ASOIAF: The True House of Dragons

Aegon continued loudly, "I've heard tales of the water dancers of Braavos—how they refine their martial arts to transcendent levels. Their most advanced sword technique, the Water Dance, allows them to duel and fight across the surface of water without causing a single ripple.

I hope you will join me in refining the Valyrian Royal Swordsmanship—already one of the finest techniques in existence—until it, too, reaches such extraordinary heights. That is the very reason I'm teaching it to your children.

And when this transcendent sword art is finally completed, I will share its fruits with every house that contributed to its creation."

The lords, inspired by Aegon's grand vision and his relentless pursuit of martial perfection, felt it aligned perfectly with his reputation as the strongest man in Westeros. Any doubts they once had about his motives for summoning their children to Harrenhal vanished completely.

"You are truly the savior of Westeros—the true king revealed by the Crone of the Seven!" shouted the Head of House Grafton of Gulltown. "Your Grace, I gladly offer our family's ancestral Gull Return Sword Technique to Harrenhal, to help shape this future transcendent sword art!"

The Head of House Beesbury from Honeyholt stepped forward, his face full of remorse.

"I once believed the High Septon's proclamation—that you were the chosen of the Seven—was nothing more than a shameful lie.

Only now do I realize how foolish I was. Your Grace Aegon, you are the one true king of Westeros. I'm deeply ashamed for ever doubting you. The Beesbury family will gladly present our ancestral Hundred Needles swordsmanship to Harrenhal, in support of your vision."

Hearing this, the High Septon began coughing violently. As nearby lords turned toward him, he quickly put on a kindly smile and said, "Just a winter chill, ahem… This winter is colder than usual."

"Please take care of yourself, Your Holiness," said Lord Harlan of House Tyrell with concern. "You are the only devout follower of the Faith of the Seven to have received divine revelation in thousands of years."

"Cough, cough!" The High Septon couldn't suppress another fit and shot Harlan a glare. This boy really doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. I'll have to ask Aegon to teach him a lesson later.

Harlan felt a chill under the High Septon's gaze. He gave an awkward smile and said nothing more.

Aegon paused for a moment, took the cup of warm tea offered by Raedelle to soothe his throat, then continued, "Thirdly, many of you have proposed that the capital of the kingdom be established in Highgarden.

But after consulting with the Small Council, we've agreed that the newly built King's Landing, located at the mouth of Blackwater Bay, is far more suitable as our capital.

Our kingdom's final conquest will not be limited to Westeros alone. The known world is vast and without borders.

King's Landing stands across the sea from the continent of Essos—it represents our future vision.

For now, I will say no more on this.

Vassals of the Targaryen dynasty, the new kingdom has just been born. I ask that when you return to your territories, you spread word among your people of the Targaryens' new status.

We are no longer merely lords—we are one nation, one family. The future of the world lies in Targaryen hands.

Thus concludes the founding ceremony. When the capital, King's Landing, is complete, I will summon the Great Council once again, and we will hold a grand investiture to honor those who aided in the conquest of the Iron Islands and Dorne.

Until then—this council is adjourned!"

The gathered lords bowed in unison, then erupted into cheers:

"Long live House Targaryen! Long live King Aegon! Long live the Great Conquest!"

One by one, the nobles stepped forward to kiss the Blackfyre sword resting at the base of the five steps, then offered a final bow to Aegon before departing.

From atop the throne steps, Aegon returned their gestures with slight nods, acknowledging each vassal in turn as he watched them exit the Oak King's Hall.

A long winter had arrived, and each lord needed to return home to prepare their lands and protect their people from the cold.

...

While meeting with the Archmaesters of the Citadel to discuss the unification of laws, Aegon posed a question:

Why had Westeros remained locked in a feudal system of lords and vassals for thousands of years since the Age of Heroes, with no significant societal change?

An Archmaester specializing in meteorology offered this explanation:

"In our world, the lengths of the seasons are not fixed. Each can last many years.

During my studies of climate patterns, I've discovered a strange phenomenon: whenever the continent's population begins to flourish, the winters tend to grow unusually long. The bitter cold claims countless lives, driving the population back into decline until the land is once again sparsely inhabited."

"If one day humanity can fully withstand the harshness of nature, and the population reaches a state of true prosperity, then perhaps the feudal system that has ruled Westeros for thousands of years will finally begin to change."

The Archmaester's answer struck Aegon deeply.

When Aegon pressed further—asking whether there was a definite link between prolonged winters and the growth of the human population—not a single Archmaester could offer an answer. The question, they admitted, was already beyond the limits of mortal understanding.

At that moment, a mystic scholar named Colewin gave Aegon a knowing smile and said, "Perhaps only the gods know the answer."

Aegon couldn't tell whether this scholar of the mystical arts was hinting at something deeper, but he felt as though he had brushed against one of the hidden, darker truths of the world of ice and fire—one where divine forces may play a far greater role than they let on.

...

After the lords left the King's Hall, hundreds of them promptly departed Highgarden, bringing along their knights and soldiers from within the Targaryen army.

This was the nature of Westeros: feudalism and patronage.

Military service among vassals, liege lords, and the king followed a web of dependency. During wartime, a vassal's soldiers would be summoned to join the host of their liege or king. Once the war ended, they would reclaim those same troops and return them to their own banners.

To the lords of Westeros, maintaining this feudal military tradition was often seen as a mark of honor.

The mighty host—once over a hundred thousand strong—was gradually reduced in size as each lord recalled his troops, until only a little over thirty thousand remained.

Even then, not all of those thirty thousand belonged to the Crownlands. Roughly two-fifths were household guards belonging to the key advisors on the Small Council, and another two-fifths were Riverlands soldiers, whose lords had remained behind in Highgarden, awaiting the formulation of the war strategy to conquer the Iron Islands.

After the founding ceremony, Aegon designated Harrenhal as the temporary capital of the Targaryen dynasty.

Harrenhal was located quite close to the under-construction King's Landing. By water, one could sail downstream from Gods Eye and reach the mouth of the Blackwater Rush—where King's Landing was being built—in just a day. This allowed Aegon to personally oversee the construction of the royal palace.

He had no intention of letting anyone secretly carve hidden tunnels into his palace. For the inner court of House Targaryen's future seat, Aegon planned to blend the architectural ideals of both the Forbidden City and London—seeking a design that was secure, rational, and comfortable.

...

Within Highgarden stood the Hall of Briars, once the central war chamber of the Kingdom of the Reach.

The hall was entirely wrapped in thick, thorn-covered vines.

Walls, windows, and even the roof were overgrown with barbed plants, making the place unwelcoming and difficult to approach.

After the founding ceremony, the Hall of Briars once again became the venue for military strategy.

Aegon, Queen Visenya, his father Aerion, former Lord Admiral Daemon, former Storm King Argilac, several great lords from the Riverlands and the Reach, and the senior members of the Small Council all gathered around a massive oaken war table.

The table itself was carved from a thousand-year-old oak tree into a detailed model of the Reach, with miniature banners representing the various noble houses placed across its surface.

Now, the table had been expanded—joined with new sections representing the rest of Westeros, including the full geography and distribution of noble power across the continent.

Corlys, the Master of Ships, was the one reporting on the current situation in the Iron Islands. Pointing to a cluster of islands west of the Riverlands, he explained clearly, "The Iron Islands are currently engulfed in chaos.

House Hoare ruled the Ironborn for generations, but in a single night at Harrenhal, the flames of the Black Dread consumed their entire direct bloodline.

'Blackheart' Harren and all his sons perished in the fire. On Harlaw, a man named Qhorin Volmark—whose grandmother was Harren's grandfather's sister—proclaimed himself the rightful heir of the Blackblood Kings and is now attempting to seize power."

Though Corlys was still young, he showed no hesitation before such a high-ranking audience. His father, Daemon, was inwardly pleased, impressed by the confidence and capability of his second son.

Corlys's finger slid to another island in the chain as he continued, "But not all Ironborn are willing to accept his claim.

On Old Wyk, the priests of the Drowned God gathered beneath the ribs of the sea dragon Nagga. There, they placed the driftwood crown on the head of one of their own—a barefoot prophet named Lodos, who claims to be the living son of the Drowned God and is said to perform miracles."

He shifted his finger again to another island, and Aegon, along with the others, followed his explanations closely as Corlys continued, "Great Wyk, Pyke, and Orkmont have all produced their own self-proclaimed kings. Their followers are already clashing by land and sea.

It's said that the seas between the islands are so full of corpses that they've drawn swarms of sea monsters. Hundreds of Krakens have reportedly surfaced, drawn by the scent of blood."

"Do such legendary creatures really exist?" asked Hand of the King Torrhen, who had lived his entire life inland and couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"They do," Aegon affirmed. "I saw one with my own eyes. It was nearly a hundred meters long, resembling an enormous octopus, its body covered with shell-like barnacles and coral."

Aegon recalled the giant Kraken from his past life, the one captured by House Valentine near the city of Oros on the Valyrian Peninsula. That monstrous beast had been sold to him—and when he fed it to Tiamat, it enhanced her [Greed Feast] by one level. Without a doubt, it had been a creature of extraordinary power.

"Really? I've never seen one." Visenya raised an eyebrow and looked at Aegon, her tone tinged with disbelief.

Aegon chuckled. "Haha, you just haven't been that lucky."

Corlys spoke with solemnity. "According to the intelligence we've gathered from the Ironborn, Krakens do resemble octopuses, but they aren't as massive as Your Grace described. It's said that the largest Kraken kept by Harren the Blackheart is only about twenty meters long."

"But even that is a force not to be underestimated in naval warfare," said Manfred, Head of House Hightower.

Edmyn, Head of House Tully, added, "It seems the Krakens of the Iron Islands are under some kind of mysterious constraint—they can't operate beyond the Iron Islands. When House Hoare conquered the Riverlands, we never once encountered Kraken attacks."

"Could it be that sea creatures can't survive in freshwater?" Aegon asked Edmyn.

"Uh..." Edmyn found himself at a loss for words.

Setting the aside the tangent, Aegon grew serious and addressed the room. "The main forces for the conquest of the Iron Islands will come from the Reach and the Riverlands. Both regions will deploy their entire fleets to attack the Iron Islands from two directions, aiming to subdue all Ironborn forces in a single strike. I will personally ride Balerion and provide air support from above.

Once the Iron Islands campaign concludes, I will grant two ducal titles—one, Lord of Rivers, for the Riverlands lords to contend for, and the other, Lord of the Reach, for the Reach lords. How much territory you can claim in the Iron Islands will depend on your own abilities."

Manfred of House Hightower and Edmyn of House Tully were visibly elated. They respectfully volunteered to lead the vanguard and pledged to give their utmost.

The Head of House Redwyne of Arbor and the Head of House Serry, who ruled the Shield Islands—both major lords of the Reach—also voiced their support, promising to dispatch their entire fleets. Both houses carried the Greenhand Bloodline; though they were slightly less dominant in other respects than House Hightower, their naval strength was on par.

In fact, House Redwyne's naval power far surpassed even that of House Hightower.

Harlan, Head of House Tyrell, opened his mouth but ultimately closed it in resignation. House Tyrell had no navy and thus no real voice in this nearby campaign against the Iron Islands. Harlan could only bide his time, gathering strength in silence, hoping to shine during the future war for Dorne and compete for the remaining ducal title in the Reach.

What Harlan didn't know was that the war for Dorne would prove far more brutal than the conquest of the Iron Islands.

Watching the Reach lords bicker and jockey for influence, Edmyn of House Tully felt a surge of quiet relief that his house lay within the Riverlands. The lords of the Reach—each one with the Greenhand Bloodline—were all comparable in strength to House Tully, and Houses Hightower and Redwyne were even stronger by no small margin. The Reach was indeed prosperous, able to produce so many powerful lords. No wonder His Grace Aegon had decided to divide it into two duchies.

Aegon was quite pleased with the enthusiasm of the Reach and Riverlands lords.

The Targaryen navy had suffered heavy losses in the sea battle off Gulltown in the Vale and was no longer capable of sustaining a major naval campaign. The fleets of the Reach and Riverlands would fill that void for the royal navy.

Aegon continued, "Once you return to your fiefdoms, make your winter preparations swiftly. Then begin mobilizing your navies and gathering military supplies. Lord Crispian, the Master of Coin, will purchase another batch of large ships from the Disputed Lands to strengthen the royal fleet. When the time comes, our three fronts will strike together. The Iron Islands will have no choice but to surrender.

We are now in the third year of the Conquest. At the start of Year Four, the Iron Islands campaign will officially begin.

At that same time, the rebellion suppression in the Vale's Three Sisters Islands will also commence. Queen Visenya will ride her dragon into battle, coordinating with the Vale's navy.

Winter is coming. May we all do our part."

Sharra Arryn, the Master of Whisperers, bowed to Queen Visenya, who returned her thanks with a smile.

The major lords of the Reach and Riverlands reaffirmed their commitment to the war effort.

With the strategic plan for the Iron Islands finalized, the war council adjourned, and the ministers began to disperse.

Aegon and the Small Council, accompanied by twenty thousand soldiers and several hundred maesters and maester's boys relocated from Oldtown, departed for Harrenhal, the temporary capital of the Targaryen dynasty, to begin preparations for constructing the new Citadel.

Before that, they would return to King's Landing, still under construction, to inspect its progress. After more than two years on campaign, Aegon had grown somewhat attached to the place where he first set foot in Westeros.

He also planned to take the thousand-year-old oak sand table from the war room in Briar Hall to Harrenhal, to use as a military map during Small Council discussions.

Before leaving the Highgarden royal palace, Aegon made the following arrangements: he appointed Lady Raedelle as Head of the Royal Garden Court. Highgarden would now have two stewards—Lady Raedelle would manage palace affairs and matters related to the royal women, while Harlan, Head of House Tyrell, would oversee external matters such as the hedge maze.

Aegon wasn't in a rush to let Lady Raedelle inherit the surname of House Gardener. She was a bastard; no matter her noble blood, she couldn't rise to high station overnight. Granting legitimacy to a bastard would shake the traditional inheritance customs of Westeros and draw scorn from all the realm's vassals.

Only when Aegon had centralized enough power within the dynasty would he consider establishing a Targaryen cadet branch for his bastards. This concept was a backup plan, a safeguard for the continuation of House Targaryen. For now, it was just a rough idea in his mind, still in need of refinement.

The royal family and the king's ministers departed Highgarden one after another.

They boarded carriages and arrived at the ferry by the riverside market, where they took boats down the Mander River to the Blackwater Rush. After a few more kilometers, they transferred to another boat that would take them along the Blackwater to King's Landing.

At that time, the roads across Westeros were in terrible condition—nothing but muddy tracks—so river travel remained the most efficient and comfortable way to move about.

The Targaryen royal army and the Riverlands forces could only make the long trek to the Crownlands and the Riverlands by land. There, the Crownlands troops would be led back to their respective fiefdoms by their lords, while the remaining royal army would be split: one force heading to garrison King's Landing, the other to Harrenhal, the temporary capital.

Aegon flew above the Mander on Balerion, soaring through the skies as the royal fleet slowly advanced along the river below. Looking back, he saw Lady Raedelle standing atop Highgarden's white walls, gazing at him from afar.

Aegon whispered, "Farewell, my garden."

...

[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]

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