High Tide, Chapter 59: Triunification

Eighth Moon, 120 AC

Jacaerys

Jace was looking over his armor and uniform again in the vanity. It was a very important day, and nothing could go wrong. He adjusted his bracers and boots again as he tried to make himself look as perfect as possible, not a single hair out of place. The servants normally helped his mother and sister get ready but for the most part, Jace and his brothers preferred to dress themselves, finding it much quicker than being hemmed and hawed over by a small army of servants. The servants were rather disappointed earlier today when he had sent them away as usual, hoping to help him on the big day.

It was a little hard to believe sometimes, but he had done it. He had taken perhaps the largest step to fulfill his lifelong ambitions, and he felt happy about it, he really did, but knowing what was coming robbed him of much of the triumph he thought he would have felt for his victory.

The treaty had already been signed yesterday, the Second Treaty of Tyrosh some called it. Others knew it as the Triple Concordat for the three parties that signed it; House Velaryon, the Coalition, and the alliance of Volantis and Pentos. It would reshape Essos forever, just as the first Treaty of Tyrosh had thirty years ago.

Pentos ceded to House Velaryon all influence over Myr as well as all control of Myr’s northern provinces and claims east of the Vaekys River, running up to Ny Sar and the Rhoyne. In the north, Pentos yielded all of Andalos and the coasts until the Velvet Hills to Braavos and they also surrendered the hills themselves and the city of Ghoyan Drohe and all lands north of the Little Rhoyne to Norvos which received them in exchange for ceding Ny Sar and all lands south of the Rhoyne to House Velaryon.

Volantis lost border territories and provinces to Qohor and Essaria in the north and in the west they ceded all influence over Myr and any claim over Lys, and the once Disputed Lands until Olvys Mell and Chroyane. Volantis did gain some territory however, with its annexation of the city of Mantarys and the western half of Mantarys’ hinterlands recognized as fait accompli and the other powers not caring enough to restore Mantaryan independence, but they were warned that any further encroachment on Tolos and Elyria would see the intervention of the rest of the Free Cities, including House Velaryon.

The defeated powers of the war were undoubtedly Volantis and Pentos. Their losses were humiliating but not crippling, for the Velaryons had sought not to completely undo the balance of power, knowing that playing the Free Cities against each other was to their benefit. The Coalition made up of Braavos, Lorath, Norvos, Qohor, Essaria, Tolos, and Elyria all received new lands and/or concessions in trade privileges and war reparations but nothing that would make them too strong.

The greatest victor by far however was House Velaryon, which had its annexation of Lys and Myr and all their lands recognized by all signatories of the Triple Concordat. House Velaryon now ruled all lands southeast of the Vaekys River, east of the Narrow Sea including Tyrosh, south of the Rhoyne from Ny Sar until the Summer Sea including Lys, and west of the Rhoyne following Dagger Lake and Chroyane until shortly before Selhorys and then down by land to Olvys Mell in the western end of the Orange Shore.

It was an incredible feat and an incredible amount of land gained and only one step remained. The work of years of planning, of months of fighting and flying to occupy their desired territories, finally culminating in this one momentous occasion. The restoration of the Triarchy. The union of three Free Cities and all their lands and wealth and power into one whole. The Triunification.

It was understandable then why Jace wanted to look as perfect as possible. He had played a key role in overseeing this chain of events and he needed to look every inch the part of a dashing liberator and aspiring ruler. He fussed over his uniform for as long as he could before he saw the time ticking away on the clock and knew he had to leave. He had done his best, and that was all any of them really could do.

He walked out of his room and made his way to the front yard of Zaldilaros Palace where two wheelhouses waited with a whole mounted platoon of Tide Guard around them as escort. His family members were waiting for him there, his mother and father, all his siblings and nieces and nephews, and his wife and own children.

Baela smiled slightly when she saw him but there was a trace of sadness in her eyes that Jace reciprocated. Love and guilt swelled and mixed in his being confusingly. Baela still did everything that was expected of her as a lady of House Velaryon. She supported him in public, continued working to make his dreams real, continued painting the picture of a perfect marriage, but they both knew that it was… strained.

She had pulled away from him in the past few months, ever since their conversation in the Hall of Mirrors in Lys. She wasn’t cold or impolite, but their conversations no longer had the same casual warmth they once had, her touch felt hesitant, and her eyes showed the hurt that she had. She wanted him to trust her, to tell her the truth.

He wished he had years ago. Maybe his parents were wrong, maybe she’d have understood how dire their situation was, maybe she wouldn’t have leaked it to the Targaryens without them chaining her to their house. But was there really any way to tell your wife, who still naively believed that peace was possible and was working to achieve it, that you knew that peace was impossible? That you were planning to go to war with her family to protect your own?

She was already becoming suspicious and he knew the longer he waited, the worse it would be. He knew he had to tell her. Knew he couldn’t keep it from her forever but he was afraid of how she’d react. He had hidden it from her for years now. On his parents’ orders or not, he had still betrayed her and willfully hidden something so important from her, from someone he had claimed to love and trust. He wanted to pretend just a little longer that everything was alright because he knew it would be ending soon whether he was ready or not.

He got into the front wheelhouse with his parents and children. Baela was opposite of him. His parents entertained their grandchildren as the wheelhouse began to move to their destination, but Jace and Baela remained quiet, their gaze was fixed upon each other. Jace looked into his wife’s purple eyes, still so full of love and affection even with the hurt and distrust that had grown in the past few months. His guilt swelled. He put his thoughts of Baela aside as their wheelhouses neared their destination.

“Zaldilaros! Zaldilaros! Zaldilaros!”

The people’s cheers were deafening as their wheelhouses approached the Sept of Liberty. A huge crowd had gathered around the sept in anticipation of the ceremony and the celebration that was to follow. Tide Guard and Velaryon Army units barely maintained the barrier that cordoned off the imposing Statue of Liberty and the steps leading up to the sept, but that didn’t stop the screams of excitement as Jace and his family stepped out of their carriages. It was like all Tyrosh had come to cheer for them.

“Long Live House Velaryon!”

“Velaryon and Victory!”

“Blessed be Princess Viserra and Lord Corlys! Long may they live!”

“Hail Jacaerys the Fearless!”

“Zaldilaros! Zaldilaros!”

“We love you Pearl of Tyrosh! Long live Laena the Lovely!”

“Jacaerys the Fearless! Baela the Bold! Lucerys the Loyal! Rhaena the Radiant! Daeron the Daring! Laena the Lovely! Long Live House Velaryon!”

“Zaldilaros! Zaldilaros! Zaldilaros!”

“Hey they’ve got the little lords and ladies with them! To the good health and prosperity of all House Velaryon, of all Zaldilaros!”

Mixed in with the constant chants of ‘Zaldilaros’, many in the crowd had begun praising them individually, calling out their names and wishing them long life and prosperity. For the first time in his life, Jace was keenly aware that his name was chanted as much as his parents were… no, perhaps even more so.

He stopped in his tracks even as his family continued walking, some of them turned to look askance at him but he simply shook his head and waved to the crowds instead. The cheers grew even louder then and now they chanted only one name. His name.

“Jacaerys! Jacaerys! Jacaerys!”

The cheers did not stop even as they entered the sept. The Sept of Liberty was the largest in the world and had been built to hold thirty thousand seats and have enough space for eighty thousand if those seats were removed. They hadn’t removed the seats today though, leaving only thirty thousand in the sept. Not an unsubstantial number either way though.

Some seats were held by elites, be they the foreign dignitaries who had signed the Concordat yesterday, observers from neutral nations, or the clergy, peers, governing bureaucrats, and high-ranking Army and Navy officers of the Velaryon State itself. The vast majority of the thousands inside the sept however were the common folk lucky enough to have been granted access to witness this occasion firsthand, with all their less fortunate brethren waiting outside, cheering even louder than the people inside the sept were.

Jace spotted Denys and Tirina among the people in the sept, as he had expected. He had personally granted them a place in the sept and was pleased to see they had made it for the ceremony. He saw his Uncle Aurane and all his cousins, both distant and near, including those cousins they had dispatched as governors to far-flung island outposts like Lucerys, Aethan, and Rhogar. Almost the entirety of House Velaryon was present.

He saw Septon Maekar standing beside Moredo Rogare and his new wife Annalys with the nobles and clergy. He saw General Maratis, Admiral Ryndoon, Vice Admiral Bean, and so many others all looking proud and loyal. Ser Jaremy stood at the altar’s edge, the proud Lord Commander of the Tide Guard as always. His wife Pina and their children were somewhere in the congregation. Captain Sandoq stood at the other end of the altar.

Everyone of note in the Velaryon State was in attendance today, along with hundreds of foreign dignitaries and tens of thousands of their people. They had all come to witness history being made. This was House Velaryon’s moment, Jacaerys’ moment.

As they neared the altar of the sept, Ser Jaremy prompted. “The Old!”

“The True! The Brave!” the crowd chorused in response.

“Velaryon!” He called out again.

“And Victory!” Came the answer.

Without Jaremy’s prompting, the crowd continued with their chanting cheers until his father climbed up the steps of the dais and silenced them with a wave of his hands. As his father quieted the crowd, Jace saw to his children and made sure they and their cousins were occupied and not causing any trouble. He finished seeing to them in time to hear his father begin to speak.

“Thirty years ago, my wife and brothers and I liberated the city of Tyrosh. The work to transition the city away from slavery and make it prosperous and thriving once more was hard and we faced many challenges and obstacles and tragic losses along the way but in the end we endured, we prevailed, we were victorious. Now thirty years from the day that I became the Archon of Tyrosh, I am pleased to announce that once more, we have freed more cities from the yoke of slavery and brought them to freedom and liberty!”

There was great applause and more chants of ‘Zaldilaros’ at his father’s words but they quieted to let him continue. “The great Free Cities of Lys and Myr are now free, no longer just in name but in truth as well. For years they have cried out for freedom! For a savior! And House Velaryon answered. My sons and daughters led the campaign to liberate Lys and Myr and all the lands stretching to Olvys Mell and Chroyane, to Dagger Lake and Ny Sar!

“From this day, from this moment forth, to honor the wishes of the people who have called us to save and rule them, to continue the holy mission entrusted to my house by the Seven-Who-Are-One, I hereby declare that Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr are one people, one state, one Triarchy, indivisible and whole in the eyes of the Seven! To this Triunification, this union of three cities, we give the vassalage and sovereignty of all the lands of the Heel of Essos, of all territories from Olvys Mell to Chroyane, from Dagger Lake to Ny Sar to the Vaekys River. We give Corlantis and the Basilisk Isles, Velos and the Isle of Cedars, Viserria and Ghaen. The Velaryon State is now at its greatest height! The Triarchy is reborn!”

“May it never fall!” one of the admirals chanted and the room chorused his words.

“From now onwards, I am no longer the Archon of Tyrosh, but the Archon of the Triarchy instead. Therefore, I and the heirs of my body shall no longer reign simply as House Velaryon but instead we will embrace our Seven-given and sacred mission to liberate and govern the former slaves of the lands we now rule as the House of Zaldilaros Velaryon!” his father proclaimed leading to great applause and cheers from the crowd.

It had been Jace’s idea. He had pointed out to his parents and siblings that as they moved on the path to true independent rule, they needed something to distinguish their senior and dragonriding line from the other branches of their house. What better than Zaldilaros, a term that already only referred to them and gave them such praise and worship from their people? It was a little like House Nymeros Martell in Dorne, but they were soon to be extinct once the Targaryens were done with them. Still they had had at least one good idea and it would serve Jace’s family well.

Velaryon Major, the House of Zaldilaros Velaryon, was to be accounted only as the line of Corlys the Sea Snake and Viserra Seastar. The other Velaryons, his uncles Aurane and Rhaekar and their lines along with all the lines of their distant cousins, were to be simply known as House Velaryon, Velaryon Minor.

With Jace and his siblings all having children of their own, their father’s bloodline was secure. The line of succession to the Triarchy was henceforth restricted solely to the descendants of their father, meaning that only Jace and his siblings, and their children, were eligible to succeed. Jace was of course first in line and heir apparent.

The law of succession was codified as male-preference primogeniture, the sons of the Archon and their heirs would come before his daughters and their heirs and only then would come his brothers and their heirs, according to lineage and seniority by primogeniture. Whenever possible and necessary, rivalling claims of female and male claimant lines would be resolved by intermarriage of cousins or perhaps even aunts and nephews and uncles and nieces as the Zaldilaros Creed permitted.

Only a Zaldilaros Velaryon may become Archon or ride dragons. In the event that there was no male in the house to marry its daughters, they may find grooms from outside the family on the Archon’s approval but preferably from Velaryon Minor and the other families in the peerage of the Triarchy and their children must take the house name if they wished to have any claim to dragons and the Archonship.

All of this was made explicitly clear along with other details and specific scenarios in the law his father had signed establishing the House of Zaldilaros Velaryon. That law was being proclaimed to the crowds outside and inside the sept along with the decree that proclaimed the Triunification of the Triarchy.

“And from this day onwards, our calendar shall be counted in the Age of Zaldilaros (AZ), commemorating the true beginning of our era by counting the year after the Morghon Riots as Year 1.” In other words, since the Morghon Riots had been in 92 AC and it was 120 AC now, it was now the year 27 AZ, with 93 AC being 1 AZ.

His father then went on to explain how the peerage system was being expanded. There would now be titled ranks within the peerage, to reflect its greater complexity, importance, and prestige within the Triarchy. As Archon his father was of course the chief and liege of the peerage. Right below his father, was the title of ‘Dragonlord’ reserved solely for Zaldilaros Velaryons and setting them above all others. This was the title that would be held by Jace and all his siblings, as well as Baela and Rhaena.

As the title came with legal privileges and more often than not estates and monies, it would not be automatically conferred on every Zaldilaros Velaryon but given as a reward for good behavior and service. Those members of the family that did not hold a place in the peerage would nonetheless hold the honorary title of Dragonrider and be referred to as Lords and Ladies out of courtesy and respect for their exalted position. Perhaps one day, the title of Prince and Princess might be available for their family’s usage as well but it would not do to think of such things prematurely.

After Dragonlord, came the five ranks of the peerage that were theoretically attainable for every citizen of the Triarchy, no matter their bloodline or pedigree. In order from most senior to junior, they were Sealord, Marshall, Protector, Warden, and Keeper.

Jace had worked on the new titles and their ranks with his father and they had thought it was a good system that would motivate the nobility of the Triarchy to continue to serve competently and loyalty to rise in rank and social status or risk being demoted for incompetency, laziness, and disloyalty. Appropriating the title of Sealord from Braavos had seemed funny to them and also a subtle way of putting Braavos in its place with a reminder that the Velaryon Navy and not the Braavosi were the true masters of the sea.

The new peerage ranks were relevant to the ceremony because his father would be summoning exemplary men and women to create as peers and nobles once the system was introduced, seeking to commend exemplary men for their service to House Velaryon not just in the months leading up to the Triunification but in the years before it as well.

As his children and heirs, Jace and his siblings were to be the first created. Or at least they should have been. In hindsight, it seemed obvious that their father would do this but Jace didn’t really mind the surprise. How could he when the person in question being honored was none other than his own mother?

“Viserra Velaryon, step forth,” his father ordered to rising excitement and suspense and his mother obeyed, stepping before where his father stood on the dais. She might be over fifty years old (not that Jace would ever dare tell her that to his face) but she did not at all look the part, resembling more a mature and younger beauty of thirty. She looked regal, every inch the queen she deserved to be.

She made to kneel then but his father stopped her. “You do not kneel to me my love, the other half of my heart, my partner in all things. For thirty years our people have venerated you as their Princess, a title that is yours by the right of your descent from King Jaehaerys of the Iron Throne. And you will continue to be our Princess, Princess of the Triarchy. And furthermore in your own name and right, as more than just my consort or Jaehaerys’ daughter, you will hold the title of Dragonlord of Bloodstone, commemorating your very first victory, a victory you won out of your love and concern for me. Rise and take your rightful place at my side,” his father said as the letters patent was presented to his mother by one of the Tide Guard.

His mother smiled blindingly and the entire congregation including Jace was reminded then of why one of her many epithets was the Seastar. She rose and took the letters patent before greeting her husband with a kiss, breaking procedure for a moment before holding onto the sceptre with him and calling out his name like she was his father’s herald.

“Lord Jacaerys Velaryon, step forth.”

At his mother’s command, he stepped forward and bowed to his parents before kneeling. Placing his sceptre upon his shoulders, his father proclaimed. “Jacaerys Velaryon, my eldest son, my pride and my joy, I hereby create you, Dragonlord of Tyrosh, and once again confirm you as the Heir Apparent of the Driftwood Throne. Furthermore, I name you Chancellor of the Triarchy, to speak with my voice and write with my hand, and govern this union in my name whenever I am unable.”

“You honor me, Your Excellency. I humbly accept,” Jacaerys replied before swearing his oath of fealty to the Archon and allegiance to the Triarchy. He was then presented with the formal letters patent creating him as a peer.

It was rare that he spoke so formally with his father. It felt strange but he knew they had to put on a dramatic show for their people. It was a formal ceremony after all. He knew his father had already promised him that he would rule the Triarchy, but having it confirmed was heartening for sure. Given his father’s intentions to return to High Tide, Jace would rule as Archon in all but name over the Triarchy as Chancellor.

After Jace was created, each of his siblings stepped forward and were created in turn as Dragonlords. Luke got Ny Sar, Laena Mesylosh, and Daeron Chroyane. It was not that they would actually rule those cities like they would in Westeros but those titles would commemorate their role in overseeing their addition to the Triarchy and they would also hold estates in those cities, such was how the peerage of the Triarchy worked.

After his siblings, Baela and Rhaena were created as the Dragonlords of Embrys and Lortyr respectively. His father had not originally intended to create them as peers in their own right but Jace had convinced him to, arguing that if Laena got to be a peer, so should Baela and Rhaena. He noticed Baela looking at him with surprise and gratitude as she was created and swore her oaths. He hoped that his gift to her would help soothe her anger when he inevitably told her the truth.

With seven Dragonlords created, it was time to create the lower ranks of the peerage. His father and mother called forth first his uncle Aurane and then his cousin Vaemond and created them both as Sealord, the highest rank that anyone not Zaldilaros could attain. Both had been peers and lords under the old peerage system but now they would be honored beyond all others and promoted to the highest rank in the new system, a reward for their years of service and Jace thought privately, a belated weregild to Vaemond for his father’s death all those years ago.

Aurane and Vaemond would be the only Sealords created that day. In fact, they were the only ones given any of the top two ranks below Dragonlord. Ser Jaremy was created as a Protector and Moredo Rogare as a Keeper, and most of the distinguished officers in the Army and Navy as well as the old peers in Tyrosh were made Wardens and the defecting elites of Lys and Myr made Keepers. Some of the officers were given victory titles, titles commemorating battles they had played key roles in but did not come with any landed estates anywhere near the locations they had won those battles, or sometimes any estates at all.

His father framed the new ranks as a promotion over the original and more simplistic system used and indeed no one’s privileges had been curtailed, if anything they had been increased and the promise of greater rewards for greater service and the attainment of higher social status and ranks for the worthy was obvious though implicit to the entire congregation.

In keeping with the tradition of being peers, despite the differing ranks, all members of the peerage would be addressed simply as Lord or Lady, be it of their House name if they were the senior line of that house, or their estate/title name if not. All peers swore an oath of allegiance and fealty anew to his father as Archon of the Triarchy when they were created.

When the last peer was created, his father made another final speech, calling on them to remember their oaths and serve the Triarchy well, for the Seven, for Velaryon and Victory. When that was over, he declared that though the ceremony of the Triunification was complete, the celebrations were far from. At that the crowd in the sept had cheered uproariously, perhaps remembering how his father had announced weeks ago that Triunification Day would be a public festival and day of rest and feasting and games.

Jace followed his parents and family out of the sept as they walked back outside where the even more massive crowds outside the sept cheered and chanted for them now, hailing them as Dragonlords and Zaldilaros Velaryon all over again. His family and he took care to thank their people and wave to them as they made their way to the wheelhouses that would take them back to Zaldilaros Palace where a great feast had been planned for all the newly created peers as well as the foreign dignitaries and other notables.

As they were about to enter the wheelhouses however, a band of minstrels near the front of the crowd began to play a very familiar tune on their instruments. The crowd became unnaturally silent as the bard of the band began to sing and Jace thought he almost recognized him as one of their Conches.

When Driftmark first, at Seven's command

Arose from out the azure main;

Arose, arose from out the azure main;

This was the charter of the land, the charter of the land

And guardian angels sang this strain:

The thunderous chorus the crowds sang almost deafened Jace.

“RULE VELARYON!!

“VELARYON RULES THE WAVES!!

“TRIARCHS NEVER, NEVER, NEVER SHALL BE SLAVES!!”

The song’s lyrics were exactly as he remembered them being all his life, with the only difference being that ‘Tyroshi’ was now officially changed to ‘Triarchs’ in acknowledgement of the new shape of the Velaryon State.

He saw his father smirking and shook his head in disbelief and amazement. It seemed he wanted to make a new habit out of surprising them with the stunts he pulled. They could still hear the thunderous crowds singing the anthem of their house halfway back to the Black Fortress.

The rest of the day passed disappointingly quickly for both elites and commoners in Tyrosh that day. There was all manner of games and feasting, of drinking and dancing and merriness and mirth and excitements and ecstasies.

Once night had fallen, Jace’s mother led him and the other dragonriders of their house to soar over the skies of Tyrosh in formation. At their command their dragons breathed fire at precise and simultaneous intervals to wow and impress their people, lighting up the night sky with a myriad of colors and flames.

When he finally retired to his quarters that night, tired after a long day of festivities, he was surprised to see Baela there. They had rarely slept together in the past few months; part of the distance that grown between them because of his lies. Baela caressed his face affectionately and Jace hated himself for accepting her love when she still didn’t know the truth.

“I’ll tell you the truth. Soon. But not today. I don’t wish to dampen our mood on what should be a good day,” Jace choked out, unable to bear the guilt and burden any longer. He had never wanted to lie to her and the past five years had been torturous in so many ways. Was there really any point in keeping this secret any longer when she was so close to finding out on her own anyway? She deserved to hear it from him, no he needed her to hear it from him if he was to have any chance of convincing her to forgive him when the dust settled.

Baela smiled at him sadly. “Thank you Jace.”

Jace’s smile was even sadder. “You won’t thank me once you find out what it is.”

______________________________________

Rhaenys

It had been the work of several tedious months, but Rhaenys was finally done putting down the revolt in the Iron Islands. The Scouring of the Iron Islands the bards and maesters were already calling it.

She had spent weeks assembling ships and soldiers from the Westerlands, Riverlands, and North to invade and occupy the Iron Islands. Once their preparations were complete, Rhaenys had invaded the islands with three dragons and a multi-kingdom force of fleets and armies. They had captured every castle, and some had even been destroyed with dragonfire including Pyke in order to send a message and speed up the invasion.

Every island they went, they aided and freed the rebelling thralls and hunted down all the Drowned Men, reavers, and nobles they could find. On Rhaenys’ orders, every Drowned Man was to be put to the sword and the reavers and nobles were either killed or captured and given the choice of the block or the black.

When she had captured Lord Greyjoy and his family, they had even attempted to argue that their actions were justified due to House Targaryen breaking its word against them by revoking her great-grandfather’s verdict that allowed the Ironlords to ban the Faith of the Seven from the islands. Lord Greyjoy’s protests had fallen on deaf ears, he had been executed for treason and his seven-year old son Dalton had been taken prisoner and would be sent to the Wall.

Rhaenys was in agreement with her father that none of the Ironmen nobles could be left in power seeing as they had to a man and house, joined the revolt and committed high treason. They were each of them to be attainted and their treasuries were forfeit to the Crown though Rhaenys intended to give over much of those treasuries to the new lords her father and her would be choosing to rule each of the Iron Islands, so they would have the money to stabilize their rule.

The exception of course was Red Rain, which she had promised to obtain for her cousin Daemon. It had been declared missing officially but was safely ensconced on Meleys’ saddle pack. Once they returned to King’s Landing, she’d have their smiths rework it so they could claim it was a different sword and present it to Daemon. Her cousin certainly owed her a debt now.

For the most part, the Scouring had done its job. Though Rhaenys had not formally outlawed worship of the Drowned God, she had outlawed the priesthood of the Drowned Men as well as the practices of the ‘Old Way’, reaving, thralldom, and saltwifery. Everyone found guilty of taking part in the slaughter of the septs on the islands was executed, including any smallfolk that had joined the mobs.

Resistance had for the most part been crushed, unlike Dorne there was not very much space to hide on the islands and their armies and fleets easily occupied them and stamped down on any dissent. In the coming years Rhaenys intended to see the Iron Islands converted to the Seven and integrated properly into the realm as a productive region. They had the ores for mining, enough land for some wool farming, and the position for trading and fishing. There was no reason the Ironborn had to turn to reaving in truth, they had simply been too stubborn to adapt to the changing times and so they were destroyed for it.

The islands would be resettled by the freed thralls and people from the mainland. She had left Lord Jorah Mallister behind as a temporary governor and she intended to make his second son one of the many lords they appointed and Governor of the Iron Islands in his father’s place once he retired back to Seagard. She thought it wisest that they avoid giving either the North or Westerlands a governorship given how rich and powerful both kingdoms had become and how sometimes dubious their loyalty was.

Still some Westerlanders and Northmen had impressed her. She was considering houses like the Baneforts, Farmans, Crakehalls, Dustins, Ryswells, and Flints for the lordships of the Iron Islands, deciding that it would aptly reward them for contributing to the campaign and also force their continued investment in the prosperity of the region, just as her grandfather had done similarly with the Stepstones thirty years ago. She had to speak with her father to confirm these appointments but she felt it likely he would agree with her shortlist.

It would not be much longer before she had a chance to speak with her father, Rhaenys thought, espying the Red Keep in the distance. They had been flying for three days, taking breaks for the nights in castles in the Riverlands and seeing little need to rush. She landed outside the Dragonpit with her husband and son and waited for them to stable their dragons in the Pit before carrying them both with her on Meleys back to the Red Keep. Following the example of his own parents, her father allowed only two members of the family to keep their dragons at the Keep. Himself and Rhaenys, his heir.

When she landed Meleys in the courtyard in front of Maegor’s Holdfast, she handed her off to the Dragonkeepers before inquiring where her father was. It seemed that he was in a Small Council meeting, that would be ideal for the three of them to report on the situation in the Iron Islands, Rhaenys thought.

As they neared the council room however, Rhaenys heard raised voices and shouting and grew concerned. It was very rare that her father allowed the council to raise their voices without a fierce reprimand. As they reached the door, the Kingsguard posted at the door knocked on the door and announced their presence, hearing the response and opening the door before Rhaenys or her husband and son had to say anything at all.

Entering into the council room, Rhaenys noted that the full council was present. The Lord Commander, Ser Criston Cole stood guard with a large map of the Known World on a board behind her father who was seated at the head of table. On her father’s right was his brother and Hand, Uncle Baelon, and on his left was his queen and Rhaenys’ mother, Lady Jocelyn of Storm’s End. Aunt Alyssa was present as well, as was Lyonel Strong, the Master of Laws, his son Larys, the Master of Whisperers, the aged Lord Robert Redwyne, the Master of Ships, and Lord Lyman Beesbury, the Master of Coin. All of them looked at her and Rhaenys could tell that something important had been discussed.

“Am I interrupting anything Father?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Just some news from the east that I would have your counsel on Rhaenys. But first, please, take a seat. All of you. Your report on the Iron Islands?”

The east? It must have something to with the Velaryons, their intervention in the Essosi war after the slaves of Lys and Myr had revolted had reached even her ears in the Iron Islands. Rhaenys resolved to give her report to her father as quickly and concisely as possible. She took a seat and began. When she had finished her father nodded.

“You’ve done well Rhaenys. I see no problems with your assessment of the Iron Islands. I trust in your judgement on who would make good lords in the Iron Islands,” her father said before speaking to his Master of Laws. “Lord Lyonel, prepare the writs of enfeoffment for the Iron Island lordships and governorship as my daughter instructs. Have them done by the end of the week.”

Lord Lyonel nodded. Rhaenys then turned to her father eagerly. “What news of the east?”

Her father’s face was grim and irritated. “Our suspicions were true. The Velaryons have annexed Lys and Myr and a massive swathe of territory in Essos stretching all the way north and west to the Vaekys and Rhoyne rivers and then near Selhorys, down through the mainland to Olvys Mell. They had a formal ‘Triunification’ ceremony only a few days ago,” his father said as he threw the missive to her.

Rhaenys caught it and unrolled the report, reading the terms of the so called Triple Concordat and the specifications of the borders of the restored Triarchy the Velaryons now ruled. Her eyes turned to the large map behind her father where someone had drawn lines indicating the new borders of the Velaryons’ ‘Triarchy’. Rhaenys couldn’t hold back the rage that had her crush the missive in her hand.

“And what is to be done about this?” Rhaenys demanded. The look in her father’s eyes told her all she needed to know.

“You cannot seriously mean to do nothing Father? They have conquered a territory the size of the Reach without our permission. This is far too blatant an overreach even for them!”

“I am not doing nothing. But what do you expect me to do Rhaenys? What?” her father shot back.

“Order them to withdraw back to Tyrosh and return Essos to the state it was in before their interference!” Rhaenys said, it was simple as that. Were they not House Targaryen with ten dragonriders and capable of compelling a vassal to obey them? Or had their house grown so weak they could not do even that?

“Princess,” Lord Lyonel interjected. “It may not be as simple as that. Essos is greatly unstable right now. Ever since the Velaryons abolished slaver in Tyrosh years ago and later in Slaver’s Bay, the Tyroshi Faith of the Seven has grown rampant among the slaves of the Free Cities. The legend of House Velaryon and the Zaldilaros Cult only continued to grow, and now with House Velaryon restoring the Triarchy, it has caused hope to spread in the rest of the Free Cities that they will be next. Reports are coming in of massive slave revolts in Pentos, Norvos, Qohor, Essaria, Volantis, Tolos, and Elyria. The Free Cities are in no position to interfere in Velaryon affairs right now and there is the danger that our own intervention could see the slaves of Essos rally fully around the Velaryons.”

“They’d do that anyway in the future once House Velaryon is ready to expand again. When will it stop? When will we finally draw the line?” Rhaenys demanded of her father.

“Legally speaking, the Velaryons have the right to expand their Tyroshi territories since the Iron Throne recognized their independence there,” her uncle Baelon pointed out.

“And yet both you and my father were still furious when they took the Basilisk Isles,” Rhaenys countered. “We have to force them to withdraw, now.”

“It is too late to do that Rhaenys. The feat has been accomplished. While you and the others were busy scouring the Iron Islands or harrying Dorne, the Velaryons have occupied all the lands they claim and formally annexed them. Their integration of those new provinces is well underway and the people swiftly grow accustomed to their rule and their fanatics continue to spread. Ordering them to withdraw from those territories could be seen as breaking the Iron Throne’s word and infringing on their independence and sovereignty in Tyrosh that we recognized. It would also require a threat of force to enforce that withdrawal and they have seven dragonriders. It would bring us to war,” her father explained.

“The Iron Throne cannot lose face again. If war is what it takes to rein the Velaryons in, then war it shall be,” her son spoke out passionately then.

“Aegon,” her aunt Alyssa rebuked her grandson. “Have you so little care for your cousins Baela and Rhaena? Or for your old friends? War between dragonriders is not something to aspire for, it is something to avoid at all costs.”

“That goes both ways! Don’t the Velaryons know they risk war by continually pulling stunts like this?” her son demanded.

The dots connected in Rhaenys’ mind. “They planned this,” she realized.

Her father and the rest of the room turned to look at her. “What do you mean Rhaenys?” her father asked.

“Don’t you see? It’s obvious. Who controls the Tyroshi sect of the Faith of the Seven? It’s none other than the Velaryons. They would have been ideally placed to influence dissidents in Lys and Myr and the other cities in that region and spark the revolts that gave them the excuse to start the war. They made sure to only do so when we were busy in Dorne and the Iron Islands.

“In fact, I’m beginning to suspect that they had a role in inciting the revolt in the Iron Islands as well. They have been too fearful and respectful of our family’s dragons since the Conqueror himself, why would they suddenly throw their own lives away? On the excuse of religious fanaticism? No the Velaryons must have meddled there as well to ensure our distraction was complete!”

Her father looked at her, grimly. “There is no proof.”

“Do we need proof? It’s obvious.”

“Rhaenys, the Iron Islands are very far away from the Velaryons and they have never shown any interest or activity in them. We are to believe with no evidence that they incited the Iron Islands to revolt? To kill septons and septas? If it comes out the Velaryons would lose faith among their own people given how fanatical they have become about the Seven. No, the only thing the Velaryons are guilty of is disgusting and blatant opportunism,” her father said, dismissing her theory.

“Father, please, see reason,” Rhaenys pleaded.

“Reason requires proofRhaenys. Reason is not risking the lives of your family members to needlessly threaten your kin into something they are very unlikely to do. If I followed through with your ultimatum, it would accomplish nothing at best and drag us into war with our family members at worst. No, I will not do that, not without any evidence of Velaryon wrongdoing beyond their technically not illegal negotiations in bad faith and blatant opportunism,” her father declared.

Rhaenys sighed, defeated.

Seeing her expression, her father softened his gaze. “Rest assured Rhaenys. I am as furious as you, but we must tread with caution and avoid a path that will lead us to unnecessary death and destruction. I do not intend to let this latest slight of the Velaryons go unanswered. They have one more chance, one, and if they still do not take it then we will threaten them with force as you wish. It will be clear without any doubt that no other language works. Until then however, I shall be content with doing what my father should have years ago.”

Her father’s voice was kingly and firm as he pronounced his judgement. “The law code that I have been working on unifying and writing with Lord Strong and our Maesters is almost complete. We will amend the law on the King’s Peace to make it clear that no war of any kind, whether external or internal, is allowed for the vassals of the realm without the permission of the Crown. They are allowed only self-defense and are not allowed to engage in any offensive warfare without the Iron Throne’s approval. This includes the Velaryons whether they are in Driftmark or the Triarch. That will be made explicitly clear, any further expansion or offensive warfare on the part of the Velaryons without our approval and we will enforce our law on them as you wish.”

It wasn’t enough to Rhaenys, not nearly enough, not when the Velaryons had taken a vast and fertile territory the size of the Reach that would grow their power exponentially, but she knew her father’s mind could no longer be changed. Especially not when he had the backing of her aunt and uncle. Even her mother looked cautiously approving of her father’s plan. Reluctantly Rhaenys nodded her assent to the plan.

She was still just the Princess of Dragonstone and subservient to her father’s will. But one day she would be Queen and she would not let this slight go unanswered. She would rein the Velaryons in, no matter the cost.

They had humiliated them. This was supposed to be their year! Their glorious completion of Aegon’s work by conquering Dorne and then putting down the Iron Islands and civilizing them. Instead all that glory, all that prestige had been robbed from them by the Velaryons who had conquered more land than House Targaryen had since the Conqueror himself.

Her father may restrain her from acting against the Velaryons directly yet, but Rhaenys knew the time was over for her family to act so passively and reactively. They had to strive for greater power and glory if they were to stay ahead of the Velaryons, and she thought she knew how they could go about doing that as her eyes lingered on the map in a region far south of Dorne. The Summer Islands.

_________________________________________

Gael

The Harrying of Dorne was far from complete and Rhaenys, Viserys, and Aegon leaving four months ago had greatly prolonged the time it would take to compel Dorne to truly submit. Still they had made enough progress to take one day off from their monotonous and tedious work burning the Dornish into submission to inspect the progress on the rebuilding and remodeling of Summerhall. Jaehaerys had not joined them, deciding to instead continue work on the Harrying to make Dorne safe for when Rhaenyra came with their children at year’s end.

While Gael and her husband had been reading reports in the newly built solar in Summarhall, a missive had come from King’s Landing summarizing the events in Essos and Aemon’s decision on how their house was responding to yet another Velaryon overreach.

Gael had thought that Daemon would be raging and furious, as he had been after word had come of the Velaryon victory in Gogossos and the Basilisk Isles, but he was strangely subdued and muted. It was not long before he spoke, softly.

“It’s strange. A part of me feels like I should be furious, angered beyond all reason that House Velaryon has expanded yet again and humiliated us. Yet when I remember that our daughters played a role in creating this Triarchy, that they will be among its rulers and our grandchildren, our bloodline will rule this vast realm, that gives me strange mixed feelings of pride and satisfaction and rage and annoyance,” her husband said.

Gael nodded in understanding. “I feel the same. When I think that Viserra and her spawn have humiliated our house and expanded their power I feel an all-consuming rage, yet when I think of how our daughters and grandchildren are in line to inherit that power, the rage dissipates immediately and I just feel… torn.”

Daemon snorted. “All these years and I finally understand what your brother meant when he said Baela and Rhaena would be queens in all but name as the ladies of House Velaryon. We were just too stubborn to see the truth. Our grandchildren will sit on the thrones of Westeros, Dorne, and the Triarchy. Our bloodline shall endure in power and majesty forever. It’s an unbelievably fortunate future for our line and descendants.”

“And one that we must protect. When Summerhall is ready, we should invite all our children and grandchildren to spend time together in it and rebuild their bonds, away from their spouses who would distract them and further the aggression. We can trust Baela and Rhaena, but I will never trust Jacaerys or Lucerys, and even Aegon has become rather spiteful and hotheaded since his lover rejected him. Baela and Rhaena are furious with him for what he did, trying to take their husband and children’s birthright,” Gael said.

“I can’t believe we want to play nice with Velaryons,” her husband said in disgust, in disbelief of his own words.

“Not Velaryons Daemon. Our daughters and grandchildren.”

Reluctantly Daemon nodded before he sighed. “I hope Baela and Rhaena know what they’re doing. This is a dangerous game House Velaryon is playing.”

“I hope so too Daemon. I hope so too,” Gael said.

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Author’s Note: Hope you guys liked this chapter and all the characterizations and chain of events made sense!

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