Bro Amazon delivers my fucking package to the wrong address now I only have one gift and I need like five or so plus that shot cost me like $60. They're only giving me my money back in like five to seven business days which is frankly rather upsetting. But luckily for me I just got paid so I can go buy gifts for the rest of my family I just have less time to do it now.
Update: Just realized I forgot to edit that chapter before posting it my bad.
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101 AC
The Red Keep
First Person POV
Aemon Targaryen
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It was surprising how long it took for people to come find us. But after the ceremony was over Laena, Laenor, and I were found by the Kingsguard whilst deep in a game of Jenga. Yes, I reinvented Jenga and yes I brought it to the ceremony. Why you ask? Because sitting around playing the same games every day got very old after a while. The game had been popular not just with us three but also the knights of the round and a few others as well no doubt it would begin to spread like wildfire soon. Still, it seemed everything had wrapped up nicely and I returned to my chambers for the night.
That night I had another strange dream. Cold and death, fire and ice, all wrapped up in some strange almost hallucinatory dream. Only this time I had seen them, the others. Whites and white walkers haunted my dreams that night and some of the others even rode great and terrifying spiders of ice in lands covered in snow followed by a blizzard. I even saw him, the Night King himself he rode the greatest spider of them all, and let me tell you the show did not do him justice. It didn't do almost anything justice in this world besides how some of the small folk looked. For example, my family the Targaryens as well as our dragons are far more attractive, grand, and ethereal looking than they were in the show. The Red Keep is bigger as well and so is Harrenhal, and other small differences are what assure me that we are not in the show timeline.
A short few days passed after the great council and the heir's ceremony ended. Viserys had been a graceful victor and although bitter it didn't seem like Corlys or Rhaenys would be starting a war over the outcome of events. Soon I found that the lords had already started departing and that the royal family soon would too. I came to my mother first she had gotten over her anger with me and hadn't been angry with me for months now. I told her that I wanted to go back with her to Runestone but to my surprise, she had spoken with the queen and they had decided to have me stay in the capital for a year or so more.
At first, I didn't understand why but now why that is. When I asked Granny said it was because they had decided to tell me something but only once we had returned to kings landing. This time I would be traveling with the King's party rather than on dragonback. So I said my farewells to my friends and got into the massively altered carriage. Think Larys took it the hardest although we all promised to write to each other he looked particularly sorrowful about it. I wager it's because I was probably one of if not the first real friend he ever had. Someone who never bullied or mocked him or even made him feel strange because of his deformity.
The knights of the round would depart for now but it wasn't the end. I also said goodbye to Laena and Laenor as well as their cousins. When Laena learned all the members of our friend group were going to write to each other she demanded I write to her as frequently as possible. I also decided to use one of my remaining Dragon Warrior body uses on her.
Soon after we went our separate ways as I departed inside the royal wheelhouse back to the Red keep. I soon waved my goodbyes and entered the wheelhouse with Viserys and his side of the family. It was far too large for any one horse to pull on its own, it took about twenty or so, but it was arguably worth it considering the name wheelhouse wasn't at all an exaggeration in the slightest. It really was a house on wheels outfitted with chairs and other such things. I of course got a seat right next to the Queen who wanted to speak with me about my dreams again.
Ancalagon flew overhead and followed us down the river road to where it meets the king's road at a small inn. From there we continued south and after a week we returned to Kings Landing. I didn't get to see the crowd that greeted us as I had to stay inside the wheelhouse but I could hear them. It was basically a big ass parade with easily over a few thousand people watching lucky for us none of them tried anything. Plus there was a massive feast that was held after that in honor of the new heir.
Viserys and Aemma were as happy as could be and Rhaenyra seemed fine with the occasion. My father who joined us soon after we arrived at the city as he had been there long before we arrived. He also attended the feast and I had never seen him and Uncle V get along so well. There was drinking and merryment and soon the sun began to lower and Rgaenyra was sent off to bed. Father eventually left as well although he had defiantly gone off into the city no doubt to spend the night partying and drinking and fucking some random whore on the street of silk.
All in all the parade plus the celebratory feast all read as one big fuck you to the blue faction if you ask me witch was kind of a dick move but whatever. I had kind of gotten the sense that the whole Targaryen side of my family was actually much ruder and meaner than they thought they were. Not in an obvious way like my father's constant condescension to anyone who doesn't have Valyrian blood but more in a subconscious way. As if their having the blood of old Valyria just made them a bit better than everyone else. Although they are more attractive, that's about the only physical difference between them and a normal person.
When that feast ended the king and queen ended up returning to their chambers as well. But when I got to my door instead of returning to my chambers and turning in for the night. Ser Ryam informed me that the King and Queen summoned me. He led me to a chamber deep below in the Red Keep. In that chamber, the two stood side by side and behind them, the massive black skull of the black dread himself hung from the ceiling by large iron chains.
XXX
I stared up at the massive black skull it gleamed and shone strangely in the candlelight. It reflected the light like metal but instead of like regular bones. I've seen dinosaur bones in my last life of all types. But no creature's skeleton had ever reached the sheer size of the skull in front of me. How a beast so large could have even lives much less flew simply boggled my mind. I snapped out of my awe when the king called out to me.
"Come Aemon we must speak." I looked down from the skull to the royal couple. They stood next to each other right beneath the black dread's skull. When I neared them I could feel the warmth from the rows of candles in the chamber. It wasn't unpleasant instead it was actually rather comfortable being near the fire. It gave me the same feeling as a fresh sea breeze or a warm blanket it was a weird sensation. It was not a feeling that I could perfectly describe with words but more a feeling of belonging. It's like fire was simply meant to be in my presence.
"When you look at this skill what do you see Aemon?" My great-grandfather asked as my great-grandmother gently took my hand in her's. Then it hit me I remember a similar scene from the show between Viserys and Rhaenyra. If they're doing what I think they are then I have seriously started changing the timeline. Still putting that aside I needed to think about the answer. I looked down and activated my sky dragon eyes a nice little side effect I noticed was thanks to the ability to slow down my perception of time it also gave me more time to think about stuff as well.
So I used those extra moments to gather an answer for them. The problem is I don't know what the right answer truly is. Although I think Rhaenyras's answer was close I don't think it covered all of it. So I turned off the ability and looked back up at their time slowed and aged faces. Two sets of purple eyes in the near-complete darkness met mine.
"I see power and I see legacy. People say that the members of our house are closer to gods than to men. That's not true though the idea that we control dragons was never true either. We bond with them but we do not own them and every action we take with them reflects endlessly into the future. With every Targaryen who passes through this world, their actions reflect on all of us both good and bad."
Silence followed my little impromptu speech and more importantly, eyes widened slightly. It was clear I had given the right answer if not slightly unexpected. I had given up on hiding my intelect and over half the court whispered still about how I was blessed by the gods. It was certainly a nice convo starter during the great council. Thinking back at it though maybe I need better ice breakers.
Then interrupting my thoughts the King and Queen looked at each other smiles and laughed in unison. I looked back and forth between them confused. Why were they laughing?
"What's so funny?" I said trying to puzzle out why they laughed but Granny just pinched my cheek fondly and added.
"You're such a smart boy my Aemon." She smiled whilst rubbing my slightly sore face with her palm. But sensing my remaining hesitation the old king answered me.
"Most children your age would have just said they saw a dragon." He said with a small smile gracing his face. He brought one hand up to stroke his beard and looked up at the black skull.
"Nonetheless you are correct my boy, these magnificent beings are the legacy of our house. Every action taken by a dragon rider and his dragon will echo throughout history. They are the reason our family rules these lands and our house remains in power." He said stroking his beard again but more than that I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was far from here. I'm sure my words reached both of them deeply after all they both knew the conqueror himself but they also knew Maegor the cruel. They both rode Balarion and like it or not their legacies left a major impact on the entire history of Westaros.
"There is another legacy we have decided to share with you, my sweet boy. Isn't that right Jae?" Great-grandmother said while tousling my hair. She looked at her husband with a questioning gaze and looked down from the dragon skull and back into hers.
"Yes indeed." Then from his waist he pulled out a dagger but it wasn't just any random dagger it was the catspaw dagger from the show. He took it out of his robes and presented it before me. Then he unsheathed the prophecy dagger before me and moved it over the flames.
"This dagger was created by my grandfather with the help of the last of the Valyrian pyromancers. Its blade contains a secret that has been passed down from king to heir for generations. But over these past months it's become clear you are key to the prophecy within this blade. I believe the seams you've been having are no coincidence but are similar to the dream of the conqueror himself." he revealed the blade now covered in white Valyrian words that only appeared thanks to the heat of the flames before us.
XXX
They told me everything they knew about the prophecy and for the next few hours we discussed what to do about it. In the end, we mainly came to the conclusion that it most likely won't occur during our lifetimes but our house will need to be prepared.
Soon however I grew tired and they laughed again realising how silly it was to talk about such things with a three-year-old boy. Still, it was rather nice when Granny tucked me into bed and herself. She told me just how much she loved me and kissed me goodnight on my forehead before wishing me sweet dreams.
I spent the remainder of the year in Kings Landing before finally returning to Runestone. It was a rather tearful goodbye especially with the women of my family who I spent the most time outside of my father and great-grandfather. I promised Rhaenyra I would write her when I was able although I doubt that she was fully capableof reading yet being only three as well. I promised Aemma and Granny that I would visit every once in a while as well. I promised Viserys that I would continue my talks of old Valyria with him by raven and we would also work on his models of old Valyria together someday. As for my father few words were exchanged as few were needed to. The only thing of true import was that he told me to return when I had begun slinging real steel and I agreed. I assume it was more likely than not that he would like me to squire for him as like it or not he was technically a knight.
Then after all that I finally got to go home along with Ancalogon. I received a warm welcome from my family as house Royce were a lot less formal when we were alone. In fact, it felt much closer to the family dynamic I had in my last life. I immediately got to work. I kept my promises to write to all of my friends and family which was like twenty-odd letters. I took the time to gain some more points buy some new skills and granted animal bonds to some of my pets who had been growing quite well. This included another two dragon warrior body uses and enough animal bonds for all my important pets. I decided that when I returned to kings landing, because let's be honest it was a question of when not if, that I would use one on Rhaenyra. I also came up with a solution to my green problem. The dance was a byproduct of the death of Aemma Targaryen as a result Viserys needed a new heir and a new family. So my new plan had everything to do with the dragon warrior body I purchased. The second transformation would be used on the young babe Baelon to ensure he would live. With a male heir of Aemma, the greens would no longer be a problem and this method could potentially divert the entire dance of dragons. After that, all I have to do is keep Baelon alive. So I went about my life in the Vale although slightly uneventful it was quite nice. On top of that Ancalogon had grown far larger than expected as the fruits from the dragon growth tree as well.
However things changed at last, we had peace but more than that I had officially become the youngest dragon rider ever. At last, my oldest companion and I flew through the sky together. Two years had passed and my life seemed to be going well in the Vale. My house was growing and we even started selling some of my inventions which brought in much more gold than we ever anticipated. However, one day a raven came informing me that my great-grandfather had gone to sleep one night and never woke again. So it was in the year 103 AC that I once again returned to Kings Landing for another funeral.
[Chapter Image]
XXX
Good night all and happy holidays.