A/N: At long last, the coronation ceremony! Afterwards will be kingdom-building chapters as part of the post-epilogue! Thanks to all who followed me this far!
Thanks to Wobb Nox, filipinosberman, FieryMatter and Ascalon on SB for beta-ing.
Chapter LXXI: Dawn of Hope
41 AC
First Moon
Rhoyehom
Crowds gathered at the courtyard of the newly dubbed Imperial Palace of Rhoyehom, a festive and joyous mood infesting the populace like the bright rays of a morning sunrise, like a gentle dew to cool the oppressive sun's heat. Smallfolk, nobles, merchants and soldiers alike lined up in an orderly manner, dressed in the finest clothes they could afford for this special, once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
All of this, despite the devastation of the War of Unification.
Arin and Belandra Rada knelt before the new Maiyehram of Amtel Mar, Nymeria Castanor. A comely woman in her early thirties, Nymeria Castanor had as much sensuality as her compassion and wisdom. She placed crowns upon their foreheads, simple circlets of enchanted steel inlaid with three sapphires. Love, Harmony and Unity, the gentle blue reflecting tranquility amidst a chaotic world of fire and brimstone.
"Now come the days of the Emperor and the Empress," Nymeria smiled, "And may they be blessed."
Arin smiled at Maiyehram Nymeria, then at Belandra, and then to the audience, who let out a round of applause as flower petals were scattered like rain.
Standing before the people, Arin addressed the people in a booming, weathered yet clear voice.
"Long were the days of war, of chaos, strife and disunity, when nobles waged wars over petty, trivial differences and legal disputes that could have been settled civilly," Arin began, "Now let us welcome these days of peace and prosperity, that war and strife shall become distant memories."
As he spoke those words, Arin Rada himself reflected on all the events that happened, all the trials and tribulations he was forced to endure alongside friends and family to get to this point.
From humble beginnings in a province of Dorne, born to a house protecting a dying legacy and strangled by hostile neighbours who wanted its downfall, Arin had to begin enacting his plans from the tender age of ten-and-four just to ensure his house's survival.
Military force, economic power and political manoeuvring were critical in eliminating the houses of House Rada's rivals, securing control over their land and expanding their control of Dorne sevenfold. From there they continued to expand their power rapidly for years until the fateful day the dragonlords of House Targaryen declared their intent to conquer the Seven Kingdoms.
Many Dornish wanted to keep their foolish notion of independence, but Arin chose to bend the knee and declare his support, going as far as to brand himself rebel and traitor to House Martell - a now dead house that spat upon its legacy.
That same rebel defied all odds and usurped House Martell as the Master of Dorne, uniting the east in preparation for an invasion by the Reach, which he handily beat back at heavy cost.
For three decades he continued to build up Dorne's power and connections, making an unlikely ally in the North in the form of Eckard Blodfeld, Master of Gosmerch, Lord of Moat Cailin. He fought in many wars and expanded into the Stepstones, and in Essos, they butchered any and all who would take offense to a barbaric Westeros rising in power above them all. Myr, Pentos, Lys, Tyrosh, Volantis, Braavos, all fell.
Braavos, the Bastard Daughter of Valyria, home of the Iron Bank and its subtle arm of power, the Faceless Men, burned when the Lion of Night broke free of his seal and wreaked havoc, and many casualties were sustained before the gods Rhoynamhari and Balerion Father of All Dragons killed him for good. Aegon the Conqueror - more like Aegon the Arrogant Prick, he mused - suffered heavily in the war, his dragon Balerion dying of his wounds.
When Aenys took the throne, Maegor Targaryen declared his rebellion, seizing the Iron Throne and King's Landing by force, he and his fellow like-minded siblings forever tarnished with the crime of kinslaying.
The battle for Dorne's survival was a harrowing affair, with countless villages and towns burned and the Dornish army and navy slowly being bled dry in a war of attrition aimed at wearing down the defenders, before the invaders finally unleashed their strength in a final head-on confrontation.
The second Battle of the Eyarha Plains was a very close battle, with the exhausted Dornish having to fight a freshly rested Stormlander-Crownlander Army just after fighting off Targaryen and Reachmen incursions. Yet as fate would have it, the Targaryens lost all their dragonriders and countless talented generals along with a great portion of their fighting strength. This pyrrhic victory had far-reaching consequences for all of Westeros, with the Targaryens being knocked down hard as fast as they rose to power.
Then, one by one, all the Seven Kingdoms fell to his banner. In the Iron Islands, the Drowned God made a huge show of power, intending to maintain control of his domain and drive out the intruders, only to himself be killed by other gods as the Lion of Night was, the Storm God having contributed his fair share.
And now, here he was, crowned Emperor. Not a king, never a king, not for a land as vast as Westeros. He was Emperor, the progenitor of a supreme dynasty that shall last for centuries to come.
He was no longer just the Master of Dorne.
He was now the Master of Westeros.
IIOII
Excerpt from 'Westeros: Rise and Fall of an Empire', by Scholar Doran Radthir
When Arin Rada took the throne as Emperor of Westeros in 41 AC, it was a clear message to any and all that he had no intention of allowing the previous divisions between the kingdoms to remain as Aegon did, as was amply evidenced before by his merciless purging of the old houses.
As Emperor, he named Rhoyehom capital of Westeros, and spent his entire reign shifting the court there. A process that would normally take a decade, it was vastly shortened due to the efficiency of Dorne's bureaucracy and the preexisting institutional infrastructure in place.
Furthermore, his rule was to be temporary; no one expected such an elderly couple to rule for long, and Arin made the most of it.
His first policies were as followed:
The most destitute farmers, merchants and other Smallfolk were to be exempt from taxes for five years.
Merchants shall be granted greater rights to starting new businesses elsewhere, all transportation costs and royalties covered.
Farmers shall be granted surplus seeds, livestock and educated help in new farming methods to increase productivity.
All other armies and navies were to be absorbed into the Imperial Army and Navy, troops and officers to undergo mandatory retraining or resign with a generous severance pay.
Roads on key trade routes were to undergo immediate upgrades into stone paved roads following the Ifarahoyan Road construction methods, with further expansions subject to review.
All nobles were to follow the new noble hierarchy system of Dorne with immediate effect and obey the new laws, or be demoted to commoners.
The crown would purchase a tenth of the farmers' harvests at generous prices.
Magistrates were now the new governors of towns and cities, composed of merchants and other educated Smallfolk or nobles, if they earned the position. Villages shall be governed by mayors, elected from among the villagers. Any and all who try to buy their way into such positions shall be severely punished.
All tariffs on trade were to be immediately repealed.
Only the ruling Emperor/Empress shall name the new Most Devout/Maiyehram/Archdruid of the Westerosi faiths. No elections shall be held, no successors to be named by other parties.
Education was to be made public and all books to be copied extensively, public libraries and schools to provide quality education to everyone regardless of race, language and religion.
All people of the Empire were to learn two languages: Standard Westerosi and their Mother Tongue - their native ethnic language.
Such reforms would take up to three years minimum to achieve basic results, and especially with Arin Rada's short term rule, having a fully staffed government and a properly groomed heir with the necessary experience under his/her belt would ensure a smooth transition of power to the next ruler.
Championing the reforms was the Lord Chancellor of Westeros, Huang Xue, soon to be succeeded by his heir Huang Tian Ming, his mastery of bureaucracy unparalleled by all others. His no-nonsense attitude and sharp tongue ensured that the remaining nobles fell in line, and there was no deviancy from the overall policy despite constant adjustments.
Elanzo Aresaryn became the Grand Duke of Krystogharia, master of his former homeland, and Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy. Reforming and reorganising the various feudal fleets was a herculean task for others, yet for him it was simply another day of boring, monotonous work.
Ser Jaehaerys Calderon was made Grand Duke of the Crownlands, now renamed Calderia in his honour. Though he was not as highly talented as some of Arin's inner circle, he was a force of stability, his reputation as a man of honour and loyalty endearing him to the locals despite their initial reluctance.
The Tian Feng Huang, the Yi-Tish Triad gang masquerading as merchants, was fully integrated as the intelligence arm of the Imperial monarchy, responsible for doing all sorts of deniable and distasteful tasks with little to no concern for collateral damage, with Gongmak Phoq as the Chairman.
General Franklyn Doratarn was named Warmaster of the Empire, second-in-command of all the nation's militaries. Having fought in various battles all across the continent and in Essos he was perfect for the role, and he and the power he wielded served as a deterrent to any and all of Westeros's neighbours who considered starting war with the rising power.
Garen Kalran, Archmage of the Hydromancers, retained his position and was tasked with training new Hydromancers to replace those lost, both in Dorne and elsewhere. A shocking discovery they found was that now, the Hydromancers had control over ocean waters, perhaps owing to the defeat of the Drowned God by Rhoynamhari. This greatly expanded their effectiveness in the vast oceans.
Byram Caethir, the new Grand Duke of the Vale, would integrate the Mountain Clansmen into greater Valeman society after defeating all the chieftains in personal combat and subduing the rest, putting to rest an ancestral grudge and uniting the Vale in full. He would also personally oversee the thorough integration of the Three Sisters to bring them to heel.
Asha Hodrudson, Grand Duchess of the Iron Islands, was tasked with pacifying and integrating her homeland into the Empire proper. A Smallfolk elevated to noble status, she was chosen purely for her inability to offend anyone, and for her ability to swiftly smooth ruffled feathers - a political figurehead. True power lay in the hands of her husband Ayden, a Crannogman noble of Gosmerch, who had the political and bureaucratic acumen needed for such a position of immense responsibility.
Large deposits of iron ore, coal and other ores were found on the Iron Isles. With countless furnaces popping up alongside farms, fisheries and trade ports, many migrants from other parts of Westeros and even Essos settled here in search of job opportunities. Gradually these migrants intermarried with the locals, diluting the local culture and outnumbering the hardcore conservatives. Missionaries from the North and Dorne also converted the locals away from the Drowned God, and their combined presence resulted in a strange syncretism where the Mother Rhoyne was the Supreme Goddess and the Old Gods her servants.
Thus, the Old Way was consigned to a slow and painful death.
As for Lady Elaegelle Rada, she chose to instead found an order of dragon riding knights sworn solely to the kingdom, dedicated to protecting it from external threats and internal rebels and, if necessary, forcefully intervene to stop petty conflicts in the ruling dynasty. People would question why the ruling Imperial family did not have dragons when Elaegelle's family did. This issue would be rectified long after Arin's time.
The Dragonguard, Westeros's order of dragon-riding knights, operated by a special set of rules. Not only were they not allowed to pass their dragons or eggs to their children, they had to surrender them upon leaving the order for any reason. Only thoroughly vetted veterans were permitted to join the order and even then, they had to pass an extremely strict training regime that taught them dragonriding skills and indoctrinated loyalty to the Empire.
For three whole years, Arin Rada ruled as Emperor. After three years, they abdicated in favour of their eldest daughter Azella, the first woman to rule Westeros after ascending the throne in 44 AC. Both Arin and Belandra Rada passed peacefully together in 45 AC, a year after their abdication, content that their dream was finally realised. They would sit silently under the canopy of a wisteria tree - a tree of romanticism.
Azella would rule for a full decade, following her father's reforms and ensuring the Empire remained peaceful. She would further integrate problematic regions including the Iron Islands and the Riverlands, connecting them all through stone roads and trade routes and increasing mutual prosperity for all, while strengthening Westeros's alliances with the Summer Isles and Daeria.
Her reign was widely considered unremarkable compared to her esteemed father's, yet it bothered her not in the slightest. In fact, considering all the chaos and terror Westeros and Essos were subject to, a peaceful and stable reign was far more desirable to the war-weary people who had lost enough to the flames of strife.
And this was not to say Azella was an unaccomplished, unremarkable ruler; by all accounts she was a most worthy successor. She achieved first blood against the Dothraki in Essos, making a name for herself as a competent and flexible strategist with the bravery and grit of a warrior. As Khaleesi of the Bhreynar, she succeeded in achieving a feat none had ever achieved or considered: Integration and civilization of a barbaric people.
The Bhreynar came to be highly renowned warriors with a strong equestrian tradition, their cataphracts and horse archers a terror on the open plains of Essos and Westeros. She and her husband Temujin led them to victory countless times against the Midnight Scourge in the Disputed Lands, devastating large hordes and granting stragglers time to breathe for a counterattack, or to cover their retreat.
And in the Defense of Dorne, her rapid-response units saved several villages from total destruction, or else the casualty count would have been much higher. She had even managed to personally claim the heads of several enemy generals using daring surprise attacks, brazenly charging through the battlefield with only a dozen cavalry to strike at the main encampments. And it was during her rule that the Free Cities of Lorath, Norvos and Qoherys were forced to maintain a peace between them, and any who dared raid the Empire's lands were mercilessly dealt with.
Azella peacefully passed away in 60 AC, surrounded by friends and family. She was succeeded by her eldest son Aron Rada at the age of fifty-and-one. Owing to his advanced age, he would only rule for a single day though before abdicating in favour of his own daughter Ismaria Rada, and through marriage to Elaegelle's grandson Arras, bore children that came to be dragonriders of House Rada.
And so at long last, the Imperial Family had dragons, marking them as the undisputed rulers of the Empire.
In comparison to his accomplished predecessors, Ismaria herself was a rather unremarkable woman in every aspect. A mediocre woman in terms of skill, charisma and political savviness, some naysayers would deride her as a disappointment to the Rada name.
I, however, believe a mediocre ruler was exactly what the Empire needed.
If an empire were to be ruled by a lineage of only accomplished and talented leaders like His Majesty Arin Rada and his daughter Azella, it would place immense strain upon both the Imperial Family and the courtiers, for the ruler would become too self-assured of his own power and security, making him blind and ignorant to the opinions and agendas of his own court. Worse still, it would make her countless enemies eager to bring her down and risk destabilising the empire with such internal strife.
In short, we would have a repeat of what happened between King Aenys Targaryen and Prince Maegor Targaryen.
Of course, this by no means meant Ismaria was a weak ruler; she was suitably strong and determined, and had an unparalleled eye for people, allowing her to sort out the corrupt from the loyal and impartial. Under her rule, the Empire of Westeros entered its first Golden Age of prosperity, an unparalleled age of economic prosperity and military supremacy.
Through a combination of diplomatic pressure, political subterfuge, economic dominance and just cause, the Free Cities of Norvos, Qoherys and Lorath were peacefully annexed into the Empire, and the Old Blood was allowed to keep their wealth and lives, though if they wished to enter politics again, they had to do so by pure merit.
Expeditions were chartered to the Basilisk Isles, and the isle of Gogossos in particular held very nasty surprises in the form of Chimeras - monstrous amalgamations of flesh from Humans and beasts - experiments of the Valyrians of yore. Killing them was a terrible chore, yet even more terrible was the disease they carried: The Red Death.
A highly contagious pathogen, it quickly spread to the ships' crews and soldiers, and they had to be quarantined while under treatment to avoid spreading the disease beyond. They pulled through, but not without suffering losses, and through this near-disaster, medical practices would be updated to include disease-prevention and quarantine measures should such calamities befall the Empire.
And despite the initial challenges, the treasure trove of arcane lore and Valyrian Steel found within the complex's libraries more than made the expedition worth it. The Dragonguard would outfit their knights and dragons in armour made of the material.
Trade was at an all-time high, the maritime trade network - popularly known as the Silk Road - stretching from Westeros to Yi-Ti, Qaath, Great Moraq and even beyond. Colonies were founded in eastern Essos, where they made contact with the lost Northern expedition from the days of Brandon the Burner, and in the lands of Sorthoyos and Ulthos. New cultures and civilisations were founded while old ones continued to change, adapt and evolve.
Even the Dothraki were not spared this change. Where once they were but simple horse-riding barbarians who delighted in raiding, pillaging and carnage, they were forced to adapt, splitting into several different culture groups as they began to settle down; some settled in the remnant cities of Sarnor, a kingdom they once brought low; some went to the Joghos Nhai, where they settled down and fought against Yi-Tish soldiers; some would settle close to the Empire's lands, where they willingly became vassals of Westeros in exchange for peace and security.
As for the Targaryens and their followers? They bided their time and slowly built their power and influence, and once their dragons were fully grown, they forcefully wrested control of the city of Astapor. It is said that the then leader of House Targaryen, Vaegon, bought all ten thousand Unsullied from the Good Masters with chests of gold and gemstones, then after being given command, commanded them to storm the pyramids and butcher any and all who stood in their way of controlling the city.
The Good Masters and their families were slaughtered to the last. While in the past House Targaryen would spare them by virtue of their Valyrian Blood alone, over the years they cultivated a loyal following of Valyrian-blooded followers - mercenaries and scholars from Calderia - who stood ready to take over the ruling of the city.
Vaegon Targaryen would proceed to conquer the entirety of the Red Wastes, subjecting Yunkai and Mereen to the same fate, freeing the slaves and declaring them his citizens. Afterwards he turned his eyes towards the isle of New Ghis, which he promptly conquered and assimilated into his kingdom, thus ending the Ghiscari and their slaving ways for good. Riding high on a wave of popularity, he declared himself King of Tymeria, and he would build his Kingdom into a power that would gradually become a rival to the Empire of Westeros.
His predecessors treated dragons as the supreme pinnacle of power, weapons blessed by the gods. Vaegon treated them as no more than another cog in the machine of Tymeria, determined to not repeat the same mistakes that brought his house low.
Whether he despised Arin Rada and his house for dethroning them, none could truly say, though it is known that he never believed his family capable of ever reclaiming their former home, such was the reality.
For a full four centuries, House Rada would rule supreme, the Empire of Westeros surpassing the glories of the old Rhoynar City-States, the Dawn of Heroes and even the ancient Valyrian Empire at its height.
Thus, Arin's Conquest was complete...
A/N: A development of Westeros's history post story will follow after this.