#HAIL KING AEGON RIGHTFUL RULER OF WESTEROS

[darylandbethfanforever9]

All hail King Aegon the rightful ruler of Westeros

Aegon is growing his hair out in S2 which just confirms my theory that he cut his hair short to distance himself from his Targaryen heritage and the duty contained therein but now that his family is at war and his children have been targeted he's finally facing it and accepting that he is the leader they have even if he doesn't want to be

[ironforgedrp]

♛   ELAENYS TARGARYEN

↳ details; cisfemale, twenty-three.   ↳ date of birth; 1st of the second month, 483AC.

↳ status; heterosexual, unmarried, no children. ↳ faceclaim; kathryn newton. ↳ hails from; dragonstone. ↳ loyalty; house targaryen and the iron throne.

↳ position/title; lady of house targaryen, lady of dragonstone. ↳ religion; the faith of the seven. ↳ magical ability; dragon dreams. ↳ spoken languages; the common tongue & high valyrian. ↳ reason for being in sunspear; travelling alongside her family and the iron throne.

♛   PERSONALITY

↳ type; the campaigner ( enfp-a ). ↳ alignment; chaotic good. ↳ star sign; aquarius. ↳ positives; scholarly, charitable, enthralling, sagacious. ↳ negatives; inquiring, headstrong, unruly, overemotional.

♛  BIOGRAPHY

↳ family lineage.

cursed. it is what elaenys will answer if asked what she is.

born as the youngest daughter of the dragonstone’s targaryen branch, nothing special was expected of elaenys. of course, she was descendent of an old valyrian house, descendent of the glorius targaryen kings and queens — but she wasn’t a princess. they’ll look upon her, of course they will, but the secondary branch wasn’t so glorious as the one who held the power. but elaenys was a targaryen, born with silver-blonde hair e violet-blue eyes, as fair as a cotton flower. being the youngest of three, she was quite pampered by her parents and the other adults — but she wasn’t expected to be the last.

lonely for almost her childhood — her siblings and cousins were too old to play her childish games — elaenys found comfort in the books. for the early months, she would ask for the maester or a septa to read for her — or even her mother or father, if she found them to be willing to spend some more minutes with her — until she learned how to write and read in the common tongue. when that time arrived, elaenys was unstoppable. she read all the books in dragonstone’s library at least twice, and started to preffer the company of the maesters than of the septas. but she had to attend her lady’s duties — and while she did, her mind would be wandering in the stories she read, hoping to have an adventure of her own, like her ancestors had.

always very applied, elaenys stood out in languages and westerosi history. after all, these were her favourites subjects and the ones that the young dragon, since a young age, was interested in. however, because of that, elaenys became a difficult person to deal with changes and unexpected things. history and languages always had been the way they were — and elaenys thought that her life would be like that, too. younger, she would throw a loud tantrum if things didn’t go as she planned, now, however, her tantrums aren’t so loud — but she shows small signs of irritation like harsh responses and disapproving gazes.

however, growing up, elaenys noticed that her dreams were too childish. she wasn’t born in a great condition — being a woman and a lady of a great house, meant that she would be married off to some lord and secure an beneficial alliance to her family. only if she had been born a boy — she would be like aegon v, traveling all over the kingdom. but elaenys accepted her fate within dragonstone’s gray walls and, sometimes, the red ones of the red keep.

it wasn’t until her seventeenth birthday that elaenys’ curse came. until there, her life had been easy. she could be found in the company of her older sister and mother all day or reading and discussing with the maesters. elaenys loved her father with all of her heart and had a good relationship with her older brother, even if sometimes she found his goals to be too much for his position. however, on the first day of the second month of 500AC, elaenys woke up screaming. the targaryen lady had a strange dream, one that she couldn’t put into properly words. four dragons — two reds, one purple and other green — were flying over her, their eyes too familiar, looking deep into her soul. a desperate roar was heard by elaenys as the purple dragon fell to the ground towards her direction in the open field. in the same year, her aunt, queen victaria, died.

elaenys was desperate when she interpreted her dream as an omen of death. however, she didn’t told a soul about it. she didn’t want to scare anyone — after all, the other three dragons couldn’t mean anything. the targaryen daughter tried to continue her daily activities with normality, but her reading were directed for dragon dreams’ books and targaryens who suffered from it as well. for some years, elaenys felt at peace. the dream didn’t come again, and for a while, she even forgot about it. but, at her nineteenth birthday, she dreamed of the two red dragons had fallen alongside the purple one, remaining only the green flying in the sky. the death of her uncle, the king, and her cousin, the crown prince, were not a surprise for elaenys.

the green dragon haunted her for a year. it appeared in her dreams every single day, and elaenys started to wander who it could be. her father or brother for sure, and that scared her. but the dragon dream came before her birthday, and her father’s death a few weeks before it too. again, she wasn’t surprised. elaenys knew tragedy would came one last time, and she prepared herself for it. yet, she still cried and mourned her father for days. but her nightmares became known by everyone, but she disguised them just as vivid dreams, created by her creative head. it worked for awhile, but soon her maids and mother realized that it was worse than simple nightmares.

the transition of the rule of dragonstone made her uneased. blood is thickier than water, but she knows that with her brother ruling the first targaryen seat and a lannister in the iron throne she’ll be used as a coin of exchange to secure alliances, and now with the split of the kingdoms, used as a way to keep an eye in the new monarchies. the young targaryen wasn’t happy with rhaena’s marriage — she didn’t hate the lannisters, but the iron throne belonged to the targaryens, and only her fmaily was worthy to sit on it. after all, everytime the seven kingdoms had a non-targaryen ruler, it was doomed to to failure. but elaenys would be happy to leave dragonstone — its walls remind her of her dreams, and she’s thankful that they stopped to haunt her. however, in the travel for sunspear, elaenys had a strange feeling — they weren’t the same when she had her dragon dreams, but she’s afraid that tragedy will fall again in the last generation of targaryens.

↳ personality.

with an inquiring nature, elaenys is, sometimes, a difficult person to meddle with. she doesn’t like to take orders from anyone — as a targaryen, she feels superior to the other great houses — and from time to time, disobeys the high lords. she’s a free spirit and dreams of having her own adventures — taking inspirations from aegon v, her greatest role model. as someone that read too much in her free time, elaenys observes things from different points of view and is difficult to deceive. however, she’s an idealistic and is always ready to advocate in favor of the small folk or help them. with people that she trusts, the young dragon is a sweet and lively, speaking too much about her interests.

however, with the dragon dreams, elaenys is quieter. quieter and paranoiac. she’s afraid to have another dream and this fear is showing up in her actions, even if it’s an irrational fear. she wanders from time to time and wonders about the possibilities of what can happen, but when she realizes it, elaenys promptly tries to return to her normal self — the same impatient and cheerful elaenys that her family knew. the targaryen daughter is someone super emotional, and she holds words and grudges easily. her impulsiveness and inquiring nature always bring to elaenys situations that she doesn’t know how to handle — despite being such a smart person, she isn’t well versed in diplomacy and doesn’t know the time to stop talking, sometimes hurting the people that the loves without noticing. the young dragons is also someone that doesn’t apologize easily — she is always sure that she is right, and if the other person is offended, she cannot do anything to help them.

↳ the splitting of the kingdoms.

for someone that only traveled to the capitol, elaenys is excited to be in somewhere new and attend to a summit that will be in the maester’s history books. she wants to experience the dornish lands with everything they have to offer, without worrying for her family safety. however, with a mind as sharp as an assassin’s knife, elaenys is more interested in the political meetings. she isn’t a supporter of king arryk — doing it publicly because of her cousin — and think that either rhaena of one of her older siblings should the ruler of westeros, but she understand why the schism happened. elaenys doesn’t think that the treaties will work — men are too prideful when losing, and losing a great part of your kingdom isn’t something good. she’s afraid that a war will happen just like the last time the seven kingdoms were split, and she knows that her family will be in the middle of it — being in dorne will give elaenys a way to prepare herself when that time comes. however, with her inquiring nature, she may find herself in difficult situations after asking questions she shouldn’t.

  ♛    STATUS:  TAKEN

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

question from a non-book reader; i've been reading up on a lot of targaryen history since i got the world of ice and fire book. i vaguely understand the blackfyre rebellion and a lot of what i see on tumblr seems to side either with the targaryens or the blackfyres. but it seems to me that neither side was fully in the right since the targaryens overall weren't exactly known for being just rulers. that said, what is your opinion on the blackfyre rebellion? (1/2)

(2/2) did bloodraven genuinely commit tyranny and sins against the gods, or was aegor rivers the one who had the moral high ground in comparison?

…um.

I’m not sure if you’re confused because you haven’t read the books, or what, but sorry… no. The Blackfyre Rebellion happened because King Aegon IV Targaryen, Aegon the Unworthy (motto: “wash her and bring her to my bed”), always hated his trueborn son Daeron, considering him weak, hated Daeron’s mother Queen Naerys (and always tried to undermine her, including accusing her of infidelity through a proxy), hated the peace made with Dorne that was sealed with Daeron’s marriage to a Dornish princess (including trying and failing to start a war with Dorne by attacking them unprovoked with wooden “dragons”), decided to give Daeron one last stab in the back by legitimizing all his bastards on his deathbed.

One of those bastards included Daemon Blackfyre, born Daemon Waters, the son of Aegon and his cousin Daena the Defiant.

Aegon had knighted Daemon for valor in a squire’s tourney (age 12), and presented him with the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, the hereditary sword of House Targaryen and the Targaryen kings. (Blackfyre had belonged to Aegon the Conqueror, and when Aenys gave the sword to his younger brother Maegor at Aegon’s funeral – because Maegor was a warrior and Aenys was not, wanting them to rule together – it was widely considered to be a sign of Aenys’s weakness and Maegor’s strength.) Aegon IV giving Daemon the sword of kings, acknowledging him as his son, and then legitimizing him two years later, was considered by many to be his attempt to make Daemon his true heir and deny Daeron as falseborn, Naerys’s secret bastard.

Nevertheless, Daeron did not let his father’s duplicity preclude his obligations to his many bastard half-brothers and -sisters; including allowing Daemon to change his last name to Blackfyre, arranging his marriage to Rohanne of Tyrosh as Aegon had negotiated (though Daeron did not allow Daemon to marry his sister Princess Daenerys too), and granting a keep and lands along the Blackwater to the new House Blackfyre. Daemon even took his sigil the Targaryen arms inverted, a black three-headed dragon on red. And Daemon made it known that Aegon had given Daemon the sword because he was a warrior and Daeron was not, though Daeron did have two sons (out of four) who were highly martially talented.

Daeron’s rule soon stablized the excesses of the reign of his corrupt hedonist father; he was seen as just and good-hearted, and he was called “Daeron the Good” by both smallfolk and lords. Nevertheless, as time went on, those who opposed Dorne and its inclusion in Westeros, bound by two marriages to House Targaryen, found their figurehead in the handsome warrior Daemon Blackfyre. They looked at Daeron’s marriage to Mariah Martell, and his heir Baelor Breakspear, who though a warrior, also looked like his mother, with dark hair and dark eyes. They stewed at Princess Daenerys’s marriage to Prince Maron Martell of Dorne (oh noes a smelly brown man manhandling our white princess), and imagined a great love story denied to Daemon. (Though for all Daemon’s passion was supposedly cockblocked by his mean half-brother, he was still getting busy with Rohanne, producing at least 9 children in 12 years; and Daenerys never seemed unhappy in her marriage to Maron, who built the Water Gardens for her.) They got really angry at the Dornish courtiers who came to King’s Landing with Mariah, and supposed special treatment to Dorne. They brought up the rumors of Naerys and Aemon the Dragonknight, claiming that the weak Daeron was not Aegon’s son. We literally have the words of a Blackfyre supporter telling us this:

“Treason… is only a word. When two princes fight for a chair where only one may sit, great lords and common men alike must choose. And when the battle’s done, the victors will be hailed as loyal men and true, whilst those who were defeated will be known forevermore as rebels and traitors. That was my fate.” Egg thought about it for a time. “Yes, my lord. Only…King Daeron was a good man. Why would you choose Daemon?” “Daeron…” Ser Eustace almost slurred the word, and Dunk realized he was half-drunk. “Daeron was spindly and round of shoulder, with a little belly that wobbled when he walked. Daemon stood straight and proud, and his stomach was flat and hard as an oaken shield. And he could fight. With axe or lance or flail, he was as good as any knight I ever saw, but with the sword he was the Warrior himself. When Prince Daemon had Blackfyre in his hand, there was not a man to equal him…not Ulrick Dayne with Dawn, no, nor even the Dragonknight with Dark Sister. “You can know a man by his friends, Egg. Daeron surrounded himself with maesters, septons, and singers. Always there were women whispering in his ear, and his court was full of Dornishmen. How not, when he had taken a Dornishwoman into his bed and sold his own sweet sister to the Prince of Dorne, though it was Daemon that she loved? Daeron bore the same name as the Young Dragon, but when his Dornish wife gave him a son he named the child Baelor, after the feeblest king who ever sat the Iron Throne. “Daemon, though… Daemon was no more pious than a king need be, and all the great knights of the realm gathered to him. It would suit Lord Bloodraven if their names were all forgotten, so he has forbidden us to sing of them, but I remember. Robb Reyne, Gareth the Grey, Ser Aubrey Ambrose, Lord Gormon Peake, Black Byren Flowers, Redtusk, Fireball… Bittersteel! I ask you, has there ever been such a noble company, such a roll of heroes? “Why, lad? You ask me why? Because Daemon was the better man. The old king saw it too. He gave the sword to Daemon. Blackfyre, the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, the blade that every Targaryen king had wielded since the Conquest…he put that sword in Daemon’s hand the day he knighted him, a boy of twelve.” “My father says that was because Daemon was a swordsman, and Daeron never was,” said Egg. “Why give a horse to a man who cannot ride? The sword was not the kingdom, he says.” The old knight’s hand jerked so hard that wine spilled from his silver cup. “Your father is a fool.”

–The Sworn Sword

There is nothing to do with justice here. Nothing to do with ruling justly. There’s only hero-worship, glorification of violence, ableism, anti-intellectualism, misogyny, and Dornish racism. That’s what the followers of Daemon Blackfyre supported. They’re like Trump supporters, wanting to make Westeros great again.

And no bigger supporter of Daemon was his half-brother Aegor Rivers, aka Bittersteel. Aegor, “pissed off all his life”, was particularly mad at the court, because his mother Barba Bracken, Aegon’s mistress, had been sent away in disgrace after it was found that she and her father were talking up making Barba queen when Naerys had a health scare. (It was Daeron and his uncle Aemon, Naerys’s supporters, who made enough of a fuss about the scandal to get Aegon to send her away. Note also that Aegor’s grandfather was later executed along with his daughter Bethany, Aegon’s mistress, after she was caught sleeping with a Kingsguard.) While Aegor also received the legitimization given to all of Aegon’s bastards, he didn’t get all the benefits he felt he should have gotten – unlike his half-brother Brynden Rivers, “Bloodraven”, whose mother Melissa Blackwood (another one of Aegon’s mistresses), had always been popular at court (even with Naerys and Daeron), leading to Bloodraven remaining close with Daeron and his family even after Melissa was dismissed as mistress. Furthermore, Shiera Seastar (another one of Aegon’s Great Bastards), chose Brynden as a lover instead of Aegor, making him even more angry.

So, Aegor got close to Daemon, including getting betrothed to one of his daughters, and frequently urged him to press his claim to the throne, on the grounds of king’s choice, having the sword, being more fit than Daeron Falseborn. Do you see a moral high ground here? I do not. It’s further implied that Brynden was also close to Daemon at the time (see him telling Bran that “a brother I loved” is one of his ghosts), and was able to get away and warn Daeron when the Blackfyre plans went from idle talk to open rebellion. He was no tyrant – he probably didn’t even have an office at court at the time, though he did eventually become Daeron’s spymaster.

But yes, Brynden did kill Daemon and his two eldest sons, sniping them during the last battle of the first Blackfyre Rebellion. For which he was accused of kinslaying, and of using sorcery to get those accurate shots. The accusation of sorcery was probably slander (probably… a weirwood bow and weirwood arrows fletched with raven feathers might have had some mystical qualities), and as for the kinslaying… it was a battle where Daemon would have killed his half-nephews Baelor and Maekar if he’d had a chance, where Aegor fought Brynden one-on-one and took his eye out… and if the Blackfyres had won, do you think they’d just have packed off Daeron and Mariah and Aerys and Rhaegel? No, the falseborn weak Dornish half-breeds would have been executed or hunted down. You think they’d’ve left Daenerys and Maron and their children in peace? Nope, a war with Dorne would have been next on the agenda. Don’t talk to me about kinslaying. (Though whether Brynden considers himself to be gods-cursed could be a different matter.)

Now, after the first Blackfyre Rebellion, when Brynden supported killing all the rebel lords (Daeron elected to take hostages instead), after the death of Daeron’s heir Baelor, after the Great Spring Sickness when Daeron and Baelor’s sons died, leading to Daeron’s second son Aerys becoming king, and appointing Brynden as his Hand and master of whisperers… then you might get into questions of tyranny. (Which I consider a lot more debatable than some.) But it has absolutely nothing to do with why Daemon Blackfyre and his supporters rebelled in the first place. When Aegor Rivers formed the Golden Company, to support the Blackfyre cause in their exile in Tyrosh, did he give a flying fuck about tyranny or justice? No he did not, he just wanted to keep fucking with Bloodraven and put Daemon’s son on the throne of Westeros. (Not the gay son, though! That one, the heir after his older brothers died, Bittersteel ignored and kept his support from.)

The Blackfyre cause was never just. They were never in the right. I oppose them wholeheartedly, and I’m suspicious of anyone who chooses the black dragon over the red. I hope that clears things up for you.

[fortunatelylori]

hi there! i have read many of your metas and love them and with them more show than book i thought you might enjoy this idea? i was reflecting on how often we hear 'conquer' with dany in show so i crossreference it in the scripts and it (or conqueror/conquered) is spoken 26 times with her the first to say it. 14 are by, about or in presence of dany. 5 of the remaining 12 are with mention of aegon's title/deeds. overwhelming conquer is related to the targs but specifically dany ---

(2) — and overwhelmingly it is with a negative context (emphasis on forceful nature and bloodshed and power control over freedom) in 24/26 usages. but dany and targ arguments aside, i crosschecked for context of the rest. robb uses the conqueror title to rile up his troops and is accused to be that by the lannisters despite his primary goal independence. the iron throne was admired for its dangerous imagery worthy of a conqueror. tyrion jests this title to pod but it is thrown back in his face —

(3) – because he didnt conquer any women for he earned their affections. mance insists they’re not conquerors. yara riles up her people by saying the rest of the 7k only conquer and neglect. and jaime mocks lord frey (as he did robb) for not being a great conqueror. so food for thought. most ironic is dany saying in last instance so far “i’ve not come to conquer the north” yet first word usage is her asking (1x04) “if my brother was given an army of dothraki, could you conquer the seven kingdoms?”

Wow, nonny! That’s quite the bit of research you’ve done there! I can’t even imagine the amount of time that took you but it’s fantastic and really illuminating!

I have to say that the usage of “conqueror” in D*ny’s storyline is one of the cleverest tactics that the show has employed in both making the viewer aware of the problematic aspects of her quest to become the ruler of the 7 kingdoms as well as continue the glorification of D*ny as a character. 

That’s, I think, testimony to our own real life problematic relationship with conquerors. On the one hand we glorify them, as is the case with someone like Alexander the Great. On the other hand we villainize them (Genghis Khan comes to mind). 

In many ways I feel like GRRM is playing with those perceptions a lot. Take a culture like the Valyrians, who are very reminiscent of the Roman Empire. As he unfolds their story and the amount of horror and pain they brought to the world, I, for one, do end up questioning my own fascination with the Roman Empire as well as with traditional antiquity characters like Alexander the Great. 

The truth is that the major difference between Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan is that Genghis Khan was far more successful than Alexander. However one was white and part of a civilization that we praise and hail to this day while Genghis was Asian and a Mongol, a culture we know next to nothing about. So while someone like Alexander gets hailed as the enlightened student of Aristotle, Genghis becomes the hated Other bringing destruction and horror to the civilized world. In reality, both these men were brutal conquerors that went to places that didn’t belong to them and killed people to get them. 

That’s why D*ny is such a clever character. She’s pretty, white, blond, the decedent of the greatest civilization to exist in her world. How could she be an evil, brutal war monger?!? As if it matters if you’re killed by a “barbarian” or a lovely Aryan insert … 

The most important usage of the term “conqueror” in D*ny’s story so far, I feel, is this: 

Daario: You weren’t meant to sit on a chair. You are a conqueror, Daenerys Stormborn

This is then reinforced by her ignoring the throne at Dragonstone and going straight for the map room to plan her invasion. D*ny isn’t interested in ruling. But then again, most conquerors aren’t. Alexander the Great essentially threw his own empire into turmoil because he was unable to name his successor on his death bed. I guess he imagined he was going to live forever and no one was ever going to match up to his greatness … Reminds you of anyone? *cough D*ny cough* 

And if in earlier seasons the conqueror imagery was subtle and we were also afforded a bit of breathing room as to the problematic aspects behind conquests, as D*ny was making her way through Slaver’s Bay, a place we weren’t really truly invested in emotionally and also she was seemingly doing it for a good cause (ending slavery), the brutality of conquest is really thrown in our faces come season 7 (and I suspect season 8 as well) since D*ny has now come to Westeros, a place we know and love, and is starting to get into conflicts with characters we actually care about. I wonder what our view of conquerors and their quests will be at the end of season 8 if D*ny reduces King’s Landing to a pile of ashes? 

The other interesting thing is just how much the show is pushing the D*ny/Aegon the Conqueror parallel. I think this is very much inspired by GRRM’s text because if you look at what we know of Aegon you can really see D*ny mirroring his journey in many ways: 

- Forced to abandon his country? Check. D*ny is forced on the run from Westeros, Aegon and his family leave Valyria before the doom

- Interested in the affairs of the East before abandoning them to focus on the west? Check. Aegon was involved in squabbles on the old continent before turning his back on them to focus on his conquest of Westors. D*ny conquers Slaver’s Bay before turning her back on the region leaving Meereen in the capable sellsword hands of Daario Naharis so she can sail to Westeros and claim her “birth right”. 

- 3 dragons? Check. Incidentally, D*ny, in the books, often dreams of finding 2 riders for her remaining dragons so she won’t be alone, just like Aegon had his sisters/wives

- once conquering a place, no interest in ruling? Check. Aegon leaves the actual governance of the 7 kingdoms in the hands of his sisters. D*ny finds that ruling Meereen isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be and becomes increasingly annoyed by it until she’s saved by Drogon and she’s able to embrace the fire and blood policy of her illustrious ancestor. 

I find it all rather poetic to be honest. Since GRRM is so found of drawing parallels between historical and present characters in his universe as well as of cyclical arcs, I can see the beauty in D*ny (being the mirror of Aegon) desperately trying to hold on to what the father of the dynasty started only to end up completely destroying it (by dying and losing her dragons). 

Thank you for the ask!

[kenway-writes]

A Dream of Spring: From the Ashes (Jonerys Week Summer ‘18)

Prompt One (June 10 2018): The Coronation

[Cannot resist some Jonerys power couple fic!] @jonerysdreamspring2018

From The Ashes

From amidst the dust and rubble of what had once been the city founded by their ancestors, two thrones had been forged anew. The sudden fury of wildfire had consumed the city and in its blaze had warped the Iron Throne, the focus of so much bloodshed and war, into a twisted and decrepit lump of metal, no longer good for anything.

Daenerys had ordered the remnants of the throne to be discarded. With spring on the air and the winter snows beginning to melt away, her arrival into the former capital city had warranted a new start. The old King’s Landing was beyond repair, a gaping burnt crevice, inhabited only by dust and the spirits of those who had been caught in the inferno. Daenerys looked over what had been the city of her forefathers and let her tears fall onto the scorched ground.

Jon had left her and her men briefly to resolve matters in the south, while he flew north on Rhaegal. He had much to do, over-seeing the rebuilding of the Wall and the coronation of Sansa as Queen in the North. They may have vanquished the Night King and his undead armies, but they could not vanquish the seasons. As Sansa had wryly put it, before Daenerys had set off southwards  from Winterfell: “Winter is coming.” Westeros remained stricken from the attack of the White Walkers, but, as history proved, they risked forgetting. Jon and Daenerys were adamant that the threat would never be forgotten.

While Jon helped in the North, Daenerys set about establishing a new capital, further along the Blackwater Rush. She had chosen not to name it, preferring rather to wait on her co-ruler’s opinion, but the growing settlement was soon named Queen’s Landing and it had only made Jon laugh when he had arrived, flustered and windswept, dropping down from Rhaegal’s side and into the arms of his wife.

A small fort had been established at the site of the capital city, a temporary castle built up from wood. There were plans afoot to build one in stone - wood never proved to be the best of materials when there were dragons about - but it would do for now.

Daenerys had ordered that Jon was not to be disturbed while he rested, tending to him herself while he bathed, and ate, and then slept. She lay against his side while he slept, her head rising and falling with each breath that he took, her hand resting on his taut abdomen. All her life she had felt so alone, the last of her people. If only she had known that, half a world away, another dragon lived, buried beneath ice and snow.

The news of his parentage had been a shock to both of them at first. It had been in the tense days before the Battle for the Dawn, when Jon’s brother, Bran, and his best friend, Sam, had revealed that not only was he not a bastard, but the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and his wife, Lyanna Stark. The revelation had proved earth shattering, nearly tearing their new-found relationship, fresh off of the boat from King’s Landing, apart. Jon had been furious, upset, horrified - his whole life, all that he knew of himself and who he was, had been a lie. He was a Targaryen, the son of the man who had been reviled for stealing away his mother. The man he had thought of as his father was his uncle, who had taken the secret to his grave rather than risk endangering Jon, and his half-siblings were cousins. His mother - the mother he would never know now - remained silent, her remaining secrets buried with her in the crypt beneath Winterfell. And the woman he loved, who had saved his men from the icy wastelands north of the Wall and had stood at his side in King’s Landing… well, she was his aunt.

Daenerys, meanwhile, had taken the revelation better, but it still had proved a hard tonic to swallow. She, the daughter of a brother and sister, had been raised knowing of the Targaryen marital traditions; she had half-expected to marry her fool of a brother, Viserys. But fate had dealt her another hand. What had proved more difficult for her to comprehend was that she was no longer the rightful heir to the throne. Her brother’s son held the greater claim and this had rankled her greatly.

It had taken the obliteration of King’s Landing and the sweeping southwards march of the Night King and his forces to remind them of what was truly important. Neither had expected to survive the Battle for the Dawn and yet they had - together.

The first signs of spring brought with it the chance to start anew. Within the fort’s Great Hall, two thrones had been carved from wood, two-intertwined dragons while a third rose up from behind them. The thrones stood at equal height, a sign of how things were going to be in this new world they were building together.

Daenerys could only keep the weight of duties away from Jon for so long, but morning came and with it came Davos knocking at the door, calling to them through the wood of the door that today was the day. Daenerys at first thought that Jon had slept through his wake-up call, but then came a deep groan from beneath her. She looked up, amused, to watch him rub the sleep from his eyes, cursing.

“It’s today, isn’t it,” he groaned.

She chuckled at that.

“You’re lucky they didn’t stick the crown on you last night,” she said, with a lazy smile. “I could only hold them off so long.”

He sighed, before smiling, leaning down to take her lips with his, his hand slipping down to feel the neat swell of her belly.

“We’ll be with you,” she whispered against his lips, her hand resting over his. “Every step of the way.”

The Great Hall was heaving with people, dignitaries from every inhabited corner of Westeros. Jon, who had faced the Night King, the Bolton Bastard, and death itself, nearly balked when he caught Tormund’s eye. The Wildling looked surprisingly at ease in the South, snorting loudly at the sight of Jon in all his regalia. The other Northern dignitaries were more stoic. Arya grinned when Jon caught her eye - and pulled a face. Ghost, sat beside her, was panting happily, while Arya stroked his shaggy, white fur. Sam, beside Gilly, was welling up with pride.

Jon was once more in black, but in far finer clothes than he had ever worn in the Night’s Watch, a red cloak, lined with fur, around his shoulders. His hair, still long and unruly - just how Dany liked it, had been tied back for the ceremony. At his side, her hand in his, Daenerys was similarly dressed in black and red, her long white hair unbraided for once and falling in soft, lazy curls down her back. She caught his eye and smiled at him, discreetly squeezing his hand as they walked the length of the hall.

They took their seats at the same time, looking out over a hall crammed full of friends and strangers alike, lit by a thousand candles and more. The High Septon raised a chalice and addressed them all to be silent, before beginning the coronation ritual.

Daenerys sensed Jon’s unease as the Septon droned on - despite being a Targaryen, he had never been a worshipper of the Seven, but had been raised to follow his mother’s Northern Gods. Her hand over his on their thrones’ shared armrest, she gave it another light squeeze. They would have another ceremony later, out in the forest, where his Old Gods would hear him.

The Septon turned to her and Daenerys felt herself stiffening as the iron crown was placed upon her head.

“All hail Her Grace, Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Defender of the Dawn, Mother of Dragons and Breaker of Chains, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.” The Septon stepped back, allowing the Hall to see Daenerys atop her throne, the crown resting atop her pale hair. A cheer rang out and, from somewhere outside, Daenerys caught the faint roars of Drogon and Rhaegal, disappointed at not being part of the celebrations.

The Septon turned then, lifting another crown. Jon stiffened, dry-mouthed, as the man leant over him, resting the crown atop his head. It was heavier than it looked, but it did not fall off, and Jon felt his tension begin to ease as he looked out over the Hall.

“All hail His Grace, Aegon Targaryen of Houses Targaryen and Stark, Sixth of His Name, the Resurrected, Defender of the Dawn, the White Wolf, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the First Men and the Free Folk, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.” Another hearty cheer rose up from around the Hall.

“I present to you,” the Septon said, turning back to the Hall, “your King and Queen.” Only a miracle then stopped the roof of the Hall from being blown off by the rambunctious applause.

As things settled and people turned their attentions to the feast and to the drinks, Jon turned to Daenerys, the relief clear on his face. They were about to be swarmed with well-wishers, but Jon took her hand and raised it to his lips. A warm wave coursed through her as she looked over to him and, deep from within, a new life stirred and fluttered.

Spring had truly arrived.

[viranelle]

Visenya Targaryen - The Fierce Dragonrider and Warrior

Queen Visenya Targaryen was the older sister and wife of King Aegon I Targaryen, the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Her younger sister, Rhaenys, was married to Aegon as well. Visenya was a dragonrider, and rode the dragon Vhagar.

Biography

Born on the island Dragonstone, Visenya was the eldest child of Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon. Her two younger siblings, Aegon and Rhaenys, were born within a few years following her birth.Since young age, Visenya trained together with Aegon at arms, and she became a skilled warrior.

Like her siblings, Visenya possessed the classical Valyrian features: long, silver-gold hair, which she often braided or bound up in rings, and purple eyes. Hers was a harsher, more austere beauty than her sister, Rhaenys. A voluptuous, sensual, and passionate woman, Visenya was also stern, serious, and unforgiving. Some claimed that she dabbled in dark sorceries and played with poisons. Visenya Targaryen was a great warrior. She had a Valyrian steel sword she called 'Dark Sister'. Her most notable action was the single-handed conquest of the Vale of Arryn. 

As expected, Visenya was wed to her brother Aegon following Valyrian custom. However, Aegon took their younger sister as a wife as well. People claimed that he had wed Visenya out of duty, and Rhaenys out of desire. Prior to her wedding, Visenya became a dragonrider, having bonded with the dragon Vhagar.

Visenya was also responsible for bringing the Vale to heel. The Vale's seat of power, the Eyrie, was impossible to take by conventional means owing to its natural defenses atop a mountain. Visenya, however, merely flew her dragon Vhagar over the narrow pass and mountain peaks to land in the courtyard of the Eyrie, where the young king Ronnel Arryn was at play. Recalling the fateof Harrenhal and its lords who refused to bend the knee, the Queen Regent of the Vale, Sharra Arryn, surrendered peacefully on the condition that her son Ronnel be allowed to ride on Vhagar; Visenya kindly complied.

Visenya was the mother of Maegor Targaryen, known as Maegor the Cruel, the third King of the Seven Kingdoms, but he died without issue, so all of the subsequent Targaryen rulers (including Daenerys Targaryen) claim their descent from Visenya's sister, Rhaenys.

Visenya (left) with her brother Aegon I and younger sister Rhaenys.

When her brother Aegon began his conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, Visenya sailed with him from Dragonstone. Visenya subdued House Stokeworth and, following the defeat of House Darklyn in battle against Aegon and his bastard half-brother Orys Baratheon, did not hesitate to claim the riches of Duskendale, greatly swelling the coffers of House Targaryen. After having conquered a dozen houses, Aegon was crowned king. Visenya, now queen, placed a Valyrian steel circlet on Aegon's head while their sister Rhaenys hailed him as the new king of Westeros. Following the coronation, Visenya accompanied the Targaryen fleet to Gulltown and the Vale. When the Arryn fleet sunk a third of the Targaryen ships and captured many more, Visenya descended from the sky upon Vhagar, burning their ships.

Next, Visenya was sent to Crackclaw Point by Aegon. The local lords had learned of the faith that had befallen Harren Hoare at Harrenhal, and submitted quickly, swearing oaths of fealty. Visenya took them as her own men, and from that day forth the lord owed their loyalty directly to the Iron Throne.

Visenya met Rhaenys, Aegon, and the Targaryen host at the Stoney Sept, from where they raced south. There, they met the combined hosts of the Reach and the westerlands in battle. Visenya and her siblings fought from dragonback, setting the dry grasses and stands of wheat on the battlefield afire. With more than four thousand men dead from the fire, and tens of thousands wounded by the flames, the battle became known as the Field of Fire. King Mern IX Gardener of the Reach died in battle and King Loren I Lannister of the westerlands fled, giving the Targaryens the victory.

Visenya riding Vhagar into battle.

Visenya fought alongside her siblings in the First Dornish War, which lasted from 4 AC to 13 AC. After Rhaenys died in Dorne in 10 AC, Visenya and Aegon, grief-stricken at her death, set every castle, keep, and holdfast in Dorne ablaze at least once, with the exception of Sunspear and it's shadow city. They also placed bounties on the heads of the Dornish lords. Although half a dozen and more of those lords were killed by assassins, only two of the killers lived to collect their reward. In retaliation, the Dornish lords hired catspaws themselves. Visenya and her escort were once attacked in King's Landing, and she cut down the last would-be assassin down herself with Dark Sister. At another occasion, in 10 AC, Aegon and Visenya were attacked on the streets of King's Landing, where Visenya's actions saved Aegon's life. When Aegon argued that his guards were still sufficient for his protection, Visenya drew Dark Sister. Before the guards could react, she had cut Aegon's cheek, pointing out to him that his guards were slow and lazy. This event led to the birth of the Kingsguard. Visenya modeled the vows of the Kingsguard upon the vows of the Night's Watch, and selected the first seven members herself. 

In 13 AC, Princess Deria Martell arrived in King's Landing in 13 AC with a delegation from Dorne to discuss a peace. With her, she brought the skull of Rhaenys's dragon, Meraxes, which was ill-received by Visenya. Deria and Aegon eventually reached an agreement, striking a peace which ended the war. 

The day-to-day governance of the realm was often left in the charge of Visenya and Rhaenys, and Aegon's councilors.

Rhaenys's death in Dorne in 10 AC shattered the health of her son Aenys, and people began to doubt as to whether he would live. As Visenya had not yet gotten pregnant by Aegon despite more than a decade of marriage, some had come to believe that she was barren, and even went as far as to suggest to Aegon that he should take a new wife. Although many young women were presented to Aegon, he refused to voice his opinion on the matter. In 11 AC, Visenya announced she was pregnant with a son, and the next year, she gave birth to Aegon's second son, Maegor on Dragonstone. Visenya raised Maegor on Dragonstone, and gave him her Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister, as a nameday present when the boy turned thirteen. 

When he grew up, he became a tall, broad, and fearsomely strong man, larger than his father, Aegon I Targaryen. Maegor was a born warrior whose skill with weapons was unmatched. He lived for war, tourneys, and battle, and rose to become one of the youngest and finest knights of his time. However, he was also a hard and brutal man who craved violence, death, and absolute mastery over all he deemed his. His savagery in the field and his harshness toward defeated enemies was frequently remarked upon. The polygamous Maegor had six wives.

In 23 AC, Aenys's first child, Princess Rhaena, was born. Shortly after Maegor turned twelve, Visenya proposed a betrothal between her son Maegor and Rhaena, to settle the issue of the royal succession, as Rhaena's birth had sparked the discussion about who was next in line behind Aenys: his own daughter (Rhaena) or his brother (Maegor) However, the High Septon protested, and suggested his own niece, Lady Ceryse Hightower, as a bride for the young prince instead.

Visenya's relationship with Aegon, which had never been a warm one, grew more distant. When Aegon in 35 AC had the Aegonfort torn down so they could start building the Red Keep, Visenya was left in charge of the construction. In his histories, Archmaester Gyldayn states that it was suggested at court that Aegon had left Visenya at King's Landing so that he would not have to endure her presence on Dragonstone.

When Aegon died, both Visenya and Maegor were present as his body was cremated and Aenys I Targaryen was crowned. Aenys gifted Maegor with Blackfyre saying he was more fit to wield it. Visenya Targaryen voiced the opinion that Aenys was unfit to rule, claiming that, by giving Blackfyre to Maegor, Aenys had admitted that he lacked the strength to rule.

In 39 AC, Visenya's son Maegor shocked the realm by taking a second wife and married Alys Harroway. Visenya officiated the wedding for lack of a septon. The outrage that followed resulted in Maegor being sent into exile. Visenya was present the next year at the wedding of Princess Rhaena to Prince Aegon. (Prince Aegon was King Aenys’s son as was Princess Rhaena.) At the feast that followed the ceremony, King Aenys named Aegon Prince of Dragonstone, a title which had previously belonged to Maegor. Visenya left the feast in protest and returned to Dragonstone upon Vhagar. Singers claim that the moon turned red as they passed it.

When King Aenys abandoned King's Landing at the start of the Faith Militant uprising and fled to Dragonstone, Visenya counseled him to burn down the Starry Sept in Oldtown and the Sept of Remembrance in King's Landing. Aenys, incapable of making a firm decision, instead fell ill and chose not to heed her counsel. Visenya took over his care and for a time his health improved. Aenys suffered a collapse when he learned his son Aegon and daughter Rhaena were besieged in Crakehall, and he died three days later. As soon as Aenys was buried, Visenya then mounted Vhagar and flew to Pentos to retrieve her son Maegor from exile.

With Visenya's aid, Maegor claimed the Iron Throne. Visenya accompanied him to King's Landing, where she challenged anyone who denied Maegor's right to rule, which resulted in a trial of seven between Maegor and the Warrior's Sons. Though severely injured, Maegor was the only survivor.

In 42 AC, Visenya flew to Driftmark upon Vhagar to convince Aenys's widow, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, to leave her father's castle to where she had fled after her husband's death. At the royal court, it was said that Maegor's Hand of the Kingand council members enacted his will but did not have his ear - but instead, he was ruled by three queens: his mother Visenya, his paramour and second wife Alys Harroway, and his new third bride, the Pentoshi spymaster Tyanna of the Tower, a rumored sorceress. Visenya came to distrust Tyanna and a rivalry developed between them.

In 43 AC Visenya aided her son against those who refused his royal summons. Mounted upon her dragon Vhagar, she burned the seats of several houses in the riverlands, as once she had burned castles in Dorne: House Blanetree, Terrick, Deddings, Lychester, and Wayn. Next Visenya and Maegor turned towards Oldtown, threatening to incinerate the Starry Sept in response to the High Septon's condemnation of her sons polygamous marriages. When the High Septon suddenly died, Lord Martyn Hightower opened the city's gates, saving Oldtown from the fire. Visenya watched as the new High Septon anointed her son as king.

After Maegor's victory in the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, Visenya persuaded her son to spare the lives of several highborn rebels. After Prince Aegon's death, Visenya held Alyssa and her two youngest children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, as her wards on Dragonstone.

By 44 AC - despite being healthy enough to ride her dragon to battle the year before - Visenya had grown thin and haggard, as the flesh had "melted" from her bones. Visenya died that same year while Maegor was on campaign. Upon her death, Alyssa and her two children slipped away from the castle in the confusion, taking Visenya's Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister with them.

After Visenya's death, it was suggested that she had caused Aenys's sudden death, causing some to call her a kinslayer and kingslayer.

Visenya was cremated as per Targaryen custom. Her bones and ashes were interred beside those of her brother, King Aegon I Targaryen.

Information & pictures: A Wiki of Ice and Fire & Game of Thrones Wiki