Chapter 66-EPILOGUE III
Aegon Targaryen, the name was once synonymous with Aegon the Conqueror—the man who first conquered Westeros and its Seven Kingdoms. For a hundred years, if anyone was to utter that name, then the person that came to mind at first was 'The Conqueror'.
But then it all changed, as the Dragon King was born in the old halls of Runestone, bearing the name of the Conqueror. And his exploits over his life would make it so that the Conqueror would be forgotten.
Even as a child, the Dragon King was unique, being known to be awfully quiet and bookish. The Maester of Runestone thought that with his blessed mind, the child might suffer in the more martial aspects.
But he was wrong, for the young Prince took to the blade with the same fervor, and by the age of ten was unmatched by men twice his age. His first battle would take place in the Eyrie, as he would protect his friend and liege, the Lady Jeyne Arryn, from the traitor Albert Arryn, who wished to supplant her as heir.
The Prince slew the man himself, while being just twelve, and with that would begin a life of war and conflict that would reshape the world. After putting down the rebellion, he would turn his gaze towards the Mountain Clansmen of the Vale and bring them to heel in a war that would last for five years, earning himself the name of the Bloody Prince.
For any ordinary man, this would have been his life's work, but the Prince of Runestone had done this all even before becoming a man. Soon enough, he would be called to the capital by the King. And so would begin a series of events that would see him wedded to Rhaenyra Targaryen and become the heir to the Iron Throne.
After the King Viserys suffered a great fall during the wedding, it was the Prince who became the effective ruler, as the King secluded himself in his room to rest and recover. For three years, as the Velaryons engaged the Crabfeeder and his pirates, the young Prince showed his meticulous nature and prepared the Kingdoms for their eventual war.
In these three years, he laid a foundation upon which the Seven Kingdoms would progress at a breakneck pace, becoming an unrivalled power in the world.
He would enter the Stepstones just as the Velaryons were on the precipice of defeat, and would do in a few weeks what the famous 'Sea Snake' could not do in years, and kill the Crabfeeder in battle.
The strategies employed by him during the campaign are heavily debated because of their brutality, but his foe had little mercy for his own enemies as well, and in his own words, the Prince defended them on his deathbed with the words.
'It is unwise to judge the actions of the past, with the civilities of tomorrow. I am not proud of what I did on those isles, but I was at war with an enemy that would have done even worse to us if given the opportunity.'
Regardless of their morality, none can argue against their effectiveness, and so he was able to tame the unruly Isles in half a year, supplanting the Iron Throne as the pre-eminent power of the world.
His war, though, was still unfinished, as he had set his eyes on the triarchy, believed by many to be the secret hand supporting and propping up Craghas Drahar and the pirates of the Stepstones. To deter him, the Triarchy would take action and send assassins after his children and family, an attack which would spare his blood, but take from the Prince his closest friend and aide, the Lady Jeyne Arryn of the Eyrie.
This heinous attack would bring about a change in the Prince, and embroil the world in a war that would kill not just thousands but millions. After this attack, the world would enter decades and decades of wars, now termed as the 'Expansion Wars' as the Prince would reveal to the world his greatest blessing.
The Targaryens were descendants of dragonlords of Valyria, and were the only family in the world who could ride dragons. But until then, no man, Targaryen or not, had ever been known to command more than one dragon.
Yet Aegon Targaryen was different, and could command as many as five dragons at a single time, a feat he used to burn Tyrosh to the ground in a single night. Few know why, or how the Prince possessed such an ability, but it was as if the fates themselves had sent him to this world as a herald of war.
Others think that he was blessed like many others in his family, and was blessed so that he may revive the Valyrian Empire of the Old.
The burning of the Tyrosh was but the first step, and in its wake, the slaves and the people of Myr and Lys revolted, overthrowing and killing the magisters and lords who were involved in the plot against his family.
Yet even thousands were burned and the Seven Kingdoms turned into eleven, as the Triarchy, Stepstones and the Disputed lands all became a part of Westeros, which was then named the New Valyria.
Such was the pace of the developments that Pentosh and Braavos had no time to react, and before they could intervene, the Prince's armies had already taken over these lands and he had already begun stabilizing his control over the city.
Slavery was abolished, Governors were appointed, the Magisters were deposed, wealth was redistributed, laws were formed. Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, and the Disputed lands underwent massive change in the following decade, and the Prince would spend most of his time in these lands overseeing this change as his wife and the future Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen, saw the transformation of the Original Seven Kingdoms.
Pentosh, Braavos, Qarth, and many other kingdoms began to fear the power and influence of the new Valyrian Empire, and tried both diplomacy, bribery, and even war to push the Targaryens back into their lands.
But in the end, the Prince persisted, and it was during these times that the King of the Eleven Kingdoms, Viserys Targaryen, took his last breath, and the Prince became King.
All this would have been aplenty for any man, yet he was not done for. During his coronation, he would announce the formation of a Royal Bank, establishing a unified currency in all the regions under the Iron Throne.
The move was a death sentence for the Iron Bank of Braavos, which had just begun to solidify its position after a prolonged battle with the Rogare Bank of Lys. Overtly, Braavos welcomed the news and offered collaboration, but behind closed doors, the infamous Thirteen Key-Holders met and decided that they needed to act to preserve their power.
And so, in the year 143, seven years into the reign of the Dragon King Braavos, Volantis, Pentosh, would join their hands and launch an attack on the Stepstones, trying to cut off the bridge connecting the Seven Kingdoms and their newfound territories.
Dorne would join them in this treachery, and the construction of the Dragon Bridge would be halted, and Dorne and its armies would attack the isles as well, trying to push back against the rising influence and popularity of the Seven Kingdoms.
It was a deadly affair, and many had thought the Prince had made himself too many enemies. Despite his limitless prowess, he was but one man and could fight only in one place at a time.
But many had forgotten that when the Aegon the Conqueror had come, he had not come alone. His sisters had ridden with him, conquering lands and burning armies, and just like him, Aegon Targaryen II was not alone as well.
While Prince Aegon turned his attention towards Braavos and Pentosh. The rest of his family took to the skies across the Narrow Sea, and it was the Queen herself who led the charge, along with Lady Laena Velaryon and Lady Rhaenys.
The Three Dragon riders came upon Dorne, with the armies of the Seven Kingdoms, and succeeded where even the Conqueror and his sisters had failed.
Vhagar, Syrax, and Meleys. The Three Dragons flew over the skies of Dorne, their thin armor making scorpions and arrows useless as they rained down fire upon its castles and deserts, while the armies from the Reach, Stormlands, and Westerlands tore apart the Desert Kingdom.
Unbowed. Unbent. Unbroke. The words of House Martell meant nothing in the face of House Martell meant nothing in the face of these overwhelming odds, and in but three months House Martell bent the knee, and tried to reassure the Seven Kingdoms of their loyalty.
But it was too late by then, and they were removed from their position as the Lord Paramounts.
Across the Narrow Sea, the Prince had decided on his first target, as he pushed all his naval fleet towards the Free City of Braavos, which was itself a naval might. But the progress made by the New Valyrian Empire in science, and technology gave them an advantage over Braavos, and the fleet of Braavos was quickly decimated as the King rained down Wildfyre on them, and burnt the shipyards crippling Braavos's naval might.
Lys fell in this time, yet the Dragon King did not relent and began a campaign in Braavos which would last for the better part of a year, but by its end, the mighty city of Braavos had become a charred husk, though victory had come at a cost.
While attacking the now infamous House of Black and White, the King suffered a massive attack, one which blinded his dragon, Silverwing, as the faceless men descended upon him in hordes trying to slay him.
Despite losing its eyes and a part of its wing, the loyal Silverwing did not abandon its rider and protected the King till its last breath. When it was found, the dragon's corpse was littered with over a hundred spears, each laced in the most deadly poisons known to man.
Besides it lay the corpses of nearly a thousand men, all dead along with its King, who sat under its wing, bleeding profusely from a wound in his neck, yet even injured, he had killed nearly a dozen of these faceless men with his own blade.
The King was rescued by his Kingsguard, and the best healers and Maesters were ordered to treat him. For a week, it was thought that the reign of the Bloody Prince was over, but in the end, the Prince survived by a miracle, though the whole affair so weakened him that he could not walk out of his chambers for many months.
At this time, the Queen once more rose to the occasion, and a parlay was held, as she summoned leaders of Volantis, Pentosh, and Qarth. It was held in Lys, and the Princess came along with her three eldest children, each of whom rode a dragon of their own, and so the four dragon riders met with the leaders of Pentosh, Volantis, and Qarth.
Details about what was said in this parlay are still not known, but after it, an accord was signed in which the New Valyrian Empire agreed not to attack these lands for a hundred years, as long as Lys and any other conquered lands were returned to them.
The Queen's accords hold to this day, and the New Valyrian Empire has enjoyed a hundred years of peace, and though it has used no dragon, ship or army to attack the three nations. It is no secret that, with the advancements in its military, scientific, and infrastructure, the three Kingdoms, even together, hold would not stand a chance against the Iron Throne if war comes once more.
With no kore wars to fight, the King turned his attention to his people. Under his vision, the Kingdom made rapid advancements in science and technology. Thousands of discoveries were made, and the King himself took great interest in the scientific advancement, and founded several Educational Institutes, including the Jeyne's Institute of Medical Sciences, the Royal Military Research Academy, the Targaryen Scientific College, and the Runestone Naval Academy.
These institutions were supported by the Iron Throne and formed the backbone of the scientific advancements of the New Valyrian Empire.
The Gods blessed him with a long life, and the Dragon King was unfortunate enough that he had to witness the demise of his wife and his children as he lived up to the age of 101, becoming one of the longest reigning monarchs of all time.
His reign lasted over seventy years, and he retired to a small castle along the shores of Runestone at the age of 97. Queen Rhea, the eldest granddaughter of Prince Aegon, succeeded him at the age of twenty-one.
The King had trained and raised the young girl himself, teaching him all he knew about ruling and governing. Even as a babe of three years old, he would have her sit with him on the council meetings. Many voiced that a male should be his successor, but the King was quick to shut down all these voices as he established a clear line, and rules for succession and decreed that any and all who speak or act against them, shall be put to the sword, lest they be kin, or otherwise.
In the year 207 AC, a message was sent to Kingslanding from the exclusive healer of the King and the Princess Rhea rode on her dragon, Vermithor which had grown to rival the size and notoriety of the famous Black Dread, and flew to the shores of Runestone as she came to see the King whose condition had begun to deteriorate.
Many believed that he would beat this again and live for another fifty years. But alas! Death had come for the Dragon King at last. The young Princess loved her great-grandfather dearly, who had trained and raised her into the person that she was, and began to cry as she sat beside his bed, holding his hand.
For all his life, the Dragon King was known as a cruel and unforgiving man. Even to his own kin, he was ruthless, offering no mercy if they dared to go against his rules and directives. He had built an empire that rivalled, or in many ways out-classed the Valyrian Freehold, yet even a man such as him had regrets, as shown by his last words.
'I wish the times had allowed me to be a kinder man,'
(King Aegon Targaryen II-The Dragon King)
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And so, the tale comes to a close. This has been quite a tale, with a lot of twists and turns. The story did not pan out as I had outlined it, but even then, I am proud of what I have put out. I wanted to prolong it, write more, but in the end, I ran out of steam.
I do hope you all enjoyed it. I am incredibly grateful for your support, which makes everything possible. I wouldn't be here without you all, and I want you to know that I am eternally thankful for your support.
The world of House of the Dragon is vast, and I am already working on a new project inspired by a somewhat mysterious character, though that will take sometime because I need to give it a bit of time to simmer.
Until then, The Rogue's Son concludes.
Peace out,
An ever-grateful Drkest.
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Again (sorry for repeating) but if you are a One Piece check out my new One Piece fic, because it's gonna be a banger!
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