Old Valyria: House Baelaeron

First of all, happy new year everyone!

So, looking back, there are a lot of things that went wrong in my story( From conversations, to decisions and much more, but since I've popped out a chapter every day in a short time, that was more or less to be expected) and maybe I'll fix them in the future, but at the moment it's not on my agenda.

Nevertheless, I hope you like the chapter to some extent.

Yours Jasonenrick :D

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Daenys couldn't hide her anxiety, even though she tried to keep up the outer facade. Even with the trust she had in Kaelarys, there was a cold shiver running down her spine and a slight tremor that she could not quite control. She remembered her father's stories about mages who could delve into the thoughts and innermost secrets of anyone they wished. It was a rare art she had only heard about in stories and had never encountered before.

It was neither a gift nor a technique that anyone could learn. Looking into the minds of other people was an art that only blossomed when the inherent potential was fully realized. Few had the talent to learn it and even fewer had the opportunity to do so.

She hadn't known that Kaelarys had learned and mastered this art when she impulsively offered him to look into her mind. But in retrospect, it is nothing that should surprise her, that one of Valyria's most famous mages also mastered this.

Kaelarys seemed to notice her nervousness and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry, my dear. I promise to be as gentle as possible."

Daenys looked up and saw his deep blue eyes. "With all due respect, Your Grace. In my experience, words are often only fleeting promises whose meaning can be twisted and turned at will, depending on how it serves the speaker."

"I understand," he replied in a calm voice. "And yet you have no choice but to trust me – unless you want to end our deal before it begins."

Daenys tensed her jaw. "I've made my decision and I won't take it back."

"I can respect that," Kaelarys remarked and sat down on the ground directly in front of her.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, while he gently took her cheeks in his hands and gently placed his thumbs on her temples.

Daenys blinked in confusion. To her knowledge, entering the mind of another was inextricably linked to the glass candles. "Don't you need a glass candle?"

Kaelarys didn't bat an eyelid. "I've learned that certain limits only exist in our heads. Most mages need a support, a catalyst of some kind. The same does not apply to me."

However surprising it may have been, it no longer shocked her. She had long gone numb to all of these surprises.

"It will feel slightly uncomfortable, but no matter what you do, don't try to resist." He warned her one last time.

Daenys nodded and focused her gaze on him, as he had advised her to do before. She took a deep breath, tried to let go of all thoughts and relax her muscles. Kaelarys had explained to her that it was difficult for people without this ability to open up mentally, and that a clear, relaxed position was the best way to make it possible.

Daenys held his gaze, absorbed in the blue of his eyes, as if she found an anchor in them. Suddenly, without warning, she was overcome by the feeling that Kaelarys had previously described. The eyes of both widened in sync as he began to invade her mind. Their pupils rolled up, leaving only the pale white, as they sat wordlessly across from each other, both frozen and deep in thought.

A tingling sensation spread across her body, intense and yet almost impossible to grasp, as if she could feel his presence directly in her mind. Her mind opened up like a book and she struggled to allow him full access. It was as if she were breaking down an inner barrier – one of the most difficult and at the same time weirdest things she had ever done.

With iron determination, she suppressed every instinctive reflex, every impulse to close herself off. It took an enormous amount of willpower, but she forced herself to remain relaxed, as he had advised her, and kept the access open. Gradually, she felt her memories unfold, layer by layer, like pages of a book turning by themselves.

Daenys felt Kaelarys' presence more strongly in her mind, sensed how he carefully explored the boundaries of her innermost self, as if he were a traveler entering a foreign land. Images of memories emerged: fleeting moments of her childhood, familiar faces, long-forgotten feelings, conversations, everything she had ever experienced.

Kaelarys wandered through her mind with patience, probing through the threads of her thoughts and awakening memories, one after the other, to life. Many of these memories were not of particular importance to him; they showed everyday moments, small scenes of her life, but which revealed a deeper understanding of herself. He absorbed them, let them go, and gradually recognized the shape and subtleties that shaped Daenys' personality.

With some memories, he could feel how she resisted a little more than usual. He only had to read her superficial thoughts to know why. There were moments in her life, like her first time or similar, that she was unwilling to show him and Kaelarys decided to respect her decision.

Not that he would have anything to gain from looking at such thoughts of what was, to him, a young girl.

Finally, Kaelarys came upon what he had been looking for. It was like a separate, shielded compartment in her mind, an area that stood out clearly from the rest of her memories and seemed to act as a kind of storage for her visions.

It was much more difficult to penetrate this area of her mind than any other memory, and Kaelarys knew that there was a good reason for that. It was a nexus for something he had seen in a few others who also had dragon dreams. A phenomenon that was familiar to him, but still full of mystery in its complexity and depth.

With extreme caution, Kaelarys ventured deeper into this area of her mind, trying to be as gentle as possible, knowing that even the greatest sensitivity would give her a migraine of unprecedented magnitude afterwards.

No matter how Daenys tried, she couldn't prevent a painful surge of pressure from slowly building up.

Finally, Kaelarys broke the last barrier and glimpsed the visions Daenys had seen for the first time.

The reason he had accepted her offer in the first place was because Daenys was, in his eyes, the most powerful dreamer of her time – perhaps even as powerful as he. There was a reason why only she had foreseen the downfall of Valyria in her dreams, while other dreamers had not seen it. Dragon dreamers were rare, but more numerous than one would suspect, and yet none but Daenys had gained the vision.

As Kaelarys searched through her visions, he encountered numerous visions of bizarre importance.

But none of these visions seemed to directly involve him or point clearly to him, at least not in a way that he could immediately recognize. Not that visions were ever easy to understand. They often left room for interpretation and were full of hidden symbols.

Nevertheless, his age and experience played into his cards and gave him a certain advantage that others could only dream of, no pun intended.

Suddenly, he sensed a strange presence stirring in the midst of Daenys' visions. It was neither an image nor a feeling, but rather a spirit that dwelled outside of her own mind. The feeling that arose in him was one he knew all too well from the past.

For a breath, he lingered at the threshold as Daenys' inner consciousness flickered around him.

Daenys let out a muffled gasp, her hands clawing at the ground as the pressure in her head grew. Kaelarys concentrated, putting all of his mental strength into trying to get a closer look at this being.

Then, without warning, he was pushed back. A surge of invisible power hit him, and for a moment he almost lost his grip on the metaphysical space of her mind.

Daenys groaned and pressed her hands to her forehead as the wave of pain washed over her. Kaelarys rose and went to the table, where there was a small silver decanter with artfully woven red stripes. He lifted it, filled a glass with the clear water it contained, and brought it to Daenys.

"The pain will probably last all day," he said with a slight rough voice. 'I'll send for someone who can give you something for the pain, but I'm afraid the night will still be uncomfortable for you."

"I thought as much." Daenys nodded and reached out to take the glass, but her fingers grasped nothing. Kaelarys smiled.

"I don't think thinking is your strongest suit at the moment," he joked. 

"At least not in your condition. You should rest."

"Did it at least work the way you wanted it to, Your Majesty?" She emptied the glass with a big gulp. He took it when she tried to stand up.

"We'll see." He replied cryptically, as he helped her stand and escorted her out.

The great doors opened as Daenys and Kaelarys approached. In the hall beyond, the worried faces of her family were already awaiting them, and they rushed forward with a hint of alarm when they saw that Daenys could barely stand upright without Kaelarys' support.

Her mother was the first to rush to her side, immediately putting her hands on Daenys' shoulders to support her. "Daenys! What happened? Are you all right?" Her voice trembled slightly, and her eyes scanned Kaelarys as if she expected an explanation.

"It's nothing serious," Kaelarys replied calmly, supporting Daenys' back with his hand. "She's just exhausted from... the side effects of the procedure. Nothing a good sleep will not fix."

Her father stepped forward, his brow furrowed, and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "You need to rest, Daenys," he said urgently. "Perhaps you should sit down first."

Her father helped Daenys to sit down in one of the large armchairs in the hall, where she leaned back exhausted. The family gathered around her, looking worried. Kaelarys stood by, unconcerned, with Seraphine at his side, who had been waiting with the others.

"Would you please make sure that someone is with her and relieves her pain?" he asked his wife.

"Of course." She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and set off.

Who would have thought Daenys was protected and guided by the gods. No wonder only the Targaryens had survived the Doom. It had been their destiny from the beginning.

Kaelarys was deep in thought as he watched Daenys.