Hello everyone. I bet you thought the story was dead. Sorry for the monumental delay :-) The education I am taking has a notorious semester, where literally more than half drop out. Luckily I finished it so I plan on starting to write again. I made an overall plan of how I think I want the story to go, but please feel free to make suggestions.
Anyway, If some of you are still left, I hope you enjoy :-)
Chapter 10 - A long way
Ever since Aegon Targaryen first displayed the overwhelming military might of a dragon, it had ignited a burning desire in the greater houses of Westeros. The raw strength control of a dragon brings was something that they could only dream of achieving. Every day, they would desperately struggle among themselves in their political games to fight over ounces of power at a time. There were so many games occurring simultaneously, it was impossible to keep track of them all. Each of the nobles, trying to achieve some sort of personal gain in their "service" to the kingdom.
But to possess a dragon would change the rules of the games entirely. Not only did dragons represent a direct path to the throne, to be considered a dragon lord would be as if they were given a new title surpassing regular nobility. Both their military and political power would increase several fold with such an advantage.
Tywin starred at the strange oval shaped thing before him in awe. It was without a doubt the most beautiful object he had ever laid eyes upon. Beautiful swirls of orange and a glowing golden color blended together in a mesmerizing mirage, that could stir the deepest desires of anyone who lay their gaze upon it. It pulsated with an aura of life and power that consumed him and touched him at a primal level.
During his whole life, Tywin had been a fierce skeptic of the fantastical. Stories of giants and ice spiders was nothing more than that. Stories. Even so, he didn't doubt for a second that the object in front of him was magical. He simply could not take his eyes of it.
An instinctive desire to ignore everything around him and simply grab the object nearly overcame him, but a chill suddenly shook him awake as he remembered the man in front of him.
He finally forced himself to tear his gaze from the egg and asked in astonished voice: "Is that.."
"A dragon egg, yes. It can be yours, if you sign the second contract." I interrupted, wanting to move things along.
Examining the egg briefly again, he shook his head slightly as if to shake of his stupor. He steeled his resolve and returned to his direct and authoritative manner of speaking: "I am afraid I must decline your offer, your grace. But I shall sign the first contract" He answered determined, yet with clear bitterness staining every word.
I was taken aback. To the mundane person, one magical contract didn't seem much different from another, and both of them assured that his family could never hope for anything more than to be the second greatest power in Westeros. The second contract practically guaranteed their position for years to come.
I didn't try to hide my astonishment when I asked him: "Might I ask why you would give up such an opportunity? You must know, that I shall simply offer it to another."
"This year I turn 67 years old. My whole life I devoted to secure my legacy, and I was certain that these coming months would be my chance to consolidate the Lannister family as one of the greatest dynasties in the world. This has become an impossibility with the arrival of you." He spoke whilst not tearing his gaze from me. It was in his usual firm and monotone manner, but I felt as though this was the first time since meeting him, that he had been completely honest with me.
Tywin rose from his chair and turned to the window, with his hands behind his back, reminiscing about what could have been.
"I realize now, how meaningless everything I have achieved is, in the face of a figure like you. If I was younger, perhaps I would have taken the opportunity, but I have not the time left to raise a dragon nor help bring about the new era you promise." He continued, his frustration becoming more evident as he spoke.
A slight smile appeared on my face while he spoke. The old lion refuses for his last battle to be a total defeat. He would rather resign from the game entirely. But that wasn't the reason I was smiling.
Despite his power and reputation, this great man who had a continent at his feet, was just a mere mortal. He knows that his death is just around the corner, and therefore he devotes every second of his remaining time in this world, to that which he would leave behind. His legacy. So that he may live on, through his name.
This may sound like a noble pursuit, but I knew what it was rooted in. This man despised the fact, that he was dying.
It was for this reason, I knew I had him.
Tywin raised an eyebrow in annoyance at my seemingly mocking smile, as if he briefly forgot his recent change in status.
"I think you should wait for me to explain the full benefits of a dragon bound specifically to you, before you make your decision." I said, amused at the older man's now puzzled look.
A royal coronation was a lengthy affair. It usually lasted several days, where people from all over the kingdom would travel for many miles to partake in the festivities. Troupes of singers, dancers and various other entertainers would come from all around the world either by invitation or simply on their own.
Unfortunately, due to the urgent nature of the coronation, the people hadn't been given the same time to prepare, so many of the usual exotic parts of the festivities weren't present. Even so, the streets were brimming with life, music and laughter filling the air, even in the poorer sections of the city.
Many were still drunk on the events of the night before, so a royal coronation almost seemed like an excuse to celebrate their high spirits.
Summer had long since passed but the sun at noon still felt scorching for the great mass of people, that was pressed together in the square in front of the great sept. Still more were pressing into the square from the side streets, even though the square had long since been overfilled.
Some found ways to sit on the roofs of the surrounding buildings, while a few had even climbed onto the statue of Baelor, the punishment of a crippling beating seemingly ignored.
The new king was almost like a legend stepping out of a story. The city was overflowing with conflicting rumors of strange man who had come to their rescue last night. Tales of the flaming sword and the massive dragon were spreading everywhere. And every time the tale was told, the sword grew a little brighter and the dragon a little bigger.
In front of the steps to the sept, was a somewhat hastily assembled wooden platform. Around the platform in a half circle stood a three deep line of grim looking Lannister soldiers. They had been given the task to hold back the swelling mass of people and so far the job had not been easy.
The sea of people was pushing and shoving to get a better view. The soldiers shouted and cursed, but they were drowned out by the yells from the roiling mass of people.
Atop the platform stood a group of sweating individuals. Despite the heat, they were all wearing fancy and ornamental clothes, which seemed like torture in the heat. The figures just stood there, as if waiting for something to happen.
Tywin stood at the front of the group, by the foot of a smaller platform, on top of the one they were already standing on. He hated occasions such as these because of the waiting. His time was limited and more precious than gold, even if he suddenly had more of it.
Normally, he would have cursed the sun bearing down on him, but today he didn't feel the heat at all.
The others around him wasn't so lucky though. Sweat could be seen to pour down their necks and faces. Mercifully, a shadow came out of nowhere and shielded them from the sun, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Tywin didn't even manage too look up, before he noticed the overwhelming noise of the mass, suddenly died down to nothing.
The sound of massive wings flapping was the only sound that remained, as he finally saw the gigantic creature he knew was Ragnirion, hovering far above the platform.
A figure could be seen on the back of the black dragon. The man stood up from its saddle, and jumped towards the platform. A fall from such a height would injure any normal man, but the figure gently levitated down, and landed on the platform before him.
The dragon landed on the steps leading up to the sect, shattering the stone tiles where his massive legs and wings hit.
People had no doubt expected it would come. Still they gasped and took several steps back from the giant creature, but seeing that it remained calm, the fear quelled a bit.
The man looked almost like a celestial being. His armor covered every inch of his body in a spotless silver like metal. His chest was decorated with a beautiful design of a dragon decorated with both jewels and strange runes. The dragon was coiled around a huge green jewel, which caught and reflected the suns light.
From his shoulders hang a beautiful green cape, which again had the image of a coiling dragon around a stone embroidered in it.
It had been a gamble to arrive at the ceremony on Ragnirion. The sight of such a massive dragon might have caused a panic in the crowd, but Tywin had insisted it would serve to support my powerbase.
I removed my helmet and waved at the crowd, which broke their shock and caused an eruption of cheers. Like a dam finally being broke, the crowd let their excitement out, as the man who was on everyone's lips, finally showed himself. The cheers spread like a wave through the city, even though most couldn't even see me, they got caught up in the excitement.
Forcefully stopping myself from retrieving my vectium out of instinct, I raised my hands for silence. Every step of the process had been planned, but much depended on their reaction to what I was about to say.
"Not long ago, I thought the world of humanity had lost its chance at greatness. But you have proven me wrong. Together, we shall raise ourselves to height few could have ever imagined. First I shall end these useless rebellions and once again unite the seven kingdoms under one throne. The one in this great city!"
I yelled, using magic that strengthened the sound and made it travel much further.
The people roared again and I waited a while before once again, signaling for silence.
"I will show you the glories of the Valyria of my youth. We shall build wonders that can reach the sky, we shall transform kings landing into the greatest city in existence. The world shall look upon us with awe and envy, and fear!"
The mass of people went wild once more. Despite the excitement, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I couldn't have been entirely sure they would react this way, but this is exactly what I hoped for. Once they finally calmed down once more, I spoke again.
"My name is Aerios Batorion and from this day, I declare myself ruler of the seven kingdoms and a new era for this kingdom to begin!"
As I said this, Ragni raised himself up to stand on his hind legs behind me. He unfolded his wings to their fullest, to display his greatness and roared in the least threatening manner he could.
Luckily, the people were so caught up in their frenzy, that his roar only seemed to amplify their excitement. On the stage, Tywin gave a slight nod of his head to a team of men in the distance, and hundreds of white birds were suddenly released nearby.
Having finished, what I came to do, I climbed on the back of Ragni and set of. We made sure to circle the city, flying low to that the people could be once again reminded of the splendor of a great dragon. And the power it represented.
In Valyria, dragons represented power and wealth, but in Westeros it represented royalty. With this little display, my position in the eyes of the people were confirmed and so my position solidified.
Even from dragon back I could smell the stink of the city below me. I sighed and spoke to myself more than Ragni.
"Despite my grand speech just now, this place has a very, very long way to go. I dare not think of how long it will take before it even begins to resemble Valyria."
Comfort. Me. With. You.
"You are right brother. It could have been much worse. Without you, I would have been truly lost." I said and steered him towards the ocean. I wanted to enjoy the rest of the day in peace, for I knew it would be ages before I would have any time to myself again.
The celebrations lasted for days, where before the city who had been depressed under the shadow of war, it now looked like a gleaming jewel at night from above.
I was in no mood to appreciate the shift atmosphere though. Looking over the accounts for the past years, I realized just how deep into the pit the kingdom truly was. We owed tens of millions of golden dragons to the iron bank of Braavos.
The bank was far older than the doom, so I had heard of it before, but back then, it was a fraction of the size of today. They seem to have thrived on the chaos that ensued after the doom.
Tywin was by my side, answering my barrage of questions the best he could. It irritated me endlessly, that such irresponsible spending had been allowed, just because the drunken fool of a king had been miserable and bored.
Furthermore, the war hadn't done the budget any favors either, and now that summer was ending, the future looked rather dark. Not only would I have to repay the debt, without more food or money, the country would suffer from massive starvation during winter. It would seem, I had no choice but to pause my expansion plans for the kingdom, until this problem was solved.
"With summer ending, it is impossible for us to make up for such a staggering amount through normal taxation. We will have to look for other means." I said, as I raised my head from the huge book.
We were sitting in what was known as the tower of the hand. For some reason, no one had deemed it necessary that the king had an office to work from, though given the past two kings, maybe it wasn't so strange.
Tywin cleared his throat. He had revealed that his own goldmines had dried up long ago, so he could not do much, given the millions he had already loaned the crown.
"As things stand now, I can only see two possible ways of immediately ridding ourselves from this debt. Only the Tyrells currently possess the amount of gold necessary to pay of such an enormous amount." He said, remaining apprehensive as he noticed my black mood.
I looked at him with a blank expression, clearly signaling him to get on with it.
"They currently find themselves outside the royal fold, given they rebelled to support Renly Baratheon. I imagine that they would be more than willing to swear their loyalty, and even pay a great price to be spared punishment for their previous betrayal."
This lightened my mood slightly.
"Would it be enough for the people to survive the coming winter?" I asked, knowing they couldn't possible have enough to satisfy the entire debt.
"I would say so. They control the most fertile land in the seven kingdoms, and we have just had the longest summer in living memory. I expect they have enough food to get us through winter, twice over."
It had only been a few days since I claimed the throne, so it was only natural that very few knew of the colossal shift in power in the capital. On the day of my coronation, a letter had been sent to the wardens of the five other kingdoms in Westeros summoning them to kings landing. Outside of the north and the west, the others allegiances were still in unknown.
"What of the kingdom of Dorne? You said it is unlikely they will simply surrender, since the previous dragon lords never conquered them. If we were to take their wealth, would it be enough?" I asked in an almost hopeful tone.
It was widely known that Aegon failed to conquer Dorne and that his sister Rhaenys and her dragon had died there.
Even though I knew it was completely illogical, it felt as an insult to my pride as a Valyrian. I was eager to prove to the other kingdoms, that they certainly could not resist my wrath.
Tywin was quick to answer, detecting the eagerness in my tone. "Unfortunately no. Other than wine, the Dornishmen have little but sand. They certainly do not possess great wealth. Besides, it might be a long and costly affair to conquer them as much of the kingdom is desert."
"Yes, it might be unwise for now. But if they don't answer my summoning and swear fealty, then I shall destroy them." I said in the cold and steely tone that my uncle had used. I returned my gaze to the book on the table and sighed.
There was simply so much to do. I wanted to meet the Targaryen girl, I had to return to Valyria to retrieve my property as I would surely need it and I had to start several massive construction project in Westeros. First though, I had to bring the kingdoms under control and solve the damn crisis of debt.
"What was the other method?" I asked, recalling his previous words.
"Yes. The debt itself is owed to the iron bank. If I may suggest it, your grace, you could simply fly there and pay them a visit." He said, looking at me almost expectantly.
Easily understanding what he meant, I gave a light chuckle.
"You put so much faith in the fear a dragon brings. I imagine if I threaten them now, it might prove unfortunate for our people in the future. Even if I were to turn the bank to ruins, surely it would survive and cause trouble in the future."
"Usually I would tend to agree, but forgive me your grace, I think you may underestimate the power a dragon represents. Particularly one of Ragnirions size." Tywin answered, with a hint of steel in his voice. It would seem he didn't find this humorous at all.
"We shall leave this as a last resort. Destroying them might cause unforeseen consequences and I don't want to be known as a bandit king." I said, standing from the desk.
I continued as I walked to the door "Now. I think I know enough about my kingdom now. It is time I meet the famous small council. Let them convene this afternoon."
These last few days Tywin had spent teaching me everything he could about the current situation of Westeros. Who the important nobles were and who actually held power. Which were likely to support me and which would need "convincing".
Tywin merely bowed and said "Your grace" before taking my seat. He closed the heavy book of accounts and put it aside on the desk, careful not to disturb the tiny, sleeping golden lizard, coiled around itself laying there.