Full Summary
"Have you ever heard of the prophecy of the Savior?"
"I've heard there are many prophecies, all about one savior or another."
"Are they prophecies about different saviors, I wonder? Or are they different accounts of the same prophecy?"
During a time of unrest within the realm, a young princess is raised among her royal relatives, Black and Green alike. While the realm builds up towards the Dance of Dragons, both Blacks and Greens strive to find a way to win her and her formidable dragon to their respective sides. Will a single woman be enough to tip the scales in either direction?
Strong of will, once married she starts her own adventure, tugging on the strings of destiny which will change the fate of Westeros forever.
(If you don't like canon-divergence and world-building, read no further. Should you, however, wish to see what I can cook up in my mind, stick around!)
Prologue
Before the Doom of Valyria a few Valyrian Houses had left the Peninsula to settle elsewhere, but only two had been Dragonlords. The Houses Targaryen and Belaerys. Centuries before the doom House Belaerys claimed the Skylands with three adult Dragons in their possession.
What weakened House Belaerys in the years after the Doom was that only the women of the family had left Valyria, while the men had stayed to continue their Freehold duties. As such, there was no one who could pass on their family name according to Valyrian or Westerosi traditions and so House Belaerys forged their own inheritance laws.
When House Targaryen joined them in the Narrow Sea a decade before the Doom, House Belaerys suggested a pact between the two last Dragonlord Houses. A pact that has since been honored. One of the agreements in the Dragonlord Pact was that any and all daughters that come from a union with a Belaerys shall inherit the Balaerys name, this was so that their House would not die out, and all daughters would follow Skylander law and inheritance. The Dragonlord Pact would come to be law in any union between House Belaerys and a Westerosi House after Aegon's Conquest and would be the cornerstone behind Targaryen-Belaerys loyalty for centuries to come.
Sylaena Belaerys came forth early during the 97th year after Aegon's Conquest to Valaerys Targaryen and Dylaena Belaerys. Sylaena had, as expected, inherited the silver hair of old Valyria and the slightly darker complexion of the Belaerys. What was considered a unique and beautiful trait of hers was her mismatched eyes; one of vivid Valyrian violet and the other a molten gold.
Sylaena grew up the eldest of her parents daughters and fourth of their children. She was raised as a little Valyrian Princess, doted on by her parents and both Belaerys and Targaryen relatives alike. Her father was comfortably far from the line of succession of the Iron Throne, as the grandson of the Kings younger brother, and her mother the fourth born sister of the previous High Princess of the Skylands. As such, she spent her childhood doted on by her older brothers and in turn doting on her younger sisters, riding Dorax and enjoying the privileges afforded to her as a Belaerys. Her family would divide their time between King's Landing and the Pearl Beaches of the Skylands. She would also spend many moments with her siblings and cousins, Valyrian, Roynar, Andal and First Men alike. Her first thirteen years were as they should be.
What the rest of her life would come to contain is a tale told brilliantly by Grand Maester Selwayn in his book A Discovery of Shadows.
Archive
This archive is a list of information that is added/different from the canon at the beginning of the story. You don't have to read it all, unless you're like me and like to have all the details laid out so you can come back and look at it whenever you want.
In this story seven Valyrian Houses survived the Doom, one way or another. It will follow canon very loosely. As I am adding several new Houses as well as plenty of new characters, they will cause a ripple effect and as such will automatically change the progression of the story. The more original characters that are involved in a certain plot-line, the more that plot-line will diverge from canon.
This archive will be updated, should I feel the need.
Lands
The Skylands
The Skylands is the collective name for two archipelagoes under the rulership of House Belaerys.
People from the Grey Peaks are called Greylanders and people from the Dawn Isles are called Sunlanders, while they are collectively called Skylanders on many occasions. Those born as bastards are given the surname Grey in the Grey Peaks and Dusk in the Dawn Isles.
The Grey Peaks and Dawn Isles comprises enough land to rival the Reach and as such are self-sufficient in most things such as food, clothes and building material. They of course import luxury items relatively often.
The Grey Peaks
The Grey Peaks is a large and very mountainous archipelago situated where the Narrow and Shivering Seas meet. Ruled by House Belaerys from their northern keep Heartstone.
The Grey Peaks are known for a few animals unique to their mountainous and heavily forested territory. Among these are the Venti (fast and sturdy horses), Slinks (a ferret-like creature) and Reevers (giant eagles).
The Dawn Isles
The Dawn Isles is a large and warm archipelago situated in the Summer Sea. Ruled by House Belaerys from their southern keep Dawnstone.
The Dawn Isles are known for a few animals unique to their very warm climate and territory filled with jungles, steppes and forests. Among these are the Slinks (a ferret-like creature), Pards (large felines) and Lycans (large hounds, said to rival direwolves in size).
Houses
House Belaerys
Their sigil is a four-legged dragon (unlike the two legged one of the Targaryen sigil) in silver, on a purple background. There is dispute amongst Westeros on whether their House words are "Survive and Thrive" or "Shadow and Blood". House Belaerys will confirm both to be true, yet give no clarifying answer. Their primary seat is Dawnstone and their secondary seat Heartstone.
If legends are to be believed then House Belaerys left Valyria long before the Doom, said by some to be around 2000 BC and others to have been 4000 BC, and as such is one of very few Houses of Valyrian blood known to have survived the Doom.
They ended up conquering and settling both the Dawn Isles and the Grey Peaks; although there is some dispute between the maesters on whether the Belaerys did much conquering. As histories before their conquering speaks of Greylanders as logical and loyal and Dawnlanders as pliable and kind, many maesters believe that the people simply submitted to the Belaerys out of logic and a wish to shed no blood.
Whether House Belaerys left Valyria with Dragons or not is also questioned by most maesters. As House Belaerys settled for the Grey Peaks and the Dawn Isles instead of attempting to conquer all of Westeros some maesters claim that they must not have had Dragons. Other maesters claim that House Belaerys was simply less greedy for power and land. Some maesters claim that since it was over two millennia ago their Dragons simply must have died out, as the Targaryen Dragons did. Then there are maesters that dispute this thoroughly by pointing out that they believe it was the Dance of Dragons that ultimately led to the end of the Targaryen Dragons and as such, had House Belaerys had Dragons, they should not have died out. What seems to be the overarching consensus that most maesters agree on is that it was so long ago that they might never know for sure.
House Belaerys has been matriarchal since before they left Valyria and still are. As such all power, land and titles are inherited from mother to daughter. Sons are valued as the shields of their family and as representatives to the rest of Westeros. This has also led to women never marrying into Houses outside of the Grey Peaks or Dawn Isles, as that would diminish their power, while sons are those who might be married off for alliances. Of course, since the other Houses in Westeros are patriarchal and want to marry off their daughters instead of their sons for alliances, this has caused a political distance between the Grey Peaks and Dawn Isles and the rest of Westeros. Just like the Martells of Dorne, the Belaerys rulers style themselves as Prince and Princess.
There is a contract and oath between Aegon the Conqueror and High Princess Mysallia Belaerys (the ruling Princess of House Belaerys at the time of the Conquering) called the Thirteen Concessions. These include, but are not limited to, the concession for their Matriarchal society and laws.
There are whispers that speak of House Belaerys having an origin as a powerful House since before the Dawn of Valyria, although there is no proof. There are also rumors that proclaim the Belaerys as skilled sorcerers, capable of bewitching any man, woman or child. These are usually not deemed as anything more than myth, legend and fairy tale.
House Maltaris
Their sigil is white flame on a black background and their House words are "By Blood we Rule".
They are of Valyrian descent and moved to the Grey Peaks roughly around 300 BC. They have never been Dragonlords, yet they held a position in the Freehold right below the Dragonlords as prominent bloodmages and pyromancers. They have a tenuous relationship with the Targaryens and Belaerys' at best, as they believe themselves superior even centuries after the Doom. While there is no known history supporting this, they believe that they had dragons at one point in time, yet were stripped from them some thousands of years ago for a slight they don't remember. All other Valyrians disregard this as a House reaching beyond their own station.
House Qaranyon
Their sigil is a golden two-legged dragon wrapped around a black scepter on a white background and their words are "Blood of the Dragon".
Like House Maltaris they are of Valyrian descent and settled in the Dawn Isles roughly around 200 BC. They have never been Dragonlords either, much to their frustration. There has been many attempts in their family history of members who would attempt to steal a dragon or an egg in the hopes of the dragon accepting them. There have also been plenty of attempts at gaining a Dragonlord daughter for a son of theirs in an attempt to breed the so-called "blood-of-the-dragon" into their own bloodline. None was successful. There are whispers that the reason they left Valyria was to escape the fury of some of the Dragonlords after one too many attempts at theft. They have gained a higher position in the Skylands than they ever had in Valyria thanks to being one of only seven Houses to have survived the Doom.
House Raennareon
Their sigil is a red crystal on a blue background and their House words are "Beauty is Power".
While of Valyrian descent, there are rumors that they originate from the same mysterious origins that the Belaerys are believed by some to come from. This theory is supported by the fact that even though House Belaerys were said to have left Valyria thousands of years earlier, House Belaerys and House Raennareon have always been close. They moved to the Dawn Isles roughly around 500 BC. They have never been Dragonlords, but their family have always contained several talented artisans, including those with a knack for manipulating living glass.