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A/N: I'd like to thank all those who took the time out to review the story. They really keep me going.
The Fallen Bishop
16 Years Later
Sixteen years had passed since the bell tower of King's Landing had been sounded but the night the ancient bells tolled, the people of an empire held their breath.
The commoners prayed for the safety of the Black King while there were those who prayed for his hand. Those who prayed for the King had their wish granted.
Castor Black, Hand of the King for Sixteen Years and Lord of Blackhaven had passed from this life to embark on his next journey in the world beyond.
His death had come as a shock to many. While it was true that he had completed seventy years since his birth, the Lord of Blackhaven had been healthy as a horse. He had even participated in the archery tournament that had been held in the honour of his seventieth name day by the King. Although his hands shook as he knocked his arrows but they didn't flounder much further from the bull's eye. He didn't win the tournament but for a man his age he completed seventh in the overall rankings which was considered impressive.
His death wasn't foreseen and while the Royal family stood strong as he was laid to rest, those who knew them well could see how the Lord of Blackhaven's death had triggered several faults in one go.
The Spymistress, Lady Varya was one such person.
She had greatly respected the stubborn but intelligent Lord. There was no point in denying the fact that he was the best Hand any King could have asked for. He was not only clever but also highly diplomatic. Never would he offend anyone and would talk to everyone with the same amount of politeness. Such a man was Castor Black, a great loss indeed and a Bishop none the less.
As Varya saw it, the King had lost a Bishop who also played the Castle at times. Lord Castor had been the greatest piece in King Sirius' inventory and now since he had lost him; it was easy for those who were proficient in the game to see the breach in the defences but right now the Queen Marlene seemed intent to continue her winning streak.
Every day at Noon after her Small Council meeting, Queen Marlene would invite Varya for a game of chess in her personal solar that looked out to the sea. The sea breeze blowing into the high-roofed chamber was scented with fresh jasmine from the queen's personal glass gardens.
Varya observed the chess board before her.
There was no denying the fact that the Queen was an excellent tactician. Once again it seemed that she had the mistress of whispers cornered at the edge of the board. There was no way she could win.
"Cornered by pawns" Varya muttered under her breath. If Varya was surprised, she hid it well. She had chosen to ignore the advancing pawns and killed the Queen's knights, castles and bishop instead. Although she had heard of pawns winning their master's a victory, today she had seen it.
The Queen smiled and broke into a laugh, "Pawns might move one step at a time but in the end they can be elevated to play more powerful roles." She said as she toppled the crown off Varya's king piece.
Varya smiled knowingly. She knew what the Queen was referring too. The Queen wasn't a politician by nature but she had been raised to be diplomatic and wise like many highborn women. Her marriage into the House of Black and her survival was proof enough of her wisdom, not to mention her cunning.
The Queen was compassionate, yes but she would have made a better ruler than her husband.
"Will you be joining us at the feast tonight Lady Varya." The Queen asked her, rising from her chair. Varya rose and followed her to the balcony, "I have a prior commitment, your grace. I would much regret missing the performance of the Lyseni Water Dancers though. I hear they are exquisite." Varya replied, her tone reverent but honest.
"Yes" Marlene said, "I wish Aries and Maia were here with us. They so loved the performance that the acrobats put up." The Queen, no the mother spoke as she thought about her children.
That was the Queen's flaw Varya thought, a flaw which should never be exposed Varya thought. She liked the Queen.
"I believe Prince Aries takes after his father. Brave, honest, kind…" but before Varya could continue listing his good qualities the Queen cut in.
"Stubborn, headstrong and arrogant" The Queen said, her voice cold and biting, "Just like his father." She further added.
"Princess Maia isn't much different your grace." Varya said, with a smile playing on her lips knowing what the queen thought of her daughter.
"Oh!" The Queen exclaimed, "She's much worse." She yelled in a manner, unbecoming of a Queen and then she laughed, "They both make me want to tear my hair out." She said, her anger giving way to the love that she had for them.
"The Prince and Princess love you very much Your Grace." Varya said trying to cheer the Queen. "It doesn't take a spy master to know that, everyone knows it."
"But that spy mistress knows something that the mother doesn't" The Queen said, turning her head to look at the Spy mistress, surprising her for the second time in the day and this time Varya failed to hide her surprise.
"I don't understand what you mean Your Grace" Varya said, the hesitance in her voice evident.
"Where are my children?" The Queen asked, "They have been gone for months. They are not at Dragonstone nor are they at Castle Black." She huffed, "I even sent a word to Lord Lupin to be on the lookout for them but there hasn't been any word yet."
The Queen was angry at her children. It wouldn't be the first time. In Varya's opinion the children were infuriating but then again they were heirs to the throne of Britainnos and the seven kingdoms. It was a different thing if they didn't act like it.
"The last I heard of the Princess was that she had crossed the moonlit pass through the Mountains of the Moon and was journeying through the emerald forest to white banks." Varya replied and after a moment continued, "The Prince has been elusive but I do know that he's travelling with Lords Welk Lupin, Seamus Finnegan and the Gryffin boys, Damian and Dean."
The Queen stifled, "At least Maia is safe with Lady Zoya and Lady Hena."
Varya sighed, "The Queen's guard duty is to guard the Queen."
"And it is yours to know all that is possible Lady Varya" Lady Raina, Captain of the Queen's guard said in a high and cold voice, silencing the spy mistress as she walked into the chambers, angered by what the spy mistress had just said.
If Varya was offended by the Sworn Sister of the Queen's guard she didn't show it, instead she simply smiled and lightly bowed to the Warrior Sorceress.
"I try and do my best, I haven't failed once" Varya replied softly, hinting at the obvious.
Lady Raina held her silence but the Queen didn't.
"Lady Varya, I believe it is best if you take your leave." Marlene said her warm voice turning icy and distant.
Varya didn't argue and bowed to the Queen as she walked out of the opulent chambers with her head held high and a smile on her face.
The two women who were left behind didn't say anything but strangely the pain they both felt was the same.
The small council would never be the same, Lady Cassiopeia thought to herself as she took her chair next to the King's.
As the Mistress of Laws her authority was seldom challenged and that too only by the King or her late brother and Hand of the King, Lord Castor Black of Blackhaven. Their other brother Marius had now taken over the Lordship of the woodland palace in Aryalay and the surrounding lands. If she had heard correctly he was even trying to sire an heir.
Cassiopeia had laughed when she had heard the news. She was confident that he could yet sire a couple of children but none of them would ever be able to match Adrastea, Castor's base born daughter who she had been an adoptive mother to.
If need be she would ensure that Marius follow in Castor's footsteps and any able children that he manages to father follow Adrastea without question.
Cassiopeia was broken out of her train of thought as the other councillors walked into the room.
Her niece Bellatrix walked with pride in her wake. With her head held high, she took her seat opposite the King's and gently bowed her head to Cassiopeia who acknowledged her presence and nodded.
The two Black women sat in silence as the other councillors walked in, Lords Filius Gryffin and Edgar Bones served as Master of Trade and Master of Ships respectively. Sirius had made them Councillors because their brothers had aided him during the war against the dark sorcerer. In Cassiopeia's opinion they were both able men and were good at their job. From what little she had heard, she knew that her nephew, the King trusted them more than other members of the council, herself included. That didn't bother her in the slightest. He'd be a fool if he believed otherwise.
The two lords greeted Cassiopeia and each took a seat beside Bellatrix, flanking her from both sides.
It wasn't long before the King walked in with Ser Alastor Dayne, the Lord Commander of the City watch and the Captain of the King's guard however he wasn't the only person who accompanied Sirius. With great effort Cassiopeia managed to hold back a grimace as Arch Mage Albus Dumbledore, Guardian and High Sorcerer of Dragonstone walked into the small council room.
Across the table she saw that Bellatrix too was having trouble schooling her features, nevertheless she greeted the aged sorcerer with a warm smile, something which Cassiopeia was unable to do.
Albus Dumbledore was rarely invited to the Small Council meetings and he was invited only when matters of great importance were to be discussed and such a matter did lie before the council today, a decision on which would impact the entire empire.
As everybody took their seat, Sirius looked around if everyone was present before he began the meeting.
"Lady Varya will not be joining us today your grace." Bellatrix chimed, looking at the other councillors.
"Really, Lady Bellatrix" came Varya's sweet but cutting voice as she walked into the room in her impeccable robes of silk.
"It certainly seemed so." Bellatrix replied, running her finger on the outer rim of her goblet.
Varya chose not to answer, instead she addressed the King, "Pardon me for my late arrival, your grace but just as I was about to make my way to the meeting I received some new information."
Cassiopeia closely observed Varya's face, the woman looked tense and that made Cassiopeia anxious. Varya never looked tense.
The song of swords reverberated throughout the arena as metal crashed against metal in a deathly dance.
Valyrians were renowned for their battle prowess and technique thus it didn't come as a surprise to anyone when they saw the Princes and the Princess of the royal family sparring in the training arena of Dragon's Bastion.
Battle master Gawain Dragatto looked down from the battlements at his apprentices as they sparred amongst themselves.
He couldn't have asked for anything more than this. Over the years he had trained several children of his family, never thought had he felt as satisfied with his instruction as he did today.
The four children, with the blood of the dragon mage burning through them exuded so much power that Gawain felt as if the earth that he stood on would quake under their collective power.
He observed each of his pupils carefully as they engaged with each other in a dance of death.
Young Elrohir had taken after the dragon riders of old. The prince, of tall and lithe built was one of the formidable warriors that Valyria had seen in decades. He had been a mere boy of nine when his dragon had called out to him. The Prince had woken up one night and gone directly to his parents urging them that he had seen a dragon hatch and the dragon was his, it was calling out to him.
The King had pushed the matter aside thinking that the child was young and had been dreaming. With words of calm and peace he had reason with his son and put him to bed but it so happened that peace would not come to the child and thus after several days of pining, the father gave in to the boy's wishes and agreed to bring him to Dragon's Bastion.
Gawain could not forget the look on King Aragorn's face when he entered with his son by his side in the Dragon's pit along with his own dragon Kuroxez for as soon as he entered a young dragon hatchling came bounding towards the young prince.
Covered in scales of white and copper, the hatchling clung to the young prince's arm and stared at him with his glowing amber coloured eyes.
Aragorn couldn't hide his shock nor could he hide his pain when he left Prince Elrohir behind at Dragon Bastion to begin his training as a dragon mage the very same day. It was a tradition that had been followed for centuries, it could certainly not be broken for an underage Prince and on the contrary it had to be enforced for proper education.
Gawain smiled as the initial days of the young Prince's training came to his mind. Covered in bruises and totally worn out by the end of day, the Prince worked hard at bonding with his dragon and mastery at arms.
Hardly a year had passed when the King came to visit his son along with the Prince's twin and much too Gawain's surprise his great-grandnephew. Gawain had heard about the return of his half-sister from the western continent of Britainnos but in the years she had returned he hadn't met her once for he hadn't visited Tyria in decades and no one but a dragon rider or a dragon mage was allowed to come to Dragon's Bastion.
If Gawain didn't believe in destiny he'd have never been able to believe the magic that he saw unfold with his very own eyes.
The young prince who had been happy to see his brothers took them to the hatchery where they kept the dragon's eggs. Gawain had followed them as Aragorn decided to take flight on his dragon that he hadn't flown in a very long time.
Under the watchful gaze of the aged dragon mage and battle master, the boys began to examine the colourful dragon eggs with their rippling scaly texture.
Gawain shouldn't have been surprised but he couldn't contain his astonishment when he heard the reverberating crack echo through the hatchery. The Prince's twin had managed to awaken a dragon from its stony slumber and his wonder knew no bounds as the sapphire blue dragon bounded on its feeble legs towards the younger prince.
The young prince Elladin was in as much shock as the rest of them but his shock was no match to that of his Lord father's when he returned from his flight. The Young King couldn't have been more proud or more shocked than he already was.
While the King laughed with his sons, Gawain noticed the half-hearted smile on his great nephew's face. He saw how the father kissed his sons on their forehead and told them how proud he was of them. He saw the sadness in the child's eyes when Aragorn hugged him after he hugged his sons.
Gawain sighed as he realised the possibility that the child might never be a dragon rider even though he was of his blood, the blood of the dragon mages.
That night Gawain took the green-eyed child to the forest with him. He had introduced himself as Hadrian, Prince of Dragonstone but the last part had been more of a whisper and thus to Gawain he was just Hadrian of House Dragatto, nothing more.
As they walked deep into the forest with Gawain telling the young Hadrian about the dragon mages of old and the great dragons they rode they soon came to a halt as they heard an ear-splitting screech.
Hadrian covered his ears but Gawain's face lost its warmth and pain marred his face.
Slowly, he raised his hand and closed his eyes with a silent spell on his lips.
Hadrian was all but confused as he saw the old man stand steady, seemingly not bothered by the screeches of some beast. Hadrian felt anguish hit him, anguish not his own but with the anguish there was a desire to comfort.
Something tugged at him, an invisible power which his Aunt Minerva referred to as magick. She said that magick guided a person towards their destiny and if he ever felt magick tug at him he was to always follow it without question for it would always lead him true.
Gawain remembered that day well when Hadrian walked into the night away from him. Gawain hadn't even realised when the boy had left his side. As Gawain remembered he opened his eyes to find the young Prince missing swallowed by the darkness. Fear struck him for having lost one of his children. He remembered how he had set out to look for the young prince, calling out to the other dragon mages in Dragon's bastion to help search for the boy.
Gawain had feared for the boy's life but it seemed that his fear had been completely unwarranted for. Three nights after Hadrian went missing he was found sleeping soundly on the eastern shore of the island by a dragon rider.
The Mage along with his dragon made their way to the boy but just as they drew close enough they were shot at with dragon fire from behind. The Mage's dragon protected him with his wings and the mage himself mounted his dragon and too to the air.
As he looked back he saw a young emerald green dragon crouching over the boy, his fangs bared threateningly.
Gawain remembered how he along with several other mages and with King Aragorn had ridden to bring the boy back and save him from the dragon but when they reached there they realised the boy didn't need to be saved rather it seemed destiny had saved him.
It wasn't long before Gawain recognized the dragon. It was a young dragon which had once belonged to a talented mage of House Zairyon. The dragon's rider had died from a fever and left her dragon bereft of her bond mate.
Dragons usually bonded for life but what Gawain saw unfolding before him had been truly astonishing then and remained a wonder even today.
As the young Prince parried his brothers' thrusts and in turn cut through their armour he marvelled at how the young prince had grown over the years since he had bonded with his dragon.
Metal clashed against metal once more and in a blinding flash of light which even forced the battle master to cover his eyes, he heard the Princes complain and their sister laugh as she disarmed all of them and stood victorious.
Princess Elene was nothing like her brothers yet she was better than all of them put together except perhaps Hadrian, Prince of Dragonstone.
Gawain observed the young lithe warrior with light skin, dark hair and jade green eyes that burned with fire. Yes, the boy would make a great King but of which Kingdom, that was yet to be decided. Gawain sighed and turned his back to the siblings as they resorted to playing amongst themselves. In the distance though he heard the roar of a dragon.
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