4 -Thanks!
Bio RL - Westeros is not the size of South America...it is closer to the size of Australia. Elamaerys is about...a third of it.
Chris-GMP - Yup. Aegon is in a difficult position. How can anyone really choose between one side of the family? Better not to do than be responsible for any of the tragedy.
RandoMando47 - I think soil erosion is something the Westerosi are very well aware off tbf. They'd been farming thier lands for like ten thousand years. I wouldn't be too concerned about it to be fair.
freeraynman - Female Targs have to marry in a matrilineal line if they marry outside of the family if they want to pass on dragons to their children. They can still have dragonriders as children but this is not a compromise to be made.
Everyone Else, Thank you for your reviews and comments, I always read them even if I don't respond to them.
As always, please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.
Note: If you would like to read ahead, the next three chapters after this chapter are available on P. .^T.^R.^E.^O.^N./ Boombox117
Mid to Late 123 AC – Elamaerys
Vaegon Targaryen POV
"Archmaester Vaegon."
The call of his name broke him out of his reading and made him look up from the scroll to see who it was. A young man of Essosi origin, no more than five and ten namedays, one of the new apprentices he'd deemed adequate for the Library.
Jorem? Joren? Or was it Jonor?
"Yes?" Vaegon queried in a dead flat tone of voice as he looked back down and continued to write whilst he perused the scroll that was in front of him, which was far more interesting than anything the boy could have to say.
It was a scroll, a copy of a copy of a copy, almost certainly the true iteration of the scroll he had having been lost to time, and it was written in High Valyrian, the original supposedly having been written in the Sarnori language, and it was a document that chronicled the rise – and fall – of a Sarnori warrior-king named Nuhzhor during the height of the Sarnori people's civilisation, which was some time between the second and fourth Ghiscari Wars.
Nuhzhor, after more than twenty years of nonstop warring and politicking, supposedly united the fickle Sarnori city-states into a united Kingdom of Sarnor, not seen since the hero king of myth who created the Kingdom of Sarnor.
The young man cleared his throat before he spoke again. "His Grace Archon has requested your presence at the Keep."
There were references to this warrior-king in the records at the Citadel, which he'd accidentally learned off in his more youthful base desires to learn more about Valyria from the archives present at the Citadel, but none which detailed the life and work of this man, which also coincidentally made the first references of a people who shared similarity to the Dothraki, which was the earliest references he'd ever encountered by at least three thousand years…
"…Archmaester?"
Vaegon looked up, finally, and levelled a hard stare at the young man from behind his glasses.
"I…I can come back a little later?"
"That would be best." Vaegon said flatly before he continued to read from the scroll and took down his notes for his final book 'A History of Planetos: The Origins of Peoples.'
It was a some time later before Vaegon was satisfied enough that he left his reading at an appropriate point and after he placed back the scroll in its proper place, did he make his way out of the Histories section of the Library with his bag of supplies, the dull thumps of his walking stick echoing throughout the voluminous chamber, and finally through the Central Library which had been expanded three years ago.
The young man found him again and soon escorted him through the building, in silence as he preferred, and it wasn't long before he was stepping down the marble steps of the so called 'Great Library of Elamaerys' in the rain.
There may be tens of thousands of books, tomes and scrolls in the building, but it had some way to go before it could be deemed great.
But Vaegon could admit to himself that perhaps in time it would earn such a epithet, he thought as he glanced over at the other building beside the Library.
A dome-shaped building with several smaller dome-roofed buildings beside it, most of them being workshops of a kind working on one thing or another, with intricately shaped pillars that framed the ten feet redwood doors that lead into the bosom of the building where there were 'classrooms' where acolytes and apprentices were taught subjects of interest by adequate scholars that included as much as natively trained men as it did scholars from around the Known World, who Aegon and his people had arranged to come to Elamaerys to teach.
Over the years, they'd worked to separate the Library from the Institute building so as to give it its own domain. He'd seen it happen, at the Citadel, where most turned out to be no more than glorified upkeepers of ancient texts instead of inhabiting what was essential to being what it meant to be Maester…a scholar.
To question everything and to build upon the knowledge of your forebearers.
If this Institute was to remain what Aegon declared it would be, long after his death, then it was better that there was a separation between archivists and those who were encouraged and focused on research and development, using the doctrine of the 'Scientific Method'.
Vaegon saw the carriage intended for him, parked in front of the Library, and made his way towards it.
"Archmaester." The coachman said with a bow of the head as he held out the open door to the horsedrawn carriage, and Vaegon waved away any aid in getting into the damnable carriage as he forced himself up the steps and into the seat, and he let off a heavy sigh of exertion as he rested his head against the back cushion.
Vaegon pulled at the pull-whip and a bell chimed, signalling the coachman to begin moving and soon enough, the carriage began moving and after a jittery disruptive beginning, the carriage ride became more comfortable.
These new carriages had a 'suspension' system, a contraption of springs that with combination with the wheels at the aft being larger than the wheels at the front, made it possible for carriage rides to be more endurable, especially as the stone and brick roads were utterly detestable.
Vaegon looked out from the window as the noise from the outside grew as they rode into the central road that lead away from the riverfront to that hill of Aegon's.
The Guild Buildings had grown in numbers. There were over thirty different Guild Buildings now, from Weavers to Blacksmiths to Carpenters to Glassmakers, with numbers ranging from a few dozen to a few thousand.
Vaegon set his eyes on the sign of the newest Guild Building which was small compared to most other buildings. It was three squiggly lines that denoted water.
The Plumber's Guild.
Vaegon furrowed his brows slightly as he recalled that led to its creation.
Aegon, as part of his drive to apply practical application of knowledge, created a grant system. The Grants, which could be as little as hundred golden dragon to as much as one thousand golden dragons, and a cash price of two thousand dragons, were for inventions that were able to meet the criteria, namely a specific application or group of applications, and would see the prospective inventor, upon approval, given the grant with the requisite requirement to provide evidence or conclusions of their research and development at the bare minimum.
The Plumber's Guild had been the consequence of one of these successful inventions.
Alesander, a scholar and now Head of the Plumber's Guild, successfully developed a group of practical applications collated from the collective knowledge of water pressure and flows, that the common man could understand, and how this can be used to create private latrines in the homes of the common people.
And it started with the creation of the Alesander Wells.
With Elamaerys city being at a lower elevation than the river upstream, the thing that brought Alesander fame and fortune, was the design of a pressurised system that could supply every home with pressurised water.
In time, of course.
The part of his design, the only part that was not rudimentary in Vaegon's eyes, was the observation of how low pressure areas form and suck air inwards from high pressure areas.
Alesander used this principle to create a constant waterflow system that can raise a dozen feet upwards, therefore supplying homes with water that is pressurised, even at a higher elevation than where the waterpipes were located.
In total there were something like two dozen new items and tools there were created to facilitate the creation of this design.
It would take at least a decade or two more before every home had such a system and presently it was only the latrines, which would have a means to rapidly expel the waste downstream with greater pressurised water, and the bathhouses, which now also included heated baths, that were enjoyed the fruits of these inventions.
And there were, to date, six and thirty different grants for research and development of inventions with 'practical applications', some that were centred around the notion of energy, steam and pressure such as the 'steam engine' or the device that Aegon called a 'timekeeping clock', with thrice that number currently in the 'submission' stage where scholars could submit a proposal of a new invention that could have such 'practical applications'.
Over the years, there had been a plethora of successful inventions, most that'd come from Aegon's 'nudges' in the form of theories and drawings, from the well of his 'future knowledge'.
Vaegon's eyes studied the faces of those who walked on the cobbled stone roads as he fell into a contemplative mood.
Aegon had promised to tell him about his 'source', the root of what he was doing, why he was doing it, and Vaegon could never have expected that the source, was this well of knowledge from a future society.
Vaegon would have thought him mad but…
With all that he's seen…
Ironically, it was not the magic that made him believe Aegon's tale of future knowledge but rather the way he knew things that made it clear that he had not developed the theory himself.
From his notions of how the planets move that did not weather detailed scrutiny to his understandings of biology, which again was…simplified and without critical analysis, not in the way Aegon champion in his doctrine of 'Scientific Method'.
"Hmm…fools…" Vaegon murmured as he looked away and closed his eyes. The commonfolk, including these scholars, all revered Aegon too much. Far too much.
Plenty of them were adequate, some even possessing impressive minds, like Jollos Foren, but none of them let themselves question how it was that Aegon knew what he knew, nor did they question why Aegon was so certain his ideas and theories were right and needed only to be 'proven', chalking it off to the same source that saw Elamaerys found. The 'visions' from the Gods.
Even if some took it upon themselves to disprove it rather than prove it, there was no denying that they believed that there was some truth or basis in Aegon's thinking and his theories.
And Vaegon was quite sure that Aegon knew that, and that he capitalised his status amongst these people to steer them exactly where he wanted them to go to.
"It won't last." Vaegon murmured to himself before he shook his head.
Aegon had built up the foundation of his drive on his popularity and status, and once he was gone? When his well of knowledge dried up? Could the drive towards improvements continue without the encouragement from Aegon?
Vaegon doubted it.
Castorys was an adequate heir as Archon, yes, and with the new system of governance prevents the abuse that would arise from inadequate heirs, reversals of policy may not become severe, but nevertheless, the way Aegon has set up this system of his is not strong enough to endure beyond his life.
Vaegon knew that Aegon intended to fully open the grant system to allow inventors to create companies, or guilds, that allowed them to keep ownership of a certain percentage of their inventions, but Vaegon thought it would not be enough to prevent the stifling of invention once groups that'd formed saw any more or further improvements or new inventions as a threat to their businesses.
Until that was resolved, the same issues that Aegon held in contempt of in Westeros would happen again here in Elamaerys. Vaegon had said nought on the matter. Aegon should have already figured out this problem already.
The journey towards the Keep was sedate once they were out of the inner city boundaries. By now, there were now a hundred thousand people who lived and worked in the city, which had grown substantially and more exponentially over the past few years with more and more people settling from Velos and from Lys, most of whom were coming with few practical skills that were needed and so, oft, were turned into labourers that helped build up the city at a faster rate.
Sixty thousand people surrounded the city on farmlands, private lands, or in small villages working in the countryside, the mines or the quarries.
In the next ten years, the total number of people on these lands was expected to exceed two hundred and fifty thousand people. Given how much land there was yet to be filled and how much of it was still unexplored in the interior, it was a small drop in the ocean compared to the millions of Westeros.
Yet Vaegon could see that it may not take as long as normally expected, if the birthrates continued at pace. Like rats, these people were multiplying.
There was not a grown woman that did not have a bundle of whelps around her teats, and with the encouragements that were given to continue to produce more children, by the end of this century, Vaegon would not be surprised if the population reached the million mark without any further additions from the outside.
A roar broke Vaegon from his thoughts and he looked through the window and saw the familiar colourings of Stormfyre, the bonded dragon of the youngest son of his sister, which seemed to carry quarried stone, before it landed atop the large hill.
Construction of the Keep had not yet started in earnest.
Vaegon's eyes went towards the base of the mountain, where his eyes settled on the gaudy black obelisk that towered over all other manmade structures, and a grimace formed on his face. Out of all the decisions Aegon had ever made, crafting that thing just to plant a dead weirwood seed, was the single most foolish one.
Truly, the greatest marvel of all that Aegon had accomplished was what he'd done to twist the Faith to accept magic so blatantly used. Even those who newly arrived from Velos, taught as they were about the Faith by the Septons, would not bat an eye at such displays of magic.
Vaegon shook his head. Nevertheless, most of the work had been done to begin creating ramparts and carving out flat surfaces into the side of the mountain. After that, the work of creating walls and fortifications on those flat surfaces was to start.
There were also steps and road up towards the top of the mountain carved out that began at the base of the mountain behind the ramparts. Vaegon's eyes went towards the right side of the works, settling his gaze on the gaping hole that had been carved out into the face of the hill far from the base, about one thirds up the hill, exactly where they were going.
To see dragons used in such a way, Vaegon thought with a shake of the head.
Not once had he ever heard of dragons used as mole rats. Digging out tons of earth each day. The closest he'd heard them being used in such a way outside of war and intimidation had been during the constructions of the fused stone roads and fused stone buildings and keeps.
Never as anything mundane as earth diggers.
That the dragons, Mīsaragorn and Tyraxes, were able to be bent to act in such a manner also spoke of an unnatural bond beyond anything he'd ever read.
Dragons were not mere mules that operated to the whims of man. They were beasts, ferocious beasts with a disturbing and unnatural amount of intelligence.
To obediently dig into earth…it was unnatural to the ultimate predators, even if they were dragons who were quelled into obedience.
Frustratingly, neither Polaerys or Aegon were able to tell him any more than that they shared a 'closer bond' to their dragons thanks to blood magic. He could make sense of it with Polaerys, whose blood had helped awaken the stone egg, but Aegon's claim was more…nonsensical.
That as an infant he must have bled on the stone in the crib.
A bold faced lie, Vaegon was sure.
The carriage arrived at the gates, where they were stopped by the guards posted there, before being allowed through once they realised it was Vaegon who was being taken there though not without one of the guards coming along as he sat beside the coachman.
They soon continued up the side of the mountain-like hill, the jerking of the carriage more severe, and it wasn't long before they arrived at the mouth of the tunnel and Vaegon exited the carriage cautiously.
"I have no need of your help." Vaegon's voice was curt as he struggled to keep his balance as he exited the carriage with some difficulty, and the guardsman stepped back as Vaegon bid though not without a flash of irritated anger that soon dispelled.
"Of course, Archmaester. His Grace Archon is inside." The guardsman said without any warmth before he soon left to speak to the guards who were at the sides of the tunnel.
Vaegon sighed lightly before he gripped his walking stick and made his way towards the tunnel. The area in front of the tunnel, which was two and a half times the as wide as Mīsaragorn, was wide and long enough for a dragon to build up enough speed to take off.
Vaegon stared at the tunnel for a long moment before he walked past the entrance.
One of the guardsmen, carrying a torch, preceded Vaegon's journey into the tunnel and a shock of wood hitting hard stone bounced against the cylindrical tunnel, causing Vaegon to stare at the walls as they walked further into the tunnel.
Fused stone.
The entire wall structure was made out of fused stone eight or more inches thick.
Aegon had determined the means of recreating the art using a combination of the stored fires in dragonglass and dragonflame, which depended on, according to Aegon, 'an understanding of the end result' as one manipulated the two forms of fire into permanence in fused stone.
Both dragonglass and dragonflame contained what Aegon called 'life energy', the same kinds of energy that existed in man, only different, and it was this manipulation that drew fused stone into existence as that energy was warped to cause an effect that 'deadened' soil and earth into lifeless creations, turning the soil and earth into near unbreakable stone.
In some ways, Aegon had argued, the stonemen cursed with grey scale, were afflicted with some variation of this effect.
The torch dimmed slightly, drawing Vaegon's attentions, and moments later, there was a tremor and a loud sound that washed over them.
The guardsman halted in his shock and Vaegon merely walked past the man without sending even a glance back to the man.
Still, the guardsman recovered and quickly caught up with Vaegon before he muttered something to himself under his breath.
It was some while later that they arrived at the central chamber, which was at a slightly higher elevation than the mouth of the exit tunnel, had to admit that it was some sight.
The central chamber was massive. Five hundred feet tall and twice that in length, the central chamber was dome shaped, with 'pocket' like cutouts that were intended to house the dragons in their stables, each of them several hundreds of feet in width and in depth.
Vaegon looked towards his left side and gazed upon the ramp before he looked across the chamber. The second level was built over the bottom pockets and extended around the contour of the chamber before there was a ramp down at the sides of the tunnel that allowed the dragons to crawl down towards the exit.
On top of the second level pockets, there were thick arches that extended all the way towards the ceiling, a secondary support should somehow the structure collapse. And in case the structure was to collapse, with how this stable was built, it would not collapse the keep into itself, with the stable not being directly underneath the keep. At least Aegon had some sense.
Vaegon finally looked towards the dragons, Mīsaragorn and Tyraxes, both of whom were on the second level and which were spewing dragonflame at the farthest side of the dome where there was some kind of passageway that Vaegon was sure was going to lead to the entrance of the keep that was yet to be built.
"Leave me." Vaegon said to the guardsman. "I will wait for them to finish on my lonesome." Vaegon dismissed and soon enough he was left alone.
Vaegon watched from afar, watching red hot stone turn cold within seconds, as more and more sections were built from the earth.
It was some time later that Vaegon heard footsteps approaching, and he looked from over his shoulder only to see the boy Solonys coming his way.
"Uncle." Solonys said respectfully as he arrived Vaegon's side.
Vaegon narrowed his eyes slightly as he eyed the boy. "I am certain you must have duties to attend to."
Solonys had the daring to look at Vaegon with a mild look of amusement that reminded him all too much of his father.
"My duties demand that I be here today, uncle. And for the next few days too." Solonys said and Vaegon grew a little irritated at that.
Aegon had said that they would be left uninterrupted for his attempt to 'commune' with what he called the heart of the world. With the arrival of some of the Narrow Sea nobles for the triple wedding, he had no reason to believe any else.
"Don't look so miserable, uncle. I won't disrupt your or father's peace." Solonys said and Vaegon looked away from the boy lest he give into the urge to hit the boy with the stick.
Out of all of his sister's children, Polaerys was the one who Vaegon could tolerate the most.
Fortunately, they, including his sister, all realised that Vaegon had little time for idiotic children, and he'd been left to his books and the organisation of the Library and the Institute. For the most part.
Vaegon said nothing else as he put his attentions back towards the dragons and it was quite some time later that they seemed to have finished.
The dragons began to climb down from the slops and Vaegon moved his old bones towards the centre to let the dragons pass through the tunnel.
Once Tyraxes had followed Mīsaragorn out of the chamber, Aegon and Polaerys descended down the slope and made their way towards them.
Aegon looked…tired. As if he'd exerted out himself greatly in the effort. Vaegon looked towards Polaerys who looked fine. Without the ability to see magic in the way that Aegon could, it was difficult for anyone to grapple with the art of creating fused stone so presently, it was only Aegon who could do it.
Of course, that didn't mean it was impossible. With time, Vaegon was sure that Polaerys was able to learn how to do it, if nothing else by sheer effort and desire.
But…but it would be easier if they could see magic.
"Archmaester." Polaerys greeted politely and Vaegon gave a curt nod before he looked towards Aegon.
"When do we leave?" Vaegon asked, immediately getting to the point. He was growing weary from standing for so long and he wished to depart immediately.
"Now." Aegon said before he looked towards Polaerys. "I will be back in a few days. Tell your mother Solonys will keep you all apprised."
Polaerys nodded his understanding before he eyed Aegon curiously. "I'm really interested to know if this Heart really does exist." There was a note of regret in his voice. Aegon had decided not to take Polaerys with him on this trip, deciding that his eldest three sons were required to remain in the city whilst he was away.
"So am I." Aegon said with a trace of a smile.
"Well, I look forward to hearing about your adventures." Polaerys said with a smile before he bid his farewells and left, leaving Vaegon, Aegon and Solonys behind.
"Is he necessary?" Vaegon couldn't help but ask as he turned to go back into the tunnel.
Aegon eyed Vaegon intently. "I deem him necessary. As my squire and as my son. Those are enough of a reason, uncle." Aegon then raised his eyebrow.
"And it is the same way I have decided you were necessary to come with me on this trip of ours, uncle."
Vaegon glared at Aegon for a moment before he looked away. "I have brought supplies should anything go wrong." Vaegon said a little more briskly than he intended, the jab that Vaegon wasn't quite necessary to this trip irritating him.
"Good. I doubt we will need it but best to have it and not need it than to need it and not have." Aegon said before he nodded to Solonys.
A flame was alighted in Solonys palm that lit their way as they walked out of the tunnel.
The journey out of the tunnel tired Vaegon out even more and after he climbed atop of Mīsaragorn, he couldn't help but let off a relieved sigh.
"It is a beautiful day. We will fly slowly I think." Aegon said as he strapped himself into his saddle and Vaegon felt even greater relief. He wouldn't say it but he was pleased that Aegon wasn't blind enough not to see Vaegon struggling.
A few days later…at the top of Lazolaenys Dragonmont
Vaegon heard some noise from behind him, causing him to halt in his writing and he turned to look towards the origin of the sound.
There, at the ridge, was Solonys, causing Vaegon to frown in displeasure before he continued to write in his tome.
When the boy was near enough that his footsteps were almost deafening, did he speak. "You should not be here." Vaegon said without looking at the boy.
Whilst Vaegon thought Aegon to be overly paranoid about the nature of the volcano and its possibility to erupt, he did think this was no place for a boy, let alone one as bereft of much sense like Solonys.
And as much as Vaegon was near the edge of the ridge, should this thing erupt, he was certainly dead. Down there, the boy would have some chance to get on his dragon.
"Father can chastise me when he finishes what he's doing." Solonys remarked and Vaegon eyed his nephew from the corner of his eye who looked forward with a frown on his face.
Vaegon looked towards the boy was looking, towards Aegon, who could be seen in the distance sitting at the centre of this volcano's eye with his staff in hand.
Three days Aegon had marched out into that place. Three days he'd remained unmoving. Had he not seen Aegon move to take a drink from his wineskin, he would have thought him dead.
"Mother told me that we must return by night's fall. The Celtigars have arrived." Solonys remarked and Vaegon glanced at the boy who looked nervous, certainly nervous at disrupting Aegon in his 'communion', before he looked back at Aegon, where he could faintly see the shimmering air behind his being.
Aegon had learnt how to use the fires in the same way the red priests used it to gain glimpses of the future, glimpses that allowed him to understand more closely how and why it was possible to see the future.
He'd said that Time 'worked differently' in this world, or rather was made to work differently as a consequence of magic's existence in this world from the other world that he'd seen, and gave him his Sight.
As such, Aegon considered that Time might not work as linearly, or at least not completely, claiming that it might be how his descendants were able to help in their past despite their very action should cause their past to cease to exist, and thus them themselves cease to exist, thus not allowing them to help in the first place. Yet they did not and yet they were able to assist.
Aegon considered that this other world facilitated that impossibility in ways that they did not yet understand, in the same way it facilitated the existence of magic in their world, and likely other phenomenon that were unexplainable with science.
Whether or not he was right…Vaegon could not determine. The idea of nonlinear time fought against his rationality. What was the past but the past and the future, the future? Time has been observed to move into a single direction, and their senses, and all of their experiments suggested nothing to the contrary.
Yet with the matter of magic, it complicated everything, even if there was some logic behind the power.
"Whatever your father is doing takes far more precedence than arrival of some minor nobles." Vaegon said dismissively. Vaegon considered the probability of Aegon having reached some kind of progress quite high. To remain in that position for three days with no sign of progress was unproductive.
No, he thought that Aegon likely reached some kind of progress with this Heart or perhaps something else that caught his attentions.
If nothing else, Aegon was anything but that.
"You can tell mother that." muttered Solonys but Vaegon paid it no mind as he picked up his quill and began to write again.
It was near sundown when he ate and when it grew too dark, that was when Vaegon stood up and gathered his things. "Come boy. Let us not disturb your father. Let him finish. Your mother will understand." Vaegon said and the boy looked hesitant for a moment before he gave in and obeyed.
With a small exertion, he created a flame in his hand before he flung his bag over his shoulder and made his way towards the ridge. Vaegon grimaced as he gingerly found his way past the ridge and down the slope, towards their camp at the side of the volcano, where Stormfyre remained curled up on itself.
They arrived at their camp after a little while and Vaegon slid into his tent before he wrapped himself in the fur blankets, and it wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.
The next day Vaegon woke tiredly, the light of the morning sun peering through, and as he exited the tent, he found Solonys boiling terrorbird eggs in boiling water and Vaegon walked over as he felt hunger grip him.
They ate in silence again and once they were done, they once again made the trek towards the eye of the volcano. Vaegon glanced towards his right and saw the Silver Mountains in the far distance.
There were a chain of volcanos on the western side of Elamaerys, far south of the mountain range. None were active, as far as they can tell, and none had been active for quite some time either, from what the cartographers had mapped out and seen from the locations near the volcanos.
Curiously, the volcanos that were found all lay on a easily recognisable line, a pattern, though what it meant none had adequate theories. For now.
They made it over the ridge and Vaegon was surprised to see Aegon standing, staring at a pool of…molten rock?
"He's finished." Solonys murmured with some amount of relief in his voice. "Father!" Aegon had heard Solonys' call and turned his head towards them.
Vaegon narrowed his eyes after Aegon had waved to make that pool of molten rock solidify before he started to walk over to them, his bone-white staff in hand.
When Aegon was near, Vaegon saw the deep contemplative expression on Aegon's face, as if he was struck with something bothered him, a puzzle he was not yet able to solve, and rarely did Vaegon see such an expression so nakedly on his face.
"Well?" Vaegon asked a little impatiently when Aegon was close enough to hear and speak. "Did you learn anything?"
Aegon said nothing as he continued to come closer but he'd lost that look. Aegon then looked towards Solonys. "Do you have some salted meats on you?"
Solonys was startled at that before he nodded "Aye, father." Solonys said before he rummaged through his bag and brought out some meats to his father who smiled at Solonys gratefully before Aegon began to eat some of it.
Vaegon stared at Aegon for a long moment as he chewed, and finally, once he'd swallowed his mouthful, did he speak. "I sensed something." Aegon said in answer.
"Sensed something?" Solonys questioned with some eagerness in his voice.
Aegon looked to his son. "Hmm." Aegon then frowned heavily. "There is a presence there. Here. Not quite living. But not dead either. Before, I felt it similar to what I sensed from dragonglass but it is undoubtedly…more."
"Was it the Heart?" Solonys asked the obvious question.
"I don't know." Aegon said with a tired but amused look on his face before he looked up. "Perhaps. The fires helped focus my senses, allowing me to see a few glimpses, and amongst other things, I saw a great ball of fire surrounded by small embers, specks of light really, and I think that means something. What exactly, I don't know."
Vaegon scrutinised Aegon heavily. "You do know." Vaegon said with certainty in his voice and Aegon looked at him with a ponderous look.
"Perhaps." Aegon said simply. "But until I am certain…"
That great ball of fire…if this Heart of the World really existed…then would it not be this great ball of fire? In comparison to all else that lives on it?
"Will you come back to try again?" Solonys questioned.
"Yes. But not before I grow better at this…sensing for a lack of a better word. Perhaps I do not know the right 'language' to seek a conversation with the Heart, or perhaps I merely wrong and misinterpreting things and there is no Heart." Aegon said with a frown.
"And I think I know what I must do to grow…better." Aegon said as he gripped his staff and Vaegon glanced at the staff, his eyes narrowing, before he looked to meet Aegon's gaze.
"It is too soon." Vaegon said flatly.
Vaegon knew what Aegon was talking about. This Toad Entity that was on Toad Isle. With Aegon's ability to see these kinds of entities, and with the staff, a weapon that Aegon never disclosed how it was made, Aegon believed he could 'kill it', perhaps even consumed by the staff and thus grow in strength.
Aegon thought that if the staff was stronger, the wielder would grow stronger and become more 'sensitive' to the magics of the world.
"I agree. But in a few years…" Aegon trailed off before he shook his head after the received look of inquisitiveness from Solonys, who kept his tongue silent after the shake of the head that signified the boy not to ask a question right now.
"Then it is time for you to open my Third Eye." Vaegon stated and Aegon looked a little surprised before he looked intently at Vaegon.
Aegon had learnt how to manipulate life energy, or residual spiritual energy as he called it, both in the living and in dragonglass and dragonflame.
With the discussions they had about the Soul and its connections to life energy, it was not hard to grasp that Aegon had ideas of how to cast someone's soul into that realm and also bring them back.
"To go alone would be folly and to go alone with none able to see the foe would be even greater folly. And you know that." Vaegon said bluntly.
"And besides, you have reached as far as you are able now. You will unlikely be able to reach further without neglecting your duties. Thus, you must replicate your sight in others." Undoubtedly Polaerys had to be brought up to the same abilities as Aegon if they wanted to answer the questions about the nature of this world.
Aegon remained silent for a long moment as he considered Vaegon.
"You do realise that you may die? Either there or here?" Aegon asked quietly.
Yes, Vaegon knew. From what was described, that world, realm, was a place of horror and beauty, home to demons and gods. There was a good chance he would die. Horrifically. Aegon may not be able to pull him back.
But Vaegon was sixty namedays old now. Every day that passed, was another day his body grew wearier, and his life shorter. This was his last chance. His last chance to understand what few others had ever understood.
Since he turned thirty namedays, his body, never one of much strength, had progressively grown weaker and Vaegon could feel the grip of the stranger tightening around him. He recovered some strength since he learned some magic but it would not be long before he was dead.
Vaegon scoffed audibly before he looked to the heavens. How much does your heart ache, father? That out of all your sons, Aemon the perfect heir and brave, brave Baelon, it was I, your weak and disappointing son that outlived them both?
"Do it." Vaegon only said as he tightened his grip on his walking stick. Aegon stared intently at him for a long moment before he nodded lightly. They both knew that Vaegon was the most expendable piece out of their family.
And to trust anyone else with the knowledge of that realm, should this be successful, was dangerous. No, it had to be Vaegon to be the first to be tested.
Aegon's hand, which had been beside his body, rose up and in consequence, so too did the rocks around them rise, including a rock from behind Vaegon and Vaegon had to twist his body slightly to make sure he did not fall.
Vaegon glared lightly at Aegon before he took his seat on the rock with Aegon sitting across from Vaegon. Aegon then turned to Solonys, hard-faced.
"This will be beyond dangerous." Aegon said to his son. "Go back to the camp and do not return. We will come to you." Aegon said in a tone of voice that brook no disagreement.
Solonys looked hesitant, almost rebellious but the hardening look in Aegon's expression quelled any disagreements.
"Thank you Solonys. I will make it up to you." Aegon said to Solonys who'd turned to leave, only to halt under Aegon's words before he continued on walking.
Aegon breathed in heavily before he sat down and a flame flashed into existence in space between Aegon and himself.
"I cannot be certain I will succeed getting you there nor am I certain I will be able to bring you back." Aegon warned him and Vaegon waved it away.
"I will only berate you in the instance I do not die. Dead men cannot complain."
Aegon grimly smiled before he spoke further. "There are worse things than death." There was a darker glint in his eye as he'd said that.
Vaegon buried the ember of hesitation.
"Begin." Vaegon only said as he looked away from Aegon and instead looked at the flames.
He heard Aegon sigh before silence overtook them.
Vaegon continued to stare at the flames and Vaegon was surprised at how sudden the flames began to change, shift. The flames began to flicker, twisting and changing, the licks of flame lengthening, and Vaegon's eyes widened when he was made witness to the reds and yellows of the flame disappearing into shapes.
Shapes of a dragon the colours of blood red and sky blue with stars in their canvas of colour, devouring masses of black and other dragons, and mere moments later, the shapes changed again, and he was beset with visions of towers and domes falling, with visions of towering black rocks crumbling, an-
Vaegon felt something on his chest – a hand – and the visions died a silent death, and amidst that death, the world around him began to darken as he heard Aegon's words amongst the darkness. "…Focus on the question of what is the Truth of existence…"
Vaegon remembered what Aegon had told him. When he'd found a way into that world. That he'd obsessed with his entire being that sole question and so, Vaegon did nothing but the same, forcing his entire being to want an answer to that question, seeking it out with all his remaining strength and then…it happened.
Suddenly, Vaegon remembered the day he'd been taken to fly atop of Silverwing. The first and only time. He'd must have been five or six namedays old. He remembered the feeling of helplessness as he was driven into the skies under a power not of his own, and Vaegon felt the exact same helplessness when he felt a grip that was pulled at something that lay far beyond skin deep.
The darkness that shrouded him gave way, and Vaegon felt a shock that resonated far into his soul as his eyes took in his surroundings.
All around him, there were pillars that seemed unending, reaching far beyond to an infinite in every direction. Blues and Reds and Blacks and Yellows, and everything in between, and in the midst of those impossible pillars, there was a smog of grey that coated everything and everywhere, including on Vaegon's very being.
And in those smog grey, Vaegon saw the very idea of inconceivability manifest itself right before his eyes. Vaegon could not understand, could not even interpret what he was seeing. It was as if colour had been made a physical thing, an infinite impossible thing that transcended all known rational explanation of how the world worked, things exploded and were reborn and recreated ad infinitum, and Vaegon found himself unable to move, to disappear away from the impossible sights.
Vaegon tried to vocalise something out when he felt someone, something, gaze upon him, the feel of eyes that he could feel on his very soul, an-
A shock of terror gripped him.
His chest felt as if a dragon was sat upon it, crushing him into himself whilst at the same time crushing him from without, and his vision blackened though not without catching something approaching from afar, the crushing feeling he felt growing in terrible intensity an-
He felt a pull, a familiar pull, and Vaegon pushed all of his being into cooperating with that pull, like a desperate babe wanting to be picked up, and the impossible lights and smog of grey began to dim before suddenly disappearing altogether, and his vision was once more filled with turbulent flames.
Vaegon breathed heavily, his chest feeling tight, and he realised that he was hunched over with sweat dripping from above his brow.
"W-what…what was that?" Vaegon said with heaving breathes in between each word uttered as he looked towards Aegon, who stood by the fire, and Vaegon's eyes widened.
Around Aegon, he could see a bright light, as bright as the white light of a full moon, yet much more grey than that white light. Yet that was not what caused Vaegon's eyes to widen. No. It was the light that shown from the Staff.
It seemed as if it was an amalgamation of a number of white lights, lights that were much brighter than Aegon's, yet each a different shade of each other – eight of them – with something that seemed to lie just behind them, something…darker.
"Vaegon." The call of his name made him startle out of his haze and he looked to gaze upon Aegon, who angled himself in such a way that he was neither close to the fire or to Vaegon and after a few moments, Vaegon understood.
"It's me." Vaegon said shakily as he leaned against his walking stick and stood up, and Vaegon saw that Aegon seemed to gaze upon him with a darker look.
Vaegon scowled at his nephew. "It's me. I'm sure you can see that my nature has not changed." He stated more than asked.
Aegon eyed him for a long moment before he looked towards the flames. "We will remain here for at least a few hours to make sure you weren't followed out." Aegon did pause to glance at him. "Did you see anything?"
Vaegon's expression shifted despite trying not to. "I saw." Vaegon said before he turned a little quieter as he spoke further. "I felt."
Aegon seemed to consider that and it was a few seconds before he answered, his eyes boring deep into Vaegon. "Did you see any glimpses of the future?"
Vaegon nodded curtly and briskly explained what he saw and Aegon considered those words for a few moments before he spoke up.
"Did you recognise those buildings?"
Vaegon nodded once more as he eyed the man intently. "You don't intend to stay out of this civil war, do you?"
"If you're worried I will kinslay, then do not be. I will not involve us in their self destruction." Aegon said with a hard glint in his eye.
Vaegon looked intently at Aegon. He believed him. Vaegon doubted that Aegon could endanger his sons, who would not permit to be left out, in this foolish spat that would seek destroy everything his father had built.
But he couldn't help but think that there was much he was not saying…that he was planning.
The look in Aegon's expression change as he turned to look at the flames. "You said you felt. Something caught your presence, didn't it?" Aegon said, changing the subject and Vaegon saw Aegon staring at that flame as if it could leap out at him at any second.
Vaegon decided to move out of the way from that fire.
"Yes." Vaegon simply said. He'd never felt such true terror in his entire life.
There was a few moments of silence before Aegon spoke again. "You were gone only for a few seconds."
Vaegon scowled heavily as he tried not to shake at that feeling he would always remember. "It felt like a lifetime." Vaegon said as he gripped the head of his walking stick tighter.
"Perception is different there." Aegon said in answer as he glanced at Vaegon and Vaegon didn't like the way Aegon was looking at him. Pity and understanding.
Vaegon looked away and they soon fell into a silence.
The silence lasted a long time as they simply watched the fire, which seemed ordinary to Vaegon, even with his newfound sight, and Vaegon took the opportunity to look around, to gaze upon the world.
It seemed….ordinary. The skies, the rocks. Vaegon narrowed his eyes and focused towards the ground yet it remained unchanged, the ordinariness of the volcano.
"It takes some time to figure out how to catch it." Aegon said, breaking the silence and Vaegon said him glancing at him before he looked back at the flames.
"People…animals…they cast a different energy to that of dragonglass. Even though we sit on a mountain of dragonglass, it takes time to train yourself to perceive it." Aegon said in answer and Vaegon nodded curtly before he looked towards the staff.
"That staff of yours then. Is it…alive?"
Aegon grimly smiled before he looked at the Staff and Vaegon thought he could see a weary expression on his face.
"I'm not sure." Aegon told him. "I cannot say that it is alive for it holds no soul or consciousness but I cannot say it is not alive for it remembers. In many ways, it is like a sapling tree."
"A sapling tree?" Vaegon murmured. So a potential to grow into a state of living?
Vaegon's eyes sharpened as he stared at Aegon. What have you done, Vaegon thought to himself. Such a creation…blood magic had to have been used.
"Nothing unwilling happened, Vaegon." Aegon said and Vaegon realised his thoughts must have been on his face. Aegon continued. "Else what you have seen of the staff would have been markedly more monstrous."
Vaegon said nothing to that and soon enough they fell into a silence once more. It was sometime later that Solonys dared to come back and it seemed like Aegon was content to let the boy come back.
Vaegon took the opportunity to stare at the boy, taking in the light that surrounded the boy. His was more…cleaner than Aegon's. Vaegon glanced at Aegon who he saw studying Vaegon intently.
"This is how you're able to tell who to send back, isn't it?" Vaegon asked. Over the years, whenever there were new settlers, Aegon had been there to 'welcome' them, to gain a glimpse of what his new people were like.
Almost always, there were those who were sent back to Essos, and later he'd learnt that Aegon had sent them away from even Velos, giving them coin before dispatching them away to one of the former Slaver Cities.
Now he fully understood why he did so.
Aegon once explained that there was an spiritual aspect to one's energy, one that one couldn't hide away from.
Solonys was almost a man grown now however he was utterly sheltered from struggle and hardship. He might be trained in the art of the sword but he had never wielded it in a life or death situation. Neither did he have a personality that was…cruel or possess traits that were…dissatisfying.
The boy had a decency.
And it seemed like it reflected in his…colouring.
Vaegon eyed the lights around Aegon and he wondered.
"Yes." Aegon said with a touch of dark amusement in his expression. "Most do not have a pristineness about them. After all, most have been slaves for a long time of their lives. The colour of one's halo also doesn't mean that they are irredeemable." Aegon said as the expression fell away.
"People do change. Not everyone. Not always. But some do change. I've seen it happen over the years. Nor does a darker nature mean that one cannot be trusted." Aegon said as he eyed Vaegon intently. "I would keep that in mind when we return to the city." Vaegon stared at Aegon for a long moment before he nodded.
Aegon continued after Vaegon's acquiescence. "But there are some who are, to put it simply, not worth the effort of aiding and changing."
The way Aegon spoke…it seemed to Vaegon there had been men that he had expended effort to aid. Vaegon came to a realisation that it probably meant the men who had fought for him. Vaegon stared at Aegon for a long moment before he looked away and looked at Solonys who had neared.
Solonys came to a stop though before he could speak, Aegon spoke up. "We will remain here for a little while before we head back." Solonys looked at Aegon with a look of confusion before he nodded.
"I told mother that we will probably return before nightfall." Solonys said before he looked at Vaegon and asked. "Is his Third Eye open?" Vaegon suppressed his mild irritation at the boy at being spoken about.
"It is." Aegon said and the boy's excitement was there to be seen. "However, I won't open any of yours until I hone the skill." Aegon said before he looked at Vaegon. "Your uncle was almost lost to that abyss which is a fate worse than death." Aegon said.
"But eventually?" Solonys pressed.
"Eventually." Aegon agreed after a moment of silence.
Solonys then looked at Vaegon with deep curiosity in his expression and Vaegon knew that the boy had questions he wanted to ask.
"It is interesting but it is not worth the risk and danger. As you are, you will die a gruesome death if you attempt it." Vaegon said as he tightened his grip on the walking stick and he looked towards the flames as he spoke further. "Wait for your father to gain some more competence in the art."
Solonys snorted. "Ungrate…" the rest of the boy's muttering fell away before he could make sense of it but Vaegon paid it no mind, instead, he looked at those flames.
That world…
A place of nightmares, truly.
And to think it lay close enough to this world that it could be accessed so readily.
Vaegon tightened his grip on the handle of the walking stick.
Aegon may be more skilful than most but Vaegon seriously doubted he was the most capable sorcerer alive. And he severely doubted others had such benign intentions with magic…or with power.
He would have to delve into the Library, the one in Aegon's vault, and see if he can discover more links to that world, he thought as he stared the flickering flames.
That world should be sealed away. From everyone and everything. That feeling of terror. If whatever that thing was ever arrived in their world…
Vaegon eyed Aegon from the corner of his eyes. He'd long be dead before such a thing would happen but eventually?
Whether it would be some foolish descendant of Aegon or a dangerous evil somewhere in this world, eventually, Vaegon thought it inevitable that layer that separated their worlds was destroyed.
It was simply too easy to accomplish accessing that world.
Aegon caught him looking and Vaegon could tell that Aegon knew what he was thinking…and with the nod he gave, Vaegon thought Aegon agreed to.
'Good. Then there is still much to be done before I croak' Vaegon thought to himself and he found himself rejecting his acceptance of his approaching death.
Yes…there was much too much to do before Vaegon let the Stranger claim him.
-Break-
Mid to Late 123 AC – Sept of Elamaerys
Breannei POV
The bells began to toll, causing a sea of faces to turn towards the gates of the Sept, and it was then that the earthly voices of the Septas rang around, echoing beautifully in the cavernous Sept.
The gates to the Sept opened, and in stepped forth Valeana Celtigar dressed in a beautifully made silk white dress with streaks of glimmering red with the Celtigar cloak on her shoulders, a dress not dissimilar as that of Vaera a fortnight ago, with her father, Lord Bartimos Celtigar, her arm wrapped around that of her father's.
Her silverish-blonde hair was pinned up and it showed off her long elegant neck that would be the envy of many a women, Breannei thought.
"She looks beautiful." Rhaena whispered from beside her and Breannei couldn't help but agree.
Valaena had always been a comely girl. Not as comely as Vaera, who, despite her beauty favouring that of her mother's strong Andal roots, but still quite pretty.
But tonight? She looked completely wonderful.
Breannei looked towards the altar and a slow smile crept up on her lips at the sight of Polaerys looking struck at the sight of Valeana. Breannei leaned closer to Rhaena, intent as she was to make sure none overheard her. "Looks like Polaerys likes what he sees." Breannei whispered teasingly in Rhaena's ear and Rhaena looked where Breannei was looking and she suffocated the snort that was about to escape her, and instead the two girls smiled a little coyly at each other.
Breannei halted when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she knew that hand even before she looked over her shoulder. Her mother, who had also placed her hand on Rhaena's shoulder, looked at them both with a raised eyebrow and Breannei gave an awkward smile.
She looked beyond her mother, and towards the rest of their family. They were in a small area reserved for bloodkin alone, which now included the Celtigars, all of them, and it fortunately seemed none had seen them. Though as she looked towards Castorys, he'd turned his gaze towards her and the awkward smile on her face grew rooted which saw him smile back at her a little tentatively and she quickly looked away though the awkward smile melted into a genuine one.
'It won't be long until mine own wedding.'
She glanced at Rhaena who looked at her quizzically before she looked back over her shoulder and from the way her eyes glinted, Breannei knew that Rhaena saw Castorys looking their way.
"Don't." Breannei muttered a little red-faced and she didn't need to see Rhaena's face to know she had that teasing look on her face…
Breannei watched as Bartimos Celtigar and Valaena stepped up the steps and arrived by Polaerys and the High Septon and moments after, after the bells and the singing stopped, Bartimos took off the Celtigar cloak and gave it to Polaerys.
Bartimos Celtigar looked at his daughter for a moment longer before he left and joined their family in their section.
"You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection" High Septon Aurion said, his voice travelling deep in the cavernous chamber. Polaerys and Valaena took hold of the other's hand.
The High Septon stepped forward and began.
"In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls" the High Septon wrapped the slip of silk around their clutching hands in his pause before he continued "binding them as one for eternity." Breannei couldn't help but smile warmly at the look of happiness that was plain to see on both of their faces.
It wasn't long after father's return from his war that he'd announced who would marry whom. Valarr with Vaera and Polaerys with Valaena, whilst her sister Maegelle was betrothed to Solonys.
The announcement was well received by everyone, and later she'd learned that father had spoken with both Valarr and Polaerys privately before he'd announced to everyone.
Breannei looked at Valaena. Whilst she was not the closest with Valaena – despite their growing up together for most of their youths, Breannei couldn't help but always remember that comment of her origin – she was happy for the girl.
Doubtlessly too it relieved her. Her parents had delayed the weddings, all three of them, until Breannei was old enough to wed, to ensure that their guests from the Known World could come to all three weddings.
That meant that Valaena had to wait until she was twenty namedays of age, far older than what the norm was. Still, Valaena would be the first to say that wait was worth it now that she was marrying into House Targaryen.
And Breannei thought that she was well-suited for their family. Out of all of the new noble families that had come about, Valaena had grown up amongst them and what was expected of her, marking her well suited to marry into her family. Besides, she was not badly suited for Polaerys. She was quick witted and gentle but also had a streak of fire in her that she thought would be good for Polaerys.
Whilst Polaerys was mild-mannered, at least compared to Castorys and Valarr, he did like things to go his way. Having a wife that could challenge him once in a while would not go amiss…
The High Septon raised his hands.
"Look upon one another and say the words." The High Septon said and the two turned to face one another, a smile adorned on each of their faces.
"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger." They both said at the same time.
"I am hers and she is mine from this day until the end of my days." Polaerys said and a second later she said her words that mirrored his.
"Let it be known" the High Septon began, his voice reverberated throughout the chamber "that Valaena of House Celtigar and Polaerys of House Targaryen, are one heart" The High Septon removed the silk lace from the joined hands "One flesh, one soul." The High Septon let the silk lace fall to the ground. "Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder."
Polaerys took firmer hold of Valaena's hand before he stepped a little closer. "With this kiss, I pledge my love." And then Polaerys leaned in, and kissed Valaena on the lips and after they parted from the chaste kiss, she began to clap with everyone else, a smile blooming on her face.
"She'll want to ask you to paint that moment." Breannei whispered to Rhaena and Rhaena shot her an annoyed look that made her smile a little larger.
Rhaena then smiled teasingly at Breannei after she'd bumped her shoulder against that of Breannei's. "Don't worry…I will capture yours and Castorys' moment too."
Breannei looked away from Rhaena, her cheeks feeling warmer but despite the teasing, she couldn't help but cherish that warmth that was in her belly.
Hours later…Royal Estate of House Targaryen
The wedding celebrations were a lively affair.
Songs of love and beauty were played masterfully with the fiddle and drums whilst chatter and laughter of the guests rang around the large ballroom hall as unlikely ensemble of nobles and knights enjoyed each other's companies.
Houses from Westeros and Houses from Lys drank and ate alongside the nobles and knightly Houses of Elamaerys, talking about matters of no import as well as matters of great import from what she'd overheard.
Breannei drank from her glass of wine as she surveyed the ballroom in the moment of respite she'd gotten from conversing with her sisters, mother and goodsister. In all honesty, there were not many Houses from Westeros present. Only truly the Narrow Sea Houses and those that her father decided were 'acceptable' enough.
What that meant, 'acceptable', she wasn't sure but she'd learnt that most of the non-Valyrian Houses had some ties with her father…and with Houses Celtigar, Sunglass and Velaryon.
From the Narrow Sea Houses, the Celtigars were represented by the Lord of their House, Bartimos Celtigar and his wife Cassella.
The Sunglasses were represented by Lord Eldric Sunglass and his second son Barth Sunglass along with several other Sunglasses such Ser Terrence Sunglass and his children.
The Velaryons were represented by Maletine Velaryon, whose daughter had wed Maerros Calnaereon, Monford Velaryon, whose daughter had wed Jaelyn Qarqaris, Vaemond Velaryon and surprisingly Laenor Velaryon, son of Lord Corlys Velaryon, one of her cousins.
Lord Corlys and her cousin Rhaenys were unable to attend because Laena was due to give birth at the time of these weddings, so now, so they'd sent others in their steads. But none of them had expected Laenor Velaryon to be sent.
The other Houses were all from the Crownlands.
House Brune, House Bar Emmon, House Thorne, and House Darklyn all represented here, though only the Lords of House Bar Emmon and House Darklyn had come personally, the others having sent their heirs.
The only real surprise, initially, who had accepted the invitation had been Laenor Velaryon, the consort of Lady Arryn. She turned her gaze towards Laenor Velaryon, who seemed to be in a jolly mood with his friend Ser Joffrey Lonmouth.
Though given that, over the past three weeks, as she got to know her cousin, she'd learnt that their 'friendship' was not quite…typical, she had long lost her surprise at what he was doing here despite the kindled familial ties he held with her father and mother.
She shook her head. Despite his nature, he was a good man. The conversations she'd had with him had also been insightful, especially as he'd talked about their father when he'd been much younger.
She learnt much about her father from those conversations, especially about how he'd been as a boy. She'd never thought he could be known as a broody almost sullen boy…
A little while later…
Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Castorys walk over to them through the crowd of dancing folk and her dancing partner, Sylos Dynaar, saw where she was looking.
"Sylos." Castorys greeted though his eyes were only for her. "I'd like a dance with my betrothed, if you do not mind."
Sylos, the good-natured man that he was, smiled before he let go with a bow of the hand. "Of course, Your Grace. It was a place dancing with Her Grace." Sylos said before he left.
Breannei extended out her hand to him and Castorys took it with a light smile before his hand rested on her upper back. They soon began to dance to the music, which was flighty in nature, and neither of them spoke for a little while as they locked step with each other, dancing in perfect rhythm.
"Dynaar seemed respectful." Castorys commented out of the blue, making her meet his gaze and she saw him looking at her with a hint of curiosity in his expression.
"He was." Breannei admitted as they twisted around in their dance. "He has a sense of charm about him." She'd not spoken to him much before.
He, along with the other Lysene nobility, had been here for around two or so weeks. There were about eight and ten noble Houses from Lys present, including the Rogares. Most of them had marriage links now to the ennobled Houses of Elamaerys.
It wouldn't surprise her if more marriages were to happen in the coming years.
"Hmm." Castorys said before he twirled her around before he placed his hand back on her back. "More charming than myself?" Castorys said with a mild grin.
"Vastly more so." Breannei said with a upturned nose, her voice haughty.
"Ouch." Castorys said with a widening grin. "What was it about him that was so charming? Was it his strut?" Castorys said as he mockingly tied in a strut in his dance.
Breannei's lips twitched.
"It was more the way his face looked as he talked to me." Breannei remarked with a challenge in her voice.
"Ah. I see. I know that face all too well." Castorys said and Breannei wondered where Castorys was going with this. "The face that tries to prevent one from gawking at the sight of the definition of beauty."
Breannei's eyes widened before she averted them, a brush of warmth making its way on her face. "Flatterer." Breannei said though she couldn't help let the smile form on her face.
"If you meant that, you would have come earlier instead of letting me suffer a dance with our guests." Breannei said as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
She'd seen Castorys throughout the feast talking with a number of nobles, rarely sending his looks her way.
Castorys looked a little uncomfortable and she thought she might have taken the teasing too far but before she could divert the conversation, he spoke up. "I had not wanted to seem too possessive." Castorys admitted.
Her eyebrows rose. "Possessive?" she asked although she did not mind it too much.
"Aye." Castorys said as he gripped her hand a little tighter. "How could I not be, when you are, far and away, the most beautiful woman here?" Castorys said and Breannei felt a deep sense of warmth at those words.
Breannei looked away, towards the head table where father and mother were, whom she could tell were watching them dance, and a thought struck her, a thought she'd always had but never had asked.
"What did you think when father told you we were to marry?" Breannei asked and she looked him in the eyes as she waited for his answer.
She remembered all too well what she felt that day when her parents had told her on her fifteenth nameday that she was being betrothed to Castorys.
Since their blood relation was that of cousins, even though Breannei was a daughter in their hearts, the marriage was a good option for both of them, father had said though he'd explained that he would not force her into the marriage if she had no wish of it, and had only asked her to seriously consider it.
Admittedly, by that age, she'd known that there was a good chance that she might be matched with Castorys, especially ever since father's returned, though he never named her anything other than daughter, had taken great pains to subtly play up the cousin blood relation she had with her siblings.
The betrothal of Maegelle to Solonys, at the same time as the betrothals of Polaerys and Valarr with the Celtigar girls, all whilst Rhaena remained without a betrothed had greatly helped along those thoughts.
All of that, combined with Castorys' sudden shift in his interaction with her, spelled out her future years before she'd been sat down and told of her betrothal with Castorys, and so she'd not been caught out in surprise. Too much.
Having a good feeling did not equate to actually knowing so the news had still gripped her.
Castorys…
Well. At the time she only saw Castorys as Castorys. Father's golden son who wished to be like father with everything he was.
It had been hard to think about him anything other than that.
It took moons before she started to think about him differently, and it took years before the idea of Castorys marrying her turned into something she really wanted.
She'd watched him, interacting with their people, the little things he'd do, and she'd grown to appreciate him, growing to like him, growing to love him.
For her, it took time but she was glad she'd not outright denied it.
"I thought…" Castorys began and she could tell that he was trying to find the right words. "I would not mind though I wasn't happy about it. At first." Castorys said as he looked at her intently. "I'd always known that I would marry according to father's wishes and if his wishes were to marry you, then so be it." Castorys twisted his smile a little.
"At first?" Breannei questioned a little quietly.
"Well. We'd grown up together." Castorys said with a shrug. "Though we're cousins in blood, we were raised as siblings. It was hard to see you as anything else."
"Hmm." Breannei nodded before she rolled her eyes. "He told her when he'd returned right?" After Castorys' nod, she continued "That's about the time he'd started talking more about Daemon where before he'd never talked about him."
Castorys grimaced before he smiled a little awkwardly. "Aye. That was one of father's 'gentle' ways to make the marriage more acceptable, to remind you that you're a cousin."
"More acceptable to himself." Breannei muttered and Castorys' lips twitched though he did nod at her words.
Father was…complicated. And very contradictory.
Despite being the son of a sibling marriage and a grandson of a sibling marriage, it was plain to see that father really did not agree with the practice.
It was why Rhaena was permitted to choose a consort from one of the Velaryon boys, Monterys and Gaemon. She glanced at where her sister was, talking with her betrothed. Rhaena had chosen Gaemon Velaryon, the eldest son of Lord Aeryn Velaryon, as her consort.
Father had written parts of the 'Articles of the Royal House of Targaryen' specifically for instances such as Rhaena, where there was a daughter of House Targaryen available without a suitable cousin to wed.
There was no mention of sibling marriages. The only thing that was stated was that female Targaryens, when there was not a cousin or Targaryen relative to marry, were permitted to take a consort with their children taking the royal name of Targaryen.
Any female Targaryen that married and took the husband's name, would have their children barred from their Targaryen inheritance, and their dragon forbidden from being inherited by the House of the husband.
It was a harsh rule but she understood it.
Whilst she held no enmity with House Velaryon, and she rather liked Laenor too, at the end of the day, no other House but House Targaryen should have rights to dragons. It was their inheritance that spanned thousands of years.
The lessons they'd learnt of the Velaryons who had come close to going to war with House Targaryen, saved only from the grand council from escalating, marked it clear that it was imperative that only their House would have access to dragons.
Father's setting of the rules would only help in ensuring that.
Anything else, would invite disaster.
Her expression shifted slightly as she gazed upon Rhaena. She'd once asked her father what he would do if a daughter or granddaughter disobeyed the rules.
She hadn't liked the pained look on her father's face nor had she liked the long silence that had come in the wake of her question.
'I hope it will never happen. Not whilst I am alive. Not even after I am gone.' Had been the only thing father had said in response to her question.
She knew then that father would not allow it to happen.
"He means well." Breannei said with a shake of the head.
Father might be many things but uncaring he was not, she thought as she looked towards Maegelle who was seated beside her father and talking with one of the Qarqaris girls.
She could tell that it hurt him to deny Maegelle a dragon egg when she'd asked for one from Liāzmariña's new clutch of eggs but he would not extent the same liberty he'd given Breannei to Maegelle.
Not now after the Articles.
Maegelle was legitimised as a royal, making her legitimate daughter of House Targaryen but under the rules he had written 'for generations after I'm long gone', she could not and would not be granted a dragon.
Not until years after she'd been wed to Solonys.
It was hypocritical and she'd been furious with him for denying her sister a dragon when Breannei herself had not, asking him if he would have denied her too had she been found much later or had been born much later.
Her father's answer that yes he would have, had struck at her insecurities and it took her a long time to understand, to accept, what he'd told her.
He'd told her that it was this kind of sentimentality that allowed the Velaryons to rise to threaten House Targaryen and it was this kind of sentimentality that allowed factions such as the Greens and the Blacks in their own family to arise.
The reports from Marya and Janos, their agents in Kings Landing, had confirmed the looming conflict in their own family with how bad the rivalry was getting.
'To allow, to let fester, such grounds for civil war, is the moment I have failed not only as Archon but also as father, as a grandfather. My duty sees me make decisions that seem harsh and unfair but such is demanded from an Archon…and from a Dragonlord.'
"He does." Castorys agreed before he pulled her a little closer, much to her surprise. "But know that I do not hold any reservations about our marriage. Not anymore for some time." Castorys said and she could see the wanting glint in his eyes.
She smiled a little shyly at that before she nodded, her eyes falling away from his eyes. "Neither have I." She'd have been happy to marry him when she'd turned six and ten but her father had been insistent that she wait until she was eight and ten.
With how close Castorys, Polaerys and Valarr were, the latter two were happy enough to accept the delays to their own weddings.
"I'm looking forward to our time on Draconys." Breannei admitted to him and Castorys hummed as he nodded, an excited gleam showing in his eyes.
She was not surprised to that gleam.
Castorys idolised their father and the chance to build a city on Draconys was exactly the kind of thing where Castorys would see an opportunity to show that he was just as able as his father when it came to ruling and leading.
Whilst father did not exclude Castorys – or really any of them once they were older than four and ten, Rhaena and herself included – from the decision making, father's presence had a suffocating feel to it.
Draconys, the creation of Gaelysia, would allow them to be a little away from that.
"So am I." Castorys admitted as another song began to be played. "I've seen the plans for Gaelysia and it will look amazing when it is finished." Castorys frowned for a moment before he continued. "Though I cannot say that I am looking forward to the struggles again."
"You mean the early days of Elamaerys?" Breannei asked.
She remembered quite a fair amount of those days. The cramped manor they'd lived in. Their current estate was built on that land after the manor been torn down over six years ago.
Castorys hummed his agreement. "Aye. Whilst there's plenty of building materials, particularly marble and limestone, the cartographers have noted that much of the harder stones are further inland and closer to the southern side of the island."
"We have our dragons." Breannei remarked simply and Castorys' lips twitched before he nodded.
"Aye we do but…" Castorys began to talk about all of the issues they'd face in the earlier years and how they would have to go about it, Breannei only interjected here and there to add her thoughts or her questions, and before she knew, they were soon to be amongst the few still standing and dancing with eyes all on them.
Though neither of them truly noticed for they only had their eyes – and attention – on each other.
And had they noticed…they would not have cared.