Chapter 64-EPILOGUE I
King Viserys Targaryen, the first of his name, had inherited an era of peace. He was an amicable man who fancied his tournies, and parties to battle and war. Yet his would be the era where the great revival of the Valyrian Empire would begin.
Facing a crisis of inheritance, the King would lose his wife to the birthing bed, where she would fail for the fifth time in giving the King his desired son. Aemma Arryn's death would spark fears about an impending crisis of heirship, even though the King still had a brother and a daughter to take the throne after him.
Though, beyond the two obvious choices there was a third choice as well, a son from an estranged marriage. Prince Aegon Targaryen, was born to Prince Daemon and Rhea Royce, a match that had been filled with strife and conflict ever since its conception.
The young Prince spent his early days in the Kingdom of her mother serving as a paige to his grandfather, who was well known as an astute political mind. It is believed that this is where the Prince learned the craft of lordship and ruling, one which would serve him well in the times to come.
He would come to the capital, before the death of the Queen for a short visit, yet the Gods would turn that short visit into a permanent stay, as the Prince would find himself betrothed to the daughter of the then Hand, Alicent Hightower.
It is rumored to be a love match, while others believe Otto Hightower to be the architect of the said match, and think it an effort to curb the power and influence of the Rogue Prince.
Alas! It would not last long, and Alicent Hightower would kill herself leaving behind a letter written in her own blood, implicating her own father in a ploy against the young Prince.
Ignorant as he was, the King could not ignore the claim and would remove Otto Hightower from his position, and make Lyonel Strong his hand in his stead. The lord of Harrenhall was a learned man and was a staunch supporter of the young Prince, who had managed to impress him with his knowledge.
He would serve the King for more than three decades, and would be replaced by the King Aegon, who would then appoint the Lady Eleanor Mooten in his stead. A surprise for until then, no woman had officially served as the Hand of the King.
The death of Alicent Hightower was a tragic affair, and the greatly saddened the young Prince. Others believe it all to be a ruse, and think of her death to be a ploy orchestrated by none other than the young Prince himself, and though there are no texts to support such a theory, given what we will discuss about the man in question.
Such a thing is not entirely out of the realm of possibilities.
To tackle the succession crisis lying ahead the King would decide to unite his and his brother's lines, and betroth his only daughter to Prince Daemon's only son, resulting in a match that would solidify their claims against that of their Valeryon cousins.
Soon enough, a war would erupt in the Stepstones, and Prince Daemon would depart to put down the infamous Crghas Drahar, yet the man would best him, and the Rogue Prince would die, pushing the Targaryen family onto the brink of extinction.
The King, heartbroken by the loss of his brother would promise vengeance, yet would ask the Velaryon forces to pull back, so as to curb the power and influence of House Velaryon and the Sea Snake.
Yet, the Sea Snake in his hubris would think the Crown too weak and would refuse the command, and push all his ships and resources into the Stepstones hoping to make the Crown capitulate to his demands.
It is around this time, that many historians believe that the era of King Viserys came to an end. For thought, the man would continue to live for over half a decade after this, heartbroken and crippled by his affliction of Leprosy, the King would delegate his duties to none other than his heir apparent, his good son, the Prince Aegon Targaryen.
There are many records about this era, many theories about what transpired in the shadows and while we cannot be certain about which one of them is based on the truth, the reality is that despite their apparent advantages House Velaryon would be decimated in the Stepstones, and the once mighty House would be beggared in but three years, and the pride of the famous Sea Snake would be turned to dust.
Many speculate, that all this was orchestrated by the Prince, whose aspirations would see the entire world change by the end of his reign. Others consider him innocent and point towards the records of the various Maesters, which mention how the Prince would still visit the grave of Alicent Hightower once a year, even years later.
Still, after three years after the death of Prince Daemon, just as the Velaryons were on the cusp of defeat, Prince Aegon Targaryen would enter the war, and so would begin the expansion wars, an era which would bring on the rebirth of the Valyrian Empire.
He would bring the rebellious Isles of Stepstones to heel, and kill Cragas Drahar and accomplish a feat which none before him had managed to pull off. Yet his aspirations did not just stop at the Stepstones, and he had set his eyes on the hands which had propped up the 'Crab Feeder'—The Triarchy.
And in its hundred years of history, the Seven Kingdoms had never been at war with the Stepstones, yet neither had they seen a ruler like Aegon Targaryen, the Dragon Prince.
And so, with his intentions clear, the Triarchy in their desperation had tried to dissuade him from attacking their lands with the most stupid action they could have taken as they tried to assassinate his children.
The attack was foiled, yet not without loss. Lady Jeyne Arryn would die defending the Prince's youngest child, and the loss of his closest lifelong friend would remove any and all shred of mercy the Prince had held in his heart and what followed suit was a slaughter the likes of which the world had not seen since the times of Aegon's the Conqueror.
The Prince would descend upon Tyrosh with four dragons, his heritage allowing him to command all four of them at once, and he would burn the vast city to the ground, sparing no one.
The once mighty and beautiful city, home to many industries, would be turned into a charred husk in but one night. The rest of the Free Cities would open their gates to him, the rich magisters and slavers would all flee in haste, and in but half a year, the once mighty Triarchy was gone, and the disputed lands would all fall into the Crown's hands.
Many would think that this would be enough to satiate his rage and hunger, but the world was wrong. For this war was the first of many, and by the end of his time, the Targaryen empire had regained the glory of the old days of the Valyrian Freehold.
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VISERYS TARGARYEN
Death was near. Viserys could tell that it was near as he lay in his bed, as his daughter sat besides him holding his hand. And she had grown up so much over the years, and where once she was famous throughout the land for her beauty, now she was even more famous and influential than his grandmother, the Good Queen Alysaane.
The Noble Queen, they called her for her generosity, and sagacity and while they revered her, they feared her Lord and husband who was yet again away on war, having gone beyond the Narrow Sea to put down a small rebellion in the disputed lands, where he was building a new Kingdom for the Crown.
And when Viserys had ascended the throne, he was the King of Seven Kingdoms. And now, as he lay on his deathbed, he would die as the King of eleven Kingdoms. A great achievement for any Monarch, and yet he would readily admit that between his predecessor and successor, he was but an ordinary man.
The old King Jaehaerys had taken over the throne after a terrible conflict, and had steered the Seven Kingdoms into an era of unity and prosperity. Viserys had inherited this peace and prosperity and had nearly ruined it all until he realised that he was not meant to be the replacement for Jaehaerys' greatness.
No, he was but a placeholder for the real successor of Jaehaerys. A successor who would build upon his legacy, redefining the Seven Kingdoms' fate.
In the annals of history, he would be a small footnote, a placeholder for the throne in between the eras of two massive and divisive figures, whose legacy would be touted for generations.
"I am afraid this is it for me, my daughter," he whispered as her lips tersed, and her eyes watered. He had already spoken to his grandsons and granddaughters, of whom he now had five.
And this was another disparity, for much like Jaehaerys, Aegon had been blessed with children while he himself had struggled to have even a son of his own. Yet he could not complain, not any longer for in the end his one daughter had gone on to become an heir better than he could have ever hoped for.
And while Aegon had many follies, the young man had trained her daughter into the finest ruler, one whose political prowess was matched by few, and as he focused on more martial, and economical aspects, her daughter took over the more social and societal reforms as they both tried to revive the legacy of Old Valyria.
"Do not say that," she retorted sharply, and even a woman grown he saw her tear up as she saw him clinging to life.
"I can smell it on me," he began with a smile as he pushed open his sole functioning eye, trying to catch a clear glimpse of his blood, yet despite the 'eyepiece', his vision was blurred up.
"The Stranger is here, and my time has come," and her mood soured as she cut in instantly.
"Let me summon the Healers. They have made great leaps and advance...." and though her words were true, he knew that it would all be futile.
His time had come, and he would much rather spend his last moments with her rather than a slew of strange Healers trying to undo the inevitable.
"No. I beg you. All I want is you. No healers, I beg you," he could feel her conflict from how she gripped her hand, feel her apprehension, yet his words made her stop as she continued to sit there.
"Before, I go there is something that you must know," he began, his throat felt dry, and tight yet he knew that he must say these words, if not for himself then for this kingdom.
"Yes, father," she asked, leaning forward so that he did not have to exert so much energy to speak up.
"Aegon, you must do something about his rage," and it was his last plea, a plea of a peace-loving fool, for he saw the rage in his eyes, saw the devastation and destruction it promised—it had brought in the last half a decade.
"I know that I am much at fault for fanning its flames, but he has let it consume himself. It has overtaken him," and with the death of Jeyne Arryn and Lady Rhea Royce, there was but one person who could soothe that fiery rage.
And so, it was up to him to save the world and the boy himself. For if he were not stopped, he would burn the world, and he feared that the fire would not spare him either.
"You must do something. You must, for you are the only one..." and his throat failed him as he began to cough, and felt his breath tighten.
"Father! Father," she gasped in worry, hurrying for the cup of water beside him as she fed him a spoonful of water to wet his throat.
"I can only try," she added, as she gripped his hand with force.
"You must, or the entire world will burn in his wake," and at that, he saw her reach for his 'eyepiece' as she cleaned up the tears welling in his eyes, allowing him to see her face clearly for once.
"Ah," he gasped, as his mind began to dull and he felt the cold embrace of the Stranger as he looked her in the eye.
"You look just like her," he whispered as he saw her face and was reminded of his own love, and even now, as he thought of her, he was filled with regret as her smiling face appeared in his mind.
"Aemma...."
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King Viserys Targaryen died in his room, surrounded by his daughter and grandchildren. He was a good King, who will probably be forgotten for his reign lies in between the era of 'the Old King' and the 'Dragon King'.
Yet, in my view, he was a king of Great Consequence, for if it were not for his malleable and soft nature, the Seven Kingdoms would never have survived the Great Council of 101 AC.
~The Forgotten King by Elizabeth Strong, granddaughter of Lyonel Strong~
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