Chapter 26
Hello everyone. I am glad that I have people interested in my stories and I apologize that I don't really have much spare time to devote to writing. Now that I have posted up the alternate universe to this continuity and you can already tell that just having Elia give birth to two children caused big changes. I already alluded to the point of divergance between that story and this one.
Chapter 26 The Personas Within
Rhaenys Targaryen sighed and wondered how well her ploy worked. Claiming that she was planning to go into prostitution was meant to appeal to chivalry and convince the people she was trying to manipulate that she was a helpless maiden in need of rescuing.
Rhaenys actually briefly contemplated attempting to become a courtesan while she was in Braavos. The courtesans she watched had enough wealth that Sella and Leysritt would have been well provided for. While forcing wealthy men to hand over funds was not particularly difficult Rhaenys still needed to be careful she doesn't steal an amount that they'll notice and lead them to try to investigate why it went missing. Because of this she and her maids were forced to live in a more austere manner than they had been accustomed to in the Einzbern castles. A courtesan without magic could get obscene amounts of wealth from men and not be seen as suspicious. Even without the Mystic Eyes of Enchantment or Charm, Rhaenys was more than capable of getting money from her targets. She would not have even needed to have sex with anyone if she didn't want to. Rhaenys discarded the thought of becoming a courtesan as her silver-white hair and red eyes were uncommon and becoming renowned would draw too much attention to that. The thought of changing her hair or eye color was intolerable. She could not help but feel infuriated at the thought of discarding her last connections to her first mother.
Rhaenys grimanced. It was not an easy for her to decide to support her brother in his quest to claim the Iron Throne. Elia Martell refused to leave her only daughter behind and died because Rhaenys was not able to ensure she was kept safe. But she had a younger brother who needs an older sister to protect him. If she abandoned him after he protected her from Berseker how would she live with herself? Unfortunately the main threat to her brother at this moment is her maternal kin.
The Martells had sent someone to kill Jon. Giving the Kingsguard items enchanted with a regeneration spell had backfired on her interests. She managed to deduce that it was likely the Daynes that informed their overlords over her brother's ancestry.
Gerold Hightower and Oswell Whent are... not people she was entirely certain they should try to contact. They both had planned to kill Brynden Tully and then take Jon to indoctrinate him towards "Targaryen interests". Rhaenys did not consider herself a political mastermind but she was able to see how poorly killing a man attempting to protect her brother would be perceived. They also did not seem to be willing to easily change their minds when she tried to thaumaturgically pressure them to try to work with him.
Rhaenys grumbled. The Baratheons have Selmy and Lanninster. The Martells have Prince Lewyn and Dayne. They have Whent and Hightower. With Darry dead the Kingsguard is evenly split between the three factions.
"Hopefully the other four are just as addled as the ones we have." Rhaenys thought.
As of this moment Rhaenys felt that she needed to wait until a better opportunity presents himself. It would likely be wise to wait until after her brother is old enough not to be saddled with a regency council like the Aegon that survived the Dance of Dragons. Rhaenys had no doubt that her brother would survive a war with the little pissant Viserys. She hoped that she would get to see his face when the Iron Throne is seated by a much better man. For all of his blood of the dragon raving, he did not actually have the powerful prana production capabilities that she, Saber and her brother have. If Valyria literally infused wyvern blood into their elite families any magical benefits have long since decayed for the other Targaryens.
"Illya," she heard a voice call out her old name.
She sharply inhaled and prepared to channel prana. She looked around and no one else was in her room.
"I go by Dreamfyre nowadays but I have the memories the Archer class servant during the Holy Grail War." Dreamfyre said.
"Tohsaka's servant? How did something like that happen?" Rhaenys was not particularly adept with telepathy, Berserker was not the most conversationalist of servants, but she was talented enough to communicate back. "And if that were true why didn't you go fly towards her?"
"Tohsaka is alive and in this world? Who else has been reincarnated?" Dreamfyre asked.
"I am not certain I should disclose sensitive information with you." Rhaenys said.
"Fair enough. It isn't as if I am particularly upfront servant." Dreamfyre said.
"Your memories are from the arm that Shirou was transplanted with?" Rhaenys asked.
"Probably. It isn't like a heroic spirit being implanted into a phantasmal beast's body is a common event. I doubt even Zelretch has viewed a situation like this more than a few times." Dreamfyre said.
"You are Shirou from some point in the future?" Rhaenys asked. It was a convoluted situation but given the fact that the transplanted arm didn't immediately kill Shirou it was a reasonable guess.
"Unlike Saber I am merely the leftovers of a copy of a Shirou Emiya from another timeline than the one who you fought in your Holy Grail War." Dreamfyre said.
"What do you mean unlike Saber?" Rhaenys asked. While she was aware that heroic spirits are copies from the Throne of Heroes implanted into a class container Rhaenys was still sad that any version of her brother can refer to himself so dismissively.
"I spoke too much. I wouldn't want to share what Saber's situation was even with you without her permission." Dreamfyre said.
Rhaenys was annoyed. While she acknowledged that she was not being forthcoming she didn't appreciate being on the receiving end. But it wasn't like she was going to ask Saber something she was not comfortable talking about.
"Are you going to support our campaign to get the Iron Throne?" Rhaenys asked. A dragon would make reconquering the throne much easier. Every Targaryen should agree with that sentiment.
"I would gladly be your mount if you decide not to hatch your own egg." Dreamfyre said.
Rhaenys frowned. If she hatched her own egg she was not certain how it's personality would be like. While she kept a Heracles in the Berserker class under her control she had command seals helping her remain connected with Berserker.
"How did you first start recalling your memories as the Archer class servant." Rhaenys asked.
"As soon as a familiar contract was created between me and my other self. "Jon Snow" was born with the skinchanger sorcery trait and that might have helped with the memories being implanted into my new body." Dreamfyre said.
"Would you know why Shirou's appearance is so different from what it used to be?" Rhaenys asked. That was especially noticeable change given how she, Saber and Tohsaka looked very much like their previous bodies. Sakura Matou had black hair and blue eyes but Rhaenys simply assumed that was how she looked like before Zouken's magecraft altered her body.
"I would guess it was because our Reality Marbles were colliding and his soul was being torn apart. His soul might not have had the blueprints needed to make his new body resemble his previous one." Dreamfyre said.
"How is his Reality Marble at the moment? It is powerful magecraft almost on the level of True Magic, but it is forbidden for a reason." Rhaenys asked.
"I am certain that the Holy Grail altered the body and soul. This level of change that I have felt is much like how it originally changed my origin and element into sword. His prana feels more... Fae than what I have had in the past." Dreamfyre said.
"Fae? That type of Mystery shouldn't be possible with human magecraft. That would certainly need something as powerful as the grail to invoke." Rhaenys said with a widening smile. If what the dragon was saying is true then her brother has a powerful blessing aside from the Saber's dragon blood.
"We kept Saber's lost Noble Phantasm in our bodies since the last day of the Fourth Holy Grail War. And since he has been reincarnated he had not only the scabbard but her sword Excalibur inside his Reality Marble." Dreamfyre said.
"Are there any repercussions from holding two powerful noble phantasms inside his soul?" Rhaenys asked.
"We have always had a "distorted" view of the world. But any negative after effects I have not detected them yet." Dreamfyre said.
"What sort of magecraft does Shirou have?" Rhaenys asked. If Fairy magic and Reality Marbles are as above ordinary magecraft as they are reputed to be then her brother surely has powerful tools in his arsenal.
"Right now he has Structural Grasping, Reinforcement, unconscious skinchanging, and a divination sorcery trait." Dreamfyre said.
"That's it." Rhaenys asked incredously. Given how powerful Reality Marbles and the Fae were supposed to be she was expecting more. "What good can low level spells like Structural Grasping and Reinforcement be?"
"Structural Grasp is a versatile spell that makes Reinforcement even more powerful. Aside from strengthening muscles Reinforcement can make food higher quality. Given how most peasants here are malnourished that is not a small thing." Dreamfyre said.
"How does Reinforcement work on food?" Rhaenys asked. She heard the saying that an army marched on its stomach but she doubted a spell like Reinforcement would be a big help there.
"It makes it more nutritious, influence how it tastes and makes it last longer without spoiling. At sea we could use it to make sure none of us have gotten scurvy if the sailing took too long and we ran out of supplies." Dreamfyre said.
Rhaenys could not argue with that. Getting a balanced diet before she moved to White Harbor with her maids had always been an inconvenient pain.
"It's not if Kiritsugu taught us much magecraft. We used our nerves as circuits instead of the ones we naturally had for years." Dreamfyre said.
"YOU DID WHAT?" Rhaenys asked appalled. She was well experienced with dealing with pain when she channeled prana but using the nervous system was infamously painful and did not even create much prana. At the very least she had immense levels of prana that would have overwhelmed many mages. Shirou wouldn't have even have had that as compensation.
"It isn't as if using my nerve circuits was a big problem. All I had to deal with was some pain and some nerve damage afterwards. And I was able to use my natural circuits after I discovered my error." Dreamfyre said.
That was the stupid lack of concern over personal safety that always frustrated her. It was very worrying how cavalier her brother can be over his own well being.
"How good do you think our odds of taking the Iron Throne from the Baratheons are." Rhaenys asked hoping that a change in subject would make her feel better.
"They are honestly pretty bad." Rhaenys felt like she was punched in the gut. "The only reason why Tully is taking us away from Westeros is so that the Starks do not get caught with the symbol of Targaryen power in the hands of a potential rival for the throne. If it weren't for the "Rains of Castamere" family being married towards the Baratheons they might have just killed me and kept their alliegance towards Robert Baratheon. It's not like Brynden Tully here is taking us that seriously as a royals. We do not even know what the current head of House Tully even has to say about potentially supporting our claim" Dreamfyre said.
"... What do you mean he is not taking our royalty seriously?" Rhaenys asked.
"Our gallant knight is dealing with his charge more like a troublesome fugitive that he can not stop sheltering instead of a king whose throne was usurped. He threatened to give him a spanking for him trying to touch his sword while he was sleeping and not showing you enough sympathy while you were telling your story. I personally find it amusing, if the pain of using nerves as circuits did not stop us from doing that daily for years no amount of arse slapping would stop him from doing something incredibly stupid if he really wants to. Trust me, I should know." Dreamfyre said.
Rhaenys decided to sit down in her bed. She didn't know what was worse. That her brother can go through pain for years and not realize he was fucking up magic or that their primary guardian was not giving them the appropriate amount of deference their station deserves. Even though she found Viserys incredibly annoying she never would have slapped him in the face like she always wanted to when she saw him open his mouth, and then every time she heard his voice.
"If any of us attempt to retaliate or harm Tully in any way our support will likely dry up." Rhaenys said.
"Probably. Given House Targaryen's reputation for violent madness Brynden Tully dying will look bad. It's not like sharing the motive will get us more sympathy. No, our king isn't a violent madman our king here is a joke." Dreamfyre said.
"Why... did the Starks entrust their... kin with this man?" Rhaenys asked.
"The people at Winterfell are not fond of the Targaryens. While working in the kitchens there has been a lot of negative things said about Rhaella Targaryen and Viserys Targaryen." Dreamfyre said.
"The Starks made their rightful king work in their kitchens!?" Rhaenys asked.
"The Starks and Tullys don't see him as the rightful king. They see him as a fugitive that they are too associated with to just get rid of." Dreamfyre explained in a tone that seemed to be spoken as if she were a simple child.
"How would we get them to support our claim?" Rhaenys asked.
"If the king currently on the Iron Throne finds out about what the Starks did that would get them supporting us very quickly. Even if the king and Eddard Stark were fostered together that won't stop the Lannisters from getting angry and trying to kill all the Starks. It's not like the Starks and Tullys were interested in finding out first hand what happened to the Reynes. Aside from that, if the king on the Iron Throne becomes intolerable or unacceptable then they might be willing to use us to get a king they find preferable." Dreamfyre said.
Rhaenys took several deep breathes.
"I want the old moderator, Kirei Kotomine, in hell. I might be willing to live in secrecy and exile but I want that man dead." Rhaenys said.
"Kirei. He is also reincarnated. Of course the Grail would also include him in this world. I know enough about his fighting style and with Avalon, Excalibur and dragons if we seriously tried to kill him there is not much he can do to defend himself." Dreamfyre said.
"I want to kill him myself." Rhaenys declared.
"I think that trying to fight an Executor on your own is st... unwise. I would much prefer you have help. Or at least get training from Saber before you go after a target like that." Dreamfyre said.
"He was the one who murdered Princess Elia Martell." Rhaenys answered the silent question.
"Will you be joining the people who are going to buy more supplies?" Dreamfyre asked.
"I think I am too emotionally upset to go out in public. I'll stay here and calm down. My dress if still stained but that isn't a problem with magecraft. My maids know my measurements and can get me new ones without me being there." Rhaenys said.
"I am probably going to be left on the island too. He was obviously worried that I would set the ship on fire if I went out of control." Dreamfyre said.
"When I saw both of them together I thought they were like Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon the Fortunate. I mistook their interactions as paternal." Rhaenys said irritably.
"I am certain that Ser Duncan the Tall was the inspiration for the squiring and adventuring in Essos cover story. Except it's almost the exact opposite. The knight is a highborn, we are in Essos instead of Westeros, we are staying put and trying to be isolated instead of interacting with the less fortunate. It's almost laughable." Dreamfyre said.
"I am certain that Duncan the Tall would never dare threaten to physically strike a prince of the blood for being irritating." Rhaenys said. Rhaenys sighed. "I am tired. Can I retire for the night."
"Of course." Dreamfyre said.
After several seconds without a further response Rhaenys relaxed. She wondered what would happen if she were to create a familiar bond with her own dragon. Berserker was a reliable servant, restrained in utility perhaps, and she imagined that the previous dragon riders of House Targaryens had a similar bond with their aggressive mounts. But if the dragon were to look inside of her for another personality then the one that could be inside her psyche would be the Primeval Justeaze. She was "created" in her image and did have some remnants of Justeaze that she was able to consciously access. Rhaenys was not certain if creating a bond with a dragon would have a similar phenomenon that her brother and his dragon have, but if she wanted to help their cause a dragon would be an immense help.
Rhaenys decided to just sleep on it and see how the situation develops. It wasn't as if they were running out of time after all.
Sorry for the long wait again. I am not certain if anyone caught the parallels between Dunk and Egg with Brynden and Jon but that was one thing that was the idea behind the whole "squire" story. For the guest that asked about reinforcing food sorry it took so long to answer that. Also for the reviewer that guessed that Dreamfyre was Counter Guardian Emiya, you guessed right. I'm glad that my stories are getting readers and I hope you are enjoying the fruits of my time and labor.