Chapter: Rhaegar II

After brief introductions in the courtyard, and one fully drunk flask of wine, Tytos, Rhaegar and the old man went back to his mother's solar. Before they had returned back to the inner halls of the Red Keep however, the old man introduced himself as Thoreo, a 'Merchant of Adventures' as he called himself.

Thoreo had first introduced himself to Rhaegar and his father a few weeks back. He had heard of Rhaegar's ambition, to find his family a new valyrian steel sword, one House Targaryen can call its own. When he first introduced this dream to his father Aerys merely laughed it off as the self-righteous ambitions of a child coming of age though once this supposed 'Merchant' came to court the King's mind slowly began to change.

Ever since the first Blackfyre Rebellion, when Bittersteel fled in exile to Essos, the main ancestral blade of House Targaryen was deemed lost forever. But unlike other houses, the Targaryens possessed two valyrian blades. The aforementioned Blackfyre, once wielded by Aegon The Conqueror, as well as Dark Sister, the blade belonging to Aegon's sister-wife Visenya. Though like the hand-and-a-half longsword, Dark Sister had also been lost, assumed to be taken by the Bloodraven after he had gone to serve the Night's Watch on the Wall.

When his mother had heard of this she had tried everything in her power to dissuade Rhaegar from continuing with this search. A sword is not a kingdom, she would always say.

Rhaegar was well aware of the many lords driven mad by their pursuit for a new family heirloom, especially something as prestigious as a valyrian blade. However, houses have given their entire family fortunes for such a sword, and for the Royal line as prestigious and powerful as the Targaryen's to not be on the same level was something Rhaegar would not allow. He made a promise to himself the day Thoreo had first entered Maegor's Holdfast, before he was crowned king, he would hold in his hands a blade worth more than an entire kingdom.

Like the Starks in the North, the Tarly's in the Reach, or even the likes of House Dayne, House Targaryen shall once more have the honor of wielding a blade made from valyrian steel.

But he knew this was no simple task. There was a reason why valyrian steel was not common among craftsmen, it was rare, extremely so, but from what Thoreo had told him so far, he knew of a place where Rhaegar could find himself not only a valyrian sword, but several of them.

That was why Rhaegar had called Tytos. He knew of House Lannisters plight, of their search for their once-great sword, Brightroar. Gerion Lannister many years ago had himself gone on a voyage to old Valyria in an attempt to find their long-lost treasure. He never found his way back home however.

Rhaegar perhaps could have kept all of this knowledge between his family, or even just himself. He could have taken every single blade and handed it out to all his family members, used them as tools, sell them off to the highest Essosi bidders. But that wasn't something he would even dream of doing. He may not have been squired, or even anointed a knight, but he still wanted to keep his honor and repay his closest brother for the years of his life that the two had spent together.

"Very well then, you've dragged me all the way up here so would you be so kind as to explain what this is all about?" Tytos crossed his arms and looked towards Thoreo with a suspicious gaze.

"But of course, my lord." Thoreo took a gracious bow, "I am Thoreo, a simple Merchant of Adventures."

"That is certainly a title you have there. Rhaegar is this supposed to entertain me?" he turned towards the prince.

"Just hear him out Tytos, he may be an odd fellow but I think you'll be quite interested in what he is offering." Rhaegar pleaded his case to his friend.

"And what exactly are you offering good Ser? An adventure? Last time I was offered that my uncle Gerion had led me to a brothel in Lannisport as a joke to anger my father."

"You jest now my lord but prince Rhaegar speaks the truth." Thoreo then walked over to the wooden table Rhaegar and Tytos' family dined at the other night and unfurled a map on it. "Please, come and see for yourself."

Cautiously, Tytos stepped over towards Thoreo and stood next to him, overlooking the map. All the while Rhaegar was paying close attention to the Lannister, watching his expression with the eyes of an eagle. Rhaegar had already seen the map, he'd looked over it so many times he was sure that he could redraw it from a simple piece of paper in but an hour's time.

"What am I supposed to be seeing? This is simply a map of Sothoryos, or at least the part we know of."

"Yes, my lord, but look closely and you just might see what your jester of an uncle had been looking for." At that moment Tytos had shot the old man an icy stare, taking clear offence to the comment of his uncle.

"Enough riddles old man, state your business or I'll force it out of you." Tytos growled. Rhaegar had known his friend to be somewhat short-tempered but it seemed that two years can change a man, even someone like Tytos.

"When Gerion Lannister departed on his quest to seek out the lost treasures of Valyria, what was his main goal? The drive, the spark that made him set sail to certain doom? I knew your uncle my lord, he was not one to let his ambitions get the better of him. The answer…" Thoreo embedded his finger on a certain point on the map marked with an X, "… is Valyrian Steel, the once prized sword named Brightroar that belonged to your great house generations ago."

This immediately piqued Tytos' interest though Rhaegar was sure he was the only one that noticed it. Even when they were young, Tytos quickly learned how to excel at diplomacy, whether that was being more open-minded or firmer on your stances. This was not a court filled with nobles however, and Rhaegar knew that there would be many exceptions, right now both his and Thoreo's only goal was to convince Tytos of their plan.

"What are you implying?" Tytos asked.

"I am implying nothing my lord, if you recall I am but a simple Merchant of Adventures and this adventure is one I can assure bears the greatest fruit of all. A prize worthy of raising an army to conquer entire kingdoms. A cache of valyrian steel blades, forged before the Doom by the Dragon King's personal sorcerers."

"Sorcerers do not forge blades old man, smiths do, and the ones who were a part of Valyria are now long forgotten."

"He speaks the truth Tytos, in old Valyria the Royal family employed sorcerers, not blacksmiths, in the old records the Citadel managed to recover from places like Draconys and Volantis it stated that these wizards performed rituals that served as a way of creating the material used in forging Valyrian Steel." Tytos stared at Rhaegar intently, he surely must have thought him mad but Rhaegar was fervent in his belief, he was the blood of Old Valyria, the last of the Dragon Lords, it had to be true.

"You're not joking." Tytos looked at his friend in disbelief before turning away from the two. "A cache of valyrian blades forged from the ancient magic of a Dragon King's personal cabal of sorcerers…" Rhaegar could hear the skepticism in his voice but he was not about to give up. A silence loomed over the room before Tytos turned back towards the two Valyrians. "Very well… go on…"

Rhaegar could not believe it, so much so that he didn't know if Tytos was simply humoring the two or if he actually had an interest. He looked to Thoreo who merely gave off a devilish smile before returning to face the map on the dining table.

"Deep in the forests of the uncovered continent, lies a ruined colony once set up by the Ghiscari Empire, a penal colony that was once inhabited by the many slaves and outlaws the empire had acquired, today it is simply a ruin. The Ghiscari Empire once held hold over most of Essos, long before the rise of the Valyrian Freeholds-…"

"Yes, and then the dragons and harpies fought each other in the skies until one proved victorious over the other, get to the point." Tytos interrupted the old man's monologue.

"That is precisely my point dear lord. During the five great wars between the Freehold and the Empire there were many skirmishes and although the Valyrians eventually won there were many battles where the lockstep legions of Old Ghiscar had proven far superior. In these many battles treasure was taken and eventually used against their dragon-riding opponents, including Valyrian Steel. In this ruined penal colony remains the last remnants of that conflict, not salted lands or burned flesh, but blades forged by the very best and brightest the Freehold had to offer."

"In eastern Sothoryos lies a peninsula named Wyvern Point, south of there is the penal colony." Rhaegar included.

"And so what then? You wish for us to travel to an entirely different continent in the hopes of finding a cache of mystical blades. You're sounding more and more like my dearest uncle."

"Tytos I know what we are saying sounds like complete madness but you know that I would never bring Thoreo here if what he was saying did not have any proof behind it." Rhaegar pleaded with his friend.

"What proof do you have then old man? A map is as good as any other." Tytos turned his attention back to the old man.

Rhaegar then looked to the old man with a worried look, he knew that Tytos would have been hard to convince but this entire journey was worthless to Rhaegar if he was not with him.

That was when Thoreo once again put on his devilish smile that some would say came from a septon's greatest nightmares and pulled from his sleeve a shard metal that seemingly once belonged to a blade. "Would this be enough proof to satiate your cynical mind my lord?" he held out his hand to Tytos and as the young lord took hold of the shard of metal he inspected it with a gaze filled with intent.

After another moment of silence that Rhaegar spent in nervous anticipation Tytos gave back the shard of metal to Thoreo and said nothing. "Well?" Rhaegar asked.

"I am not my uncle Rhaegar, nor am I like my father. Thoreo may have been right when he said that Gerion would not let his ambitions get the better of him but he was still a prideful man, as is my father. To give out one's own fortune, to give one's own life, for something like this, it is not fitting of a lord. That is something no one shall ever manage to convince me otherwise on." He turned away from the two and clasped his hands together behind his back.

"So that's just it? You'll be happy living the rest of your days knowing that you let an opportunity like this pass you by?" Rhaegar asked with a shaky voice.

"I never said I wasn't going…" Rhaegar's eyes widened at his friend's words, "You are obviously intent on taking this little expedition of yours to find that cache. How you intend to do that that is beyond me. But I would be even more of a fool than my uncle was to let the crown prince go on a journey that spelled certain doom without at least a bodyguard, or someone who will keep him sane."

"Wait, so does that mean-…"

"You know my opinion. You're my brother, we may not be of the same blood nor were we born with the same mother but even before you get married to Cersei know that I will always be by your side, no matter what."

A smile of both relief and joy left Rhaegar's lips. His father had already arranged an excuse as to why Rhaegar would have to leave King's Landing, a coming of age tour he would announce for both him and the young heir to Casterly Rock. Though Aerys was hesitant to try and include Tytos, Rhaegar knew that he could convince him. He may not have been coming along for the same reasons as Rhaegar but now that it was agreed upon the young prince knew that nothing was going to stand in their way.

Years from then, Bards would tell you stories of this adventure of ours. Of how we sailed across the Summer Sea, fought pirates and wyverns, and even faced off against a mighty kraken. Some of these songs might be true, some less so. But the treasure we had found in the ruins of that old colony lived up to the old man's promise, tenfold some would say.

But there was one thing the bards would always forget about, or rather, one man. Perhaps the reason Rhaegar and I made it to Sothoryos in one piece, no it was not that blasted 'Merchant'. It was the Heir to Winterfell, Brandon Stark.

But once again this old man was getting ahead of himself. For now, I am in need of some rest. Tomorrow I shall continue this little story.

NOTE:

And zippity zayt here comes chapter eight.

Now this chapter was a bit shorter than the other ones mainly due to the fact that it served as an introduction to what I shall now call Part 2 of the beginning, The Expedition to Sothoryos. Not much to really say besides my sort of struggle to find a way in which Tytos would be convinced into joining Rhaegar on this journey as I can't really expect the down-to-earth, well-taught, nobleman to believe the stories of a cache of 5,000 year old magical swords stashed away on a yet undiscovered continent. So in that regard I had him sort of compromise.

Now you may ask yourselves if Tytos had such a hard time believing this then how come Rhaegar did and well I gotta point to the books for this one as we see that Rhaegar is sort of prone to believing in myths or at least prophecies. Song of Ice and Fire and all that you know. It would sort of make sense that the Targaryen who has sort of become obsessed with regaining his families lost glory would be similar to the one who was willing to incite a war just so he could fulfill a prophecy.

Anyways, that's all from me and now onto the reviews;

jiubantai-taichoCalmejaneJose (jesus fucking Christ this was a hard one to type out): 'Good idea I am just starting your story but I would like to see Tytos with a Harem maybe Elia and Lyanna but most of all with Cersei after all while she did like and "loved" Jaime she always saw him as weak and a fool so maybe if she had a Lannister Lion to look up to she would actually think differently after all she liked Jaime's youth and physique but she loved and admired Tywin's brains and ambition having someone reflect both those traits would have her really fall in love I think.'

You know what, fuck it I'm convinced, screw you boys I want them big numbers, this story is now a harem. Also, I am gonna have to commend you my boy for deadass just requesting a harem and not only that but an incestuous one at that. But if I'm looking at this in terms of a scoreboard I suppose I'm gonna have to give a +1 to all the girls leading so far. For you folks at home who haven't been keeping track let me bring you up to speed.

-Ellia Martell: 5 points (gave my girl an extra point for the extra well-done review by Anne from the last chapter)

-Lyanna Stark: 6 points

-Catelyn Tully: 5 points

-Ashara Dayne: 1 point

-Cersei Lannister: 3 points

-OC character: 2 points

So far Lyanna is in the lead but who knows, there's still a ways to go before my final decision so stay tuned.

Guest: 'My vote goes to Tytos and Lyanna! I know Maester Walys encouraged Lord Rickard to betroth her to Robert Baratheon eventually for the whole "southron ambitions" thing for the North to become more involved in the other realms...but if Tytos Lannister had been an option back then, I think Walys and Rickard would have gone for the Lannisters because they have a shitload of gold and because by this point Aerys was getting to be known as mad and the realm knew that Tywin hated Aerys, while the Baratheons had close ties to the Targaryens through marriage. In the event of a coup for Rhaegar to overthrow Aerys, I would think that THEY would think betrothing Lyanna to Tytos for alliances would be the safer bet. As for Elia, I want only rainbows and unicorns and happiness for her, so I really want her with Ned Stark if possible (on the probably chance that brash Brandon will somehow die in battle eventually), because Ned is so gentle and kind and Elia deserves that! Catelyn, I think should be betrothed to either Willas Tyrell or Denys Arryn (Jon Arryn's nephew and heir). Why? Because she is a devout follower of the Seven and was raised with Andal traditions. I think she would thrive in the Vale, which is incredibly Andal, or the Reach, which has a tradition of chivalry. But on the chance that you decide to put Elia with Tytos instead, my vote for Lyanna is to betroth her to Oberyn!'

Now this is a very interesting vote as it is sort of a plan for all the main ladies. I would have to say that perhaps Catelyn in the Reach or the Vale wouldn't be such a bad idea as 1. Lysa was eventually married to Jon Arryn so there could be canon implications already there and 2. The Reach is a very southron region and is famous for its chivalry and more medieval form of plated knights and such. Now perhaps the more interesting arrangement would be Oberyn and Lyanna because I would be curious to see where that would go. We all love Oberyn for his free spirit and in a way, it could complement Lyanna's own nature, perhaps Oberyn would accept the marriage proposal just for the fact that he finds taming such a wild beauty a challenge.

But in the end who knows. Like I said we'll see how the final vote goes and move on from there.