Daenerys Targaryen First Aemulatio
This Aemulatio is meant to mirror the Epic of Gilgamesh. The topic is a step I chose from the Joseph Campbell's Journey of a Hero model. I chose the "Meeting with the Goddess" step. Please note, I was three seasons in when I wrote this. Some information is wrong. Some information, I retconned. I found out about the Night King because I researched the White Walkers for this one. The reason this sword is connected to her husband was me trying to tie a parallel between Dany and Dido. Dido uses her husband's sword to kill herself on the pyre. I decided that since I was going with a sword, why not make it special to her husband too? That's why the "upon the death of your husband" line is in there. I decided Khal Drogo had known of this sword because the guy who owned it was some distant ancestor. I couldn't specifically state that in the text because we do have a word limit (these need to be 300-500 words) and it would seem disjointed from the flow of the conversation.
Tablet VII. The Gift of the Goddess
The Unburnt Daenerys stood alone…
Listening to the sound of wind from without [her tent].
Her…
The Text of Tablet VII becomes legible once more
Lady Athenvra, known as "the mother," looked with grace:
'Come my child, Daenerys, mother of dragons
Let me harness you a weapon of godly strength,
To aid you for your battle beyond the wall.'
[Daenerys] opened her mouth to speak,
[saying] to Lady Athenvra:
'[Mhysa] this is an honor indeed,
The gift of a goddess cannot be [refused]
Tell me of what manner of weapon
Can help me protect [the people]
From the White Walkers in the North?
For winter is coming
And that coming brings death.'
Athenvra opened her mouth to speak,
Saying to Unburnt Daenarys:
'Breaker of Chains, I give you a sword
the sword of Gillches, forgotten by all
Upon the death of your husband.
I give you the heirloom
Of a line long broken.
King of this land you call Westros
In a time before time.
It was he who prevented a winter [that would never end]
The world over.
With this weapon he fended off [the White Walkers]
Winter is coming.
And with this weapon
You shall do the same as he [did]
And much more.
Never again will they rise
This I prophesy.
If beyond the wall, you can find and slay
The first White Walker.
In Burnham Wood, in the castle of Dunsinane
It lives and has lived
Long before the Night King reigned
Take the sword and put it
In its heart
And this shall be their
Last depart.'
Daenrys reached out and grasped the handle
Of the long-forgotten sword.
'I swear, sweet mother,
by the throne of iron and my children, the dragons,
To do this thing, which you have said
And rid the world of White Walkers, not just once again
But from that moment when the last takes its final breath
Until time shall come to its end.
Winter is coming,
And with it, the White Walkers
End.'