#Melony Piper

[asoiafandotherbooks]

TWOIAF/Fire & Blood: The Doomed Rebellion of Aegon the Uncrowned

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

Maegor Targaryen had put down the rebellion of the Faith. He lingers in Oldtown after reuniting with Ceryse Hightower, his first wife.

Prince Aegon, later known as Aegon the Uncrowned, ignores his wife’s advice of “run away and live peacefully”, instead choosing to attempt to overthrow Maegor. What is driving Aegon? Entitlement? Vengeance? Jealousy? A sense of duty?

Aegon and Rhaena leave Casterly Rock and sneak into King’s Landing, concealed beneath snacks of corn. Rhaena retrieved Dreamfyre while Aegon claimed Quicksilver. Aegon is now a dragonrider. Why did Aegon wait so long to claim a dragon? Did he have no interest until necessity demanded he have a dragon? Maegor waited longer but he was laser-focused on Balerion, who is unique in the pantheon of Targaryen dragons.

The duo was aided by unnamed “friends in Maegor’s own court who had grown tired of the king’s cruelties”. No details are given on the nature of Maegor’s cruelties. Maegor’s “cruelties” have only been noted against his opponents in the field. The exceptions are the beheadings of the Grand Maesters, an alleged stories of animal abuse (and a stablehand?) as a child. The decapitations were unnecessary and are indicative of Maegor’s violent impulses. The cruelites…I want details…was he like Joffrey Baratheon in tormenting people when he was bored/annoyed?

Aegon and Rhaena returned to the Westerlands to assemble an army. The Lannisters (wisely) refused to openly support the duo’s cause so Aegon’s adherents gathered at Pinkmaiden Castle, seat of House Piper. Jon Piper, Lord of Pinkmaiden, had pledged his sword to Aegon because his Melony, his fiery sister, won him to the cause. Aegon denounced his uncle as a tyrant and usurper and called upon men to rally to his banners.

The following came: The Lords Tarbeck, Roote, Vance, Charlton, Frey, Paege, Parren, Farman, Westerling, Lord Corbray of the Vale, the Bastard of Barrowton, and the fourth son of the Lord of Griffin’s Roost. Ser Tyler Hill, a bastard son of Lord Lyman Lannister, arrived from Lannisport with five hundred men. The Piper levies were led by Melony. The assembled forces were around 15,000.

No great lords rallied to Aegon’s cause. Queen Tyanna wrote to Maegor and warned him that the lords of Storm’s End, the Eyrie, Winterfell, and Casterly Rock were in communication with Alyssa Velaryon. The lords wouldn’t commit until they were certain Aegon could prevail. Some might see this as cowardly, but it is a smart approach. Why waste thousands of lives on a doomed rebellion? At this point, Maegor has only acted against Houses that rebelled against him. Add in the fact that Aenys was a disaster as a king and I can see why the great lords were hesitant to grant their support.

Maegor’s strength is warfare. In no time at all, he had a plan in motion to end this rebellion. Maegor devised a plan that had forces coming for Aegon from every direction: Lord Harroway from Harrenhal, Lord Tully from Riverrun, Ser Davos Darklyn of the Kingsguard marshalled five thousand in King’s Landing and struck out west, Lord Peake, Lord Merryweather, and Lod Caswell came up from the Reach.

Aegon soon found armies closing in on all sides. He didn’t know what to do (shades of Aenys). Lord Corbray, an experienced commander, advised Aenys to split their forces and meet the opposing forces individually. Aenys vetoed the motion and kept marching the entire force towards King’s Landing.

Aegon found the Davos Darkyln’s forces waiting for his south of the Gods Eye. Lords Merryweather and Caswell were advancing from the south, and Lords Tully and Harroway from the north. Aegon mounted Quicksilver to lead a charge when Balerion appeared in the southern sky.

For the first time since the Doom of Valyria, dragon battled dragon. Not that it was much of a battle. Picture Luke vs Aemond from the HOTD season 1 finale.

The battle between the ground forces were bloody and brief. The rebels realized their cause was doomed once Aegon died. By the end of the battle, a thousand of the rebels had died but only one hundred of the Maegor’s men. Among the dead were: Lord Allyn Tarbeck, Denys Snow the Bastard of Barrowton, Lord Ronnel Vance, Ser William Whistler, Melony Piper and three of her brothers, and Ser Davos Darklyn (slain by Lord Corbray).

The next six months were filled with trials and executions.  Queen Visenya persuaded Maegor to spare some of the rebellious lords but all lost lands and titles and were forced to give up their hostages.

Final thoughts on Aegon: Foolish and impatient. He had neither the intelligence, experience, nor strength to win against Maegor. He should have stayed under the radar and slowlu gathered alliances and waited until Maegor had eroded the last of the population’s goodwill/patience. Imagine if Aegon had waited until the death of Visenya and then claimed Vhagar? Now you have the power to fight Maegor and Balerion! Poor Quicksilver only knew pleasure rides, Vhagar knows how to fight!

Up next, Rhaena in the aftermath of the rebellion.

[stromuprisahat]

And thus it was there at Casterly Rock that Princess Rhaena gave birth to Aegon’s daughters, twins they named Aerea and Rhaella. ... The maester at Casterly Rock who helped deliver the children tells us that afterward Princess Rhaena begged the prince her husband to take them all across the narrow sea to Tyrosh or Myr or Volantis, anywhere beyond their uncle’s reach, for “I would gladly give up my own life to make you king, but I will not put our girls at risk.” But her words fell on stony ears and her tears were shed in vain, for Prince Aegon was determined to claim his birthright.

...

When word of the battle reached the west and Princess Rhaena learned that both her husband and her friend Lady Melony had fallen, it is said she heard the news in a stony silence. “Will you not weep?” she was asked, to which she replied, “I do not have the time for tears.” Whereupon, fearing her uncle’s wroth, she gathered up her daughters, Aerea and Rhaella, and fled farther, first to Lannisport and then across the sea to Fair Isle, where the new lord Marq Farman (whose father and elder brother had both perished in the battle, fighting for Prince Aegon) gave her sanctuary and swore no harm would come to her beneath his roof.

...

... If Prince Aegon had truly been the king, by law his eldest daughter, Aerea, stood his heir, and might therefore claim to be the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms…but Aerea and her sister, Rhaella, were barely a year old, and Rhaena knew that to trumpet such claims would be tantamount to condemning them to death. Instead, she dyed their hair, changed their names, and sent them from her, entrusting them to certain powerful allies, who would see them fostered in good homes by worthy men who would have no inkling of their true identities. Even their mother must not know where the girls were going, the princess insisted; what she did not know she could not reveal, even under torture.No such escape was possible for Rhaena.

Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

Rhaena Targaryen, twice Queen, never ruling. Bold and smart, more capable than her brother-husband.

[reverseflashes]

helloooo 👋🏻 i'm finally posting my first poll! please vote, and, if you'd like, tell me why your fave couple is your fave!

[vexic929]

Your characters have all been given wings! What kind of wings do they have (not just bird, bat, or insect but what specific species?)

ooooh let's see

the Robins are easy - they get robin wings, probably different types of robin for each of them tho; Indian robin for Ricki, flame robin for Jessie, American robin for Tiff, Rufous-tailed robin for Dami

Brie gets gray myotis bat wings (the patterning looks vaguely kevlar-y to me lol)

speedsters get hummingbirds I think; Allen's hummingbird for Barbara (it's too perfect: reddish, Allen, fast - I couldn't NOT pick it), Rufous hummingbird for Eoland (it's almost too cute) and Berrie, marvelous spatuletail for Malcolm, white-tipped sicklebill for Beth, and bee hummingbird for Piper

luna moth for Hartley

snow bunting for Caelen

san pedrito for Cisca

[thevelaryons]

As parents of queer children, Alyssa and Corlys have rather different approaches to how they handle their children’s sexualities. They’re sensible enough to know that being gay in their society isn’t socially acceptable; though it’s not openly condemned either. But, because of their circumstances, they would hold private misgivings: Alyssa needing her family to conform to societal norms in order to ensure stability for the realm and Corlys wanting heirs of his own blood and feeling frustrated at the lack of.

Alyssa’s daughter, Rhaena, has her share of female companions. I don’t think Alyssa could have anticipated that Rhaena would develop affectionate feelings for other girls. But once it happens, Alyssa, who had previously tried to have her daughter form close bonds with girls now tries to distance them from each other. Of course, she doesn’t isolate Rhaena completely because her daughter is still a princess and therefore, she needs her ladies about her. So instead, Alyssa ensures that if she sees Rhaena getting too close with any girl, she switches them out. Rhaena does not like all the companions her mother provides her but the ones she does like are also the ones that are taken away from her. It’s probably for this reason that Rhaena’s girlfriends are often described as former favourites because they were not allowed to remain by her side for long once they reached the favourite status. As the Queen, Alyssa has complete authority to dismiss any of her daughters’ companions as she sees fit.

Though her mother provided her with a succession of suitable companions, the daughters of lords great and small, Rhaena never seemed to warm to any of them, preferring the company of a book.

[…]

Not long after, Rhaena made her first true friend in the person of her cousin Larissa Velaryon. For a time the two girls were inseparable…until Larissa was suddenly recalled to Driftmark to be wed to the second son of the Evenstar of Tarth. The young are nothing if not resilient, however, and the princess soon found a new companion in the Hand’s daughter, Samantha Stokeworth.

— Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon

It’s the same thing Alyssa later does with her younger daughter, Alysanne. The reason here being the reputation of the family. That is what drives Alyssa’s actions. She is often shown to be a person that does care about public perception.

Alysanne did not choose these companions for herself; they were selected for her by her mother, Queen Alyssa, and they came and went with some frequency, to ascertain that the princess did not grow too fond of any of them. Her sister Rhaena’s penchant for showering an unseemly amount of affection and attention on a succession of favorites, some of whom were considered less than suitable, had been the source of much whispering at court, and the queen did not want Alysanne to be the subject of similar rumors.

— Fire & Blood, A Surfeit of Rulers

Though there are times when Alyssa does allow Rhaena some leniency to spend time with her favourite companions, those moments are very rare. For the most part, Alyssa’s priorities tend to be about the realm.

The princess had been most loath to be parted from her dragon, Dreamfyre, and her latest favorite, Melony Piper, a red-haired maiden from the riverlands. It was only when her mother, Queen Alyssa, sent for Lady Melony to join them on the progress that Rhaena finally put aside her sullenness to join the celebrations.

— Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon

Rhaena was described as being a shy child. Though she did grow out of her shyness, she still had a quiet nature. I think for someone like her, to have even the smallest hint of her identity denied by her parent would feel rather suffocating. Alyssa is the type of person who always looks at the bigger picture but it makes her miss smaller details in the process. She’s too focused on organizing the kingdom/preserving the peace/guiding the King. She’s said to be concerned about rumours that may follow her daughter because of the closeness she shares with other girls so from her perspective, she’s acting to protect her daughter. I doubt she would even realize how Rhaena could feel hurt and isolated by her actions (and Rhaena does voice that she feels pushed away by her own family).

I’d say all this is part of the reason why Rhaena so thoroughly excludes her mother from the new life she attempts to build for herself, with her old favourites by her side. It is either Rhaena seeking out her companions or her companions seeking her out, but it always happens away from Alyssa.

Two of Rhaena’s former favorites, Samantha Stokeworth and Alayne Royce, made their way to Fair Isle in some haste to stand with the widowed queen, together with the groom’s high-spirited sister, the Lady Elissa. The remainder of the guests were bannermen and household knights sworn to either House Farman or House Lannister. King and court remained entirely ignorant of the marriage until a raven from the Rock brought word, days after the wedding feast and the bedding that sealed the match.

[…]

Chroniclers in King’s Landing report that Queen Alyssa was deeply offended by her exclusion from her daughter’s wedding, and that relations between mother and child were never as warm afterward.

— Fire & Blood, The Year of the Three Brides

By the end of Alyssa’s life, she and Rhaena are essentially estranged from each other. Alyssa’s concerns are understandable. With the Targaryen dynasty still young, she would feel that they have to make sure to conform as much as possible with the social norms. The wars against the Faith Militant and Maegor further push her to become more concerned with the family’s discipline. But this does cost her a relationship with her daughter.

Skip forward a few generations and the dynamic between parent and child is different now.

Corlys’ son, Laenor, is said to surround himself in the company of other boys. Since house Velaryon was isolated on Driftmark for many years, after distancing themselves from the royal court, this could have actually helped create a feeling of being free from societal constraints. Laenor’s male companions are considered a steady fixture at his side over the years. He’s allowed such complete freedom in his relationships that his sexuality is basically an open secret, unlike with Rhaena, where it was hushed whispers barely spoken of.

One objection was raised: Laenor Velaryon was now nineteen years of age, yet had never shown any interest in women. Instead he surrounded himself with handsome squires of his own age, and was said to prefer their company. But Grand Maester Mellos dismissed this concern out of hand. “What of it?” he said. “I do not like the taste of fish, but when fish is served, I eat it.”

[…]

The princess knew much and more about Laenor Velaryon, and had no wish to be his bride. “My half-brothers would be more to his taste,” she told the king.

— Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon

Laenor’s easygoing manner at his wedding suggests a level of comfort. He openly gives his favor to another man as if he is not used to hiding himself.

When Rhaenyra bestowed her garter on Ser Harwin, her new husband laughed and gave one of his own to Ser Joffrey.

— Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon

Despite the fact that his wedding turned into a disaster, Laenor’s life does not change too badly.

He is allowed to openly grieve his lover, Joffrey, and he is allowed to return back home to High Tide, rather than conform to a marriage that would give him misery.

Borne bloody from the field, Ser Joffrey died without recovering consciousness six days later. Mushroom tells us that Ser Laenor spent every hour of those days at his bedside and wept bitterly when the Stranger claimed him.

[…]

Ser Laenor returned to Driftmark thereafter, leaving many to wonder if his marriage had ever been consummated. The princess remained at court, surrounded by her friends and admirers.

[…]

Ser Laenor preferred the comforts of High Tide, where he soon found a new favorite in a household knight named Ser Qarl Correy.

— Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon

Qarl is a knight directly under Corlys’ service. As such, if Corlys wanted to, he could have him removed from his household for daring to be in a relationship with his son. Instead, he allows the relationship to persist for many years.

Although Corlys may be frustrated that things aren’t going according to plan, he clearly cares about Laenor’s happiness first and foremost, even if it interferes with any ambitions of his own. But sometimes, Corlys does let his plans interfere with Laenor’s happiness. When Laenor states his intentions to name his sons, Corlys denies him (perhaps the first time he’s ever done so) and has the child named like a Velaryon: Jacaerys. He continues to deny Laenor for the second son too by giving the boy another Velaryon name: Lucerys. But by the time the third son is born, Corlys finally relents to Laenor’s wishes.

Laenor’s wish to name the child Joffrey was overruled by his father, Lord Corlys. Instead the child was given a traditional Velaryon name: Jacaerys.

[…]

Ser Laenor was at last permitted to name a child after his fallen friend, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth.

— Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon

Btw, it’s not Rhaenyra giving the permission here but Corlys. The text makes it rather obvious when she’s finally allowed the right to name her own child and it’s certainly not when it comes to the elder three boys (that’s just a Corlys vs Rhaenyra issue though). I think a lot of people miss this key detail that even naming a child can be a power play among the nobility. Corlys has his own reasons for what he does when it comes to any of his grandsons, but the main reason he would be okay with letting them be his grandsons is surely because Laenor called them sons first. There’s a certain level of indulgence present in the relationship between Corlys and Laenor.

Concerning Laenor’s sexuality, Corlys’ problem appears to be that Laenor does not do his duty to sire actual sons of his body. If Laenor did his duty, then I do not think Corlys would care if Laenor started having relationships with a dozen or a hundred different men. But it’s a frustration that Corlys does eventually come to terms with. He allowed Laenor a freedom of identity and so it’s Laenor who chooses to remain comfortably by Corlys’ side.

[maegorsbignaturals]

Thinking again about Rhaena and how despite being really loved, she still could not get free of all the bad things that Happened on her life. Loved by Aegon the Conqueror who cried when he holded her in arms the first time. Loved by Aenys and Alyssa, by Aegon the Uncrowned, by Melony Piper, by Alayne Royce, by Elissa Farman, by her daughters, by her siblings. Despite being so loved, she still got to see the faith uprising against her father, for her and Aegon's throne to be taken, for Aegon and Melony to die in battle leaving her alone with two daughters, for her to be forced to marry again and used to give Maegor an heir, for her daughters to also being pushed away from her, for Elissa to abandon her, for Aerea to die after returning from Valyria, for Andrew Farman to kill her friends. Despite being so loved, it neither prevented the teagedies that came over her life.

[blue-mint-winter]

So I started reading Fire and Blood and stopped on Maegor's death. I had some thoughts:

I think the Targaryens were fighting each other during Century of Blood (before the Conquest), because of 2 reasons. Firstly, 4 out of 5 dragons they brought from Valyria died of unspecified causes and I doubt it was old age. Secondly, there's a passage about succession: "the lordship passed to their son Maegon, his brother Aerys, and Aerys’s sons, Aelyx, Baelon, and Daemion. The last of the three brothers was Daemion, whose son Aerion then succeeded to Dragonstone". It's probable they fought each other and Daemion was the last one standing. And after that they covered it up and never mentioned it again, because of the kinslaying stigma.

There's a mention of Velaryon having Targaryen blood: "Lady Valaena of House Velaryon, herself half Targaryen on her mother’s side". If she had brothers, then it's possible they were Sea Snake's ancestors and it proves why Addam in the show could claim a dragon. Possibly. Also, it appears that there was a time when Targaryens had enough women to spare to marry to other houses. Aeriana, the greatgrandmother of Ser Steffon in the show, doesn't break book canon ;)

I am very curious what was in Deria Martell's letter to Aegon that convinced him to make peace with Dorne. My theory is that it has something to do with the prophecy or his dreams. Martells know something important and I hope it will be revealed in the main ASOIAF story.

It was pretty obvious that Rhaena was visiting all her gal pals when she was flying around on Dreamfyre. Four women, four locations: Larissa Velaryon - on Tarth, Alayne Royce - in Runestone, Melony Piper - Harrenhal (maybe she was there, at least it proves Rhaena flew to Riverlands), Samantha Stokeworth - Gulltown (?).

I wonder what was the Hightowers game during Aenys&Maegor mess. They had Ceryse as Maegor's wife but they didn't support him and didn't use this connection in any way that made sense, even though they were anti-Aenys and Aegon/Rhaena. Maybe their goal was to use Faith to get rid of all Targaryens and Ceryse was just a smokescreen. In the end she was kind of useless? I think Otto should have been born earlier to concoct some better schemes ;)

High Septon's murder mystery shall remain a mystery as the author lists all suspects, even Visenya who wasn't there, but nothing about the cause of death. Kind of makes me think that maybe in this one case it was natural causes, he could have a stroke out of nowhere and die, it sometimes happens to even young people.

What was Tyanna's goal??? It's kind of frustrating that the text doesn't hint at any kind of motivations she could have for her actions. The explanation that she was a witch is just weak. She was rumoured to be Alys Harroway's paramour, they even shared a wedding night, and then she threw Alys under the bus by accusing her of cheating and personally tortured and killed her. Then she confessed to poisoning all of Maegor's unborn children. What's the reason, did she hate Maegor and didn't want him to have kids? Was her goal to eventually kill him too and take power for herself as the Queen?

I'd like to know more about Lodos, the son of Drowned God, and Lodos the Twice-Drowned, because the idea they were the same person is fascinating. This is some real Ironborn fuckery.

Lucifer Massey just appeared and died fighting by Maegor's side against Warrior's Sons. With a name like that he deserves a longer story.

Maegor's murder mystery. I have no idea who did it. Tyanna's ghost? A quick crackpot theory - he pressed a secret button Aegon installed that makes the blades come out of the throne and kill the person sitting on it. Only true heirs of the throne know about that button, ensuring their safety. The ones who usurp the throne get cut and killed by it. Sadly, the knowledge of the button died with Aegon the Uncrowned, though it could have been rediscovered later on.

[twoiafart]

The death of Aegon the Uncrowned Artwork by René Aigner

Aegon attempted to lead a charge to break the enemy before the other hosts arrived—and that is when King Maegor and Balerion appeared. For the first time since the Doom, two dragonriders fought in the sky—but Quicksilver was no match for the Black Dread. Balerion ripped a wing off the younger, smaller dragon, sending it and its rider plummeting to their deaths. With Aegon fallen, his army collapsed. Over two thousand were killed alongside Aegon the Uncrowned, including Rhaena’s friend Melony Piper.

[comiiical]

In honor of Upload season 3 being out, like for a starter from:

Stephen (Robbie Amell, Froy Gutierrez, Oliver Stark, Rudy Pankow, Chris Evans, Casey Deidrick)

Luca (Max thieriot) - His Twin

Bellamy (Grant Gustinm Rome Flynn) - Younger brother

Preston (Matt Cornett, Ed Skrein, Grey Damon) - His younger brother (although he has his own starter call so for him that one may have priority)

Allen (Brant Daugherty) - His next younger brother

Eric (Chris Wood, Lucien Laviscount) - His babiest brother

Jace (Dominic Sherwood) - His adoptive brother

Phillip Halliwell-Ward (Paul Mescal) - His son

Eri Halliwell-Ward (Danny Griffin) - His son

TJ Halliwell-Ward (Will Poulter) - His son

Sebastian Halliwell-Montgomery (Jack Gillinsky) - His son

Roman (Luke Mitchell) - His best friend

Astor (Mason Gooding) - His best friend

Frey (Dacre Montgomery) - Past life’s lover

Colt (Ryan Reynolds) - His brother-in-law

Prue (Jensen Ackles) - His dad

Andy Jr (Chris Hemsworth) - His cousin from dad's side

Piper (Murray Bartley) - His uncle

David Nolan (Josh Dallas) - His uncle

Wyatt (Jeremy Allen White) - Cousin

Mel (Tom Holland) - Cousin

Phelan (Frank Grillo) - His uncle

Teddy (Max Riemelt, Joshua Orpin) - Cousin

Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) - Cousin

Phoenix (Matt Daddario, Joshua Bassett) - Cousin

Percy (Greg Sulkin) - Cousin

Parker (Brenton Thwaites) - Cousin

Peyton (Gavin Leatherwood) - Cousin

Page (Tahmoh Penikett) - Uncle

Owen (Tom Hardy, Pablo Schreiber) - Cousin

Joel (Glen Powell, Michael Provost) - son of Owen

Tanner (Jacob Elordi) - Cousin

Keith (Nico Greetham) - Cousin

Henry (Ronen Rubinstein,Karl Urban) - Cousin

Brendon (Leo Howard, Oliver Jackson Cohen) - Cousin

Kody Jr (Tanner Buchanan) - Son of Tanner

Piers (Christopher Meloni) - Gramps

Alan (Tom Welling) - Distant ancestor

Charles (Craig Parker) - son of alan

Ken (Wes Chatham) - Son of alan

Xander (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) - distant relative

Colt (Ryan Reynolds) - Brother in law

Clive (Jake Aunstin Walker) - Son of Dacre

Yorick (Ryan Gosling) - His familiar

Penn (Oliver Jackson Cohen) - Long distant relative direct descendant from his uncle's past life

Porter (Max Irons) - Long distant relative direct descendant from his uncle's past life

Pascal or Prescott (Robert Buckley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan) - direct descendants from his father's past life

Patrick (David Harbour) - ^^ and the uncle of the ones above

Xavier Johnson (John Krasinski) - second uncle once removed

Bruno Johnson (Charlie Cox) - second uncle once removed

Gerard Johnson (Derek Theler) - second uncle once removed

Dacre Ward-Johnson (Boyd Holbrook) - second uncle once removed

JJ Johnson (Dylan OBrien) - second uncle once removed

John Johnson (Drew Starkey) - second cousin once removed

George Johnson (Harris Dickinson) - second cousin once removed

Because It is impossible for me to have them all open, I will stick to the few first set that are chosen, and stop there, if someone else is chosen and I don't haev a back and forth reply, then I will close that and make the starters for those I haven't made. I may do exclusively one liners as my brain is not in the right place right now though.

[meeeeeraiiiiiodonnnn]

[a photo is embedded. In it, melony is holding a fuecoco, staring blankly at seemingly nowhere]

We need a name for it

-@fire-pokemon-appreciator

jalapeño? piper?? pepper??

[asoiafandotherbooks]

TWOIAF/Fire & Blood: Aegon Sulks, Rhaena Gives Birth, Maegor's Builds, And Tyanna Whispers

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

Maegor had made himself king, decimated the Faith, and taken a third wife.

Aegon, the former heir presumptive, has remained in Casterly Rock with Rhaena, his pregnant wife.

Almost everyone who accompanied the duo on their progress has abandoned them to swear fealty to Maegor, The only one to remain was Alayne Royce, Melony Piper, a former favorite of Rhaena, has arrived at Lannisport with her brothers to swear the loyalty of House Piper to Aegon.

Aegon is in a mood. He can’t grasp how his life went so wrong. One day he is the heir apparent, beloved of the smallfolk. The next day he is reviled by the Faith and abandoned by his friends and supporters.

Maegor’s supporters claimed Aegon was as weak as his father (Aenys). He’s not even a dragonrider! Aegon was referred to as the “Pretender” or “Aegon the Uncrowned”.

I can understand why no one is jumping up to support Aegon. First, Aenys was weak. There is nothing to suggest Aegon would be any different – he grew up pampered – how is he going to fight this war? Second, the Faith – which is dominant in the South – has radicalized the population against the Targaryens. Not many would risk their souls in a time era with heavy religious overtones. Third, Maegor has Balerion and Vhagar! Aegon’s side only has Dreamfyre, a rather young dragon. There is still a sizable population that were alive during the Conquest – they remember what those dragons are capable of! Maegor had demonstrated that he has no issue with unleashing Balerion. I don’t blame anyone for saying “no thank you” when it comes to this fight.

Lyman Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock, remained firm in his refusal to return Aegon and Rhaena to King’s Landing but refused to pledge his sword to Aegon.

I respect Lyman. It takes courage to tell Maegor the Cruel “no, I won’t be returning Aegon and Rhaena to King’s Landing”. Yes, Lyman has Casterly Rock and, yes, Visenya thought it might be difficult to take it but difficult is not impossible. Lyman is taking a risk that Balerion and Vhagar won’t show up at the Rock and perform a Harrenhal, part 2. Lyman is wise in not pledging his forces to Aegon’s cause. It has only been 40 or so years since the Field of Fire – Lyman must have heard the story from his father or grandfather of what occurred that day. The Westerlands have first -hand experience with the power of Balerion and Vhagar.

Rhaena gave birth to twin daughters at Casterly Rock, named Aerea and Rhaella. The High Septon wasted no time declaring the twins “abominations, fruits of lust and incense, accursed of the gods”.

Rhaena begged Aegon to take their family across the Narrow Sea to “Tyrosh or Myr or Volantis” for “I would gladly give up my own life to make you king, but I will not put our girls at risk”.

This is an interesting “What If?”. How would history have been changed if Aegon, Rhaena, and the twins fled across the Narrow Sea? Would Maegor have pursued the family? Would the family have become an early era Blackfyres with their descendants leading invasions and rebellions? The family would only have one dragon – would Dreamfyre have hatched eggs at any point?

Helaena Targaryen would have bonded with another dragon in this scenario. Aerea wouldn’t have died a horrific death. Rhaena’s life would have been so different – she would have been spared the numerous tragedies that made her so bitter and spiteful in her later life.

Another possible what if – what if Aegon and Rhaena had returned to King’s Landing? Maegor hadn’t committed any kinslaying yet. He remains childless. Aegon would be his heir as he is the next available Targaryen heir. Would Aegon have succeeded Maegor? Or would Aegon’s death only be delayed as Maegor becomes desperate to sire an heir? Rhaena is the only full-blooded Targaryen female of child-bearing years. Visenya is too old, Alysanne too young. Maegor might have executed Aegon to wed Rhaena.

The beginning of 43 AC found Maegor in King’s Landing, where he has taken charge of the construction of the Red’s Keep. The king ordered secrest passages and tunnels designed throughout the Keep and had a castle built within the castle, surrounded by a dry moat that would become known as Maegor’s Holdfast.

Maegor appointed Lord Lucas Harroway (Alys’ father) as the new Hand of the King. Men whispered that Maegor was ruled by three queens: Visenya, Alys, and Tyanna of the Tower. Tyanna was not loved by the populace – they referred to her as the “mistress of whisperers” or the “king’s raven”. It was said the vermin of King’s Landing (rats and spiders) came to her to tell of men speaking against the king.

Tyanna would be the first “Master of Whispers”. Did Maegor create the position? Did Jaehaereys, based off of Tyana’s success, institute the role as part of the Small Council?

Up next, the Faith hasn’t learned their lesson and decide to wake the dragon – again!

[philomaela]

I think it’s meaningful and beautiful and interesting (and tragic lol, plenty of that too of course lol) that Rhaena compared herself to Visenya. But I think it overlooks Rhaenas whole story to pretend she only has things in common with Visenya. Like Rhaena when she was young certainly had things in common with Rhaenys, no true warrior, loved to fly (flying = freedom), loved to sing.

Granted none of these things are unique to Rhaena and Rhaenys, a lot of Targaryen women love to fly lol. But you know, Rhaenys and Visenya are presented as the blueprints so it is significant for them. Rhaena surrounds herself with female favorites not unlike how Rhaenys surrounded herself with singers, granted the singers served a political purpose but melony piper did aid Rhaenas cause so there was a political aspect there too.

I just think… that Rhaena as she introduced in the story and up until her marriage to Maegor is presented as kind of an answer to the Visenya vs Rhaenys question that the book in universe wants to present with Rhaena vs Alysanne later. We know Visenya and Rhaenys are probably more complicated than hard warrior vs soft queen, but we’re not really allowed to actually see that. We are also presented with the idea that they were created this way (due to us not really knowing their lives), that they were born as these archetypes. Rhaena begins the story with qualities of both Visenya and Rhaenys because people are actually nuanced and complicated.

[vexic929]

Your OCs walk into a tattoo shop... what tattoo are they getting?

Berrie: tries to get a tattoo and fails because she's 15 and doesn't have parental permission

Vice: already has a microphone on his ribcage, will probably add some small music notes around it or get one of her favorite lyrics elsewhere

Percy: a stylized bishop chess piece probably on one of his forearms

Barbara: a memorial piece for her father

Yǔqí: an artistic rendition of her snakes Vladimir (a Woma Python) and Cậu Bé Dài (a Vietnamese Blue Beauty)

Eden: an iris and an anthurium for Ira and Barbara

Cisca: the classic USS Enterprise

Ricki: already has a decent number of tattoos, would probably add more finger tattoos or touch up her existing ones

Piper: a mute symbol in both ears

[medievalcat]

“The queen found her true love on Fair Isle, not with Androw, but with his sister, Lady Elissa.“- Fire and Blood

“In 1326, the annals of an abbey in Devon revealingly referred to Edward [II] and [Hugh le] Despenser [the Younger] as rex et maritus eius, 'the king and his husband.'” - Kathryn Warner, Isabella of France: The Rebel Queen 

Another parallel in Fire and Blood I notice regarding Edward II and Rhaena is the parallels between Elissa Farman and Hugh le Despenser the younger.

Edward II was known for his great love of Hugh le Despenser the younger, as Rhaena was known for her love of Elissa Farman. Both Edward and Rhaena were known for having “favorites” who they often had romantic relationships with, and Elissa and Hugh were the last- and arguably the most controversial- in line. Melony Piper had died in battle years before, and Rhaena’s other companions were not as close to her as Elissa was. Similarly, Piers Gaveston had been executed, and Hugh the younger successfully won a power struggle against other court favorites. Hugh was Edward’s last love- Edward would be deposed and died shortly after the execution of Hugh the younger. Elissa, meanwhile, left Rhaena at Dragonstone to sail the world, and Rhaena did not find love again. Edward II was closely advised and supported by the Despenser family even during tumultuous years of his reign, and Rhaena found support among the Farmans similarly.

Hugh le Despenser and Elissa Farman both had reputations for being sharp, bold, adventurous... and even treacherous and greedy. When Hugh le Despenser was exiled at the behest of the English nobles (but against reluctant Edward II’s wishes), he became a pirate in the English Channel. Elissa stole three dragon eggs after Rhaena unhappily granted her leave from Dragonstone, which she sold, and then went sailing off, never to be seen again. (Interestingly, Edward II and Hugh the younger took to the sea in an escape attempt together during the 1326 invasion of England.)

There was also a plot against  many people including Edward II and Hugh le Despenser, led by a magician called John of Nottingham, who created wax likenesses of his targets and put pins in them for ceremonial purposes attempting assassination. This personally reminds me of Androw Farman’s poisoning spree in Rhaena’s court.

[highlifeboat]

Dad: Why are all my faves *checks note* horribly mentally scarred brunette women? Time to fix this!

Dad: *Creates horribly mentally scarred blonde woman*

Putting Melony into group therapy with Mia, Alice, Serana, Piper, and Elizabeth and her going "Oh... Oh, there's a pattern here that I do not fit."

Bunch of average height brunette ladies vs a single tiny blonde woman

[maegorsbignaturals]

My favourite part of GRRM don't going deep with female Characters such as Alys Harroway, Ceryse Hightower, Alayne Royce, Melony Piper etc, It's that i can say anything about them and 85% of the cases there would be not factual prove that would debunk it. Imagine being Maegor Targaryen, arriving at Harrenhall and you meet this Lady that has five of this bitches running around her ALL THE TIME and that are her more precious belongings