MAESTER AEMON
CASTLE BLACK - 18 YRS AGO
Prince Aemon Targaryen had forsaken his titles and joined the order of Maesters. Link by link he earned his chain and he became a Maester in full. Then after his brother King Aerion died they came for him and asked Aemon to be King. Aemon refused and so the crown went to his younger brother. Then later his nephew Aerys became King. Eventually Aemon wound up at Castle Black serving as Maester for the Night's Watch. The ancient order that protected the realms of men from what lay beyond the wall. The wall itself stretched three hundred miles across the land and is over eight hundred feet tall.
There are eighteen castles on the wall, but only three are manned by the Night's Watch. The castles are East Watch by the Sea, Castle Black, and Shadow Tower. The legends of old had fallen into myths and old tales. The Night's Watch was once a grand order, but now it is a haven for criminals to escape the King's Justice. Taking the Black put you beyond the reach of Kings and the laws of men. Not all the members are former criminals. Some like Maester Aemon are high born. Some are second, third, and forth sons, and even Bastards.
Maester Aemon had lost the use of eyes a few years ago. At the age of 84 he still serves, advices, and tends the needs of the men of Castle Black. Maester Aemon is in the Raven's tower tending the birds when a horn sounds. One blast for returning Rangers or visitors, two for Wildlings, and three for White Walkers. "Maester we have guests of the Royal kind..." Tomas Snow Aemon's assistant tells him.
"Royalty...Who?"
"Prince Rhaegar Targaryen..."
He came to speak with Maester Aemon privately about his father King Aerys Targaryen. The Mad King. "I was thinking about overthrowing my father. I need your council Uncle..."
"In order to do that you will need the support of Great Houses of Westeros...But it is not my council you seek. You seek my permission."
"Yes..."
"I cannot give you absolution if you intend to kill your own father..."
"No not kill him...Lock him away...Exile him to Dragonstone."
Aemon sighs in relief, "Well then it is not betrayal...Aerys is not fit to be King anymore. You must lure the Lords of Westeros to a place where you can speak with them in private..."
"How?"
"A tourney...Find an excuse to host a Tourney. The largest ever held with biggest prize ever offered for the winner."
"Thank you Uncle for your wise council.
Things do not go as Rhaegar planned and the end result is a war.
PRESENT DAY
JON
Lord Eddard Stark did not agree with Jon's request, but eventually he gave in. Jon would travel to Castle Black on the excuse that he is thinking about joining, but before Eddard would give his consent he insists that Jon go and see the wall; he also had to speak with the men of the Watch before making a decision. A Raven is sent to the current Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Jeor Mormont.
Eddard sends four men with Jon as his guards. "You better come back home!" Arya commands.
Jon smiles thinking about Arya's reaction to his leaving. He had promised that he would come home. The first night Jon and his men camp on the side of the road. At daybreak they are up eating and on the move again. Sometimes they sleep in doors in a house in a village. Even the bastards of High Born Nobles are treated well. To compliment the food they bought with them Jon and his companions hunt down and kill a deer. After two weeks of travel they arrive at Castle Black. Jon sits on his horse Raven staring in disbelief at the wall.
"First time seeing the wall my Lord?" Roland asks.
"Aye..."
"Mine as well..." The guard Donovan says.
"I came to the Wall two years after Lord Stark returned from the war against the Targaryens…"
When they ride through the gate Lord Commander Jeor Mormont is waiting along with Benjen Stark, Alliser Thorne, First Builder Yarwen, and Corwen Half-Hand. "Welcome to Castle Black Lord Snow...I am Lord Commander Jeor Mormont..."
After introductions Benjen takes Jon on a tour of the Castle Black. "Alliser Thorne seems like a cheerful fellow..."
"Don't mind him...He fought beside the Targaryens in the war..."
"I didn't know that."
"Aye...Robert banished him to the Night's Watch...Not that he had much of a choice. It was that or lose his head..."
They go to the lift that takes them to the top of the wall. "Why did you join the Watch?" Jon asks because he is genuinely curious."
"Ned was Lord of Winterfell...And losing our father and brother was just as hard for me as it was for him. I had to stay behind at Winterfell while Ned rode off into war making a name for himself...Don't get me wrong I wasn't jealous, but I wanted to swing a sword to get revenge."
They reach the top of the wall, "So you came here..."
"To swing a sword to protect people...In my own way I was honoring my father and brother...Starks have always manned the wall."
"But I'm not a Stark..."
Benjen looks at him, "Bastard has no meaning here...Here we are brothers of the Watch, defending the Realms of men from..."
"White Walkers..." Jon says interrupting.
Benjen grunts, "No one has seen a White Walker in ages...Now these days we fight the Wildlings..."
"They are men as well..." Jon says. Benjen smiles looking at Jon.
Later Jon has dinner in the main hall with Jeor and the senior members of the Watch. As they eat Jeor tries to convince Jon to join while the Half-Hand tries to talk him out of it. Lord Eddard 's letter instructed them to do as much with the goal of dissuading Jon. But Jeor had heard of the bastard of Winterfell and he would make a great addition to the Watch. Perhaps one day become Lord Commander.
Finally Jon is taken to see Maester Aemon. "Maester Aemon may I introduce my nephew Jon Snow..."
"An honor to meet you Maester…"
They shake hands, "And you Jon Snow..."
"I will leave the two of you alone..."
Benjen makes a quiet exit. "So I am told you are thinking about joining us."
"Yes sir...My father insisted on me speaking with the men of the watch before I made a decision..."
Maester Aemon frowns, "Jon Snow..."
"Maester…"
"I am blind...I have been so for some time now...Do you know who I was before coming here?"
"Prince Aemon Targaryen...second son of Maekar the First..."
He smiles, "Few people alive remember me...I grew up in King's Landing...It is a nest of liars...My ears, hands, and even my nose has become my eyes...So believe me when I say that I know a lie when I hear it...You are lying Jon Snow. You did not come here to speak with us about the Watch. What do you really want Jon Snow."
Jon smiles, "I hope I will be as preceptive as you when and if I reach your age...I apologize for lying. I ask that what is said between us remains between us..."
"Sounds serious I swear..."
Jon is satisfied and dives into telling Maester Aemon the truth. "My Uncle Lord Eddard Stark named me Jon and claimed I was his bastard...My mother Lyanna named me Aegon Targaryen. Prince Rhaegar was my father and I came here to meet you and ask questions that only someone of your experience can answer about my Tagaryen heritage."
Maester Aemon remains quiet for a long time, but Jon patiently waits for his response, "Tell me Jon or do you prefer Aegon?"
"Jon for the time being."
"Jon...Did Rhaegar kidnap and rape your mother?"
"No...They fell in love at the Tourney of Harrenhal...She also became friends with my father's first wife...Elia...My mother and father married in secret..."
"I never believed he did..."
"Did you know my father..."
"No not personally...He came to castle black two years before the war started...Asked my advice about his father the Mad king...I advised him to fund a tourney to lure the lords of Westeros so that he could gain their support...Everything after that fell apart...Tell me everything you know Jon..."
They talk for hours, "Why didn't you become King after your brother died?"
"I did not want it...But I regret that I was unable to be there for my family..." He voice grows angry, "...I regret that I was unable to protect my Nephew...and his children...from those savages..."
"My Uncle is no savage he did not condone the killing of Elia and her children..."
"Lord Stark's reputation as a honorable man is known even hear at Castle Black..."
They are interrupted by a knock, "Maester! Lord Snow The Lord Commander is dining in the main hall..."
"Send my regrets Lord Snow and I will take our meal here..."
"What is meant by waking the Dragon?" Jon asks after the food is bought.
Aemon smiles, "An old saying among the Targaryens...Wake the Dragon...Some of us when our blood was mixed with someone outside the family had latent Dragon blood...sometimes it was latent in pure blood Targaryens...A Dragon is rage..It is power ultimate power...A Dragon takes what it wants...It bows to no one and those that defy its will burn...Do you understand Jon Snow..."
"Yes I think so..."
Aemon smiles, "A Dragon does not doubt...Now tell me...Where did you hear that saying...It is not written in any books..." Jon tells him about the Dream. "The old blood of the North flows in you Jon Snow...It was not a Dream, but a vision...Strange though that the vision came metaphorically...That usually happens with Greenseers of the North who can see the future..."
"I also saw a vision while staring into the fire..."
Aemon puts his fork down, "Tell me what you saw..."
"A man of the Watch...He and his brothers were ranging a village not far from here North of the wall...They found dead bodies...Then the dead awoke and killed his brothers...The man fled and was beheaded by my father or Uncle as it may be for desertion..."
"So Jon Snow you are a fire seer and a Dream Walker...A deadly combination..."
"Fire Seer..."
"Oh yes...My younger brother was one...The old tales say that the ancient Targaryens before the Doom could see visions of the future in the fire...Fire Seers...Others were Fire Mages...They could manipulate fire and control it...Others were Fire Walkers...They could walk into an inferno and not be harmed by the flames...Fire could not hurt them...We Targaryens were living gods..."
"Then the Vision I saw of my brother falling will happen?"
"Perhaps...Some visions are things that may happen."
"Can I prevent it from happening?"
"It is possible the old legends say so...But be careful Jon Snow...Trying to alter the future can lead to madness and obsession...so say the old tales..."
"But it can be done..."
He sighs, "There are places in the world where one can train in seeing and interpreting the future...Ashai is one..."
In those precious hours Jon learns about what it means to be a Targaryen. He raises his goblet, "To us the last Targaryens in the world..."
Master Aemon does not participate in the toast, "We are not the last of our House Young Dragon..."
"No."
"After the war ended I wrote the Master of Whispers Varys, asking him if any of my kin survived...He wrote me back saying that Your father's brother Prince Viserys fled to Dragonstone with his Mother Queen Rhaella...There on Dragonstone she died giving birth to a daughter Daenarys...Then the two fled to Braavos with there loyal servants..."
"If only I could speak with them..."
"And why not? You are young and strong...They are as much your family as the Starks..."
"Braavos is a long way away..."
"And I would go if not for my oaths and responsibilities to the Watch and the loss of my eyes...Oh yes I would go to them..."
"And what could I do?"
"First you can kill the boy...Let the man come forth...As we have been talking I have heard a lot of doubt in you...Your mother named you Aegon...Aegon is not a bastard...He is a Prince...He is the Son of a Dragon...Jon Snow is a bastard...Which are you? A bastard or a Prince?"
"I am not a bastard!"
"Good...Now Wake the Dragon Jon Snow...You have a gift and that gift can be put to use. Now if you truly wish to help them...First travel to Dragonstone...On Dragonstone is hidden a secret treasure vault...Put there by your namesake Aegon the Conqueror...I can teach you to find it...If you are clever enough you can steal the treasure right from under Old Stannis' nose..."
That night after talking with Maester Aemon Jon Dreams...
He dreams he is in the Red Keep and watches as a lioness runs past him...He jumps back and falls to the floor as a Dragon chases the lioness. The Dragon pauses to look at him and then it continues it's chase of the lioness...Jon runs after them and finds the Dragon raping the lioness. Then he hears a roar. When Jon turns he is in another place a castle. The room is open and there is blood everywhere. The lioness is dead and baby half Dragon half lion lies at the edge of the bed...
Jon tries to forget the dream as he prepares to leave Castle Black. "So have you made a decision?" Jeor asks hopefully.
"I will take Maester Aemon's suggestion and go out and see the world..." It was Aemon's suggestion that he use that excuse.
Jeor nods and as he does Jon hopes he hasn't disappointed the Old Bear, "I can respect that...If I was young as you I would do the same..."
They shake hands and then he hugs Benjen before mounting his horse Raven. As Jon leaves he spots the man from his vision, the one who deserted the Night's Watch in his dream. "You there a word in private before I leave..."