CHAPTER 8; THE LORDS

The next few days in the red fortress were relatively calm. At least as far as conflicts were concerned. Vaegon was focused on the construction of his laboratory. He needed to begin the changes as soon as possible. Jaehaerys' health was beginning to decline rapidly, and he was already showing several signs of the beginnings of senile dementia. Unfortunately Vaegon did not have the means to mitigate his illness, not at that precise moment, and it would most likely take him at least a decade to develop all the necessary pharmaceutical variety, and even then he had diseases he had to eradicate as a priority, such as influenza, measles or smallpox, so he could only leave the old king to his fate. Now he could only bring the best masters of the citadel, to make things a little easier, so he had asked that both Orwyle and Gerardys be brought to them. Leaving aside, the scandal he had made by throwing his chains to the ground, the citadel had massively sided with Vaegon, as they quickly understood the other options. In addition, Vaegon promised them that when he ascended to the throne, they would have a greater role in the government. For although some might think it would be foolish, Westeros needed a technocracy, and in many respects the Maesters could be of great use, especially if they took into account that any influence the crown gained would be lost to the Hightower. For the time being, he had already granted the citadel an annual rent of ten thousand gold dragons, which undoubtedly proved his good faith.

Naturally this encouraged him to tighten his grip on the capital. To begin with, he had surrounded both Daemon and Viserys with guards, under precise instructions to be watched at all times. He did not want them close, so he ordered their "temporary lodging" in the tower of the white sword, where Daemon would have to deal with the best knights of the kingdom at the slightest foolishness. To take no chances, he had ordered the Pozodragon guard tripled, and had given precise orders to arrest anyone who entered without his direct and written permission, either from Vaegon himself or from the king. As for the city, Vaegon had decided to make a renovation. Although, he had already appointed Sir Harold as commander of the city, he followed the advice Septimius Severus gave his sons at his death "enrich the soldiers and forget everything else" and Vaegon quickly doubled the salary of the city guard, and made reforms such as giving them their famous golden cloaks and new weaponry, he left Sir Harold to remodel the training of the guard, as he saw fit. However, he was also forced to show a firm hand with corruption, and ordered the execution of Luthor Largent among other captains of the guard who were involved in corruption. And in a short time Vaegon already had an army loyal to himself, although he already had Draconys.

These events coincided with the arrival in the capital of all the lords supreme of the seven kingdoms, as the king had ordered. The first to arrive was Lord Tymmond Lannister, with all the pomp of his family, followed by Lord Mattos Tyrell, accompanied by his vassals Hightower, Tarly, Florent and Redwyne, and Lord Elmo Tully, soon also came the fearsome Boremund Baratheon, Lord Ellard Stark along with his vassals, Bolton, Karstarks, Mormont and Manderly among others, and finally, though very reluctantly Lady Jane Arryn. But Vaegon did not meet with any of them until the day after the last of the lords arrived, leaving the reception to Otto Hightower,

The next day all the lords went to the throne room, and there in front of Jaehaerys they swore allegiance to Vaegon. Some were surprised as was the case of the lords of the Dominion, others like Lord Stark did not agree, but they obeyed the king's orders. Lord Boremund and Lady Arryn did so reluctantly, but the rest remained indifferent. Vaegon was not exactly attractive, but he wore a black doublet that gave him a little more poise, however he was fragile, and it went unnoticed that leaning on his staff, he was a poor last-minute replacement to avoid a civil war. For this reason, at the reception banquet in his honor, Vaegon rose heavily to address his future vassals.

"My lords" said Vaegon aware that his position was still not entirely solid "I am neither Aemon nor Baelon, but I assure you that I am not a weak man...as you may already know two moons ago, a dragon burst into the capital causing chaos. That dragon now serves me, accompany me to the gardens and there you will see the supreme dragon," said Vaegon.

Then, somewhat intrigued, the lords and the court accompanied Vaegon and Jaehaerys in retinue. For it was necessary to remember the authority of the old king.

There the gardens were empty except for Vermithor, and only the soft wind from near the sea, and some chill of the night, in spite of the thickness of the walls, was felt. But hardly anything could be seen, for the torches. For a few uncomfortable moments, nothing happened. Instead, some like Lord Baratheon let out a snort, and Lady Arryn arched an eyebrow. However, the lords took note of the seriousness of the court, and of the words Lord Hightower was having with his brother.

But the sound of the same wind tearing chilled their blood. Then in the midst of the darkness, Draconys appeared, glowing in the darkness with the purest gold, they noticed his red eyes, while his body had the same electricity running through it. Draconys let out a roar, and everyone was intimidated by the gigantic dragon, which already reached nine hundred and sixty feet in height, practically tripling Balerion. This puzzled Vaegon, for he did not know how long the dragon would continue to grow. Otherwise, the dragon was showing increasingly powerful abilities, one of which he began to put into practice.

Before the astonished eyes of everyone, including the king himself. Vaegon levitated, being lifted to over three thousand feet, where he had saw only insignificant glimmers in a capital, whose population had been put on notice by the golden guard. Vaegon gave a signal, and Draconys employed his powers to levitate everyone without exception. There was much shouting, not even Lord Stark could maintain his stoicism, and even Lord Baratheo pissed himself as he was quite drunk.

"My lords!" shouted Vaegon in a powerful voice "Look at the horizon!" he shouted pointing to the sea "Now you will see the power of a supreme dragon!" shouted Vaegon "Dracarys!" he shouted lowering his arm forcefully.

Then Draconys opened his mouth, through which nine uros would fit without any problem. Almost all of them had to cover their eyes or turn their eyes, so as not to be blinded. But out of the dragon's mouth came a sphere as bright as the sun. At first it was only fifteen feet, but it grew tenfold as it moved away at a speed unimaginable for the time. Then, when they could see it in the distance, it was over five thousand feet high. There was a deathly silence, the dragon's eyes lit up even brighter and the sphere exploded, engulfing the sky in golden flames. At least it spanned the twenty leagues, becoming visible from Dragonstone and Driftmark, or enveloping Rosby's sky. Aside from the thunderous noise, a shower of thunder could be seen and heard crashing over the sea, some even passing within millimeters of the skin. Draconys roared in the most magnificent way possible, and Vaegon left them staring at the bleeding sky, while the guard could barely contain the plain people.

Once they were back on the ground, Vaegon accompanied his father to the chambers, who already looked very weakened, leaving those present stunned. The power of Draconys would still ravage the sky for another hour, until finally the dragon returned to his shelter to care for his brood. Then, accompanied by four guards, he marched through the corridors of Maegor's keep, and entered the king's offices.

Vaegon sat by the light of the lanterns, and waited while the door was opened by a royal guard, making way for Lord Stark. The latter had regained his stoicism, though inwardly he was still in shock at what he had just witnessed, but he bowed to Vaegon.

"My prince," he said in his usual somber tone, "what do you require of me?"

"Lord Stark, please take a seat" said Vaegon offering him a chair "would you care for some wine?"

"I thank you, but at my age it does not suit me as well as it used to" said Lord Errad taking a seat. And it was true, he must have at most four years left to live at best.

"Well lord Ellard...am I stealing someone's right to the throne?" she asked him directly.

The lord was hardly fazed.

"Of course not" acknowledged lord Stark "you have been appointed prince of Dragonstone by the king."

Vaegon nodded.

"Half a year ago, my brother was my father's heir, but now I am" he replied "I have no friends, and I know that people don't like me, and that you would prefer my niece Rhaenys as heir, following the laws of the first men. Plus there is the fact that I swore an oath as maester, many years ago now...some might see me as a perjurer."

And it was true, Vaegon was discarded by the nobility at the council of Harrenhall due to the fact that he had taken vows as a maester and was considered unfit to aspire to the throne.

"The king ordered you to renounce the chain," Lord Stark recalled. At least that was what he had put in the letter.

"So he did, but I fear my nephews do not so agree with that opinion" Vaegon acknowledged "They think the throne is a right, and they are wrong, it is a duty, to ensure peace. The north has been under Stark rule for over eight millennia, you have repulsed the Ironborn, the Andals and survived the harsh winters. All this was not achieved out of personal ambition, but out of a desire to survive, the united mana survives...that is what sets you apart from the rest of the kingdoms."

"Yes, it is," Lord Stark acknowledged gravely.

Then Vaegon showed him a parchment, and asked him to read it. It detailed how Vaegon undertook to return the feast to House Stark, to ensure the maintenance of the Night's Watch, among other things exempting the North from paying taxes during the winters. But there was a strange concession that said industrial drive.

"What does the latter mean?" the lord asked quizzically.

"Sustained economic growth...at least that could be said" he replied with a smile "of course all that in exchange for Northern support in a council or war that might happen."

"A council?" he asked quizzically.

"That's right, as a last resort before a civil war...I don't want to give a pause to a rebellion by the sons of my late brothers."

Lord Ellard signed the agreement without objection.

"The king's word is law" he acknowledged stoically. But he knew that the agreement was a very good one, besides with that dragon involved, he did not doubt for a second the prince's eventual victory. Especially since Vermithor was reputed to be the second largest living dragon in the known world, and Draconys practically quadrupled his size.

After the prince respectfully took his leave and returned to his quarters, Vaegon did the same. "I've got the north now," he said to himself before going to sleep. He awoke of a very good morning, and after breakfasting some bread and cheese, he met with Lord Tymmond Lannister and Lord Elmo Tully, separately. To Lord Lannister, he of course offered him a seat on the council, and to make his son Jason his squire, and his son Tyland his royal cupbearer, apart from the promise to allow him to found his own bank, something that surprised him, but Lord Laniister was not stupid by any means, and he knew perfectly well that, in case of war, with Draconys under his command, Vaegon would be the clear winner. Something similar happened with Lord Elmo Tully to whom he offered an infrastructure program for the Riverlands, as well as a tax exemption for thirty years, and to make his grandson, Elmo, a royal ward.

Now that he had three kingdoms on his side, he still had the Dominion to convince. Vaegon did not see fit to offer anything to Baratheon and Arryn, knowing that the former was as stubborn as a mule, and only obeyed the king's orders. On the other hand, Lady Arryn would most likely remain neutral, and it was not opportune to give her anything, he doubted he could count on her.

He arranged a meeting with Lord Tyrell in Pozodragon. House Tyrell, ruling the most prosperous area of the seven kingdoms, was not so easy to persuade. On the other hand, the Tyrells had remained neutral during the dragon dance, so he had to "set them straight" as soon as possible.

Entering Pozodragon, Lord Tyrell was greeted by three dozen guards, with Vaegon sitting in a chair waiting for him. Vaegon looked him over carefully, he was not an old man but he was just short of being one, as he walked, impressed by the wreckage Draconys had caused a few months before.

"Lord Tyrell" said Vaegon with a smile "I thank you deeply for coming at my invitation."

The lord looked somewhat quizzical, but he was expectant, for the news had flown fast and it did not take him long to learn that Lord Lannister's sons would be squire and cupbearer respectively, so such a prebend was expected.

"It is an honor my prince," he said politely.

"I wanted to show you the home of the dragons of my house" For now.

Pozodragon was an immense place, but dark, barely illuminated in its corridors by torches. One could hear the grunts of some dragon, and the squeals of a pig being devoured. Vaegon walked at a leisurely pace, while Lord Tyrell was frightened. They were accompanied by about ten guards from the building.

Vaegon stopped, and asked to take a good look at the cell, there they saw the fire-dragon sleeping soundly. Lord Tyrell did so with a mixture of fascination and fear.

"It is Firedream, the dragon of my late Aunt Rhaena, and the largest dragon to be found in Pozodragon" he told him. Though Firedream was large, he could not compare to Draconys in the slightest.

And they moved on to another cell, in which stood the bloody wyvern.

"That's Caraxes, he was my brother Aemon's dragon, and he is my nephew Daemon's dragon...they are very attached" The dragon roared violently at them, and Lord Tyrell shivered as they continued their tour.

"They are indeed formidable..." said lord Tyrell.

Vaegon glared at him.

"More than my Draconys?" he inquired curiously.

"Of course not!" cried lord Tyrell in fright "there must be no greater dragon than yours!"

"That's right" acknowledged Vaegon calmly "You are correct lord Gardener."

Lord Tyrell was surprised to be called by that name. And Vaegon put a hand to his head.

"Forgive me for my mistake...House Gardener disappeared a century ago...yes...I remember, when my great-grandfather exterminated King Mern, along with his sons and grandsons in field of fire. Yes Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes. Balerion, the dragon of my nephew Viserys, already died, Meraxes did it in Dorne and Vhagar do you see the destruction of the entrance? Draconys grabbed Vhagar by the neck with a claw, he beat her and threw her in the air to the other end of the city. Meleys, my niece Rhaenys' dragon, is not much bigger than Caraxes, and he is smaller than Firedream."

Vaegon paused, which brought the lord's fears to the surface even more.

"I was not destined to reign, but fate has willed me to be king...tell me lord Tyrell can I trust you?"

"Of course my prince, I would give my life for you!" said lord Tyrell unable to hide his nervousness.

"If my nephews were to rise up against me, who would you support?"

"You without a doubt!" he replied in fright.

Vaegon nodded.

"My ancestor was very generous to the Tyrells, he granted the title of Lords of Highgarden to those who had been the stewards for generations of the Gardener, for the simple fact of being to surrender the ancestral stronghold of their late lord...passing over houses that in theory are much nobler and older, such as the Florent, the Tarly or the Hightower...but my great grandfather chose the Tyrells simply because they proved to be loyal to him from the beginning.I will call a council, to ratify my position...I hope to have your support in peace and war...right?"

"Of course you have!" said Lord Tyrell.

"Good to know" said Vaegon with a cold smile "It seems it's a bit late now...I won't steal any more of your precious time, but I insist...take a carriage to the red fortress, there I will treat you to a fine banquet, like the rest of the lords."

Now it remained for him to win over the common people.