Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Dragons. The mythical beast that allowed Valyria to rule the world, and then after Doom, allowed the House of Targaryen to forge the savage lands of Westeros into a single unified Kingdom. They were the symbol of power for House Targaryen even a century after Aegon's conquest.

Yet the Dance took them away from the world. For two hundred years after the Dance, the Targaryen family continued to revive these beasts in order to regain their symbol of power, yet they didn't succeed. It was one of these very attempts that brought the Targaryen family to near extinction due to the tragedy of Summer Hall.

Yet where his ancestors failed, King Aerys Targaryen succeeded. In the funeral pyre of the greatest King of Westeros, three dragon eggs hatched, bringing back the mythical beasts that once allowed Aegon the Conqueror to forge the seven kingdoms as one.

The rebirth of the Dragons was nothing short of a miracle. And historians consider it rather fortunate that the Dragon Pit had begun its reconstruction just a few years prior to this and had been modified and expanded with an open structure to allow dragons to fly out with ease.

With the dragons, the House Targaryen regained much, yet there was always a lingering fear that the Royal House would fall prey to its hubris once again, and there could be a repeat of the tragedy that once burnt half the Kingdom. A valid fear, especially with the amount of power the Royal family possessed at the time. King Aerys was aware of that and, in his death, gave his children another partying gift which we today call the 'Dragon Rider Edict.'

These documents had remained classified until now and had become public only half a decade ago when the Royal family chose to disclose the contents of the diaries of King Rhaegar and Princess Daenys.

Even today, the Royal family is said to hold a number of frozen dragon eggs, according to some rumors, and have provisions in the law to try and hatch them in case of any emergency. Some even speculate that the Royal Family has a small herd of dragons on one of their private islands, yet these reports and rumors are without any substantial evidence.

0000

RHAELLA TARGARYEN

Rhaella Targaryen, the Queen dowager of the Seven Kingdoms, sat in her room with her three children surrounding her, the questions raging through their minds evident in their gazes as they sat there in pin-drop silence.

The three newborn dragons were under the care of Qyburn and the rudimentary dragon keepers that had been trained by the man in secret on her husband's orders. In the end, it was her eldest who broke the silence.

"Did you know?" he asked, and she saw all three of them look at her as she shook her head.

"No, though I had my suspicions," she began. After she had read over the diary Aerys had left her, she had pondered quite a bit over the past to look for hints and had berated herself for missing all the signs over the years. Though, Aerys deserved some credit for making it so difficult to spot his gift over the years, and now it was only in hindsight was she truly able to see the whole picture.

"Though you might not believe me, your father was quite different in his youth. He was loud, brash, and often given to fantasies of grandeur and majesty," and she chuckled slightly at that, for that was a quality he hadn't quite lost though his dreams had become much grounded, and his perseverance to make those dreams a reality had been quite a change.

"Even in those days, he spoke of rebuilding King landing and establishing an army and fleet, yet at that, they were nothing but words, and then the announcement of our marriage was made," she said somberly. She had been against the match initially, especially given the rumors about his debauchery.

"It was around this time that he changed," she spoke clearly as she recalled those days in her mind.

"He became quieter, somber, and much more mature. I believe this is when his reams began," she answered, and then it was her daughter who cut her off.

"But how can you be sure now? You said you suspected it, but how can you be sure now that he was a dreamer," asked daenys and Rhaella turned away from her daughter and picked up the diary from the table. The very diary Aerys had entrusted her with, a diary with his visions and ideas. Rhaella knew little of science and administration, yet even she could tell that this diary was a treasure trove for their family. The things written in there would have been called as ramblings of a madman, yet given all Aerys had accomplished in his reign of about thirty years, she was inclined to believe them to be true and if they were. She held the key to the very future of this world.

"This is your father's diary," she said, seeing all of them look at the thick book with a narrowed gaze.

"After his death, Ser Gerold took me to his room, and with a key Aerys had entrusted me in his life, I opened a hidden safe hidden in the room where I found this along with some other things," she began.

"WAIT!" suddenly, Rhaegar spoke up as he reached into his shirt, took out a key similar to hers, and raised it toward her.

"Was the key like this?" he questioned, and she nodded.

"Indeed, there were three keys in total. One was with Aerys, I had the second one and you had the last one, Rhaegar," she began, and the three of them were hanging on to her every word and casting curious glances at the diary.

"Aerys wrote this in case he ever died before he could finish his work. And he knew that buying those dragon eggs would jeopardize his life, so he wrote this diary so you all could have some sort of help in the future," and she saw Daenys's lips thin at those words.

"What! Then why the hell did he do it? Damn the dragons…" but before she could say anymore, Rhaegar held her hand.

"Please stop, Daenys. Please," he said, and the two brothers shared a look making Daenys frown.

"What are you hiding? We have an army and a whole freaking armada of ships. What was so important that he had to risk his life to get those eggs," spoke Daenys. Her sons looked towards her, and she gave them a nod, giving them permission to discuss the extinction-level threat humanity faced.

"There was a reason for this Daenys. A reason which only a handful of people know in the entire kingdom," began Rhaegar, slowly making Daenys frown.

"It is time you learn about project 'Dawn Break'," spoke Aemon as he stood up from his seat.

"Dawn Break? Are the two of them joking mother?" Daenys said with a frown and looked at her. Rhaella shook her head.

"They are telling the truth,"she said and Daenys looked at Rhaegar who continued.

"Do you remember the story of the Long night and the Night King father often told us when we were children," and Daenys nodded. Aerys had been fond of telling stories to his children.

"Isn't that a folk tale from the North?" questioned Daenys, her voice quivering.

"No, my dear sister. That folk tale is a lot more than just a tale. The Dark Night was real, and so was the Night King, and he is coming back with a whole army at his back."

And silence hung in the chambers as Daenys's eyes widened at those words. And then they talked about it all. In the end, it was all too much to process in a single sitting. So, they left her chambers after hours, all heading for the yard to process everything they had just heard.

0000

LYANNA STARK

Living in the North for her whole life, the capital had been quite a shock to her. For all its prosperity, Wintertown housed about fifty thousand people at most though she would venture that it was lower than that.

Coming to the capital had been a shock; Lyanna had been to White Harbor a couple of times and had thought the city a marvel with its packed streets, with merchants selling wares from across the world at every corner. Yet the Capital had been a completely different beast.

If White Harbor was packed, then the capital was nearly five times the number of people, with the city being about thrice as large as the behemoth that was Whit Harbor, with two sets of walls and a third set under construction. The capital was filled with people. The buildings rose high and touched the sky, and the streets were packed with goods from across the world.

The Red Keep itself was a magnificent castle, expanded by the previous King. The castle itself was surrounded by two sets of walls with expanded stables and a training yard. Speaking of the training yard, she found herself intrigued by the thundering noises coming from the yard and hence snuck out of her room to see what was going on.

There were actually two training yards. One was smaller, usually closed off to regular soldiers, and mainly sued by the Kingsgaurd and the Royal family. Benjen had shown it to her when they had arrived, knowing about her interests already. With each step, the sound of metal clashing and shouting got louder, and finally, she reached the balcony and found the source of all the noise.

Below in the yard, there were people sparring. People she recognized immediately. The King himself was present, his hair wet with sweat and grime as he parried a strike from his brother, Prince Aemon.

Lyanna herself had spent quite a bit of time in the yard and could tell that the two of them were quite skilled, and the way their swords blurred through the air, it was evident that they had danced like this for quite some time.

The King remained on the back foot, remaining relatively still as he dodged and parried the strikes from his brother, who was a flurry of activity. They continued to spar and she stood there watching their dance. They were both equally matched, and their spar ended with much less fanfare as the two of them simply stopped with a final nod, indicating a draw.

Much to her surprise, they hadn't missed her presence as she saw the King look towards her, and she stilled as those amethyst eyes landed on her.

"Lady Lyanna, it is good to see you," said King Rhaegar making her blush as she saw his skin through his shirt. Though thankfully, her mother's lessons kicked in instinctively as she curtsied.

"I apologize for intruding, your grace," she said slowly, yet the King waived away her apology.

"It is nothing. Please join us," he said, and she gulped as she began to walk down. Finally reaching the yard she saw the King and Prince Aemon approach them, as both of them wiped away the sweat.

"I believe it must be Ser Benjen who showed you this yard?" he asked, and she nodded, dread pooling in her heart at having gotten Benjen into trouble. It must have shown on her face because she heard the Prince chuckle as he began.

"Don't worry about your brother Princess. It was just a surprise to see someone other than our sister here," and she flushed in embarrassment, though before she could say anything, another set of footsteps interrupted them.

"Ok, Aemon, I am ready for our spar now," said the intruder. She looked up, and her eyes widened as she found Princess Daenys standing there, clad in training armor with a short sword in her hands.

Much like the rest of the Kingdom, she had heard that the Princess could wield a sword and that the King indulged his youngest daughter and allowed her to learn to wield a sword. Something she was quite jealous of since she had to bribe her brother for lessons herself.

The Prince looked at his sister, like this was all routine to them, before she felt his eyes land on her, and Lyanna couldn't help but get a bit lost in those amethyst eyes. The Targaryen were often said to be closer to Gods than to men, and it showed especially in their appearances. Their Valyrian roots made them all exceptionally beautiful.

And she found it all true, much like his brother the Prince was blessed with sharp features and his hair had grown longer and was tied with a band.

"I believe your Benjen mentioned that you used to train with a sword yourself, my lady," the Prince asked and Lyanna cursed Benjen in her heart for spilling her secrets to the Prince. Yet, in the end, she nodded slowly. After all there was no point in lying now, giver her own brother had ratted her out.

"Yes, my prince. I used to bribe him and Ned for some lessons," she said a bit louder than normal, hiding away her embarrassment. The Prince chuckled, and she felt her heartbeat fasten at that roguish smile before he spoke slowly.

"Ahh that reminds me of someone in my own family," the Prince teased the Princess who looked away haughtily.

"I refuse to acknowledge all such allegations," said the Princess, and Lyanna found the relationship between the Targaryen siblings similar to what she and her siblings had.

"I believe we should do things a bit differently today, perhaps instead of me you would be amenable to facing Lady Lyanna in the yard," began the Prince and her eyes widened at those words.

"Of course, if the Lady agrees," he added suddenly and he found Princess Daenys looking at her with a complex gaze, her lips turned up as she cast a glance at her brother.

Lyanna could only look and shake her head.

"I would be honored to Princess, but I lack any armor or equipment for this," she said and the Princess smirked and took her by the arm.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We have spare equipment and clothes in the room. Come let me show you," and with that, she was dragged out of the yard to an adjacent room A single thought ran in her mind.

'Ned is going to kill me!'

0000

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