seeing the futility of further resistance, his opponent threw down his sword and Vaeron accepted his surrender, the rapid beating of his heart deafening anything his brother might have said.
10th Moon 113 AC -114 AC
Following the trial by combat, Lord Kidwell would be banished to the night's watch, and the focus of the court returned to the tourney. It would be a Northman named Cregan Stark to win the champions purse, dismounting many southron knights along the way. The man, who would come to be known as the ‘’Direwolf of Winterfell’’ is well recorded in Northern tomes and was known to be utterly mad and reckless, though an honorable sort.
As the crowds departed the great tourney, all would agree it was one of the greatest tourneys of the past few decades, however there would be one more event of significance to occur around this time period.
The Prince Aelor Targaryen, seeing that it had worked out quite well for his older brother Valerion approached his Kingly brother and asked for land and title in the Stepstones.
Aurion, perhaps realizing that his plans for a single conquest of the Stepstones were unrealistic and recognizing the precedent he had set with Valerion assented, this time ordering the island of Torturers Deep be brought under the crowns influence. Though he wished to lead the expedition himself, he realized he would be of more use to the realm ruling in the capitol and gave his younger brother Valerion overall command of the campaign, making Aelor a captain as well and asking their Uncle Aemorys to accompany the two with his dragon Tridax, to which the Lord Commander agreed, never one to argue, taking the young Kingsguard Vaeron with him as well as to give his nephew a taste of command.
Unlike the conquest of Crabstone, there was to be a pitched battle as the pirates of Torturers Deep attempted to defend their lands, with Prince Valerion and Aelor holding off the pirates attack by employing a shield wall on the rocky coastland, holding long enough for their uncle Aemorys to arrive on the back of Tridax, setting the pirates to flight, inflicting about 1200 dead, wounded and captured to 300 Targaryen men, with their ramshackle keep falling soon after.
Torturer's Deep would officially become part of the crown's frontier territories, being renamed to Deepstone on account of the large rocky spires which shot out of the waters around the island, which Maesters theorized could be hundreds of feet in length. Prince Aelor would be granted the island as his personal seat, and he would join his brother Valerion in taking the name and sigil of House Seafyre as his own. Soon after, the Prince Aelor would arrange a marriage between himself and one of the daughters of Princess Helia Martell of Dorne.
Before all of this, the royal forces would slowly begin to withdraw troops from the island, supervised by their commanders, with the campaign claiming one final victim…….
5th Moon, 114 AC
Island of Deepstone, the Stepstones
Prince Vaeron walked about the camp, watching as mule led wagons filled with weapons and provisions, followed by columns of men made their way towards the coast where rowboats were waiting to take them out to sea to the Royal Galleys.
‘’No….those wagons go to Vhagars Fury….and that one to Jaerions Pride’’ Vaeron ordered in a loud voice, he found he was quite good at commanding and making his voice be heard, and much preferred it to actual fighting, he thought he had acquitted himself quite well when leading the reserves during the battle against the Pirates, observing the battle from the rear and sending men to whatever part of the line needed it the most.
The wagonmaster nodded and the young Kingsguard, satisfied, went off to supervise the loading on the other end of camp.
Walking briskly, he made his way past the tent of his older brother Valerion, pausing for a moment when he heard voices coming from inside, recognizing that of Valerion and his younger brother Aelor.
Knowing better, but curious he moved closer to the tent so that he might hear the hushed tones of his brothers.
‘’We agreed it would be years before we made our move….too soon.’’ One voice, which Vaeron thought belonged to Valerion said.
‘’Keep our options open….remove his greatest ally from the board….and a dra…’’ The other voice, belonging to his younger brother Aelor began, stopping rather abruptly.
‘’Wait.’’ The voice belonging to Valerion commanded.
Vaeron, still leaning closer to the tent flaps, listened closer, only to hear footsteps approaching the entrance of the tent. Silently cursing himself he quickly moved away from the tent and started to make his way away from it, but the tent flap had already opened, and Vaeron had no choice but to face his brothers.
‘’How long were you standing there.’’ Aelor hissed angrily, taking an aggressive step towards Vaeron.
Their older brother Valerion stopped him by placing a calming hand on his shoulder ‘’It's quite all right Aelor….doubtless our brother was just passing by.’’
The Lord of Crabstone approached, Vaeron was a tall man, but Valerion stood even taller, a thin and pale yet attractive man with piercing lilac eyes, Vaeron found himself quite intimidated by his eldest brother and instinctively took a small step back.
‘’We were just speaking of how perhaps we should keep the momentum going….move on Wreckstone….we've removed the greatest allies of the Harratys family by seizing this island….but of course our kingly brother must give his assent….have you any thoughts on the matter?’’ Valerion lied effortlessly.
Vaeron did not know his eldest brother very well, Valerion had been sent to Stonedance as a ward when Vaeron was an infant and almost immediately leaving for his lands in the Stepstones following the end of his education, and they had only interacted when Valerion had made his rare visits back to King's Landing, despite this, Vaeron was an intelligent man and he knew his older brother was lying to him, and he had a strong suspicion as to what they had really been speaking of.
‘’Not really….the ships must be resupplied and equipment seen too, that will take weeks if not months at most, I agree going back to King's Landing is likely our best course before any future conquests.’’ Vaeron answered, forcing himself to smile through the discomfort and the growing pit in his stomach.
His brother Valerion nodded.
‘’Well, I had best get back to it, it's my hope the fleet is loaded and ready to return to Dragonstone by tomorrow morning.’’ Vaeron said, turning to leave.
‘’Leaving so soon….off to see that woman of yours i'd wager…..I don't blame you….a pretty thing, though I can't help but wonder….is she silent in bed as well?’’ The voice of his younger brother Aelor called out behind him, his voice dripping with false friendliness and cruelty.
Vaeron paled, turning slowly, while on campaign on the island he had met a beautiful and kind hearted young Silent Sister, a lowborn woman whose father had given her to the faith as he could not hope to provide a dowry for her…the two had since become romantically involved, sharing a bed for the past few weeks.
‘’Ah yes….we know all about her Vaeron….a beautiful woman I agree.’’ Valerion said, approaching, his piercing dark lilac eyes locked on his own.
‘’No need to look so worried little brother….your secret is safe with us……after all what are brothers for if not to keep each other's secrets…..we should never betray your confidence…as I am sure you would never betray ours.’’ Valerion said, resting a hand on Vaerons plated shoulder.
‘’Ah but….I fear our brother and King would see it differently….you know how he is about honor and oaths.’’ Valerion continued.
‘’A Kingsguard and a Silent Sister….now there is a dangerous pairing…..more of a risk than I thought you were capable of.’’ Aelor said nonchalantly, flanking Vaeron.
‘’Very dangerous indeed…..I wonder what the penalty for such is…..we all know our brother would never harm you….he would be forced to do something however…banishment, gelding, perhaps a stern warning…it's hard to say……but a silent sister caught whoring in another's bed…..I can't imagine the penalty is very pleasant.’’ Valerion said smiling, but there was no humor in his eyes.
‘’Dont……’’ Vaeron said softly, Aelionor was as kind hearted a girl as he had ever met, and she trusted him completely, if anything happened to her…he would never be able to forgive himself.
‘’We just told you brother….you have nothing to fear, your private affairs are your own….as are ours.’’ Valerion responded.
Vaeron nodded silently and slowly, satisfied his brothers turned to leave, with Aelor giving him a parting slap on his plated shoulder, and a final parting look as they left.
The young Kingsguard stood in silence for a moment, watching his brothers return to the tent, looking down he saw he was gripping his sword so tightly his fingers had gone bone white.
He forced himself to take a deep breath and continue on towards the coast….he had to find his Uncle. Last he had heard the Lord Commander was supervising the loading of ships on the other end of camp.
Making his way quickly he walked up and down the beach, desperately looking for a glimpse of white armor. By then the sun had slowly began to set.
Having searched for his former guardian for quite a while on his own, he grabbed the shoulder of a passing quartermaster.
‘’Where is the Lord Commander?’’ He demanded.
‘’I believe he was walking towards the center of the camp some time ago…to where I cannot say Ser.’’ The man said respectfully.
The pit in his stomach returned as the Kingsguard knight quickly made his way towards the center of the camp.
Surely not tonight….. He thought to himself, the noises of the surrounding soldiers at their cookfires muffled by the beating of his heart.
He saw his brother Valerions tent rising above the others in the center of camp, and carefully he walked towards it.
What he heard inside chilled him to the very bone, he heard the polite yet strong voice of his Uncle Aemorys inside conversing with Aelor and Valerion, the sounds of silverware and cutlery inside.
No Vaeron thought desperately, taking a step towards the entrance of the tent, but stopping just as he reached for it.
Vaeron stopped and waited for a moment, scarcely able to stop the onset of tears. He knew that this was a moment and a decision which could have far reaching consequences, he musnt act hastily.
He made his decision at last, lowering his hand away from the tent flap and slowly turning away, sulking off into the darkness, and hating himself for it.
He wanted nothing more than to barge into the tent, that pit of vipers and warn his Uncle of the danger he faced…if he were a braver man he would have done it….but Vaeron Targaryen was not a brave man….he was a coward.
He went to Aelinor.
Lord Commander Aemorys Targaryen was dead the next day, a few hours after noon, the previous night complaining of a stitch in his side, and spending his final hours vomiting and shitting his life away, with all attempts to hydrate him failing.
The Maester of Crabstone Valerion had brought along with him on campaign would examine the body and claim the Lord Commander had perished due to food poisoning, eating shellfish that had been poorly prepared.
There would be some few who would claim that they witnessed Aemorys, henceforth known as Strongfyre, entering the tent of his nephews Aelor and Valerion for his final deadly dinner, but these stories were never confirmed and in the coming months there would be very few left speaking these rumors…..
-To All: Just wanted to make a quick note. Ive went almost the entirety of this AAR basically goin with what the game has given me, ive changed dates of things and made other minor adjustments but ive never really made any major changes. However I thought it was a little anti-climactic that Aemorys, who was a strong and powerful man died in the prime of his life due to a simple case of food poisining so I did change the circumstances of his death. One thing to note is that he really did die while on campaign in the Stepstones in the same army as Aelor and Valerion and I thought it made sense they would want to remove one of Aurions greatest allies and a dragonrider besides due to their ambition and cruel/ruthless nature.
Finally caught up! Superb as usual, read the last three entries in one sitting and will be sleepy at work tomorrow, but it was worth it.
King Aurion is a precious cinnamon bun and must be protected at all costs. His kleptomaniac brother is also very cute and reminds me of Matarys. Those two pirate-vipers however are categorically not cute at all. I sincerely hope that this coward's lovely lady would be able to make him repent and do the right thing (and will survive it herself as well, however it's AGOT and this hope is probably futile). The sudden and such an undignified death for such a dignified Lord Commander is devastating and I'm sure the King will feel the same way, poor lad. Queen Alicent is awesome and this is a sentence I'd never thought I'd say yet here we are. And finally, Vaella the Queen of Trolls, absolute madlass.
More great story telling. There are some weird and/or devious brothers the King has. You really are a master at spinning stories out of small events and game circumstances. I thought it was Vaeron who was going to cop it there at the end, but nice work spinning it into a dastardly plot by the other two brothers.
I have a nagging suspicion that if those two bastards are to at least nearly succeed, one will backstab the other without second thought. There is only one Iron Throne after all. Question remains who will be on the receiving end.
Awesome chapter as always.
Thank you for another wonderful episode. May Aelor and Valerion knife each other in the back. Aurion and his generation are in full control with the death of Aemorys. Baela will be a spoiled princess. Strong with that many brothers, it will take a brave man to pursue her. Thanks
I suppose that all of Aurion's focus on the realm means that his interpersonal relationships suffer. Let's hope that doesn't have any negative consequences in the long run... especially given that his son is... not doing amazing. Speaking of which, why didn't the guards recognize a Targaryen?
I liked how you dealt with the scheme and the death. It feels very realistic - poor Vaeron.
I believe that all of prophetic visions of Daoeril have been fulfilled now.
With most of his attention split between dealing with the realm, the Lord Paramounts, his wife, and advisors, King Aurion has spent a lot less time tracking the activities of his children and his brothers. Balaeron has a contradictory personality that might his future actions hard to predict. He may later turn out to be a homosexual based on some of his reactions mentioned in the update.
Queen Alicent has her own temporary Women's courts. It gives her something more to do beyond just making babies. Some ASOIAF fans have complained that the Queen Consorts of Westeros do not have their own courts and largely seem to do nothing other than making babies and scheming to stick their sons on the throne unlike actual medieval European queen consorts. Medieval European queen consorts had their own courts separate from their royal spouses and pursue their own interests to a degree. However, these courts would remain small during the Middle Ages and would only greatly expand during the Renaissance era.
Vaeron seems to be the perfect knight to most people including the King but Vaeron can't live up to that image and Vaeron knows that all too well. A coward dies a thousand times before his death indeed. Can a man who has already broken a few important oaths in a short time be really trusted to defend his eldest brother and king?
It is a bit odd that Aelor is also included into his older brother Valerion's cadet house as opposed to forming his own. On the other hand, if they both rebel against Aurion or his bloodline, the historians can just collectively call their faction the Seafyres. A problem is that both Valerion and Aelor want to be king but there is only one Iron Throne. Additionally, anybody who can backstab one brother who has done nothing wrong for power can easily backstab another brother. Neither of the Seafyre brothers have a dragon so far and it is not clear how they can convince enough people to back them as king in the place of the popular and powerful Aurion.
King Aurion could stand to have some protection, in more ways than one as his rapidly rising child count shows, though in all seriousness he will face no small amount of personal danger in the future.
Both Balaeron and Matarys, as lunatics go are luckily quite on the more mild side as Targaryens go (no wrothful/cruel/paranoid). I will say Balaeron is going to be significantly more dangerous than his kinsman Matarys (whom Balaeron, along with essentially all Targaryens are a direct descendent of).
Vaeron will deal with a lot of personal guilt from this action, or rather his inaction and it will cause him to make changes/ take uncharcteristic action, he make some effort to resist against his two devious brothers in the future, but at the same time he will be complicit in some of their other schemes.
I have a nagging suspicion that if those two bastards are to at least nearly succeed, one will backstab the other without second thought. There is only one Iron Throne after all. Question remains who will be on the receiving end.
Awesome chapter as always.
You are correct to suspect that, I have portrayed Valaerion and Aelor as somewhat working together to further both their respective positions and ambitions, and in the game, one of the brothers even joined the others claim faction for a short time, but as you said there is only one Iron Throne, and the two brothers, one in particular will realize this and act accordingly. Thank you!
Very true, Aurions aunt Jaenyra will make a short if not all that important appearance in the next chapter, and I can confirm that Jaekar Tendfyre, bastard son of Lianna who was sent across the narrow sea decades earlier will make his first appearance in the future, likely with a POV chapter.
True, I could have chosen the ''good option'' and had Aurion spend time with his son, but thought it was more realistic he would be too busy with all of his travels to justify that, luckily neither Maelyx or Aurion got the cruel trait, and their relationship may improve in time.
That about sums him up, he will feel remorse for his inaction but at the end of the day he is still a coward, and unfortunately Aemorys wont be the last Targaryen to meet an early end due to Vaeron, rather directly or indirectly as there will be multiple....and I will leave it at that. However there will be some good with the bad as he will also be responsible for saving someones life in a future chapter, Vaeron will have more POV's and will be a relatively important chapter in what is to come.
Looking back over that, I came to realize some things about her dream sequence, and you are right that they are almost completely fufilled at this point, and I can see why you would think they were totally done. One of the scenes I realized will have no less than four things it could signify, one which has occured already and three yet to come, though the one I had in mind when I wrote it has not happened yet...
Another one I realized much later could actually fit perfectly well with another future event as well as what it originally represented, though I had not even known about it at the time I wrote it, as a hint, this one is the part of the dream signifying the beginning of House Seafyre.
There will be another dream sequence, albeit with a lot less material in the next chapter, looking forward to writing this one.
True, I wanted to give Alicent at least one POV because she has very good traits for a Queen and I wanted her to be involved in the story beyond just what you have mentioned, however unfortunately she has been forced to spend a lot of time in childbirth situations as her large number of children shows, and there are more still to come.
Vaeron seems to be the perfect knight to most people including the King but Vaeron can't live up to that image and Vaeron knows that all too well. A coward dies a thousand times before his death indeed. Can a man who has already broken a few important oaths in a short time be really trusted to defend his eldest brother and king?
True, having strong, quick and attractive certainly is a lot of advantages, though I am glad the game gave him a weakness to balance that out, especially as there hasnt been a lot of ''coward'' Targaryens, as to whether Vaeron can be trusted, his Uncles death will spark a change in him as far as inaction is concerned, and he will try and do what he feels is right....unfortunately this will lead to no small amount of tragedy, but also some good as well.
I considered giving him his own cadet house, but given that Aelor actually wont be the last Targaryen in the Stepstones, I thought it would be better if House Seafyre was just a common house for all the Targaryens who settled in the Stepstones, with the Seafyres refering to the descendents of Aurions brothers who settled in the area.
Neither of the Seafyre brothers have a dragon so far and it is not clear how they can convince enough people to back them as king in the place of the popular and powerful Aurion.
Aurion is very popular opinion wise among the realm as you might imagine so gaining a lot of suppourt is unlikely...though as you have mentioned previously if something were to happen to him.....it becomes a much different matter.
To All: Wow, thank you for all the comments and likes, I truly appreciate the suppourt! I have been able to put out chapters weekly the past few updates as I had a bit of a backlog though I am finished positing it and have begun writing again after taking a break of a week or two. I have left some hints in the comments but the story is approaching what is in my mind a very interesting point, with that being said, there are a lot of scenes with a lot of different characters I want to write in a relatively short time period and I am still working through possiibilities on how the best way to approach/divide them. Many of the chapters may be longer multiple part chapters, while others, possibly this next one might be pretty short, either way in between this and the next chapter I will post another edition of the White Book with some AI art of Aemorys I liked.
Deeds and Accomplishments of the Sworn Brothers of the Kingsguard
Lord Commander Aemorys Targaryen, Called ‘’Strongfyre’’
Aemorys Targaryen was the second child of Princess Lianna of Dragonstone and Ronnel Baratheon, being born in the year 72 AC. As a youth he became a ward of Lucerys Qoherys, Lord of Harrenhall and Marshal of the realm, with the young prince splitting his time between Harrenhall and Kings Landing. Prince Aemorys would take the white cloak of a sworn brother in his 17th year, joining the Queensguard of his grandmother Laena Targaryen, the Queen of Skulls, with some saying he took his vows to ensure he could never be used against his older brother by those who opposed Jaerion.
The sworn brother would become Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at just 24 years of age following a decree by his grandmother, and would be at the Queens side during her confrontation with his brother Jaerion, called the Brief, who would take the throne following their grandmother's abdication. Aemorys would serve his brother loyally, but despite being at Jaerions side, was unable to prevent his brother from being maimed by a bear.
Aemorys Targaryen would be campaigning against the rebels of Septon Arstan when he heard the news of his brother's demise back in King's Landing, personally delivering the news to his nephew Aurion, who was to inherit his fathers throne.
Strongfyre would continue his loyal service to his nephew as Lord Commander and take guardianship of the Prince Vaeron Targaryen. The Lord Commander would meet an untimely end while campaigning in the Stepstones on the island of Deepstone after succumbing to food poisoning as a result of poorly prepared shellfish, passing away at the age of 42 after serving three Targaryen monarchs.
-Squired for Lucerys Qoherys, Lord of Harrenhall and Marshal of the Realm, accompanied the Marshal across the narrow sea in Queen Laenas trade war against the Pentoshi, observing the battle of Mylenos, knighted at the age of sixteen due to his participation in the battle of Atranta, in which the forces of House Qoherys routed the forces of House Vance.
-Named to his Grandmother Laenas Queensguard at the age of 17
-Led a successful expedition to find the rogue dragon Tridax in the Riverlands, later bonding with the beast and becoming a Dragonrider.
-Appointed Lord Commander of the Queensguard at the age of 24.
-Was present at the Queen Laenas side during her abdication to his brother, Jaerion the Brief.
-Failed to prevent his brother and King Jaerion from being mauled by a boar whilst hunting in the Kingswood.
-Led the campaign against the rebellion of Septon Arstan at his brother's command, safely escorted the boy King Aurion back to King's Landing following news of King Jaerions death.
-Accompanied his Kingly nephew on two of his great progresses of the realm, as well as many of his other travels.
-Riding atop Tridax, proved the deciding factor in the battle against the pirates of Deepstone, though he would die of a bad meal shortly after the campaign's end.
Lord Commander Aemorys Targaryen shortly before his death on the island of Deepstone
Lord Commander Bruce Woyne, ‘’The Shield of the Riverlands’’
As a young man, Bruce Woyne was a renowned hedge knight in the Riverlands, leading a band of vigilantes who protected villages, escorted merchants and hunted down bandits, becoming so beloved and renowned he was granted a place in the sworn seven of King Vaemond the Strong, whom he would serve loyally. Woyne would be appointed Lord Commander of Queen Laenas Queensguard at the age of 31. A skilled warrior, the Lord Commander would represent the Queen in a trial by combat against the Kingsguard knight Hugh Arryn, who was accused of negligence leading to the death of Aerea Targaryen, granddaughter of the Queen of Skulls. In the trial, the old Lord Commander would slay Ser Hughs brother Oswin Arryn, Lord Paramount of the Vale and Hand of the Queen, taking a wound in the process. Following this, he would personally behead Ser Hugh Arryn on the Queen's orders. Bryce Woyne would never recover from the wounds sustained in the trial however and would eventually succumb to his wounds at the age of 65.
-Won great renown as a young man in the Riverlands, protecting villages, escorting Septons and Merchants and chasing down bandits and rapers alongside a band of likeminded men.
-Was one of two Queensguard on duty during the trial of Aumary Tyrell.
-Slew Oswin Arryn in a trial by combat and later beheaded his sworn brother Ser Hugh Arryn for his negligence which led to the death of Aerea Targaryen.
Ser Vahelion Celtigar
- Served as Queensguard to Queen Laena Targaryen
-Led the escort of Princess Daeoril from King's Landing to Storms End for her marriage to Boros Baratheon.
-On the orders of his Queen, took part in the raid outside the walls of Rosby alongside his sworn brother Ser Josmyn Bettley, seizing Lord Uthreydes Rosby, slaying his retainers and escorting him back to King's Landing for his execution.
-Died in 98 AC at the age of 48 from a cancerous growth, which left him unable to walk for the final months of his life
Ser Androw Hollard
-Served as Queensguard to Queen Laena Targaryen
-Guarded the Queen at the Peace Council between Lords Aumary Tyrell and Raymont Baratheon, and helped to seize Lord Tyrell on the Queen's orders.
-When the Winter Fever descended upon the City of Kings Landing in the year 73 AC, Ser Androw was stricken, Queen Laena denied him the use of the castle's Maester and he was banished from the Red Keep into the city, where he would perish days later.
Ser Colin Fossoway ‘’The Old Apple’’
-Named to King Vaemond the Strongs Kingsguard
-Served as the Princess Laenas Sworn Shield on Dragonstone for many years before her ascension, guarding the Princess and her daughters diligently.
-Escorted the Princesses Larissa, Lianna and Jaehara to Sunspear for the marriage of Princess Larissa and Blaise Martell.
-Died of natural causes at the age of 76 in 103 AC, after decades of service under four different monarchs, being near completely blind at the time of his death.
Ser Uherydes Cressey
- Named to King Jaerion the Briefs Kingsguard.
- Fought alongside Aemorys and a young King Aurion at the battle of Stonedance, acquiting himself well against the forces of Septon Arstan.
-Would perish shortly after due to complications related to a bite on the calf from a hunting hound.
Ser Aron Crakehall
-Cousin of the legendary Ser Roland Crakehall, who served King Vaemond the Strong for nearly forty years.
-Named to the Kingsguard of King Vaemond the Strong, escorting the old King to his final ascension of the Iron Throne, would serve Laena, Queen of Skulls humbly and loyally following his death.
-Died of poor health resulting from his tall stature in 77 AC.
Ser Wyllis Wells
-Named to the Kingsguard of King Vaemond the Strong. Would serve in Queen Laenas Queensguard following his death.
-Guarded the young Princesses Larrisa and Daeoril in King's Landing whilst their mother traveled to Oldtown for her coronation.
-Guarded the Princesses Daeroil and Jaehara while the Queen attended the peace conference between Aumaury Tyrell and Raymont Baratheon.
-Died of natural causes in 77 AC
Ser Hugh Arryn, ‘’Sleepy Hugh’’
Ser Hugh Arryn was born the second son of Otho Arryn, Lord Paramount of the Vale, who was the son of King Ronnel Arryn, who had been the last Arryn King. His older brother Oswin Arryn would later become the Hand of the King, along with their kinsmen Renly Arryn who would become Commander of the Gold Cloaks. Ser Hugh would take the white cloak at the age of just sixteen, joining Queen Laenas Queensguard.Ser Hugh Arryn would serve honorably, however he had gained a reputation of being quite slothful and would live up to his reputation in tragic fashion when he fell asleep on duty after escorting Princesses Aerea, Vissera and Jaenyra to the Dragonpit. Princess Aerea would sneak by him and into the dragonpit, where the girl was roasted by the dragon Meraxes. Queen Laena would order him arrested and charged him with negligence leading to her granddaughter's death, a charge which Hughs older brother and Hand of the King Oswin Arryn intended to contest by participating in a trial by combat, as Ser Hughs time in the dungeons left him unable to stand for himself. Oswin Arryn would be slain by Lord Commander Bryce Woyne and the Queen swiftly found Ser Hugh Arryn guilty, and he was brought to the courtyard of the Red Keep and beheaded by his Lord Commander.
-Was appointed to Queen Laenas Queensguard at the age of sixteen.
-Accomponied the Princess Syaellas escort to the Vale, shortly after his departure the Princess would fall to her death in the mountains of the Moon.
-Was asleep on duty when the Princess Aera Targaryen snuck in the dragonpit to attempt to claim Meraxes, would be blamed for her death and later beheaded by his own Lord Commander on the Queen's orders.
Ser Allard Caffren
-Appointed to Queen Laenas Queensguard at the age of 45 to provide experience to the brothers of the White Sword Tower.
-Participated in Laenas destruction of the Summer Islander trade post of Tall Trees Town in Oldtown.
-Was one of two Queensguard on duty during the trial of Aumary Tyrell.
-Served as Sworn Shield to Princess Lianna of Dragonstone for many years, upon his death in 88 AC, would be replaced by Prince Aemorys Targaryen.
Ser Josmyn Bettley
-Served in the Queensguard of Queen Laena Targaryen.
- On the orders of his Queen, took part in the raid outside the walls of Rosby alongside his sworn brother Ser Vahelion Celtigar, seizing Lord Uthreydes Rosby, slaying his retainers and escorting him back to King's Landing for his execution.
-Had the reputation of being one of the finest swords in Laenas Queensguard, but has oft been recorded as a known drunkard.
-Passed away due to a cancerous illness in 93 AC.
-To All: Next chapter will be a short one part chapter of around 4k words and will be out sometime next week.
I will throw out a prediction based on previous statements made by our author here.
King Aurion will unexpectedly die young. The Seafyre brothers will attempt to seize the throne from Aurion's eldest surviving son in a classic ambitious evil uncle scenario triggering a Dance of Dragons. Queen Alicent may outlive Aurion and try to aid her children in keeping the throne.
Other thoughts. The Queen is most pleased that she finally has a daughter after wishing for one for so long. Being a Targaryen princess who is regarded as her mother's special girl is often a sign that they are destined to die a terrible tragic death in the official canon and with Laena's daughters in this AAR. Perhaps Baela will die an early tragic death or she will subvert the usual ASOIAF expectations and have a long life.
The families of non-Targaryen consorts have not gotten much influence on the royal courts in this AAR. In the main canon, the families of non-Targaryen consorts and the Lannisters in Robert's court often have substantial influence in the royal court of the current monarch if they don't take over the court completely. The Tullys did not have much influence on the royal court due to Jaerion's very short reign, Belle's poor health, and their ruling lady's reluctance to back Jaerion's scheme to take the throne. The Hightower family don't seem have any influence on Aurion's court because Aurion explicitly dislikes his in-laws and Queen Alicent doesn't like her own siblings either.
It has been several generations and almost a century since the last close Targaryen incestuous marriage of Vaemond and Nyel. There have been first cousin marriages but that is not considered incestuous by Westerosi standards. Incestuous marriages have been considered later but have always fallen though for various reasons such as personal religious objections from some royals, monogender generations, excessive age gaps, and it being more politically useful to marry out of the family at the time. Will the Targaryens just quietly drop the practice of incestuous sibling marriages altogether in this AAR timeline with even the less devout Targaryens assimilating the Westerosi taboo against incest or with the custom return one day? If the custom did return, would people be so accepting of it this time around?
Time has shown her rule, while personally effective at times, to be rather fragile and brittle, with little influence remaining after her death. In regards to her Kingsguard, Its ironic as most of her Kingsguard werent actually bad people, Laena looked for honorable, honest and just people she wouldnt have to worry about betraying her as most of the time she would never use a knight of the Kingsguard in her schemes.
That was a fun little creation as a custom char for someone, I dont think I will do it again though as it did take quite a bit of time.
One note on him and his dynasty sigil, and that of other Essosi families people may have noticed is many of them look very ugly (orange and red), that is because halfway through the game I installed a mod which adds like 120 colors for dynasty creation, but this came at the cost of destroying nonoriginal house sigils and replacing them with weird orange and reds, essentially all canon houses are fine, but newly created houses and most essosi families are affected by this unfortunately, though I fix this whenever I see it in Westeros and if any Essosi families become vassals of the IT I will fix them as well. Another mod note is I did also install a new dragon mod at some point to add more colors and portraits but this did mess up one or 2 of the dragon colors with their ''real'' color being different than the one shown in game.
One last tangent/explenation is I do intend to only allow ambitious or greedy Targaryens (maybe Brave) to expand (others can wage different types of war just not permenent conquest), but given the constant raids from the Stepstones Ive let Aurion make an attempt at conquering them due to his honorable, just, and dilligent nature which makes sense he would want to drive the pirates out.
I will throw out a prediction based on previous statements made by our author here.
King Aurion will unexpectedly die young. The Seafyre brothers will attempt to seize the throne from Aurion's eldest surviving son in a classic ambitious evil uncle scenario triggering a Dance of Dragons. Queen Alicent may outlive Aurion and try to aid her children in keeping the throne.
Not a bad guess, there will be further hints in this coming chapter. I will say it wont be all that long before the event(s) ive been hinting at appear in the story, in game years wise.
The families of non-Targaryen consorts have not gotten much influence on the royal courts in this AAR. In the main canon, the families of non-Targaryen consorts and the Lannisters in Robert's court often have substantial influence in the royal court of the current monarch if they don't take over the court completely. The Tullys did not have much influence on the royal court due to Jaerion's very short reign, Belle's poor health, and their ruling lady's reluctance to back Jaerion's scheme to take the throne. The Hightower family don't seem have any influence on Aurion's court because Aurion explicitly dislikes his in-laws and Queen Alicent doesn't like her own siblings either.
True, I did at one point consider making Alicents brother Lord Hightower come to court and request some kind of honor but that didnt quite make it in. Lord Hightower is proud but also slothful so I doubt he would want a position that entails any actual work, though Im sure he makes the fact he is the Kings brother by law known back in the Reach and uses that to his advantage. In the game I think Aurion also took Alicents younger brother as a ward in Kings Landing but he died of a plague/sickness soon after returning to Oldtown and I didnt think it was important to note him, not sure thats happened yet though so I may mention it in the future however.
It has been several generations and almost a century since the last close Targaryen incestuous marriage of Vaemond and Nyel. There have been first cousin marriages but that is not considered incestuous by Westerosi standards. Incestuous marriages have been considered later but have always fallen though for various reasons such as personal religious objections from some royals, monogender generations, excessive age gaps, and it being more politically useful to marry out of the family at the time. Will the Targaryens just quietly drop the practice of incestuous sibling marriages altogether in this AAR timeline with even the less devout Targaryens assimilating the Westerosi taboo against incest or with the custom return one day? If the custom did return, would people be so accepting of it this time around?
Some very good points here, especially in regards to the monogender generations as you mentioned, there really has been not a lot of oppurtunities for tradtional Targaryen marriages. This comment made me think a little about this and I think these unique circumstances may have seen the common occurance of incestual Targaryen marriages naturally fade away....in common practice at least. Since it has been 100 years since the last iteration many Targaryens may see the practice as aged/barbaric, though I wont rule it out in the future, but it will probably be reliant on traits. I could see proud Targaryens (in conjuunction with other traits) wanting to keep it in the family due to the purity of the bloodline, similarly lustful Targaryens with an attractive sibling might also be interested in reviving the custom, similarly Targaryens who become lovers/friends with relations may also petition for the custom to be allowed. Insane Targaryens might also be difficult to predict as well.
I will say that while sibling marriages may become obsolete, Targaryens may still look for matches that have at least some of the Blood of the Dragon as the most attractive matches as a future marriage will show.
1
Reactions:
Chapter 55: Laid to Rest (114-118 AC) (Vaeron, Vaella)
The Dragons Realm
Chapter 55: Laid to Rest
6th Moon, 114 AC
White Sword Tower of the Kingsguard, Kings Landing
The dawn of the morning light shone through the thin turret windows of the upper floor of the White Sword Tower, betraying that Vaerons vigil was almost at an end.
He shifted uncomfortably to the side, giving his legs a moment's reprieve, his hands still firmly clasped around his longsword.
Vaeron had been standing vigil over the body of his Uncle Aemorys for the entire night, refusing Maynard Mormonts, the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguards offer to relieve him, uncomfortable as the duty was, the man was his uncle and former guardian and he had much to atone for.
He gave another look towards the body of his Uncle, who lay upon a large slab of polished white marble as the dawnlight poured through the windows. He looked almost peaceful as the light covered him, armored in his white Kingsguard plate and cloak, hands clasping a kite shield forged of weirwood, even his skin seemed pale and white, though that was to be expected after the Silent Sisters, Aelinor included, had done their work to ensure his dignity on his final voyage across the sea. It was a far better image to have in his mind then that he had seen when he had poked his head in his uncle's tent as he lay dying, the man's face sweaty and contorted in misery.
It was an eerie feeling, just weeks prior, he had spoken to his Uncle in this very chamber, the Lord Commanders solar, Aemorys had summoned him to inform him they were both to travel to the Stepstones and assist in the conquest of Deepstone, his Uncle had been in the prime of his life then, powerfully built and intimidating, now he lay lifeless on a slab, taken before his time, and Vaeron knew where the blame for that lay.
Almost fittingly he felt an ache in the muscles of his shoulders, which had been carrying the burden of holding a longsword for hours, and the burden of much more.
He ignored the pain, looking away from the body of his Uncle, yet that did not stop the memories, it had been in this chamber he had ran messages for the Lord Commander as a small boy, he used to look through the pages of the White Book, asking his Uncle questions as well, in the courtyard below his Uncle had taught him to ride a horse…..all of these things and yet when his Uncle had needed him most he had let him die.
I suppose now you know my secret…..you know what I am….all of your lessons and this is the man that has emerged Vaeron thought to himself, cursing himself for a coward not for the first time that night.
He was shaken from his thinking when he heard the sounds of footsteps walking up the winding steps of the White Sword Tower, he forced the pain and emotion from his face and eyes, steeling himself.
To his surprise it was not one of his sworn brothers, but his brother Aurion, who was escorting a woman with silver hair and a dark hood , wearing a black dress of mourning, a woman whom Vaeron recognized as their aunt Jaenyra, who must have made the trip from Highgarden. It was a surprise to see them here as within a few hours Aemorys would be brought to the Red Keep where all the court could pay their respect.
As they rounded the corner, he saw Jaenyra pause as she saw her brother's body, putting a hand over her mouth, a great sadness evident in her eyes. Aurion whispered something quietly to her and approached Vaeron, who bowed his head respectfully to his Kingly brother.
‘’Walk with me Vaeron.’’ He said gently, gesturing for him to follow.
Vaeron gave an uncertain look towards his aunt, strictly speaking a knight holding vigil was never meant to leave the body of the deceased, especially with another without being relieved, but he was smart enough to know his brother was giving their aunt a few private moments alone with her older brother.
‘’Where are we going?’’ He asked tiredly.
‘’Just to the courtyard.’’ the King said and they walked out of the White Sword Tower to the courtyard of the Red Keep, as the sun slowly began to rise over the city.
‘’I hear you kept vigil beside our Uncle all night, Mormont would have relieved you.’’ Aurion said as they made their way to the ramparts, ascending one of the towers on the Red Keeps walls.
Vaeron nodded silently, as they stopped in the tower, overlooking the city ‘’I could do that much for him at least.’’
‘’I know he was like a father to you Vaeron…….especially since you were so young when our true father died….and not just to you….he was the rock of our youth, our stalwart shield.’’ Aurion said, gazing over the city.
If he was my father than I am no better than a Kinslayer Vaeron brooded silently, running a hand through his silver beard, which he had grown out since his uncle's death.
‘’He would have wanted you to have this.’’ Aurion said, nodding to the side.
Vaeron turned and saw his nephew Maelyx bringing in a cloth bundle carefully, he already knew what it was.
The King accepted the bundle from his son with a nod and withdrew Dark Sister from it.
Vaeron had dealt with many emotions during that long night, denial, guilt, anger, and yes shame, but the shame that ran through his body when his brother held out Dark Sister towards him was almost overwhelming.
In that moment he wanted nothing more than to tell his brother the truth of the matter, of Valerion and Aelor, of the true circumstances of their Uncle's death, but he was a craven and knew things could very quickly spiral out of his control if he told the tale.
‘’I am not worthy to wield his sword.’’ Vaeron said finally, turning away from the blade.
‘’Few men would be……nevertheless I would like you to have it, you've wielded it once before.’’ Aurion said, offering the sword once again.
Vaeron took it reluctantly, the minute he took it, he was nearly overwhelmed by emotion, the memories of sharpening the blade as a child coming back to him and the day he had taken the white of the Kingsguard, where his Uncle had placed the sword upon his shoulders and bid him to rise as Ser Vaeron Targaryen, he had spent hours with his Uncles body in the quiet of the White Sword Tower, but he had never felt as close to his Uncle then he did in this moment.
He could not bring his Uncle back, he would spend the rest of his life atoning for his inaction, but he could do his best to live his life as his Uncle had taught him, and perhaps show him that there was a shred of a knight in the man Aemorys Strongfyre had raised.
He thanked his brother, who patted him on the back slightly and left him to his peace.
Vaeron made his way back to the White Sword Tower. Jaenyra, still kneeling by her brother's body, smoothed his long brown hair from his face and kissed him gently on the forehead.
‘’You've done honorably by him…..staying with him all night…he spoke of you often, he would have been glad it was you.’’ The Lady of Highgarden said, the faint shadow of tears in her eyes as she quickly turned and left.
Vaeron stood vigil over the Lord Commander's body until the Silent Sisters came to bear his body to the throne room where the court was gathering to pay their respects.
It was then that Vaeron Targaryen did something uncharacteristic. Rather than making his way to the Throne Room, he saddled his horse and rode into the city….towards the Hill of Rhaenys….to the Dragonpit.
There Vaeron Targaryen entered the pen of his uncle's dragon Tridax and with well formed if somewhat quavering Valyrian he commanded the beast to his will.
That evening Prince Vaeron joined the green-orange dragonfire of Tridax along with that of Vhagar, Chalfyre and Oathwing to the pyre of the Lord Commander as Aemorys Strongfyre was sent to his rest.
6th Moon, 114 AC-118 AC
In the years and months following the death of Aemorys Targaryen, the realm, and the court of Kings Landing as a whole would largely experience the continuation of the peace and prosperity that the rulership of King Aurion had brought to the realm.
In the final months of 114 AC, Prince Matarys Targaryen, brother of King Aurion would return from Riverrun where he had been educated among his Tully kinsmen, and it appeared that Aurions hope his younger brother would take to a lifestyle of a Maester had not come to fruition as the boy was not one to whom studies held much importance.
Despite his rather slothful temperament, the young man possessed a sharp mind when he cared to use it and a good mind for stewardship. Aurion quickly found a place for his younger brother to assist the aging Master of Coin Willem Lannister.
Matarys first held the position of one of the four court ‘’Keeper of the Keys’’ positions in the Red Keep, being responsible for the storage and security of all the jewels within the palace, and after several months this quickly proved to be far beneath the young man's ability, he was given the responsibility of distributing alms to the poor of Kings Landing and the upkeep of the Soup Kitchen in Flea Bottom, a task which he frequently complained as being a waste of both coin and effort.
Sensing his younger brother's unhappiness, Aurion appointed him as the King's Scales, an important role which supervised the enforcement of measurements throughout the realm and the inspection of tariffs and various goods from Essos such as wine, spice and wool, making sure they were in line with Westerosi standards.
Matarys, though young for the role would perform quite well, though he very rarely left the capitol personally, instead preferring to send his subordinates to the various ports across the realm and inspect their accounts and records for any irregularities or mistakes when they returned which he never failed to point out in scathing and insulting manner, causing him to be not particularly well liked amongst his inspectors and deputies. For his part, the young Prince much preferred to spend his time in the tailor shops upon the Street of Silk, perusing the latest high fashions or feasting with harbor masters or custom officials, though he was known on occasion to sail to the island of Deepstone to feast with his brother Aelor.
The year 115 AC would prove to be largely uneventful,and in the first half of the year the King and Queen would welcome their seventh child and second daughter, a girl who would be named Rhaena.
All was not well with the babe however, with Rhaena becoming very ill just days after her birth, and it appeared the girl's life would end as quickly as it began, despite the Maesters best efforts.
Queen Alicent refused to leave the babes bedside, spending many sleepless nights beside the young Princess, personally administering what treatments were within her skillset and helping the Maesters as best she could, within a week, this dedication would pay off as her condition gradually improved, ending the scare which had ran through the Red Keep.
The second half of the year was similarly quiet as the realm prospered and enjoyed a period of peace not seen since the days of King Vaemond.
There were some minor annoyances, among these at the small island of Sweetport Sound. The seat of House Sunglass had never truly recovered from its sack at the hands of Septon Arstans fanatics years prior and were currently tormented by smugglers and pirates who intercepted shipments to the islands.
Aurion, upon becoming aware of this problem dispatched the aged Yohn Redfort to deal with the situation and soon law and order was returned to Sweetport Sound, this was to be old commanders final victory however as soon after he would pass away, and Aurion would appoint his old friend Norman Tyrell as the new Marshal of the realm.
The Seven Kingdoms had enjoyed many years of relative peace, however this would come to an end in two of them in the year 116 AC as several conflicts gripped the realm.
In the North, near White Harbor a large religious conflict would break out. Septons from White Harbor would travel north to proselytize among the followers of the Old Gods, going as far as the Dawnforest and the Hornwood. During one of the sermons in a small forest village of the Hornwood, a group of Septons would chop down a weirwood tree, claiming it was a false idol and any spirits connected to it were naught but evil ones.
The villagers would become enraged at this, chasing the septons through the forest before catching up and murdering the holy men, following this, thousands of Northmen, mostly poor forest and hill folk would form an army and set their sights on White Harbor and its hinterlands, determined to destroy their septs and stop the influence of the faith of the seven.
There had been an outbreak of violence in the area decades prior during the reign of Queen Laena in the year 74 AC, however this revolt proved to be even bigger, with almost nine thousand northerners forming a ragtag horde and marching south. White Harbor and the Manderlys made no attempt to oppose them, enclosing themselves within their formidable walls so the army continued its march, burning many small septs and murdering holy men and villagers in Oldcastle before setting their sights on Blackpool, routing a force of levies there and engaging in the same murdering and pillaging before storming the castle proper in a bloody assault.
Lady Mariah Stark sent a large force to crush these rebels, who linked up with the Manderlys and marched on Blackpool, causing the rebel army to slowly melt away after a series of skirmishes, the conflict over as quickly as it had begun, though with hundreds of both sides being killed in the sudden flash of violence, with the conflict being over before King Aurion could truly make an effort to put an end to the war himself.
Similarly, Aurions suspicion that not all was well in the Iron Islands proved correct as in the early months of 116 AC,bloody civil war broke out among the Ironborn with young King Balon Greyjoy, who had only just ascended the Seastone Chair facing a revolt from a distant cousin Vickon Greyjoy, Lord of Blacktyde and a fanatic and zealous follower of the Drowned God.
Nearly all the clans of the isles cast their lot between the two Krakens, with the rebel Vickon gaining the most support as Balon was seen as a spineless coward. Aurion, frustrated after having not been able to prevent the bloodshed in White Harbor made preparations for a trip to the isles to attempt to stop the fighting.
Nearly all the King's Councilors advised against the journey, with Grandmaester Owen pointing out that his arrival on one of the islands could be construed as support for one of the two sides and further destabilize the situation, and perhaps even lead for the axes of the Ironborn to turn on the crown, not to mention that fighting and skirmishes had already been reported on almost all of the islands and it would be very dangerous for the King to spend any amount of time on the isles, even on dragonback the risk of a stray arrow was great, and he would have to sleep in some castle or another, the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was too great.
Aurion was determined however, and for one of the only recorded times in their early marriage it was reported he briefly feuded with the Queen Alicent who saw the planned expedition as foolish. In the end however, it was his old friend Norman Tyrell that convinced him and Aurion reluctantly was forced to admit he could do nothing as the Ironborn tore themselves apart.
The fighting was bloody, with many battles being fought in the manner of the shield wall, thousands were killed and wounded, and by the end of it, the rebel Vickon Greyjoy was named the new King of the Iron Islands.
The year 116 AC would see even more death however, as Ellard Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden and son of the Princess Alyssane would pass away, succumbing to injuries sustained in a joust which had never healed correctly, leaving his son Norman Tyrell as the new, and much more trustworthy Lord of Highgarden and Lord Paramount of the Reach.
Of even greater import however was the death of the dragon Meraxes, the largest dragon in the world and one of the three original Targaryen dragons, the beast being found dead in the massive structure the Tyrells had built to house the dragon in Highgarden.
After a year of so much death, it came as a much needed relief to the King when Alicent gave birth to yet another son, with the Prince Taegon being their eighth child, born healthy and silver headed.
After the rather dark year of 116 AC, peace gradually returned to the realm in 117 AC, with the exception of the continued fighting in the Iron Islands.
Construction on the Kingsroad, Aurions project to connect the realm and improve both trade and travel was coming to a close after nearly a decade of continuous projects overseen by Anders Swygert, the Hand of the King, with only a road traveling north to the Wall and a High Road in the mountains of the Vale left to be completed.
The early months of the year saw the crown fund another Summer Fair in Kings Landing, and at the conclusion of the festivities King Aurion personally announced to a raucous crowd that taxes in the city would be reduced, as all should reap the benefits of the realms prosperity.
Also taking place in the year of 117 AC were the first true additions to the Red Keep since the days of King Vaemond, with Aurion ordering a small tower raised within the walls for the purpose of containing a library, housing any books or tomes that came into the crown's possession and private collections.
There were further developments within the court itself as the Prince Matarys Targaryen formally petitioned his brother to be granted a royal marriage.
The King's advisors no doubt warned Aurion of the dangers of granting all of his brothers marriages, as with marriages came future claimants that could challenge either him or his descendents, and at the very least, more nieces and nephews who would need to be watched and provided for, but the King was a charitable man and turning down people, especially his brothers was not something that came easy to him and he gave his assent, personally arranging a union between his younger brother and Amina Baratheon, daughter of Ronnal Baratheon, the Lord of Storm's End.
The year 117 AC concluded with little else of note occurring, and as previously mentioned in this record, the 118th year of Targaryen rule would begin with the death of a former Targaryen princess.
1st Moon, 118 AC Motherhouse of Maidenpool, Maidenpool
The Silent Sister plucked the last of the beetles, which were responsible for stripping the flesh clean from the skeleton, stepping back to check her work.
The man had been a trader from Gulltown when he had taken ill in Maidenpool and was found dead in his room at the Stinking Goose inn, not a surprise given the tavern's ill repute.
He must have eaten the food Vaella Targaryen thought to herself drily, she occasionally went to the discrete establishment herself, but only to collect reports of the current affairs of the realm, and certainly not to enjoy the ‘’food’’ they offered.
Her work was spotless as ever, stripping a skeleton for transport often took the work of several novices, but Vaella had been a Silent Sister for just over a decade and could complete the grim task by herself and within only a few days…in truth she liked it better that way, her sisters rarely had anything, useful or otherwise to say and made for poor company.
I suppose that's why were called Silent Sisters…who would have thought The old woman thought to herself as she neatly placed the bleached and cleaned bones into the small crate which would be taken to the man's kin in Gulltown, afterwards washing her own hands and leaving the small shed.
It was night when she walked out and a cold breeze from the Bay of Crabs was rolling in, along with a thin mist, Vaella oft worked till the later hours of the night, hours after most within the Motherhouse had taken to their cots, she much preferred to be left to her work and the company of the dead than take part in evening silent prayer and reflection.
Quietly she made her way into the Motherhouse, walking by the cots of the sleeping novices, making hardly a sound, pleasing the old woman, she had been the Master of Whisperers in the Red Keep once, and some skills never fade.
As one of the oldest sisters, she was afforded the privacy of a small chamber to herself within the timber motherhouse, still feeling chilled from her walk through the courtyard, she added a few logs to the small stone hearth, warming the chamber and taking to her small cot, resting her head on the goose feather pillow.
Sleep came quickly to Vaella Targaryen.
She found herself walking through a misted path, the fog obscuring all of her surroundings save a few feet in front of her, Vaella did not know how long she wandered for, she felt a tiredness like none other she had experienced, the cold fog sapping her strength.
Suddenly she heard a faint noise in the distance, light and sad but sounding almost like music, pushing through the fog she made her way towards the noise, eventually seeing a light in the distance.
In the mist was a large set of heavy Iron doors, and the daughter of the Queen of Skulls pushed them open, greeted by the sound of a harp playing a sad tune, and the rhythmic pounding of a set of drums, yet she could find no source of the sound.
She found herself in a large sprawling great hall, dark flame roaring in many large hearths, casting a dim and shadowy light over the hall, the music playing all the while. She walked towards a large set of silk curtains, obscuring the other end of the hall, the music growing louder and faded shapes seen behind the obscuring silk.
The Princess felt a chill run down her spine as she walked closer, some part of her told her that she was going to witness something private, something she should not watch, as if it were not meant for her.
She pulled the curtains open.
At the end of the hall were two women, richly dressed, holding hands and dancing to the tune of the music.
The first dancer, an old woman bedecked in a dress of pale green and wearing a circlet of beaten copper placed a hand on the lower back of her partner, a younger woman in a dress of red crimson and wearing a necklace of moonstone, the two slowly waltzing and stepping to the tune of harp and drum.
Vaella watched transfixed as the peaceful dance continued, watching them spin and dance, their dresses twirling in vibrant display like beautiful tendrils of green and red fire.
Peaceful as the dance might be, the Princess found herself growing uneasy, there was something almost terrifying at the way they came together in their dance, something that made her blood run cold.
Faster and faster they spun, and louder the music became, the drums near deafening as the music reached a crescendo as the green woman extended a hand to her partner who took it, and they came together in a final embrace.
Then Vaella saw the blood, running from the hands and faces of both dancers, large stains of dark crimson running down their dresses, the two dancing and spinning all the while.
The Princess, for one of the only times in her life felt fear, whatever this was…whatever it represented….it was not for her to see.
Stepping back, she suddenly felt a feeling of dread, a sudden rush in her ears and face.
She looked down.
Below her were the familiar streets of Kings Landing, the clamoring of a bell resounding throughout the city.
She was falling.
Vaella Targaryen uttered not a single cry as the paved and cobbled streets rushed up to meet her, the roaring of the wind in her ears as she fell to her doom.
The Tyrell threat fades once again with the death of their untrustworthy lord and the death of Meraxes. Now, Aurion's dragon is the largest living dragon and the last of the original three conquest dragons making the King's position very hard to challenge as long as he and his dragon are alive and well.
Aurion may work very hard to know his realm and people, but he doesn't know his own brothers very well. The King is seemingly unaware that his younger brothers are turning into liabilities or threats to his line. Of course, it is understandable. Aurion is very busy, he has always been generous in providing for them, his brothers have shown no public signs of resentment or disloyalty, and he does not seem to be the type of monarch that would have all of his brothers constantly watched by spies.
In canon, the sword Dark Sister is only granted to the greatest warriors of the Targaryen family and is to the Targaryens what the sword Dawn is to the Daynes. In this AAR, Dark Sister is usually given to the monarch's favored family relative or a relative that the monarch thinks would benefit from having a Valyrian steel sword making Dark Sister a bit less prestigious than it is in the canon stories.
