Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the GoT/ASoIaF series or any other ideas that I might have obtained my ideas from…Except for my OC. Note that asterisk stars (*) at the end of the chapter, refers to facts that can help clarify the terms.

For thousands of years, Westeros has been the focus of some of the world's greatest and most tragic occurrences. From the Dawn Age to the Age of Heroes, the First Men rooted themselves into the continent and claimed it as their own. From the rise of feudalism to the Coming of the Andals, kingdoms rose and fell throughout the pages of history but only Seven rose from the chaos of endless war and strife, each ruled by a Great Houses: House Stark of the North, House Lannister of the Westerlands, House Arryn of the Vale, House Gardener of the Reach, House Durrandon of the Stormlands, House Hoare of the Iron Islands and Riverlands, and House Martell of Dorne.

For many years, these kingdoms were in a constant state of bloodshed. Never once was there a time when one of the Seven Kingdoms was at war with another. But this turbulence would eventually come to an end at the arrival of Aegon the Conqueror. Many maesters speak of House Targaryen's ascension to dominance. But they often disregard the Houses that rose to prominence along with the Dragons. The three Valyrian Houses Velaryon of Driftmark, Celtigar of Claw Isle, and Qoherys of Harrenhal became core subordinates to the Conqueror's cause. Even House Tyrell of the Reach and House Tully of the Riverlands rose in status. Aegon's closest friend and rumored half-brother Orys brought House Baratheon to existence to rule the Stormlands. But among Aegon's followers, no one contributed to his Conquest more than the daunting Alden Kardenal. Not much was known of his origins, but it was said that he was a orphaned native of Westeros who was taken by slavers from the Free Cities before he won his freedom.

The finest in his time, Lord Alden Kardenal was a formidable military commander, who won almost every battle he has fought with his crowning merit during the Field of Fire. While many would deride Alden and his descendants for being an upstart family of lowborn commoners, those who had decent sense knew that House Kardenal of Dawnspire has proven more than worthy to be a Great House. From Aegon's Conquest to the War of the Eight Kings, House Kardenal gradually rose from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of prominence in the Western world.

~ Grand Maester Nikolas

7 B.C

The Disputed Lands...

Aegon POV

It was only a year prior that his father, the late Lord of Dragonstone Aerion Targaryen, has passed away from a chronic illness. At the age of 20, Aegon Targaryen took his father's place as ruler of the island refuge of dragons. Atop his massive dragon mount, Balerion the Black Dread, the young dragonlord was enroute towards the Free City of Lys. Just a week ago, he received a plea for aid from the Free Cities of Pentos and Tyrosh to combat the aggressive 'elder' sister city Volantis. Since the infamous Doom of Valyria over a century ago, the so-called First Daughter of Valyria has claimed to be the rightful successor and attempts to carve out their own empire. In combined factors of the other defiant Free Cities and Dothraki khalasars attacking, that dream seemed to be ever impossible. Recently, the Volantenes have scrambles enough gold to raise a new army and fleet to conquer Essos.

After meeting with the Prince of Pentos and city's magisters, Aegon has agreed to destroy the Volantene forces before they can reach their destination, first the army, then the fleet. But as he made his way through the Disputed Lands in search of the Volantene army, Aegon couldn't help but groan in discontent and disappointment. Since the Doom, the Targaryens have been trying to find ways to claim the continent of Essos for himself. But to Aegon, this dream of restoring the Valyrian Freehold possessed little merit to it and his visit to the Free Cities has only reinforced that view. In Essos, he only sees the degraded remnants of his ancestor's civilization and each city held an uncomfortable reminder of how rotten Valyria truly was.

Aegon thought with disdain until Balerion grunted a bit and turned his massive head to the side below them.

"Balerion, what is it?"

The black behemoth grunted again gesturing that he senses something there. Aegon stood up a bit from his saddle to get a better look. Down below, he sees two armies preparing to engage one another. The young dragonlord was perplexed. Having been told that Tyrosh had no army to resist the Volantene, there shouldn't be anyone attacking them but him. Seeing how the Volantene outnumbered the unknown army almost two-to-one, Aegon could simply fly downwards and have Balerion scorch the field and get the matter over with, but he grew curious when he noticed the unknown army firmly holding its position despite being charged in by the attacking Volantenes.

As Aegon and Balerion continued to circle around the battle high in the sky, he was stunned to see the Volantenes being pushed back. Despite the superior numbers, the Volantenes cannot exploit their advantage with the flanks of the unknown army proving to be too steadfast to break. Eventually, a cavalry unit from behind the unknown army circled around the field and began galloping eastward. The Volantenes saw this and attempted to chase after them with their own cavalry but as soon as the opposing cavalries were out of sight from the battlefield, the unidentified cavalry forces did a sharp turn and began charging swiftly back towards the field. Remarkably, the Volantene cavalry was slowing down, unable to catch up. The Volantene infantry was smashed from behind as the battle quickly shifted into a slaughter. By the time the Volantene cavalry arrived back on the field, the battle was already lost.

Aegon shook his head in annoyance as he sees the Volantene cavalry charging straight towards the already reorganized infantry of the unknown army. The young dragonlord patted Balerion and without a word, the black behemoth roared and dived straight down. Within moments, Balerion was in the battle and began burning the Volantene cavalry into ashes. At this point, the majority of the Volantene army was gone with only a mere few fleeing. Aegon and Balerion hovered in the air as the Valyrian watched the Volantenes flee, further disappointed in the supposed First Daughter of Valyria. Looking backwards, he can see the unknown army still in formation but all eyes were on him and Balerion. At this distance, he can clearly see the army's banner: a gold phoenix on blue.

Surprised, Aegon grinned widely and began to fly towards the victorious army. In response to the approach of Balerion, the horses began to panic but their riders made sure to keep them calm. As Balerion landed on the ground and slowly tramp forward, the infantry slowly backs up in fear but did not break formation and run. Eventually, they stopped moving when one man walked forward towards Balerion. The black dragon growled as Aegon got a good look at the individual before him. The man was youthful, tall, and broad-shouldered with fair skin. He had medium-length, indigo-colored hair styled in a man bun and was dressed in leather armor with dark blue cloth in it. His most notable feature was his amber-colored eyes, looking almost inhumanely distinct from other men.

The man dismounted his horse and walked towards Balerion, who growled with his massive teeth visible for all to see. Right when the man was only a few feet away, Balerion stopped growling and stared at the man, who smiled in fascination. Balerion turned his head towards his rider, Aegon dismounted and walked towards the indigo-haired man. As they stood face-to-face with blank expressions, Balerion and the surrounding troops watched in silence until the young dragonlord lets out a smirk.

"Alden 'bloody' Kardenal."

Hearing that, the identified man returns the smirk.

"Aegon fuckin' Targaryen."

With that, the two men began chuckling loudly and embraced. It was going to be a long, long day.

To be continued...

Next Time:

Ch.1 - Whelp Meets Fledgling

Author's Note: Hello everyone, Seraphias here. By the Old Gods and the New! When I posted that report that I was discontinuing the old fanfic for a new series. I did not expect so many people favoriting or following it to be on the lookout for news of an update. I am grateful! So as you can see, this fanfic documents the origins of House Kardenal as part of a currently planned four fanfic series. If you want to create an OC house you need to give it a decent backstory. Bear with me on this history and lore of House Kardenal before we get to the main story. Thank you all and be sure to tune in for a new chapter!

Also, if anybody is interested, I could use a beta-reader who can proofread my chapters for grammar and spelling errors.

And as always, review for anything including holes & errors, as well as possible improvements. Also, I welcome new ideas anytime. It will inspire me and prevent writer's block from happening so don't be afraid to share! See ya!