Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Ice and Fire Novels, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters. I do not earn any money from writing these stories, it is for my entertainment and is something I like to share.

I'm just need to clarify that this story is based upon the show not the books. Therefore a character who is mentioned in this chapter is based on how and when he was presented in the show which is a very different plot to what happens in the books.

Tyrion VI

The last few days were frantic. Discovering how to raise baby dragons was far more challenging than Tyrion had first expected, despite having hearing the stories from Daenerys and reading about them from those with various first hand knowledge from the past. Being the smartest man had its downsides, it meant he was the one who had to do most of the research, which became a full time job. The mission was to find out how to raise the baby dragons and how to find more Targaryens to ride them. Gendry was initially ruled out, because as soon as Bran discovered their little secret, they would be arresting Gendry. Secrets didn't stay secrets long when there were two baby dragons on the loose, and Bran would be able to reach Gendry before them, unless they flew on Drogon, something Jon was keen to avoid. Therefore, Tyrion was going to be forced to look elsewhere, and the first place he wanted to start was Pentos. Strygga had told them his mother originally came from Pentos and was the daughter of Prince Maegor, the son of Aerion Brightflame, who was the son of King Maekar and Daenora Targaryen. If this story was true, then there was one person who would know all about this tale, an old friend of Tyrion's, who in all likelihood would have been the one to help Maegor organise sending his children away. That man was Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy Pentos magister, who had been instrumental in helping Daenerys with her quest to regain Westeros. Should Illyrio hear about Jon, Tyrion was sure he could be of some assistance in helping trace the missing Targaryens.

Thus the plans had begun. Firstly Jon was to fly to the wall this morning and hopefully return later that day with Ranny, who was Strygga's mother to discuss her story. Although it sounded implausible, one very careful look at Strygga suggested there might be some truth behind it. Due to his name and father, Prince Maegor, nor his descendants would ever be considered for the Iron Throne, especially someone like Strygga who had grown up with the Freefolk. However, the prospect of too many Targaryen's would pose a threat to Jon and Sansa, one which Tyrion wanted to keep to a minimum. He didn't like the use of dragon riders, unless they were absolutely guaranteed to be on the side of Jon and Sansa, and these people would be strangers. At least Strygga and Ranny were loyal to Jon and had good reason to remain to Jon, whether Ranny's siblings or her father, if he was still alive, felt the same, was another matter. There were other aspects to take into account. One of the reasons Prince Maegor was not considered fit to be King was because his father thought he was a dragon and died from drinking wildfire. It was believed that his madness could also be manifest itself in Maegor. Therefore the line of succession had followed through King Aegon V instead of the then infant Prince Maegor (his age and name were also cited as reasons for him not to be King), which left Jon as the Targaryen heir, not Maegor's eldest living son.

There were other descendents of House Targaryen who lived across the Narrow Sea, although, again they had little or no strong claim to the Iron Throne. Mainly the descendents of King Aegon V's elder sister, Daella. As she was also Maester Aemon's sister, the nearest contact they had would be any letter he had kept from her in the past which could lead to clues about the whereabouts of her children and now grandchildren. This was why Jon's trip to the wall was so important. If Ranny did turn out to be who Strygga said she was, a lot of preparation would be required for their journey to see Illyrio. Getting there was going to be a major issue, they would need to go in secret, but there were fleets of ships all along the Narrow sea on the lookout for the Master of Ships, the Hand of the King, the Queen in the North and the Queenslayer (as some had taken to calling Jon). These weren't the only problems to be addressed. When the Unsullied had arrived, they landed at White Harbour, and reports had filtered through that they had killed a number of people in the town and Lord Manderly was spitting feathers, or in his case he'd be spitting fish. Sansa had made it clear she wanted to discuss the events with Lord Manderly to ensure he was still fighting alongside them. The rest of the North was still loyal to Sansa, and they desperately needed it to stay that way. Tyrion was also hoping to secure the assistance of the Vale. Yohn Royce was a close ally and might be the one Westerosi region they could turn to who would betray Bran for Sansa. Even the Riverlands and her Uncle Edmure would favour Bran over the Queen. This was where the delicacy of diplomacy and downright sneakiness came into play. Something Tyrion Lannister had desperately missed over the last few years and was rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect of some dastardly fun. However, first things first, a small council meeting, as Tyrion had other issues he wanted to discuss, something which had been bothering him since he'd won the trust of Arya. The prophecy on the dagger, had appeared fulfilled by Arya, but Tyrion had read something the day before, something which concerned him. Therefore, with his book in hand, he headed to the small council meeting which was to commence before Jon and Strygga returned to Castle Black.

"Good morning all, Your Graces." Tyrion bowed his head towards Jon and Sansa as he made it to the table, which was now set out in a similar manner to the small council in the south, albeit without anyone holding official titles. "Princess Arya, Lord Seaworth, Tormund, Strygga, Maester Wolkan." he greeted everyone before turning to the two little dragons who were on a perch fighting. "Rhaenys and Visenya." he added as the two dragons stopped for a moment, looked at him and then continued to squabble or play. "Intelligent, they know their names already." he shook his head as he sat down on Sansa's right, opposite Jon and placed his important book on the table, which Jon frowned at.

"What's that?" Jon asked.

"The Wisdoms and Dreams of King Viserys I, for the Kings of the Future." Tyrion replied. "Quite an interesting and revealing read I might add. He has a few interesting bits of information, especially where that dagger is concerned." he glanced over to Arya. "I think I might have a more in-depth understanding of it and what it means."

"Fascinatin' as that might be, what good will it do us for this meetin?" Davos asked. "I thought we were to make plans to get to Pentos, and hopefully me to bring Marya up here."

"The first point of the meeting is for Jon, Tormund and Strygga to collect Strygga's mother, Ranny, from Castle Black. Then we will make plans for Essos." Sansa told him. "However, I do think it is important your wife is here in the north, Ser Davos. I would prefer everyone to ensure their loved ones are no longer in Westeros. If Bran is so power hungry trying to reclaim the North and kill Jon, then he will not stop at anything."

"We will have to assume he is not Bran." Tyrion told her. "Your real brother would never do anything like that."

"I know." Sansa agreed. "But someone sent the Ironborn, Dothraki and Unsullied to war with me and there is only one person who has motive, even if it makes little sense."

"I think what I have read in this book might clear up that notion." Tyrion frowned. "But we shall discuss that later. What is next on the agenda?"

"White Harbour." Sansa replied. "Reports are coming in from my people that the Unsullied were less than gracious during their time at White Harbour."

"Do we know where the Dothraki landed?" Ser Davos asked.

"Eastwatch." Jon told them. "Tormund and I are going to take a look to see if they've done any damage while Strygga helps Ranny is gathering her things and says her goodbyes."

"To the fucking wall?" Tormund laughed. "I think a great big fucking ice dragon already did the damage there."

"To the houses and farms surrounding the area." Jon rolled his eyes. Tyrion could sense Jon's exasperation at Tormund's unfunny joke.

"We should reconvene for a meeting with Ranny." Sansa interjected, preventing any more jokes. "Strygga, you say she came from Pentos, I will have one of our special quarters made ready for her. If she needs anything, tell her we are happy to accommodate. Especially as this technically means you are...family." she added.

"Thank you Your Grace." Strygga smiled, his face lighting up. "But I doubt she'll expect special treatment, she's been used to the living as one of the Freefolk most of her life, I suspect Castle Black feels like luxury to her right now."

"We'll see." Sansa smiled. Tyrion knew that smile, this was a test. If Ranny was who she said she was, her etiquette and upbringing would show up quickly. "It would probably be a wise idea if you are to get going as quickly as possible. We can finish the rest of the meeting without you. Anything you need to report or we need to discuss, I can talk it over with Jon later." she announced.

Jon stood up and bowed his head. "Your Grace." he looked at her lovingly, which warmed Tyrion's cynical heart, true love was rare in Westeros and something worth fighting for. He still had hopes one day he would find love of his own.

Strygga also stood up and addressed Sansa, before throwing a kindly glance and smile to Arya, who reciprocated the look, which Tyrion found far more intriguing than he had expected. That was when he realised Arya was the only Stark left and with prophecies hanging in the air, he was going to have to break some bad news to her. Although he suspected her preoccupation with Visenya might placate her somewhat. Tormund also got up and the three men left the room. Sansa briefly joined them, although Tyrion suspected it was most likely to say goodbye to Jon, before returning to the room and sitting back down.

"Where were we?" she said.

"Gettin my wife up to Winterfell." Ser Davos said.

"Whereabouts is she" Sansa asked as Davos drew out a map.

"Here." he pointed to a place called Cape Wrath which was in the Stormlands.

"That might be problematic." Tyrion said. "As you can see, it is full of trees. Bran is very adept at seeing through trees. It will be one of the places he is monitoring. He'll be waiting for us. Your wife is safer without us rescuing her for now."

Ser Davos should have looked crestfallen, however he looked more relieved, to which Tyrion realised he didn't want to bring his wife north, he was doing it to appease Sansa. "Is that also your opinion, Your Grace?" he asked.

Sansa looked carefully at the map and nodded. "I didn't realise that was where your home was."

"Neither did Ser Davos." Arya joked, earning her a stern look from Sansa and an embarrassed one from the Master of Ships.

"With regards to White Harbour, we need to show solidarity with them. Offer them something of value." Sansa said.

"The Unsullied ships." Tyrion suggested. "The opportunity to work with Ser Davos to build a northern naval fleet. Use the ships which have been captured, they are already set up for battle. They will just have to find sailors, which I doubt would be difficult in White Harbour." he added, earning him a scowl from Ser Davos. "Of course, we can have Ser Davos in charge of the operation, maybe in a similar role as Master of for the North." he tried to appease the Onion Knight.

"I haven't made official appointments." Sansa admitted. "I don't want our council to be like that of the south." she sighed.

"Maybe now is a good time Your Grace." Maester Wolkan finally spoke.

"I would prefer it if Jon were here." Sansa sighed.

"I think there are certain positions which can only be filled be certain individuals." Tyrion offered. "For instance Ser Davos here, is the only one qualified to be our Master of Ships, and Maester Wolkan is the only person who can be the Northern Grand Maester. I doubt the King will be too upset with any of those appointments."

"Can I be Mistress of Whisperers?" Arya asked. "I'm far sneakier than anyone."

"I'll ask Jon. For the time being, only those two positions will be filled. Jon and I will discuss the rest together." she wrote something down on a piece of paper and turned to Tyrion. "What did you find in that book which is so interesting?" she asked.

"Ten years ago, I didn't believe in whitewalkers or magic, although I did believe in dragons. Which are very beautiful." he added, smiling at the two babies, who seemed to be taking a lot of interest in their meeting. "Since then, many things have changed. I am now sharing a room with two of the wonderful creatures, but we have encountered the whitewalkers and I am certain there is something behind the stories of the red priests and priestesses. I have met more than one. The Lady Melisandre had her faults..." he started.

"She murdered the Princess Shireen." Ser Davos scowled.

"As I said, she had many faults, but I believe she also raised King Jon from the dead. Am I not wrong?" he asked as Ser Davos shook his head.

"I was there when it happened. Saw it with me own eyes." he said.

"I saw Thoros of Myr resurrect Beric Dondarrion." Arya said. "They obviously have some magic."

"Precisely. But as we know, only death can pay for life. The Lady Melisandre's sacrifice of Princess Shireen may have been what saved Jon's life. Who can say, what we know for certain is she saw visions in the flames." Tyrion started.

"Which didn't always come true." Ser Davos argued.

"Maybe that was more down to the interpretation as opposed to what presented itself. Prophecies can be fickle, some openly interpret them to be exactly what they read, but they are usually cryptic." Tyrion said. "Now that dagger. It has something written on it." Tyrion opened the book and pulled out a piece of ribbon to mark the spot he was looking for. "It says From my blood come the Prince That Was Promised and his will be the Song of Ice and Fire. This was inscribed by Aegon the Conqueror, no less. However it was not the first time I had heard of that story, it is an old one and the followers of R'hllor like to tell their version with the hero being called Azor Ahai reborn. The Lady Melisandre originally claimed Stannis Baratheon was the Prince that was Promised, then she believed it to be Jon, then she thought it was Daenerys. Other priests and priestesses in Essos claimed Daenerys to be the chosen one. Yet, the one who killed the Night King and ended the Long Night was Arya. So how could they all be so wrong? Even Aegon's prophecy discounts Arya as the Prince that was Promised."

"So? What are you getting at?" Arya asked.

"If you weren't the Prince that was Promised, then the prophecy is still unfulfilled." Tyrion told them.

"So?" Ser Davos. "Does it really matter who did it?" he asked.

"Actually, I think it did." Tyrion nodded. "You see, the prophecy calls it the Long Night, but if you think about it, it wasn't much longer than a normal night. We haven't had a long winter. And more importantly, a Targaryen doesn't sit on the Iron Throne." he added.

"Unless the person on the wooden throne is Bloodraven." Arya offered.

"There is more. King Viserys wrote down what he knew of the prophecy and what each Targaryen heir was supposed to know. This is what he wrote.

'As we delve back into our histories, they tell us of Aegon looking across the Blackwater from Dragonstone. From there he saw a rich land ripe for the capture, where he could rule and thrive. But it was not simply an ambition to conquer which drove him to towards our shores. It was a prophetic dragon dream as, like the dreamer Daenys Targaryen before him, foresaw the end of Valyria, Aegon's visions showed unto him the end of the world of men.

It will begin with a terrible winter gusting out of the distant north. What Aegon saw was absolute darkness riding on those winds. And whatever rides on those winds will destroy the world of the living. When this Great Winter comes, all of Westeros must unite together and stand against it. If the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen of Valyrian blood must always be seated on the Iron Throne. The King or Queen, must be strong enough to unite the realms of men against the cold and the dark.

Aegon called his dream The Song of Ice and Fire. A message carved upon his Valyrian dagger.

This secret it has been passed from king to heir since Aegon's time. A tradition which must continue throughout the Targaryen Kings and Queens until the Prince what was Promised emerges from the fire and ice, to do battle and save the world.'"

Tyrion stopped reading as they all watched him. "There is more. If I understand it correctly, he named his son Aegon, because he believed the Promised Prince would be called Aegon."

"Jon." Sansa whispered and Tyrion nodded.

"He did lead the realms of men." Arya frowned.

"He wasn't sat on the Iron Throne, he is still not on the Iron Throne." Tyrion said. "We must convince Jon to take the Iron Throne. Westeros will perish if he doesn't."

"But I killed the Night's King." Arya insisted.

"Did you?" Tyrion asked. "He had powers far beyond what we know. Maybe he is still out there, waiting, biding his time."

"Wouldn't Bran know that?" Sansa asked. "Surely he'd want to stop him."

"Unless Bran is the one helping him." Tyrion shrugged. "All we know is the prophecy has not been fulfilled."

"Who can we ask to give us guidance?" Sansa asked.

"We need a follower of the red god. And I just happen to know the High Priestess of the Red Temple in Volantis. I'm sure she'd be able to help." Tyrion smiled.

"Is there any more?" Sansa asked.

"There is a lot of information in those books. I have barely scratched the surface. I wonder what is in the ones he left behind." Tyrion smiled wistfully. "Knowledge is power over your enemy. And right now, I believe we might have more knowledge than our enemy."

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