Change Of Plans

'Let's see here…'

Aerion focused a massive wave of magic vitality onto the ground, forming a magic circle unlike any other in the past. It glowed emerald green that was almost as bright as the morning sun, forcing even Aerion to close his eyes. Before proceeding onwards, Aerion added Blood magic to the mix.

'So, what souls do I need to exchange?'

"The price for your father's soul… is every soul in your possession." The system stated. "Those who have a physical form such as Soul Knights can remain."

"..." Aerion laughed a little at the absurdity of that offer. 'Countless men, women and hundreds of dragons?'

"In this case, yes. The value of your family in your mind is even greater than the magic that you possess… is that not true?"

'...'

"All those 'men, women and dragons' truly mean nothing to you. They are but tools for your conquest."

'They are all more useful than he ever could hope to be.' Aerion countered. 'If this is your final offer then I will have to reject it.'

"My attempt to swindle you came to no avail… fair enough."

'So much for being my ally…'

"Family doesn't come at a cheap price."

'Is Bran the Builder real?' Aerion wondered, having read stories of his feats. It was said that he built the Wall and Winterfell. Some even say that he helped build Storm's End too.

"Partially, yes. Some of his accomplishments are exaggerated but that comes with every legend. For the right price, however, you can receive a version of him comparable or even greater than the one in the stories."

'How much for him?'

"All the souls in your poss-"

'Don't you dare.' Aerion shook his head slightly. 'How about I trade everyone but the dragons and a few thousand valyrians for this 'greater' Bran the Builder. That's a fairer trade, no?'

"Very well." The system chuckled. "You can have him."

'It's wonderful that we came to an agreement.'

Aerion removed the blood from the magic circle before releasing every soul he had gathered other than his dragons and a select few thousand valyrians. A ray of light struck through the clouds and descended to the emerald circle. From it, a luminous soul that was pure white in colour appeared.

Aerion carefully willed it to his palm until it was floating right above it.

'Brandon Stark… I'll see how great you truly are.'

After adding the soul to his collection, he looked at all the meat he had gathered. He had already eaten at the feast so Aerion wasn't particularly hungry.

"Vermithor! Get over here."

A long moment of silence later.

'That willful child dares to test my patience…'

Suddenly, a black scaled dragon cut through a cloud and carefully descended before Aerion. It was certainly faster than most of the dragons he had observed despite having three heads… a noteworthy feat, to say the least.

Without a word, the dragon feasted on everything that Aerion had hunted.

"That's a good dragon."

~

By the time Aerion returned to the hall, the feast had more or less ended. There were still some drunk friends laughing and conversing with each other, of course. He grabbed a jar of water and filled a fresh cup to quench his thirst. The water was hot and rather unsatisfactory, especially since he himself had done a little hunting. He would much rather have something cold…

'Hmm.'

He focused his remaining magic vitality slowly into the water, willing it to be cold.

'This reminds me of when I first tried healing magic… maybe I could learn cryomancy as well.'

By the time Aerion had exhausted everything, the water was almost as cold as ice. It was a refreshing drink… and had a strange taste to it. A 'pure' taste, unlike anything he had tried before.

'Since so much magic had been focused into the water, perhaps there were still some remnants...'

Aerion felt some of his magic vitality return to him after finishing the drink which did prove his theory.

'If another person constantly consumes magic vitality over time, could they grow their own?'

This was something he decided to test himself.

"I don't remember a feast where you didn't leave early." Viserys interrupted Aerion's train of thought by grabbing his shoulder.

"You must have a short memory then." Aerion jested. "Anyway, don't you ever get tired of the people around you?"

"Not really, I love the attention."

"How honest." Aerion laughed, removing Viserys' hand from his shoulder. "I do like a little attention myself but it becomes a little irritating when it lasts for a long period of time."

"Get used to it, you're the Emperor, after all."

"Hmph… if you do well with the Iron Islands and the Riverlands, I might consider giving you a crown."

"A crown?" Viserys' expression was that of shock… the good kind. "You mean, the Iron Throne?"

"Perhaps. While my… the main branch of House Targaryen rules the Empire as a whole, yours will be in charge of the Seven Kingdoms. Think you could be up for that?"

"I could imagine a rebellion… not led by me, of course. But perhaps by a descendent of mine."

"That was a possibility ever since I gave you the Riverlands. There will always be overly ambitious men in this world… I speak from personal experience." Aerion smiled. "Worry not, I will ensure that my future descendants have a strong grip on this world."

"I'm sure you will. First, have some children… who knows, maybe it's harder for people with gifts such as your own to sire them?"

"... I never thought about that."

'Could magic make it more difficult-'

Viserys jested as he drank his wine. "Maaaybe, you might be infertile too. Better to start ear-"

"I'm only jesting." Seeing Aerion's frightening gaze, Viserys laughed.

"Infertile you say?" Aerion chuckled. "You're one to talk. Your twentieth name day is fast approaching and you have no wife or children to speak of."

"Eh, that's because I'm relying on the head of House Targaryen to find me a suitable match. If I were to pick a random girl off the street, you wouldn't be too happy, would you?"

"Hmm, no I wouldn't," Aerion admitted the truth. "But I wouldn't stop you. If a peasant gives you delight, then so be it. I would not stop you."

"That was not an answer I was expecting." Viserys' eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise. Then he smiled. "Did a farm girl catch your eye?"

"Don't be absurd." Aerion shook his head in denial. "I would never lower myself to such a low standard."

"Sheesh, alright, Dragon Emperor."

"Speaking of suitors, what do you think of Cersei Lannister?" Aerion wondered. "She made a few subtle advances on me earlier today… but I wasn't having it."

"When a woman is interested in you, that's the end for the rest of us men." Viserys jested.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you look in the mirror often, nephew?"

Aerion swept a hand across his soft hair. "Am I so handsome that everyone else is forgotten?"

"Bull's eye." Viserys sighed. "It's hard not to envy you sometimes… you're the head of House Targaryen, perfect in appearance, strong physically and mentally. On top of all that, you also have magic strong enough to shake the world."

"Viserys, you shouldn't be comparing yourself to anyone. Not even me." Aerion looked into his eyes. "Always focus on becoming a greater you."

"Focus on myself… wise words." Viserys nodded.

"Anyway, I have some gifts for you. Come with me." Aerion drank another cup of water before continuing outside of the hall. He led him to where the best of his loot from the Iron Islands was kept, right outside of Riverrun. There were a dozen Soul Knights guarding the pile of chests… a little overkill, all things considered.

"Take a look at this beauty."

Aerion opened a long golden chest from which a beautiful crimson blade came into view. Viserys grabbed the sword and carefully observed it.

"Valyrian steel… for me?"

"Who else?" Aerion nodded. "I had to take it off Lord Drumm but he wasn't much of a foe… now it's yours. If you want, I could have it reforged."

"No, this will do just fine." Viserys sheathed Red Rain and put it to his side in place of a rather standard sword. "Would you take this one?"

"Should buy me a few jars of wine." Aerion put the standard sword into the chest and closed it shut. "Anyway, I have one more thing to give you-"

*Muffled shouting*

"What's that noise…" Viserys inquired, looking around Aerion's temporary storage camp. "The coffin?"

"Ah… that's precisely your second gift. You can open it if you wish."

"I'll get onto it…" Viserys slowly approached the wooden coffin. He carefully unsealed it open, only to find a living woman inside. Her mouth was sealed with a tight rope, along with her legs and arms. She could not move far even if she wanted to.

"Who's this?"

"Asha Greyjoy, supposed former heir to the Iron Islands. You may remove the bind on her mouth… the others, well, I'd be careful if I were you. She does more than bite."

"Sounds like a very wild woman." Viserys withdrew his dagger and carefully cut off the rope binding her mouth, only to get his hand bitten. "Ouch… I freed you, ungrateful bitch!"

"Who the hell keeps a living person bound in a coffin!? You bastard, I hate you!"

"Did you mistake Viserys for me, sea wildling?" Aerion wondered as he stood over the coffin, joining Viserys. "I can't imagine how many times you were turned over while that coffin was mounted to one of my soul dragons… it must have been a unique experience for you."

"Remove these bindings and I'll wipe that arrogant smirk off your pretty little face!"

"All you do is bark and spit. I wonder, do you ever swallow…"

Aerion couldn't help but laugh at her furious expression which only made her anger grow.

"Isn't that enough humiliation, Aerion?" Viserys questioned, feeling slight pity.

"She's an Ironborn woman, I'm sure she can handle it." Aerion shrugged. "Since she is Balon's daughter, I thought that perhaps she might be of some use to you. You are the Lord Paramount of the Iron Islands now, after all."

"But she did bite your hand like a vicious dog… Maybe I was wrong, in the end. Say, should I kill her?"

A fireblast appeared in his hand.

Viserys lightly put down his hand. "No, that will not be necessary. I will need her."

"I see." The fire in Aerion's palm dispersed into Viserys to heal the bite wound on his hand. Then he turned around and started to make his way back to Riverrun. "I'll leave her to you then."

Viserys nodded before attempting to get Asha Greyjoy to cooperate. "If you follow my lead, everything will proceed smoothly. If you don't… well, matters might become worse than they are now. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She gave no reply, which made Viserys sigh.

'How difficult women can be sometimes…'

He cut the rope binding her legs together, helping Asha to her feet right after. That was when she looked around and looked for an attempt to run. The dozen or so Soul Knights surrounding her turned and all gave frightening stares.

"Run away and we will cut your legs off." One of them spoke coldly. "The Emperor wills it so."

After receiving the threat, she backed down. "I will not run…"

Instead, she attempted to take Viserys' dagger but he stepped back in time.

"Don't make me have them drag you everywhere. By then, you would be more of a liability."

"I don't care…"

"Even if your people need you? For a supposed highborn, you lack a sense of duty." Viserys stroked his chin when an idea came to mind. "If all ends well, you can have the Iron Islands."

"Trust me… I have a plan in mind to help better your people and it would proceed more smoothly with your assistance. Of course, I wouldn't just hand the Iron Islands over to you so easily. You have to earn my trust as well."

"..."

"So, will you help your people or let them down because of some selfish grudge?"

"... Fine. I will trust you."

'That was easier than I thought.'

Viserys smiled, proud of himself to a degree. Compared to Aerion, he seemed almost like a saint so his words were more well-received. It was somewhat like a bad cop, good cop situation.

~

Aerion, after waking up and preparing himself for the day ahead, left his guest room. By his door stood Jaime Lannister, who seemed rather sleepy.

"Have someone stand-in for you, you're the Lord Commander." Aerion sighed seeing his sorry state.

"I drank a little more than I should've." Jaime chuckled, admitting the truth. "And I could not rest either…"