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Rating:
Explicit
Archive Warnings:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major
Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Categories:
F/F, F/M, Multi, Gen, M/M
Fandoms:
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, A
Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Relationships:
Lyanna Stark/Rhaegar Targaryen, Aegon I
Targaryen/Rhaenys Targaryen (Sister of Aegon
I)/Visenya Targaryen (Sister of Aegon I), Tyrion
Lannister/Tysha, Robert Baratheon/Cersei
Lannister, Jon Snow/Rhaenys Targaryen
(Daughter of Elia), Arya Stark & Rhaenys
Targaryen (Daughter of Elia)
Characters:
Rhaegar Targaryen, Lyanna Stark, Rhaenys
Targaryen, Rhaella Targaryen, Daenerys
Targaryen, Viserys III Targaryen, Jon Snow |
Aegon Targaryen, Visenya Targaryen, Myrcella
Baratheon, Jaime Lannister, Bran Stark, Arya
Stark, Davos Seaworth, Robb Stark, Cersei
Lannister, Ned Stark, Varys (ASoIaF), Balerion
(ASoIaF), Meraxes (ASoIaF), Vhagar (ASoIaF),
Tywin Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Tysha
(ASoIaF), Robert Baratheon, Aurion (ASoIaF)
Additional Tags:
Time Travel(Kind of), Dark Magic, R Plus L
Equals J, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, Dark Jon
Snow, Rhaenys Targaryen Lives, Rhaella
Targaryen Lives, Rhaegar Targaryen Lives,
Lyanna Stark Lives, Alternate Universe, Blood
Magic, Targaryen Restoration, Adultery, Incest,
Implied/Referenced Suicide, Murder, Attempted
Murder, War, Robert's Rebellion, Aegon's
Conquest, Valyria
Language:
English
Series:
← Previous Work ● Part 2 of The Dragon Reborn
Stats:
Published: 2021-01-04 Updated: 2022-02-18
Words: 474,489 Chapters: 39/? Comments:
641 Kudos: 841 Bookmarks: 292 Hits:
105,221

In The Shadows
Hides The Dragon
DaeronTheYoungDragon

Chapter 14: Aegon VI

Summary:
Meetings at the Wall and an
arrival to Braavos. Aegon plans
are displayed and started

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for
notes.)

Thirtieth of the fifth moon of 297AC. Castle

Black, The Wall, North Westeros.

"He was three-and-thirty when the Great Council

chose him to sit on the Iron Throne. A man grown
with sons of his own, yet in some ways still a boy.
Egg had an innocence, a sweetness we all loved.
Kill the boy within you, I told him the day I took
ship for the Wall. It takes a man to rule. An Aegon,
not an Egg. Kill the boy and let the man be born."
The old man felt Jon's face. "You are half the age
that Egg was, and your own burden is a crueler
one, I fear. You will have little joy of your
command, but I think you have the strength in
you to do the things that must be done. Kill the
boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the
boy and let the man be born." ADWD, Jon II

It was already midmorning when all those Aegon

had summoned hours before were finally in his
solar of the King's Tower. Among some reasons
and others, the meeting that by now he expected
to have finished and overcome, it seemed that it
would never begin.

At first, the slowness and parsimony from the

black brothers until they reached the place where
Aegon was with the wight and the subsequent
transport to Castle Black, prevented him from
reaching the other side of the Wall earlier than he
would have liked.

He thought that with all that lay ahead of him,

standing for nearly an hour before the shattered
wight was a real waste of time. At least it served
to see how the being became accustomed to his
presence when Aegon stood still for a long time. If
he moved again, the creature seemed to react
again and want to crawl up to him.

When he finally reached the other side from the

Wall, instead of the image that he previously had
in his mind of meeting his mother, Arya and his
father waiting for him, he only found the sour face
of Ser Alliser Thorne to inform him that his mother
had fainted in the courtyard few minutes ago and
now was in the rooms from his many times great
uncle the maester.

Arya was deep asleep, accompanied by mother's

wolf and her own in their rooms from the King's
Tower. And his Bran had also gone to sleep
accompanied by his wolf.

Not satisfied with the first alarming news, Ser

Alliser began to follow him by his side, matching
the rhythm of Aegon’s step and that of Ghost, to
give him a report that he had not yet requested on
the situation of the Night's Watch during his
absence.

With the exception from the arrival of Randyll

Tarly's son and the occasional discordant voice
against house Targaryen, quickly extinguished,
although at no time did specify how, Ser Alliser did
not communicate anything of great relevance to
Aegon.

When he finally arrived at his great-uncle Aemon's

rooms, Aegon found that his mother Lyanna was
sedated, because apparently when she saw
Balerion flying without him or his Bran on top,
Aegon’s mother feared the worst and suffered a
nervous breakdown. Because of this, the venerable
maester had supplied her with a few drops of
dream-wine for her best rest. And Aegon’s father
had decided to stay to sleep with her.

Therefore Aegon could do nothing until everyone

was either awake or able to attend the meeting,
something that did not happen almost until the
sun was already high in the sky.

While the various attendees of the meeting were

arriving at his solar and taking position in the
reduced space, Aegon did not stop observing both
Jeor Mormont, as Bowen Marsh, as the newcomer
Cotter Pyke. The latter responsible for the vital
enclave for his plans of Eastwacht by the Sea.
Those three men would be his dance partners in
the negotiations.

Ser Alliser, Yarwick, or Noye weren't going to be a

real problem. And Aegon’s family, was his family,
which included the maester from the Watch.

'Surely, if we convince those three men, or, failing

that, impose our plan on them, the rest of the
affairs from the North would be entirely under your
uncle's jurisdiction. Lord Brynden may be cursed
seven times, but we must admit that coming to
the Wall, in the end is proving extremely
productive.' the Conqueror pointed out from
within. This one seemed reinvigorated after the
events with the Free Folk.

'Without a doubt, we are two and one. When it

happens to be melancholic and pessimistic, it is
almost as much or more than me.' Aegon mused
animatedly inwarfly after having seen during the
days of waiting in the cave and after meeting the
Others, the most pessimistic face from the
Conqueror.

The similarities that they had always had and that

were becoming more and more remarkable,
served to accept more who he really was and what
his destiny and fate was.

When uncle Maester Aemon finally arrived, he was

given a seat at the left of the desk, after which
Aegon and his father sat to his right. Behind them
three, were the four Direwolves lying at the feet of
Aegon’s mother, little sister and brother. Whom
were standing and firm, watching the other side,
where only Jeor Mormont had sat at the front of
desk, remaining the rest of the black brothers
standing.

Ser Jaremy Rykker stood by the door. Unofficially

the second of his King’s guard since before the
meeting. And so, Rykker already wore a white
cloak on his back, made of thick wool.

'At least I took advantage of the wait. It didn't

make sense for a man like Ser Jaremy to be in the
Watch. Since the vows were practically the same
and Rykker will have the military command over
our half of the Wall in the absence of members of
the royal family, was better commute the vows by
those of the King’s guard.'

Jeor Mormont present in the solar from a while

later tan the hour of the Bat, barely objected and
accepted willingly, having only the highest praise
for Ser Jaremy, whom Mormont was sorry to lose,
but understood that Rykker would in a certain way,
continue to perform the role he had now. 'To be
the shield of men.'

Despite the place and the situation, certain

courtesy and protocol was kept. Both his family
and the black brothers were wearing their best
outfits. Because he had returned with only the
black shirt, his tight black treated leather
breeches, his high black leather riding boots and
his cloak. And since Aegon did not intend to wear
his surcoat all the time, nor his armor as a
garment, nor the clothes he wore as Jon Snow,
Sansa wove him a doublet in black wool and
velvet, with red trims on the neck and the sigil of
Aegon’s house on the chest in red thread. Just like
the one Sansa had made for his father Rhaegar,
designed for these occasions until be able to get
hold of ones similar to the those he had in the
'past?Future?Present? Meh, nevermind. I don't
think I'll ever be able to understand what time
really is.'

'It's curious that I had to die and come back to life

to receive something from Sansa.' Aegon
sometimes thought with certain cynicism. But he
had to admit that both doublets were exquisite. As
was the replica of his black shirt and cloak that his
cousin Sansa had made for Rhaegar in emulation
of those of Aegon’s.

The Valyrian steel band that rested on his brow,

was not only a symbol of his power and position.
To Aegon it was more than a crown; it was part of
him. As Ghost. As Balerion. As the Valyrian steel
chainmail and armor with precious stones finishing
off the sigil of his house and that Aegon felt like an
armor that would protect him from all his troubles
when he wore it.

Or as the wonderful black silk cloak that now was

crossed over Aegon’s chest to his hip in sash,
which felt like Rhaenys's embrace. Or
Blackfyre, still uncomfortable when he cinched it
around the waist, but that didn't matter.

In a way, the loss and subsequent recovery of

identity, supposed that Aegon sought to cling to
those elements that he felt as an extension of
himself, in order to process and assume his true
identity and his function in the world. They were a
permanent reminder of who he was and what was
his duty to fate.

Focusing back on what was in front of him, Aegon

let silence take over the room. He waited to see as
the tension grew between the black brothers, who
knew nothing of Aegon’s plan, except the
possibility that the Others had reawakened

'If only they knew the magnitude of the threat ...'

thought internally, as he steeled his posture,
clenched his jaw and began to pierce with his gaze
at each of the leaders of the Brotherhood upon the
Wall.

Lord Commander Jeor Mormont looked impassive.

But though discreetly, he kept moving his left foot
up and down. Lord Steward Bowen Marsh was
pale, sweaty, and looking to be heading for the
scaffold. The first builder, Yarwick, had a look and
a position that mixed respect and hatred in equal
parts.

'Be careful with this one' warned The Dragon.

For their part, Cotter Pyke kept his gaze closed on

him and his father, although from time to time he
cast a look of disbelief at his mother. Ser Alliser
had the grim grin and stiff body expression as
always, while Donal Noye had a smile on his face
every time looked towards Aegon’s father and
mother, something he did not understand at all,
coming from the man who had forged the war
hammer that killed Rhaegar. But that was a topic
to inquire at another time.

Now it was his mission to scare the hierarchy from

the Watch, minus Ser Denys, into shitting their
pants.

‘In that way we will start the negotiation with all

power and showing ourselves as the only viable
option to defeat the threat.’ The Conqueror
assured him, who was certainly a great manager
from the times and the scene.

'Although you must admit that Rhaenys and

Visenya knew how to create the stage for you to
show off.' he japed to the Dragon with some
humor, knowing that if his sisters were present,
they would have upholstered the room in banners
and would have one of the dragons perched on the
King’s Tower.

When Aegon decided had sown enough tension, he

simply glanced at Ser Jaremy and nodded, after
which the king’s guard left the solar, closing the
door behind him.

Adopting a straight position on his chair while

gently resting his arms on the desk, he cleared his
throat and began the meeting "Lord Commander,
Lord Steward, Master at Arms, First Builder,
Maester Aemon, Lord Pyke and Lord Noye, I
appreciate your coming to this meeting. I know
that our appearance and that of our THREE
DRAGONS upon the Wall has involved and can
cause many disruptions in your daily routine. But
believe me, a cut on time is better than dying of
gangrene.” He said in a cold and imperative voice.

Judging from Pyke's reaction, it seems that no one

had informed him that despite his appearance, he
was not a teenager who peed green grass.

“I have had you gather here to communicate my

plans. I know that the Night's Watch does not
participate in the matters of the Seven
Kingdoms... For this reason my plans regarding
the brotherhood and what happens beyond the
wall, have nothing to do with my plans to recover
what is rightfully mine, and that it will be again by
Fire and Blood.”

When Aegon finished the sentence, he could see

how Yarwick and Marsh gave a little flinch. 'Good.
Two who are absolutely scared.’

Mormont for his part was unmoved, while Noye

and Pyke now had a certain worried face. It was
time to intone the mea culpa.

“The Watch has long been forgotten by my

ancestors, who, like the brotherhood itself, had
forgotten their true duty. A King must first and
foremost care and take care of the safety of the
Kingdoms and the Night's Watch is the first
defense of them. But not against the Wildlings. No
more, that's over from today onwards. Your duty,
which seems long forgotten, is to defend humanity
from the final enemy of men; The Others and
Death." Aegon said with firm voice.

Upon mentioning the legendary threat and a

permanent cessation of hostilities with the Free
Folk, Aegon received the expressions of disbelief,
revulsion, and mistrust that he expected. It was
the moment.

“And believe me, The Second Long Night is coming

and the Night's Watch will not be able to defeat it
alone. The Free Folk will not be able to defeat it.
Robert and the other greedy and petty lords of The
Seven Kingdoms will not be able to stop it. Only a
joint effort of all the men and women of Westeros
and Essos can prevent human beings from being
part of the past, in a future where only Death
reigns.” Aegon concluded coldy and with total
certainty, while he extended his arms forwards.

Seeing faces that he was making everything up,

Aegon decided to play his first card. Breaking the
sealing wax from his uncle Benjen's parchment
and unrolling it on the desk, he passed it on to
Jeor Mormont for him to read, while reporting
what was giving.

"This is from my uncle Benjen, it also has the

signature of Qhorin the half-hand, assuring that
the Army of the Death and the Others are as real
as w.."

Before even finishing the sentence, Yarwick was

shaking his head while clicking his tongue and
Marsh had a cloudy look.

"I have imagined such a reaction on your part."

Aegon said calmly, but with a somewhat cutting
voice, while with his left arm made a gesture
pointing to the two black brothers present who
seemed to be most opposed to belive in the return
of mighty enemies from legends.

"That's why I personally took care along with my

brother, His Excellency, Prince Brandon Stark, to
capture one of the soldiers from the Army of
Death. A wight. one in tens of thousands, in
hundreds of thousands possibly from the Army of
Death which we have also seen with our own eyes
and against which we have fought. And against the
which, though it pains me to say, we irretrievably
lost. If it weren't for prince Brandon, I would be
dead now. Just like him and the Others would have
added two more soldiers to their army and
possibly the largest dragon that has existed since
the Doom fell on my ancestral land.” Aegon said
ominously, trying to highlight the power that the
Others possess, while he could hear a gasp of
surprise from Arya and a muttering under the
breath of thank you from his mother to Bran.

"This boy is madder than his grandfather..." the

first builder said with total disgust.

Aegon had braced himself for insults. But it is

seemed that his father was not expecting
something like that so soon, as Rhaegar shifted
uncomfortably on his chair.

“Indeed my grandfather, Aerys, was mad. But I am

myself far from being it. Ser Jaremy!" Aegon
intoned aloud, so that could be easily heard from
the other side of the massive oak door.

As his King’s guard opened the door, the

Direwolves became practically uncontrollable,
especially Nymeria and Winter.

'The wolves detect and dislike the smell from the

magic of the Others.’ thought while watched Ser
Jaremy walk through the door, dragging a rusty
iron chain behind. At the end of this, with a knot
around his neck that would choke and kill any
living being, was the deceased brother from the
Watch, Jeffer Flowers.

'Or what's left of him.' observed the Conqueror,

when the body practically pulverized by the weight
and Balerion's impact began to drag itself painfully
across the room.

Although at first when finding it in the grove, the

reanimated body did not smell, the effect from
Balerion's hit, caused the smell of its intestines to
be present in the environment of the solar.

The reaction of the brothers of the Watch was

fright and panic, not believing what they had in
front of them.

Taking advantage of their bewilderment and fear,

with a signal from his right hand, Aegon ordered
Ser Jaremy to pierce the back of the revived being
with his forged steel sword, pinning it to the
ground on the spot.

The scream of horror and terror from his mother

and Arya when the wight continued to stir, until
the sword almost cut it at the middle, allowing
some progress again, reminded Aegon why he had
not wanted to talk to anyone about the
development of the meeting.

No one else in Castle Black, apart from Aegon,

Bran, Rykker or the two black brothers who helped
him broughting back the wight, had seen one of
the Others' puppets. Aegon especially wanted to
know his family's reaction to the vision of what
they would have to fight in the not too distant
future, without first being influenced by Bran or by
Aegon's narration and description.

Scanning with his gaze the room, Aegon saw that

his father was paler than usual, but a new
determination seemed to shine in his eyes, fixed
on the revived brother. Arya and mother were
embracing behind the wolves that were baring
their fangs and were almost rabid at the mockery
of man before them.

Bran seemed not even present, observing

everything with his turquoise eye, but at the same
time as if he were not looking at anything. On the
contrary, his uncle Aemon, who could not see
anything, seemed to be the one who was
observing the most to everything that happened in
the room. Barely moving a muscle in his face or
body, attentive to everything, except to make a
little grim face due to to the comment about Aerys
and to the smell given off by the crushed, and now
as well open to the middle, corpse.

“They can only be killed by fire or Valyrian steel, at

least that we know of at the moment. It is possible
that the dragonglass also affects them.” Aegon
paused for them to fall on who possessed three
huge creatures that were fire made flesh.

When Aegon could see the realization on their

faces, he continued “As my lords will see, I am not
crazy, nor do I intend to use the Others as a
pretext to claim what is mine by rights. This threat
is real, it always has been. It has been biding its
time. Waiting for them to be forgotten, the true
enemy of men, to strike the final blow at that
moment. The blow that according to the original
oath, the Night's Watch should stop and repel. Tell
me if you are prepared to fulfill the founding
duty of saving humanity from one hundred
thousand or more beings like this." Finished in a
voice laden with emotion, trying to appeal to the
honor and true purpose of the Watch.

The black brothers looked at each other, looked at

the reanimated corpse, which was trying to reach
them despite its state, held by Ser Jaremy's tight
grip on the chain. The defeated faces on the men
of the Watch were evident.

Like Aegon, they should know that their barely two

thousand, three thousand men, most of them ill-
prepared, would be incapable not only of stopping
the Others, but only of fighting them for more
than mere hours.

'Just as they would be unable to face our three

dragons and the best ten thousand men of the
Free Folk could muster, no matter how ill-fitted
they are.' the Conqueror reminded him in passing.

Seeing that it was the moment, Aegon gestured to

Ser Jaremy with his left hand, whom rolled up the
chain a little and dragged the body away. Wight
which to the repulsion of all those present was
leaving a trail of intestines stuck to the cold floor
of stone and granite.

Feeling how behind Aegon’s back his mother and

sister were completely decomposed, while Bran his
father and the rest of the men from the Watch,
except Jeor Mormont and Maester Aemon were
pale as snow, he decided that it was time to
adjourn the meeting.

"Due to the solar's condition, I'd say that be the

best is a wait for clean the stays first and then
meet again in half an hour, yes?" question that
was rather an order and that was followed by a
chorus of your grace, with the exception of the
maester, who addressed Aegon’s for first time that
morning.

“Your Grace, as we make the interruption, would

you be so kind as to allow your elderly great-
great-uncle to remain during the interruption in
your rooms? I fear for my fragile bones by going
through the slippery stairs of this tower more
times than necessary.” Aemon told him with a
warm voice, an ear smile and the lost gaze, which
at times seemed to be more keen than that of
some who had perfect vision.

"No problem uncle." he said with more joy and

familiarity than the situation demanded, after
which he got up from his chair and called off the
meeting with a nod from his head.

Arya and mother hurried out, followed in tow by

the wolves in the direction of their personal rooms.
When the brothers left the solar, only he, Bran,
Rhaegar and uncle Aemon remained behind.

“Thanks for your trick to stay with us, uncle

Aemon. I could see no way to justify you staying
with us instead of them… there is an issue that we,
as family, needs to discuss immediately." said
Aegon with some urgency, then extended his left
arm to Uncle Aemon so that he would hold on to.
They headed towards his rooms, followed by Bran
and his father Rhaegar a few steps behind.

When they reached Aegon’s stay that served as a

personal room, he helped his Uncle Aemon to sit
on a chair in front of the drawers under the
window.

Meanwhile, Rhaegar was standing leaning against

the wall near the now closed door that gave access
to the meeting space. An etched a face of absolute
determination, but with a smile and a look full of
love and pride directed towards him.

‘Mayhaps I have to give him a chance as a parent,

or at least, an equal to me. Maybe I passed
judgment too fast on him.’ He thought with some
strange emotion, which he did not know he now
was capable of having.

Except for the slight difference in height, the long

hair that his father had up to his shoulders, since
due to the ritual Aegon's hair was still too short to
his liking, and the fact that Aegon’s face was a
little longer compared to Rhaegar’s, they could be
confused as brothers between them, more than
father and son.

One day during the conquest, The

Dragon explained him that in most cases, people
tends to saw what they wanted to see in front of
them. And after seeing his father, he now
completely understood this.

Now face to face with his father, it was impossible

for him to understand that at any time anyone
could have thought that Aegon and uncle Eddard
Stark were identical when this one was of Aegon's
age.

And it wasn't just for looks. Mannerisms and

patterns in the way of being. Like between the
Conqueror and himself, Rhaegar also had a
tendency toward melancholy and closing in on
himself. One of the things he had appreciated
most about Rhaegar in the short time they had
spent together, making plans for their future
campaigns, was that like Aegon, Rhaegar
appreciated long silences in meditation and
contemplation.

Maybe the two of them would never be the soul of

a feast, but surely his father was a person who
was easy to work with and they had somewhat
similar mindsets. Besides, they both had
something that few people can have. The hindsight
granted by having died by personal failures and
then coming back to life.

Although perhaps Aegon’s defeat had not been as

resounding as Rhaegar’s, both for him and for the
Conqueror the state in which the Seven Kingdoms
found themselves was seen directly as a
consequence of their negligence in creating a
game that exploited all the evils from the vassal
fiefdom system.

His elderly uncle cleared his throat, pulling him out

of his thoughts and addressed him. "Tell me Egg,
is it true that you have seen the Others and the
Army of Death?"

"Yes. Bran, like my uncle Benjen, the Half-hand

and myself have seen them. It was just as my
sister Rhae described it to me almost three
hundred years ago when she had her dragon
dream. And even if you haven't been able to see it
previously in the solar, the Others, as same as the
wights, have bright blue eyes, just as my father
describes them as in his dreams..."Aegon paused,
sighed, and looked up at his father. "This is
between the four of us. If not for my valyrian steel
armor, I am convinced that now I would be dead.
Or worse. In a moment of inattention one of the
Ice Spawns transformed his sword, translucent but
made of ice, into a spear."

Aegon began to narrate in a tone that without

intending it, it became more and more tenuous
and contained a tremor that he could not
completely contain.

After swallowing and taking a deep breath, Aegon

continued the narration with barely a thread of
voice, while looking Rhaegar in the eyes, so that
he understood exactly what they were facing.

“Next with an out of this world force, standing

about seventy, or eighty meters from me, the
Other threw the ice-spear against my back. Bran
warned me just in time to turn and for the spear
to hit the lower end of the forged steel gorget that
instantly turned to ice. The breastplate and the
chain mail underneath, both made of the steel of
our ancestors, are hardly branded. I flew about six
or seven meters from the force of the impact and
I'm still spitting up some bloody phlegm from the
impact. Possibly even having a small crack in the
ribs ..."

"What?!" Suddenly two female voices sounded

somewhat angry as well as relieved, to Aegon’s
right.

Without him noticing, both his mother Lyanna and

Arya had entered through the side door that
connected the different rooms that they had. Now
accompanied by Ser Jaremy, apparently they
heard details about his encounter with the Others
that at first, Aegon intended to leave out from the
knowledge of both for the sake of their tranquility.

Quickly going to hug his mother and little sister,

Aegon reassured them when saw the expression of
panic and concern on both of their faces.

“I'm fine, nothing has happened by luck, I'm still

alive.” Said as Aegon used his soothing and most
loving voice to calm them down.

'Or so I want to believe.' Aegon thought bitterly

sometimes about his death and subsequent
resurrection.

When the embrace with mother and Arya ended,

Aegon stood upright again and went to sit at the
chair on the other side from the maester's. Silence
took hold of the room.

“How many reanimated soldiers do they have?

How many of the Others are there? Do we know
their motivations, where they come from or how to
stop them?“ Rhaegar broke the silence shooting
the rapid succession of questions, while uncle
Aemon nodded at Rhaegar's questions.

Aegon’s mother and Arya sat on his bed, staring at

him, concern still etched on their faces. Aegon
looked at Bran who was sitting in the middle of the
room floor stroking his wolf fur, whom returned a
look and gestured that Aegon should be the one to
begin the explanation.

“Their numbers are easily over a hundred

thousand beings like the one we captured. That we
could saw. Also we saw thirteen of the Others. In
the army there were also reanimated animals and
giants, but fortunately, no sign from the infamous
spiders from the legends.”

He answered to his father in a simple and resigned

way, causing Rhaegar to seemed to choke. Aegon’s
mother's face of horror seemed to grow, while
Arya clung to Nymeria as if that could protect her
from anything. Uncle Aemon remained unfazed.

“As for your other questions Rhaegar, our Squire

and new Master of Whisperers, Prince Branraven
will inform you of this. Your Excellence, the room
is yours." Aegon said with a certain mocking tone,
but a trembling voice.

Directing a gesture from his arms towards Bran

and before using the basin of cool water that was
on top of the dresser, where Aegon had
momentarily dropped his crown-band.

“Before anyone asks, I'm making a reference

towards Lord Brynden Rivers or Bloodraven, as
you prefer. And yes, he was alive, although not
now and Bran is his replacement, having took
Blodraven's mantle. Whatever that means…”after
said that, he shrugged, shot a furtive glance at his
valonqar Bran and then looked at Rhaegar and
then his mother and Arya with a resigned
expression that he was telling everything Aegon
could or knew, and that it was Bran who could
explain more about the matter.

'So far Bran, despite being somewhat distant

which could be attributed to our journey beyond
the Wall, has not shown anything of his new self.
It seems that he took my order seriously. Now i'll
see the family reaction at seeing this new Bran.'
Aegon thought with anticipation and uncertainty
towards what he knew was going to happen now.

While Aegon refreshed his face and hands, Bran

brushed his long hair back, revealing for the first
time since they returned to the Wall, the absence
of the left eye and the tear-shaped blood-colored
stain Bran had above his left cheekbone.

“Regarding your questions Uncle Rhaegar, I think I

can answer them better than Aegon. The Others
are a weapon created by the singers of the earth ,
those we know as children of the forest, in
response to the invasion from the first men." Bran
said with his magical voice, which at times seemed
to come from inside him and not from his
seemingly closed mouth.

Rhaegar seemed to notice the changes in Bran

beyond the obvious lack of an eye, and put a
certain face of respect and curiosity about the way
Bran now expressed himself and conducted
himself. Arya for her part seemed totally amazed
by her new brother, looking towards Bran totally
agape with a mixture of wonder and fear. Aegon’s
mother, who was in charge of serving Maester
Aemon some lemon water, let out a gasp,
accompanied by a slight chill that made Lyanna
spill water out from the horn in which she was
serving.

‘Without a doubt this new Bran has a sometimes

unsettling presence.’ the Conqueror told him from
within, in a tone that Aegon could only describe as
of certain respect and apprehension.

Bran totally unaltered by the looks of surprise,

certain disgust and amazement from the family,
proceeded to say his part with that voice that
resembled that from Bloodraven's during Aegon’s
death in the crypts and that raised the hairs on his
neck.

“The first Long Night was not defeated definitively.

A kind of technical tie was reached. Thanks to the
magic from its creators and the warlike capacity
from the first men with some foreign help, the
Others could be contained. In exchange for this
contention, a pact was signed on the Island of
Faces between singers and first men, by which the
winning side, so to speak, had to sacrifice
members of their own lineage to create a second
generation of Others. Which would awaken when
the balance from the song of the earth and the
Music of the World was broken with the purpose of
eradicating all life from existence."

Bran paused in his explanation, while his eye

seemed to adopt for an instant the reddish glow
that it now sometimes seemed to have. After that,
the gesture of Aegon’s valonqar relaxed and the
eye glowed a vibrant turquoise blue again.

“Regarding how to defeat them definitively, it is

something that still eludes me. For now our best
option is to prepare to eliminate their entire army
and then see how to deal with the magic from the
Others." concluded Bran, in a tone that seemed to
be more for Aegon's valonqar than for those
present and that reflected incomprehension of how
it was possible that Bran had no answer to the
question asked.

“Although from all I know, everything indicates

that Aegon is in charge of restoring the balance of
the Songs and the Music. How he can do it, I don't
know yet, but I trust that in Essos we will find
more answers."

Bran finished his presentation, with a voice more

typical of what he was, a child, than of what he
had become and that Aegon was incapable of fully
understand.

After the explanation, or the attempt to do so by

Bran, uncle Aemon cleared his throat and placed
his white eyes on Aegon, as did with his left hand
on Aegon's left knee, which Aemon lightly
squeezed in a gesture of affection.

"Dear nephew Aegon, I think I need you to update

me on your future plans and in this way be of
greater use than just knowing only the sketch your
father has given me.” said uncle Aemon softly.

“I agree, but before continuing, all those present

should know that this impasse in the meeting with
the Watch hierarchy was planned in advance by
me. I know that I had agreed to share with
everyone present here the actions to be carried
out and how to execute them. But I wanted that
when you first saw the real enemy, it would be at
the same time as the men from the Watch. Let
them see that there was nothing before hand, or
trickery on our part." Aegon said addressing his
family in a certainly exculpatory tone, but firm and
dry. "In addition, this was a topic that I wanted
to discuss only once, because after this pause,
mechanisms and processes will be put into
operation that will soon escape our control."

Aegon stated, after which he got up from his chair

and began to walk towards the center of the room,
almost next to Rhaegar, to end up facing his
mother, his little sister, his uncle and his little
brother. He steeled his position, tensing
involuntarily, knowing that once he spoke and laid
down his plans, there would be no going back. He
watched attentive faces on his mother and Arya.
Impassivity in Bran, who knew possibly better than
Aegon himself what his words would imply.
Rhaegar’s at Aegon’s side, reflected some anxiety
and like Aegon, was tense. Uncle Aemon had a
mixture of expectation and concern etched onto
his features.

'Now or never.' he thought.

“Due to the events and developments of

yesterday, from today we are at war. There are
really two wars, but in truth it is one and the
same. The only way to at least stop this threat
from beyond the Wall is by unifying Westeros
under our banner. But we can only do that at this
moment if we can obtain the resources and men
from outside the Seven Kingdoms." He announced
to his family.

It was something that both Bran, like Rhaegar and

his mother Lyanna in part, already knew. But
neither Arya nor Uncle Aemon had little more than
outlines of the plan based on comments they had
heard in passing, or what they needed to know up
to that point.

Seeing that he had all the attention of those

present, including Rhaegar who affirmed each of
his sentences at his side, he decided to continue
reeling off the plan.

“When we are in Essos, we will subdue the Old

Daughters from Valyria based on the blood claims
house Targaryen has over them. In that way, we’ll
create a sustainable model capable of producing,
supplying and sustaining not only our dependent
population, but especially, a professional army that
we will create totally dependent to our house. Only
when we reach that point, we’ll turn our eyes to
what lies between the Neck and Dorne. For that
reason, today I plan to buy half of the Wall from
the Night's Watch, as well as to claim Brandon's
Gift from them and give it to the Free Folk, whom
you know as wildlings, to inhabit it, manning the
Wall in their half, but without crossing to the south
of Brandon’s Gift except for emergency from the
Army of the Others." He concluded to the surprise
of Rhaegar and his mother, who were clearly not
expecting this sudden change in plans regarding
the Wall.

“And how do you plan to make that purchase,

Aegon? If your father has not misinformed me,
until you take control of the Iron Bank , we do not
possess gold or wealth.” the venerable master
asked Aegon with some doubt in the voice, but
warmly.

It made Aegon’s heart glad that the master

himself counted himself as part of the family.
While he planned to convince him to take up his
role as a member of house Targaryen in the new
capital of the Wall, Aegon expected to meet
resistance from his elderly uncle.

Smiling and with determined but vibrant voice,

ignoring the question of the Master, but half
answering it, he went on to relate what expected
to do about the Watch and the Wall

"My aim in the North, especially with the Night's

Watch based on their oath, is to try to separate as
much as possible the two causes that we are
fighting simultaneously. Related to each other, but
different in essence; one is the reestablishment of
our dynasty and control over practically of two
continents. A selfish and greedy cause, you might
say. The second is to assume command and the
role of leaders in the Great War, to save humanity.
A selfless, generous and for the common good
cause.” He explained, after which waited for some
kind of reaction.

He could see his uncle Aemon nod his head, but he

thought that no one really understood the meaning
behind his words and except for his little brother,
everyone was looking at him with expectant faces.
“That is why Bran and I have incorporated the
members from the Free Folk, or Wildlings from
Beyond the Wall as citizens from the first province
of the Freehold of Valyria and Westeros; Tar-nu
Fuin, The Forest Beneath The Shadow[1]” Aegon
stated next.

The surprised and admiring faces on his mother

and sister were a source of pride for Aegon.

Aegon’s mother, Lyanna, knowledgeable of the

plan to establish a citizenship that would tie
subjects directly to house Targaryen rather than
through lords or nobility, radiated pride in his
accomplishments, grinning from ear to ear and her
bright gray eyes seeming to be watering.

'So this is how Robb felt when Cuntlyn

congratulated him for defeating me in the
courtyard?’ he thought briefly with pride and joy at
the reaction of his mother.

Looking towards Arya, his little sister was looking

at him with certain reverence that made him
uncomfortable. 'I don't want her to look at me like
some of the Wildlings. I am not any kind of God.
I'm his big brother.’

Meanwhile Rhaegar was looking at him as if Aegon

had grown a second head. "Sorry? How have you
achieved that? Weren't the free-city of Braavos
and the surrounding territories supposed to be the
first province of the Freehold?" asked Rhaegar in
an incredulous voice, but with a questioning point.

After all, the vast majority of the ideas regarding

the management of subjects and nobility in the
new Freehold of Valyria had come from Rhaegar.
Plans for which they had established a series of
steps, where it was essential that the foundational
stone of the new Entity that they planned to create
and that was going to cover two continents, was
Braavos.

Its geographical location, its position as a

commercial and exchange hub between Essos and
Westeros, its proximity to the North and the
presence of the Faceless Men and the Iron Bank,
made it the ideal point from which to begin the
eastern penetration of their campaign.

However, when he and Rhaegar made the plans in

uncle Eddard's solar in Winterfell, it had never
occurred to them, that after more than a fortnight
of having returned to life, almost one hundred
thousand people, the vast majority of the Wildlings
from Beyond the Wall, Giants included, would have
voluntarily joined their cause in Westeros.

So Aegon proceeded to explain why the situation

had accelerated and the plan had to be adapted by
the situations that arose.

"When we returned to the Wall from Bloodraven’s

cave and after meeting the Others, we came
across the settlement of the former King-Beyond–
the-Wall ..." Aegon told his father with a smile
from ear to ear, plunging Rhaegar into even
greater confusion, but certain understanding of
what was behind Aegon’s words seemed to shine
in Rhaegar’s indigo eyes. "What former King-
Beyond-the-Wall?" his mother interrupted abruptly
with a face of not understanding Aegon’s words
"Perhaps there was one and nobody knew it? What
happened to him?"

Beside Lyanna, Arya nodded as if she had the

same questions and finished off Aegon's mother's
skepticism; “There hasn't been a King-beyond-the-
Wall since Raymun Redbeard and that was
hundreds of years ago Jon! You have to be
wrong!." spoke Arya in a tone that took for
granted that she was right and Aegon did not
know what was saying, much to the amusement of
uncle Aemon, who let out a giggle at his little
sister's antics.

'The Fourteen Flames assist whoever crosses the

path of my mother or my little sister.' Aegon
thought with certain humor, seeing the
overwhelming personality from both.

“If you both let me continue, you will soon

understand. Taking advantage of the occasion,
Bran convinced me to descend and try diplomatic
luck." Aegon said, pausing, to continue with his
account in an explanatory tone and relaxed voice.

“When we found ourselves in front of all their

leaders, in command of all of them, we found a
former brother of the Watch named Mance Rayder.
Being aware of the true threat, decided to defect
one day and rally the clans and peoples from
Beyond the Wall in pursuit of saving them from the
Others. His objective was to gather the largest
army that had ever assaulted the Wall, and once
taken, use it as a shield against the Army of
Death. It is seen that the man was successful,
because they ended up naming him King-Beyond-
the-Wall.” concluded shrugging his shoulders and
extending his hands and arms forward, showing
that he did not have more answers on that topic.

"The thing is, after an involuntary display of power

from my part..." Aegon lowered his head, ran his
right hand through his fledgling hair and sighed,
knowing that if he hadn't been so excited about
the descent on Balerion, he probably wouldn't
have had to cut a man in the middle. His father
looked at him questioningly, but he waved his
hand at him, downplaying the importance of what
had happened.

“We negotiated an agreement with them; the

triangle formed by the Wall and Brandon's Gift
from Eastwatch in the east to Oakenshield in the
west and the coast adjacent to the Bay of Seals to
Hardhome in the north, are the lands of the new
province Tar-nu Fuin, whose capital will be the city
port of Forlond, The North Port [2], in what is now
Eastwatch By the Sea." Aegon concluded with
some pomposity.

'Without a doubt I am better than The Conqueror

at naming.' he thought with certain sarcasm and
pride within himself for using primitive Valyrian to
name the new cities, provinces and protectorates
from the Freehold.

“I have in turn created a kind of nobility and state

ranks, bestowing the title of new lord of Forlond
and lord protector of Tar-nu Fuin on Mance Rayder.
Bran has the complete list of the clan chiefs,
magnars and skin-changers that we have
considered suitable for the task of political leaders,
or that unfortunately, have a lot of ascendancy in
their people and you have to accept them as they
come.”

Looking towards the silent, but constant presence

who lurked in the passage between the rooms
from the royal rooms in the King's Tower, Aegon
directed a cordial glance and in a warm but
authoritative tone addressed his only King’s guard
in Westeros "Ser Jaremy, please. come closer.”

The man in question seemed surprised being

referred by Aegon, but soon Rykker acceded to the
room where Aegon and his family were, to stood in
front of him.

“I'm glad you’re here, because the plans affect you

too. You will be our military leadership at the Wall
and in the North. Your authority can only be put in
discussion by the maester Aemon, who if he
accepts, will become the civil administrator from
the province. Under your responsibility will be the
armies and security contingents of the Freehold of
Valyria and Westeros in the North and the Wall."

“Your Grace, you honor me with this assignment.

But what will my functions be?" asked between
doubtful and curious Rykker.

Looking at him with confidence that was the right

man to carry out the task, Aegon nodded and went
on to explain what expected from him.

“Your main function will be to shape, train, arm

and command the new salaried and hierarchical
army that will be created here in the North and the
Wall. Along with this, you will have to mount
defense plans in depth for beyond the Wall and
south of this one till to the New Gift.” Aegon
paused, shrugged and continued.

“In turn, Ser Jaremy, among the children of over

eleven days of their name from the various clan
chiefs, you will have to choose a pair of squires for
yourself. One of which will be no matter what,
Sigorn Thenn. In the same way, you will have to
choose more than three hundred from the most
prominent clans, for act as a page or squire for
each one of the Watch’s commands and for go to
Winterfell to do the same." Aegon concluded dryly.

He decided to ignore the questioning gaze from his

mother and little sister for taking hostages so
blatantly. Aegon was not so naive to think that
only goodwill would change thousands of years of
traditions. Many of which were based on
intolerable violence south of the wall and much
less, in the new world he wanted to build.

“Finally, Ser Jaremy, you will be in charge of

overseeing how the current Beyond the Wall army
will be disbanded, and only those who enlist our
new army or who have positions in the
administration will have the right to be armed. You
and a contingent from the Watch under the
command of my Uncle Benjen when he returns,
will be in charge of their recruitment, equipping
and training personally, although currently we are
desperately short of specialized personnel. Which
brings me to the next thing already related to our
plans in Essos.” Aegon explained this last subject
already to the whole family.

"As we get gold from the Iron Bank, we will ship

from Essos stonemasons, builders, carpenters,
armourers, blacksmiths, scribes and healers to
teach those who show more promise to perform
these tasks among citizens of Tar-nu Fuin.” He
went on, specially for both Rykker and uncle
Aemon, the plans that he and Bran had
established on the fly in the face of the sudden
events that had taken place.

“Thanks to the fact that we have the support from

the Free Folk, we have skin-changers, giants and
mammoths. When Bran took up the mantle of
Bloodraven he somewhat was able to see Brandon
the Builder build the wall with their help." Aegon
paused to let the information sink in, showing that
apart from being possible levies for the new army,
among the wildlings from beyond the Wall they
had found a tremendous construction workforce
that would speed up times.

“Adding to it the help of personnel and materials

from Essos, I think it will not take more than nine
or twelve moons to erect a new fortress-city where
Eastwatch now stands on the Wall. In addition, this
unexpected help could serve us on the other side
from the Narrow Sea in the construction projects
that we will start there. No matter how much we
may hurry, it is likely that the works on the Wall
will be advanced before we even begin the
construction from our future capital of the
Freehold.” Bran added to Aegon's explanation, with
his voice from beyond the grave, but
strengthening the idea they were putting forward.

Rhaegar seemed convinced by the decisions he

had made, while Uncle Aemon continued to pay
attention.

“The Enchanted Forest will serve as a source of

raw material for the construction of our new north
fleet, trade with Braavos where wood is scarce and
as a source of fuel for our forges. In Forlond's
shipyards will be installed and there will be a naval
uninterrupted exchange of goods and personnel
between Braavos and the new province." Aegon
adressed his family, in a tone of hope that
everything he had planned along with Bran would
soon come true.

“At the same time I am also claiming Brandon's

Gift from the Watch to use it as farmland owned
by the Freehold for the Night’s Watch and the new
province. Attended by citizens in exchange for
salary, being this one in coin or kind. The Wall and
Tar-nu Fuin cannot depend only on imported grain
anymore. At the same time, it will be necessary to
create and import large quantities of glass to build
glass gardens, although that with our dragons will
not be a big problem with the type of sand that
exists on Essos' beaches.” concluded firmly,
knowing that there would be no major problems
regarding this, as he had seen through the eyes of
the Conqueror, what Balerion's fire did in the
Dragonstone arena. In the white sands of southern
Pentos or Lys, they could get huge amounts of
glass and crystal for the North.

“At the boundary between Brandon's Gift and New

Gift, a palisade with dirt support will be built from
Oakenshield to the east, using the wood on this
side of the wall, in order to enlarge the arable
area. When we leave for Eastwacht and then
Essos, we will use Balerion and Vhagar to make a
huge trench, where with the help of the wargs, the
giants and the mammoths will go the
aforementioned palisade.” Aegon said, although
addressing especially to Rykker and his uncle.

Although he had ordered all of this to Mance

Rayder, leaving him a large number of scrolls with
concise instructions on what to expect of him as
political leader from the province, it did not hurt
that people in which he had much more
confidence, especially uncle Aemon, knew what
they were expected to do in the new Province.

'I hope Uncle Benjen is alive and comes back

before we leave. I'd like someone from the Watch
to know our plans too. If he will not, I will have to
resort to Thorne.’ he thought with certain fear for
his uncle's fate and certain bitterness at the
thought of having to delegate power in Thorne.

He sighed and looked Rhaegar in the eyes,

because he would need his help in building the
palisade.

“It is a defensive measure, both towards the south

and towards the north. Before we leave, the
dragons will take care of loosening the land. I
don't think Meraxes will follow us, but Vhagar and
Balerion produce flames powerful enough to create
a ditch on any surface." he confidently told
Rhaegar, certain that he would have already
created a bond with Vhagar strong enough to carry
out what Aegon proposed.

"A bit like the moat on the Moat, huh?" Rhaegar

asked.

To which he nodded. "On a smaller scale, but yes."

Of Moat Cailin, uncle Ned and cousin Robb will had
to take care. 'My flying dragons will not have a
hand there, although the golden ones will.' He
sighed, while thinking about the tremendous
investment he was going to make in having his
uncle Eddard Stark fulfill his original role as
Warden from the North.

'All this northern reform project should have been

executed a long time ago by your uncle, or your
maternal grandfather and you know it. In the end,
it is house Targaryen that ends up paying for
generations of Stark laziness and accommodation.
When we went to Winterfell after the conquest, it
impressed as much or more than Dragonstone.
Now it looks like a gloomy fortress, decrepit and
falling t...' and so, the Dragon Reborn severed for
the first time in several days his mental connection
with The Conqueror.

Aegon had enough with the current situation, to

keep a cool head and in the plans that he has so
hard conceived with Bran, his father and the
Conqueror himself. For the latter to now come to
expel all his resentment and bile towards house
Stark, especially against Aegon's maternal uncle
and against grandfather.

Having been on the other side of the situation, he

knew the horrible feeling that came when the
carrier of oneself soul closed off from his.

'That feeling of absolutely nothing…' the hairs on

his neck stood on end at the memory. But now
was not the time to feel sorry for Aegon the
Dragon, but to do his duty as Aegon the Dragon
Reborn. He took a deep breath and continued to
present the plan to his audience.

“Each person who lives on the Wall and whom

does not belong to the Watch, will be census and
registered. Having citizenship from the Freehold of
Valyria and Westeros, abiding by its justice and
laws. Thus, for example, among the Free Folk
there will be no more thefts of women, no looting,
no murders, or rapes. Justice will cease to be
arbitrary and an internal security body will be
created, attached to the army. In case crimes are
committed, the leaders appointed by me must
exercise justice, resorting only to that security
body to exercise it. In case they do not do so, or
with means other than those established by the
new laws that they have in writing from my own
hand and that will be those that reign throughout
the Freehold, Rykker will do it with them and with
the guilty.”

Aegon began to explain the cornerstone on which

their reclaims and new possessions would be
based, so with a look and a nod from the head, he
encouraged his father to continue explaining what
awaited them for being able to defeat The Second
Long Night and restore the old glory from Valyria.

“If we want to beat the Others, we have to change

the world for the better. We need to create a new
system. One where the intermediate figure
between the ruler and the people he rules is
eliminated. One in where the oaths, the army, the
taxes, the industries, the commercial and military
navy, the commerce itself, the laws and the justice
are in subordination to our own house Targaryen,
towards and from the subjects to this one.“

Explained with passion Rhaegar, with his iron, but

melodious and harmonic voice, like no other Aegon
have ever heard.

“And the only way to do it would be to make all

subjects equal before the law and justice,
regardless of birth, gender, religious belief, wealth
or social status. A system where social
advancement depended on being Citizens of the
Freehold and their own personal abilities, not on
the name or blood they carry." Aegon finished off
simply.

By Gods fortune, Rhaegar was an inexhaustible

source of political and historical knowledge and
seemed to have thought all his life about how to
change the current political model.

Using as a sketch from the proposals of Uncle

Aemon's brother, Aegon V The Unlikely, mixed with
the form of government among the Forty Valyrian
families before the Doom and the maintenance of
certain structures based on vassalage and oaths,
Rhaegar had given with the way to create a double
state. In this new state, house Targaryen would
perpetually hold administrative, military and
executive power, forming the backbone from the
Freehold. Its beginning and its end, since every
citizen was contractually bound for life, like their
children and the children of their children, with the
Freehold, as well with house Targaryen. The which,
in the Freehold, would be a State in itself within
the Freehold of Valyria and Westeros.

They only really give part of their power to make

laws, which in last stance had to be approved by
them for their application, and in regional politics.
In this way they created the illusion of autonomy
and self-government among the political
leaderships from the provinces, the lords, nobility
and powerful, when they really had the power that
house Targaryen wanted to grant them. Besides
that way they could complete the destiny of the
Conqueror and his own with the same plan.

“To achieve that equality, that Isonomia, everyone

should be the same. And that's being Citizens from
the Freehold of Valyria, everyone without
exception, having the same rights, freedoms and
obligations. Homogenization in this way is total.
Regretfully is obvious that due to wealth, historical
situation or family position, we are talking about a
model that will not be perfect, nor can it be
implemented in all the territories under our sphere
of influence or direct power, in the same way."
Rhaegar said with some helplessness and sadness
in his voice.

“Citizen of the Freehold of Valyria will be any man

or woman endowed with speech, owner of land,
with the capacity for dialogue, decision and
debate, capable of reaching a consensus with their
peers and who has previously signed the contract
and established the oath of eternal loyalty and
fidelity to house Targaryen and to the Freehold.
These will have the right to political participation in
regional assemblies and depending on its census
capacity, in the provincial or protectorate/province
councils. In the same way, they may participate in
the different administrative bodies according to
their census level."

Aegon added to what Rhaegar explained trying to

separate to this one from what he knew Rhaegar
regretted they wouldn't fully achieve.

‘Rhaegar sometimes seems to not understand the

difference between rebellion, conquest and
revolution. I applaud him and even admire his
vision for a better world. But I need to have all the
power firmly grasped in my hand if we want to win
over Death.' Aegon mused to himself. Whether
they wanted to or not, taxation over the
citizenship and their ability to collect large
amounts of gold were their best asset in gaining
the support of the Iron Bank and to finance the
many expensive ventures ahead.

“Land ownership can only be achieved in two

ways: by granting of house Targaryen in exchange
for citizenship and what that implies, or by
purchasing it in exchange for an oath of eternal
loyalty to house Targaryen as Lords of the Freehold
of Valyria and the Seven Kingdoms, along with
financial compensation in the taxes.”

Rhaegar explained in a slow and explanatory way,

gesturing from time to time with his head in the
direction of Aegon's mother and towards Arya. At
times, it felt like Rhaegar was really explaining for
the two of them, more than to Rykker, uncle
Aemon, or Bran.

Aegon was infinitely glad to see that his mother

and Arya, along with Rhaegar, had hit it off so
well. Otherwise he was not able to understand
Arya paying attention for so long to explanations
about politics and territorial management.

'It certainly seems that the two of them are

serious about being raised as a crown prince and
that my father has taken it personally that they
receive such knowledge'. Aegon thought about
mother and Arya, causing a brief smile to spread
across his face. While Rhaegar continued to
explain looking towards Arya and Aegon’s mother
"Only those who have land ownership may
participate in the assemblies, whose function will
be to transfer the problems of their regions to the
administrative magistrate and the political leader
who acts on our behalf in the province or
protectorate."

“Each regional assembly will be held every eight or

twelve moons and will elect a representative to
defend the interests of their region in the
provincial or protectorate council. For this council,
up to ten elected members may be elected from
among the citizens of each province or
protectorate, three always from the lowest census
stratum and two must always be the political
leader and the magistrate of our administration."
Rhaegar explained in his melodious and warm
voice, using manners and gestures that reminded
him of those of Maester Luwin explaining to him
and Robb all the great houses of Westeros, except
that in this instance was the political model that,
for example, from that time on, reign among the
Free Folk.

'Only in this case, instead of regions, they would

be clans.' thought Aegon ashe carefully followed
Rhaegar’s explanation.

"In turn, these ten members of the provincial or

the protectorate council, will represent this one in
the Council of the Freehold of Valyria and
Westeros. In the lands owned by the old nobility
where we can find a political commitment, such as
the North, we have created federated territories
associated to the Freehold. We will not intervene
directly in their politics, nor will be there
assemblies, since citizenship does not really come
into force in these territories." Rhaegar addressed
the reason for the impotence regarding why his
ideal model could not be implanted equally.

“However, we will have control over everything

else. These territories will also contribute ten
representatives to the Council of the Freehold of
Valyria and The Seven Kingdoms, of which three
must not be part of the nobility and must have
been chosen from among the other servants of the
nobility.” he intervened with a vehement voice,
trying to show his father the positive side in the
changes to introduce.

"Where we do not reach agreements with the

ruling lords, or directly, where we appropriate land
through military action, we will create our true
system" promised, almost asserting, Aegon with a
cold and hard voice.

Although he would have liked to remove the entire

middle step between his house and citizenship, he
knew that in some kingdoms and provinces he
would have to make concessions. The solution was
that these provinces or kingdoms were associated
with the Freehold as provinces or kingdoms
federated to it, allowing to maintain in a certain
way, the status quo in them, but at the same time
allowed the implementation of the administrative
and military apparatus of the Freehold in those
territories. 'In a word: Control'

“The Council of the Freehold of Valyria and

Westeros will be held every eight and ten or
twenty and four moons, and will be our link with
the different provinces, protectorates and
federated territories. Through the Great Council
they will expose us the desires, aspirations and
needs of each of our domains. Of these provincial,
federated or protectorate representatives, a third
should be part of the lowest census stratum.”
Aegon continued with father's explanation, pausing
to drink a little from his horn where he had water
with lemon.

“Every citizen will be able to access politics,

although their weight in it will really be conditioned
by their economic capacity and their dependence
on our house. We will create an illusion. The
illusion that there is an elective method as there is
among the Ironborn or right here at the Wall with
the election for Lord Commander, but really the
whole system is tied to our family. Without us, the
system would collapse and not because of the
absence or presence of dragons. We will become
the beginning and end of the system." He
promised his family, and in a way to himself.

Inside him, when Aegon made plans, he had

always had a dichotomy. On the one hand, he
wanted to make a better world and give better
lives to the almost sixty million people who would
be affected by his plan. On the other hand, Aegon
knew that he would need to be firmly in control of
everything in order to face The Others. At
exposing the plan, he remembered the lessons
that the Conqueror gave him during their years
together in the past, seeing that now he was in the
same situation; balancing on the thin line that
separated tyrannical power from a more
benevolent and open one. And unfortunately, as
Bran had warned him several times already,
sometimes Aegon would have to cross that line.

Honor and conciliation should be set aside if the

occasion calls for it. However, with the plan
basically devised between him and his father, with
small contributions from his uncle Eddard and
Bran, Aegon believed that a certain balance could
be reached, which would ultimately prevent the
appearance in the future of a new Unworthy or
Mad King.

'Or maybe I'm delusional, since really the system

that we will create will not have counterweights to
the power from house Targaryen.’ He mused with
certain bitterness to himself. Aegon decided to
continue with the exposition of the plans, instead
of continuing to ruminate on a future that, if he
did not defeat the Others, would not take place.

“To finish the issue of citizenship of the Freehold,

every citizen will have the right to free marriage
and this will be defended by the Freehold itself.
Situations like that of mother and Robert, or that
of so many women throughout history are over.
Only with the approval from both parties, can a
valid marriage be contracted.” Aegon said with
more anger than he intended, practically spitting
out the Usurper's name.

Almost without breathing, he continued. “The

family name may be expressly created or
associated with their lineages if they descend from
one of them, but it will not result in benefits of
social status within the citizenship of the Freehold.
If you are a citizen, it doesn't matter if you are a
bastard, because the laws and rights are the same
for everyone. If the mother is a citizen, the son
will automatically be a citizen."

Having lived as a bastard for five and ten days of

the name, he did not want to create a system that
would allow the suffering of children due to the
conditions of their birth.

After discussing these two topics, Rhaegar noticed

how these last points had agitated him and
decided to ease a little the tension that had
suddenly fallen on the room, continuing with
details of their plan.

"What is there in common between all the

daughters of Valyria and Old Ghis?" Asked Rhaegar
in Arya's direction.

"Slaves!!" Arya quickly exclaimed with a face of

pride and satisfaction with herself.

“Thus, it is. Millions of slaves. But not only

common slaves, in many cases, these are
specialized labor and workers." Rhaegar expanded
the correct assertion of Aegon’s little sister.

"Why not give them freedom and make them part

of our state in exchange of a salary, political voice
and property, all provided by house Targaryen?"
Aegon rhetorically asked his mother, sister, and
uncle. "Why not instead of being Conquerors, we
are Liberators and Builders of a better world than
the shit that exists today?"

He concluded fully convinced that he could do

better than almost three hundred years ago. He
had to do it if he was to defeat the Others and that
his children and his children's children, as well as
all his family and offspring, could live forever
without fear, and in their rightful position as the
only bearers from the old blood of the forty that
they were.

“That is how father and myself came up with the

idea of recreating the old Freehold, but without
slavery or serfdom. Thus was born the idea of the
sort of Freehold of Valyria and Westeros, which
from today begins to be a reality.” Aegon intoned
melodically and with emotion.

Observing at those present, Aegon saw that uncle

Aemon had a smile from ear to ear and a face of
pride and satisfaction towards Rhaegar and him.

Aegon’s mother, Lyanna, seemed to be processing

everything she already knew in advance, with the
new information she had just received. For her
part, Arya seemed not to understand everything,
but she still had a big smile on her face and a look
of pride and infinite love towards him.

'I think I will have to explain the details to her, but

I hope she will soon understand what we intend to
create. My intention is for her to held power. If she
doesn't understand our goal, it will be difficult for
her to do so.'

“In this way we will be able to build the

infrastructures, goods, weapons, fleets, among
others things. We will monopolize the trade in
manufactures and craft as well as all productive
resources, over which we will also have ownership
and control." Said Rhaegar in warm voice looking
directly in Arya's direction, having also noticed her
confusion. "We will extract or produce materials,
we will transform them, and we will sell or supply
them, depending on the case." Rhaegar finished
with a smile and a gesture of the head as if to say
that the explanation he had just given should
serve Arya to finish putting all the pieces together.

“The Freehold, which really will be house

Targaryen, will buy or acquire all the means of
production and commercialization, exchanging
serfdom and slavery for the salary of labor, the
existence of private property linked to house
Targaryen, the political voice and internal
promotion. " Aegon tried to contribute to his father
explanations towards Arya.

"With the entire Freehold oriented and focused in

the same direction, as citizens of it, the more
prosperous the Freehold is, the greater they will
become, gaining even greater devotion to House
Targaryen." Uncle Aemon suddenly asserted,
whom seemed to have perfectly understood what
was behind all the administrative, bureaucratic and
fiscal structure that they had planned to create
and instrumentalize.

Although Aemon didn't see it, Aegon’s father

smiled and nodded. "That's right Uncle. On the
other hand, salary will also affect the sinecures,
intermediate positions, bureaucratic positions, the
productive mass, crafts, manufacturing, merchants
and the army."

“It is because of all this that the Free Folk didn’t

bend the knee nor bow to me. I gave them the
choice between continuing to live beyond the wall,
fighting for safety; or becoming part from the
Freehold of Valyria, explaining what that meant.
They have freely choosen to take the citizenship
from the Freehold and all that entails, including
the double oath of allegiance and eternal fidelity to
house Targaryen represented in me." Aegon
informed the family about the conditions under
which joined the Free Folk to the Freehold.

"Son, are you sure that someone who doesn't

bend the knee can be trusted?" mother asked with
some concern in her tone. Before he could reply,
his Valonqar intervened

"Although they have not bended the knee, the

oath from the blood of the first men is sacred even
beyond the wall." Added Bran with his magical
voice and eerie presence, without whom possibly
negotiations with the wildlings beyond the Wall
would have been much more arduous or would not
have taken place.

"The importance of the Iron Bank in the whole

plan is that it will not only be our source of credit,
but it will also become the Bank of the Freehold."
continued Aegon, finishing exposing the plans
since they should soon meet again with the blacks
brothers and part of what remained to be exposed,
would be mentioned in the conversations.

“That's why we're going to need someone to help

Maester Aemon carry out the Census. We will soon
send someone from the Bank to Forlond to carry
out the tax task and repair payments to the
Night's Watch and the North. Something akin of a
return in material riches, for the blood that they
had cost the people of the north and the Watch for
so many years."

"What better than the ones whom has been

negotiating with gold all their lifes so they begins
to be the one to mint it, collect it and put it into
circulation in our name and in our territory?" said
Rhaegar at exposing what had possibly been the
most brilliant idea Rhaegar’s had had regarding
the control and finances from the Freehold.

"However, it is steel, not gold, who will grant us

our position from where to defeat The Others."
Aegon added with a firm and determined voice,
knowing full well that without soldiers, none of his
plans would be viable.

In this case, it was him, rather than from Rhaegar,

whom most of the ideas came from. As when the
Dragon carried out the conquest, Aegon was aware
that fifteen hundred well-trained men fully
dedicated to the cause were worth more than
twenty and five thousands peasants, nobles,
knights and lords gathered ad-hoc on the fly.

'In the Field of Fire there were more than forty and
five thousand men and it was of absolutely no use
for them.' Aegon reflected, knowing firsthand that
an army well prepared in that battle would have
been a tougher nut to crack.

“That is why we will create a permanent army. But

it will be an army that will combine the best from
the legions of Old Ghis, the power and strength of
a Westeros' knight and the adaptability and
preparation of a mercenary. An army trained for all
kinds of conditions, capable of crossing great
distances in a relatively short time. An army that
is capable of fighting both in individual armies, as
grouped in formations that include several, without
any loss in performance. In short: an army
tailored to us.” Aegon explained clearly and calmly.
He paused to take another drink from the horn,
and continued.

“Anyone who enlists in our army will do so for

fifteen years, in exchange of a salary per year of
service and an allotment of land at the end of the
enlistment. They will also have the option of
promotion according to their capacity, performance
and military value. Each promotion will be
accompanied by a salary increase." said, after
which he passed his hand over his head, took a
deep breath and continued.

“We urgently need blacksmiths, armourers and

military instructors. Rykker, by recruiting from the
Tar-nu Fuin Protectorate between 7,000 and
14,000 men and women in their physical prime,
committed and well-trained, we would have the
base for two armies of 5,000 soldiers and almost a
third.” said Aegon, mostly addressing his King’s
guard. “As long as it is an army only, this will be
your command, Ser Jaremy. When there is
personnel for two, or if by necessity, my uncle
Lord Stark's army joins, you will delegate control
from our armies to enlisted members of the
Freehold army or citizens with positions in the
administration or political leadership. When this
happens, you will be in charge of coordinating the
two or three armies. If they are ours, Uncle Aemon
will be the only one able to challenge your
decisions. If it is with my uncle Eddard's, then you
will have to come to terms with him. Although in
that case, remember that our army cannot be
sacrificed by anyone. Neither he, nor anyone other
than Maester Aemon or a member of the
Targaryen family, will be able to compel you to
take actions that are to our detriment."

At the conclusion of the orders to Rykker, Aegon

saw how his sister tensed and gave a look of some
sadness, because although not specifically, he had
made it clear that his army was not at the service
of the Stark family unless direct order of the
Targaryen family. 'She still forgets that she is part
of the dynasty and that if she wants to, when the
time comes she can give Ser Jaremy direct
orders.’

Bran for his part did not flinch, because according

to Aegon's brother, all of this was really a waste of
time. His once sweet Valonqar, had told him
shortly after fleeing the Others, that he should fly
with the three dragons over each palace, castle or
fortress from Westeros and Essos high nobility,
and reduce them to ashes. Give a choice between
oaths of allegiance to them or death, the massive
conscription of serfs, slaves, servants and free
people, to crowd them all upon the Wall in a battle
of attrition against the army of the Others.

‘Once you solved the problem of the beyond the

Wall, you might think in political whims.’ the once
tender, dreamy and lively Bran had told him.

Fortunately, once his suggestion was discarded, his

little brother proved to be the biggest supporter of
Aegon's plans.

'Without him, I would possibly be dead. Without

him, I would never have come to terms with the
Free Folk. Without him, I would never have heard
from Rhaenys, my grandmother, my uncles and
aunts. I hate what Bloodraven's cave has done to
him, but by the Gods that is it proving to be
helpful. '

He had clear that it would be a pleasure for him to

knight his little brother in four years. He would be
the youngest knight in history, and based on his
merits, he should already be.

“Our armies must never have more than 10,000

men, nor less than 4,500. Although the ideal
would be 7,500. They will be under the command
of a member of the family or a King’s guard.
Outside of those two cases, a legate in the
function for us, with the rank of Lord Commander
of Army and a corresponding salary. If he is not a
top class of the census, lord or has another source
of regular income. Or if they have a position within
the Freehold institutions or administration, they
will not receive salary for their service.” Rhaegar
added while Aegon was lost in his thoughts,
addressing uncle Aemon and Rykker in particular,
although giving his mother a furtive glance.

'Maybe mother dreams of commanding an army…I

don't know…We don't really even know each other
yet. After achieving the goals that I have set for
myself in Braavos, I will have to really talk to her.’
Aegon thought with some regret, realizing that
except for the conversation on the first night
leaving the crater that had formerly been the First
Keep and a couple of loose talks before going to
sleep or during the brief breaks in the endless
planning sessions at his uncle's solar in Winterfell,
they had hardly discussed anything other than
Senya’s ritual, the reinstatement of the dynasty,
the Rebellion, or the threat from Beyond the Wall.

The melodious and steely voice of his father took

him again out of his thoughts. “The intention is
that they be mixed armies; heavy infantry, light
infantry, archers, spearmen and if possible in some
cases, add detachments of between 500 and 1000
heavy knights and a screen force of about 300
light cavalry horsemen. Army groups will always
be commanded by a member of the royal family or
a member of the King’s guard, no one else."

"For now we have five commanders and no

soldiers to command." Aegon muttered under his
breath with certain laconism. Making a reference
that no one except Bran, understood from the
faces that his relatives made at hearing him. This
was mainly because, counting him, there were
really only three military commanders in the room;
Rykker; Rhaegar and him.

Aegon knew that his little brother Bran and his

uncle in Essos were serious candidates for military
glory in command of armies. And after the
exchange between Rhaegar and mother, Aegon did
not rule out that when the day came, mother or
one of his sisters, and even his grandmother,
would decide and show themselves apt to take
command of one.

Without giving the option for anyone to give much

thought to his involuntary comment, Aegon
continued where Rhaegar had left, “We intend to
have a minimum of 60,000 and a maximum of
about 85,000 infantrymen in total, that is,
between eight and twelve armies, supplemented
by between 10,000 and 25,000 knights. The both
together, would form 40 mixed detachments of
2,500 men and horses, or 58 mixed detachments
of 1,750. Every detachment will be a third of an
army. Three detachments would be an army.”

“In the same way, each army will be accompanied

by detachments of military builders and supporting
infantry, which would mean between 10,000 and
20,000 additional men. In total, our maximum
forces will be of 130,000 enlisted men and women,
minimum of 100,000. At the time of the Great
War, at most 70% of our armies will be fighting in
it." Rhaegar concluded with some concern, for
Aegon’s mother and little sister surprise.

Rhaegar had told Aegon that there would come a

time when the problem would not be to have a
large standing army, but to keep it supplied.
Therefore they had to make estimates of how
much is the maximum that could be moved in the
logistics trains.

“Taking into account the logistics and the existing

means at our disposal, an army group of more
than 70,000 men is unfeasible from a provisioning
point of view. With a estimate consummate of
forty tons of campaign supplies per week, that
means twenty and five tons of grain, ten of meat,
plus another five of weapons and equipment, we
don't have how to supply more.” Rhaegar said the
why, apart for to maintain a skeleton security force
in the domains, in their final campaign they would
not use all his men available, in case they had
them.

Like his father, when fighting with The Others

Aegon would like to have as many valid men as
possible, but he knew there was no point in doing
so if they lacked supplies.

“For that very reason we need a powerful combat

fleet and a huge shipping and trade navy. Hence
the importance of Braavos, and not only because
of the Iron Bank. We need a shipyard and a fleet
of our own ownership right away. In the same way,
we will have to contact houses Velaryon and
Celtigar when we are established in Essos, to
whom my name can still mean something.”
Rhaegar concluded the explanation and
presentation of all the plans.

“Only through conscription in our army for fifteen

years, it will be possible to be armed. Since they
are common among the free folk, and by having
the sisters and mother that I have, I would be
hypocritical, the recruitment will not take into
account between genders, allowing both women
and men to enlist." Aegon added as he winked at
his mother and sister.

A knock on the door that connected to the King’s

solar was the signal that the black brothers had
already returned and the stays had been cleaned
by the stewards.

So Aegon decided that it was best not to keep

them waiting.

"It is time to expose all pertinent plans for the

North and the Wall to the Night's Watch and to
pray to all the gods that they are not too stubborn
and obstinate with the old traditions and customs."
Aegon said with a warm voice, and more optimism
than he really felt.

When Aegon’s mother, Arya, and Rhaegar had

already left his quarters, Bran stayed a moment
longer, looking towards the maester as if he was
waiting for something. It was in that moment that
uncle Aemon asked his little brother something,
which Aegon certainly did not expect, but which
Bran seemed to know before hand by his
expression.

"Is it then time for me to give him the chest?" in

sing-song voice, hopeful and eager, said uncle
Aemon.

'Curious. We talk about the possible end of the

world and my uncle is excited to give me a chest
... of course the Second Long Night is coming.'
Aegon thought amused.

“Yes maester. You must give Aegon the chest that

you have been guarding since Lord Brynden went
to meet his fate." Bran answered with an ear-to-
ear smile to Maester Aemon and with certainly
childlysh voice. After that Bran went in the
direction of the stays where the postponed
meeting would be resumed.

When only Aegon and his uncle Aemon remained

in Aegon’s dorm rooms, Uncle Aemon seemed to
want to talk to him some more, before putting the
plans in motion in front of the black brothers. As
Aegon walked towards him to help him up, his
uncle made a gesture with his hand stopping him.

“Aegon before we leave these rooms, look under

your bed. Possibly, the solution to our possible
problems regarding the purchase of half of the
Wall would be in there. It must be a rectangular
wood chest approximately half a meter long by
two spans high."

He walked over to the bed where his sister and

mother had been sitting until a minute ago. When
he reached it, crouched down, resting his left hand
on the bed and his right arm on the floor.

To Aegon’s surprise it seemed that the floor was

impeccable, and as his uncle the maester had just
told him, there was an oak chest, elongated but
not too high, which had undoubtedly been placed
during his absence from the Wall. Picking up the
black handle in the center of its side, he could
barely move it.

'By seven hells!! What's in here that I can hardly

even drag it away?'

Hearing his hard breathing of effort as he dragged

the chest off the bed, Maester Aemon chuckled.

"Will we have to call your little sister to help you?"

uncle japed.

" Ugh ... Ugh ... Ugh ... No need ... it’s already
out." Aegon said breathlessly. The weight of the
chest was undoubtedly excessive. And he was very
tired after barely getting a couple of naps in the
last five days.

"Open it." uncle Aemon told him with emotion and

expectation, as handed Aegon a key that was on a
necklace around the maester’s neck.

The chest was simple. It had no decoration. But it

was solid, firm and it had a lock that didn't look
like it would be easily breached.

By turning the key in the lock and opening the lid,

he understood why.

Horizontally, four solid gold bars that would be

worth more than two million gold dragons covered
the entire floor of the chest. On them was
beautifully folded, a battle banner from his house,
on which rested six seals of House Targaryen and
their respective gold pendants collars; three for
men, three for women.

Next to the seals, were ten identification gold rings

with the sigil of House Targaryen engraved in
rubies.

'Damn Bloodraven knew a hundred years ago what

was going to happen. And also the exact number
of seals and rings I’ll need. This is mad.' he
thought between indignant and astonished at the
discovery. Taking the largest ring, he placed it on
the middle finger of his right hand and put the seal
around his neck.

When Aegon recovered from his surprise, closed

the chest again, previously grabbing one of the
remaining nine rings, and went over to uncle
Aemon to help him up from the chair.

"Did you knew the content of what was in here?"

he asked with some wariness to the old maester.

“I had no idea. I only know that the day Lord

Brynden left and entrusted it to me, he told me
that when the day came, its contents would aid
the plans to restore our lost glory. From your
reaction first of surprise and then of secrecy, I
would say that it is so. I don't need to know
anything else about your chest. It is yours for do
what you want with it and its contents.” said his
old uncle with a dry and cold voice, with some
resentment towards Bloodraven.

‘Maybe if Lord Brynden had deigned to explain the

things a little better, this whole situation would not
have come to pass.’ The Dragon commented
suddenly, to whom Aegon had inadvertently
allowed to enter his consciousness and soul again.

"Here uncle, this is for you." He said, ignoring the

comment from the Conqueror, after which he
proceeded to set the ring on the middle bony
finger of his uncle's right hand.

Uncle Aemon felt the ring with his left hand, and
as he did so, a a toothless smile came out of his
mouth, while his expressions were totally relaxed.

In a high-pitched voice and certainly moved, the

maester said to Aegon. "When my brother Egg
lived his adventures with Ser Duncan the Tall, he
had one very similar to this one hidden in his boot.
Thanks so much nephew for give to this old man a
new opportunity in his life to do the duty to our
house.”

As Aemon clung to Aegon’s left arm, where the old

maester rested part of his weight, Aemon’s face
suddenly changed to a more serious and tense
one, addressing Aegon in a reflective voice that
resonated with the wisdom Aemon had
accumulated with more than hundred names of
the day.

“You have a debt with the world, Aegon. You could

have ended injustices, but you chose to create a
system that favored the opposite of that... How
many lives has been lost and ruined because you
believed that you had the right to rule this
continent since the dream that had your sister?
Was it for love? Was it for duty? Was because you
believe yourself some kind of savior? Or was
merely because you had the option to gain more
power with the moral right in your side because of
the dream? Don't answer me. Answer this to
yourself. This time, your burden will be heavier
and little joy will find in it, I think. But is an
occasion for doing right from the olds wrongs"
Uncle Aemon said as his cloudy, milk-white eyes,
moved to Aegon's gaze.

"If a possible Second Long Night had not affected

your life, what would you have done?...I may be
your descendant, but I am also your eldest and I
have lived more than a hundred days of the
name…Listen to me, you that started this Game of
Thrones that crushes the weak and rewards the
powerful. You have to save them from themselves,
in order to save them from the Long Night. That is
truly your duty.” uncle Aemon sentenced, but
made a gesture with his hand to indicate that he
had not finished with what intended to say.

“I do not think that for a shepherd there can be

nothing more dangerous and humiliating than
giving his dogs guardians of the livestock, a
breeding and education in which indiscipline,
hunger or any bad vice can induce them to attack
the herds themselves, and look like rather than
dogs, they’re rabid wolfs.” Aemon commented, as
stopped on the way to the stays where his family
and the Watch already were waiting.

"It would be terrible." Aegon agreed. "How could it

not be?" He answered uncle's question with
another question.

Seeing that Aegon’s strategy was to nod without

really want to answer, uncle grabbed him with a
force that surprised Aegon in a man that age,
turning his body until they were both face to face.

Despite the difference in height, Aegon suddenly

felt like a small child. Aemon was watching him
with clenched jaw, white eyes fixed on his. For a
moment, Aegon could have sworn he saw flashes
of two black wells of ink in them. Like his father's
or his own.

"Won't you then have to be vigilant so that those

of the administration do not do the same to us
with the citizens and, abusing their power,
resemble savage tyrants more than friendly
allies?" his uncle questioned him with severity and
harshness in his voice.

"Yes, we will have to watch" Aegon replied,

realizing the implications of his uncle Aemon's
reflections.

"And wouldn't we have the best guarantee in this

regard if we knew the citizenship were really
educated?" this time Aemon’s tone was softer and
sweeter. It seemed like he wanted to take the
conversation to some point, so Aegon didn't beat
around the bush.

"Sure, but how do you propose to do it?" Aegon

said dryly, though without the seriousness and
coldness he intended.

“Making knowledge, like property or political voice,

accessible to all citizens of the Freehold. Let me
create a new Citadel. But one that teaches and
illustrates everyone equally, not one that imposes
its version of what it thinks it knows. Swear the
boy Samwell Tarly as magistrate of House
Targaryen and the Freehold. Dispossess him from
all titles attached to Tarly and make him a new
person. Make him a citizen of the new world." The
pleading in his elderly uncle's tone was something
Aegon hadn't expected.

And much less that he spoke of dispossessing a

person of all his noble titles in exchange for
making him a citizen of the Freehold, as if it were
a reward to this Samwell Tarly.

At Aegon's silence, his uncle Aemon tightened his

bony hand on his left arm “Young Tarly has all the
inclinations and virtues that one could ask for in a
Grand Master, without any of the vices or
prejudices acquired by them. With the books in the
library of this castle, plus what your Uncle Eddard
would be able to contribute, we could possibly
have enough material to start the project. On the
ships coming from Essos with materials, provisions
and people, it would not cost anything to put a
couple of chests full of books and scrolls. Freed
scribes who are not essential for bureaucratic or
institutional functions could find a future in the
new citadel and could be the beacon for
generations to come." Aemon concluded with a
voice of hope.

Aegon felt as if the old maester was looking for a

way to redeem himself with his house and with the
world. As if for the first time in his life, he was
proposing something he wanted to do and not
something he should do.

He felt compelled to grant his old uncle's wish.

Even if the project did not go beyond that, nothing
would lose and could gain a lot. Not to mention
that he would gladden the heart of his centenarian
Uncle Aemon.

"It's all right Uncle. Once we finish the meeting

with the Night’s Watch brothers you will introduce
me to Tarly and I will decide what to do with him.
Although as you have put it, your project without
Tarly would be impossible, right?" Aegon said with
some authority on the first and some resignation
and humor on the second.

“That's right Aegon. So is, so is." answered his

uncle Aemon with a voice that was warm and
happy as if he had gotten away with it, but that
filled Aegon's chest with warmth and love for his
uncle.

'At least I am able to make him happy at the end

of his days. Now to buy the wall and start the
designed plans.'

Twelfth day of the seventh moon of 297 AC.

Braavos, Essos.

The roar from the Titan that announced the

sunset, reverberated in the humid heights in the
sky above the lagoon where the bastard daughter
of Valyria, Braavos, was nestled.

After almost two moons since the ritual, Aegon

had finally reached Essos. The continent from
where his family really came.

'The North will always be part of me, but I am the

last of Valyria.' The Dragon Reborn thought
proudly of himself, smiling as he remembered how
three hundred years ago The Conqueror told him
something similar about him.

Developing and implementing his plans at the Wall

took more time than Aegon would have liked. But
it did at least help him to see Uncle Benjen again
before leaving the continent and update him on
events and happenings that had taken place since
they said goodbye at the entrance of Bloodraven's
cave.

Even if Aegon did not want to admit it, he felt

more secure knowing that at least within the
Night's Watch there would be someone who would
take care to put peace between the Free Folk and
The Black Brothers in case discord arose once he
had left with the dragons.

Crossing the Narrow Sea had been a tougher

process than Aegon had first imagined, believing it
would be like when he went from Dragonstone to
Tyrosh. Instead of a half-day flight, he found
himself facing a three-day nonstop flight from
Forlond.

And even though Aegon was the one who was

most used to flying on a dragon, three days in
armor, surcoat, shoulder pads, vambraces,
greaves, knee pads and Blackfyre on his back,
caused his muscles to be numb and cramped. Not
to mention that Ghost, getting bigger by the day,
had been hooked around his waist for three days
using his cloak as a sling. He couldn't wait to get
on solid ground.

Looking to his right, Aegon could see how Vhagar

could be mistaken for the sky due to the range of
colors cast by the evening sun. On top of the
yellowish-orange dragon, with his black armor and
silver mane blowing in the wind, his father
Rhaegar, with his mother Lyanna in front of him.

'I don't want to imagine how my father must be,

after having carried mother on his lap the whole
flight. At least Bran and Arya found a way not to
burn themselves on top of Balerion by wearing
three pairs of breeches under the riding leather
breeches.' He thought as he looked behind his
back, where on the back of the Black Dread were
his little sister, his valonqar and their two Direwolf
pups in their arms, both in state of nervousness
and agitation.

'Without a doubt, even if they do not express it,

they have as much desire as we do to step on solid
ground.' the Conqueror told him inwardly, whom
had been his constant company during the flight,
since Arya and Bran had dedicated themselves to
dozing the great majority of the flight.

After five weeks of meetings, plans, discussions

and the occasional little veiled threat, Aegon had
no desire to argue or think on plans and
fortunately The Dragon agreed with him, always
maintaining a light conversation, remembering the
times in that they both fought in Essos, or how
Rhaenys would have loved to do a flight like the
one they were doing.

Seeing the sun reflected off the silver scales of

Meraxes flying alone to his left was a constant
reminder of the other great reason he wanted to
get to Braavos at once. Rhaenys.

Thanks to Bran, he knew that Aegon’s

grandmother, uncle, and sister were in Braavos
and had somehow survived the chaos that ensued
after the fall of their dynasty in Westeros.

Aegon did not know very well how, because Bran

had told him that it was not his place tell the lives
of others, although had sworn that was telling the
truth and that Aegon would soon see it.

'At this point you should trust your valonqar a little

more, Egg.' said The Conqueror, when for the
umpteenth time since Bran assumed the mantle of
Lord Brynden, Aegon reiterated if it was true what
he had said after the encounter with the Others or
was it simply a ploy to prevent Aegon from going
to death fighting the Ice Spawns and their
puppets.

He took a deep breath and let out a sigh he didn't

know for how long had been holding.

By being on Braavos, any possible incognito that

they had until that moment would disappear
completely. It was one thing for someone in
Westeros to tell of the sudden appearance of
dragons in the North, typically accused of being a
kingdom prone to myth and storytelling. Another
very different thing is to carry out the deployment
that they were going to do in Braavos, whose
population was tens of thousands of people. Fairly
larger than Lannisport.

Although, if the Usurper or Tywin wanted to come

after him, it would be a favor they did him.

It was time to leave behind the low profile that

they could had have with three huge dragons.

"Bran!! Prepare the banners, the world will once

again know that House Targaryen is alive and back
to take what its own!" Aegon said almost shouting
and with an edge of emotion so that his brother
could hear him well from where he was.

Thanks to Bloodraven they had both the war

banner of house Targaryen, as well as that of Lord
Brynden himself, that Bran had taken as his own.
'It's time to use them again.'

The rocky knoll of dark gray stone that rose in the

lagoon began to be seen from the heights,
showing above it a windowless building with a
black tile roof and enormous doors almost four
meters high. One was black, the other white. They
had finally reached their first stop today, The
House of Black and White, the headquarters of the
Faceless Man.

"[Balerion, it's time to announce us to the world]"

Aegon practically whispered to his dragon, which
emitted a murmur that echoed through his body
and that was of joy at being able to show his
power.

Balerion then let out a roar that might as well have

been heard on the Wall, joined by Meraxes and
Vhagar.

'There is no turning back Egg. The complicated

part really begins now.' The Conqueror told him in
a serious and firm tone, which showed the
seriousness of the situation.

'If things don't go well now, we will possibly be

dead before nightfall.' he internally agreed with
the Dragon.

If there was any bet to all or nothing in his plans,

it was the one he was going to make now with the
Faceless Men. He did not intend to end them, if
not to unite them to his cause, or at least a part of
them. Although his pulse would certainly not
tremble in eradicating them from the face of the
world, Aegon had suspicions that before he could
do that completely, he would be the one who
would leave the mortal world.

They began to slowly descend in circles around the

building, causing a mass of people to gather
around the rocky ridge. After they landed on the
rocky knoll where the residence of the Faceless
Men was founded, a slim woman, robed, half
black, half white, welcomed them.

"We are here to see the Kindly man." Bran told

her, doing his job as squire. The woman gave the
dragons and Direwolves a wary look and then
looked at them for a long moment and nodded.
Then she indicated for them to follow.

They entered an interior courtyard, which had a

three-meter-wide pool filled with black water in
the middle. At the edge of the pool sat a man
dressed in a tunic similar to that of the skinny
woman, his face covered with a hood.

He took a step forward: "I am Aegon Targaryen"

he said with a firm and dry voice. He then pointed
out his family that was a few steps behind him
"these are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna
Targaryen, my parents. The youngsters are my
brother and sister, Brandon and Arya Stark."

The priest got up and walked towards them.

"We are here to buy the organization of the

Faceless Men and their inclusion as security
members of the Freehold of Valyria and Westeros."
Aegon explained simply the reason for their
presence there.

"The Faceless Men aren’t for sold, we belong to the

God of Many Faces." said the assassin in a
surprisingly kind voice.

"Then we will buy it from him," Aegon nodded at

his valonqar, who took out one of the gold bars
that once were on Bloodraven's chest and offered
it to the Kindly man.

"You can buy a small town with this." Bran said

shyly.

'What is Bran playing at, why is he using that

voice?’ The Conqueror asked internally the same
question that was haunting Aegon. ’Let’s trust in
him.’

The Kindly man pulled down his hood, and instead

of a human face, only had a yellow skull with
remnants of skin hanging down and a worm in the
eye socket.

None of them were fazed at all. Bran had already

warned them in advance of the possible tricks and
illusions the Faceless Men could use. In fact after
seeing a wight and Bran on a daily basis, his little
sister Arya was practically laughing at the worm in
the Kindly man eye socket, as she tapped Bran on
the shoulder in a friendly way.

"Our God does not care about riches." said the

Kindly with some bewilderment, after a few
moments of silence. Most likely, the man expected
some kind of reaction to his revelation. Aegon
wanted to laugh, after the things he had seen,
lived and experienced…

Arya stepped forward, her eyes shooting daggers

in the assassin's direction.

"We came here to take down the Faceless Men and

we will!" Said Arya fiercely "We are Targaryen and
Stark, the blood of dragons and wolves runs
through our veins, we don't care about your god or
your magic tricks." Aegon’s little sister pointed to
the Kindly man face.

"If you do not accept riches, then we will show you

the meaning of the words of our houses, and
winter will come with fire and blood. We will raze
this temple to the ground, and all that will remain
of your precious God will be a pile of rubble." Arya
threatened the assassin with her still childish
voice, but quite firm.

Aegon, like his father, couldn't hide the surprise on

his face when he looked at Arya, while his mother
Lyanna was wearing an ear-to-ear smile, exuding
pride in her niece.

The Kindly man also seemed a bit taken aback by

Arya's unexpected speech, but recovered quickly
enough. "Do you think you are the first to threaten
us, girl?" practically spat.

Aegon’s look of surprise, like his father's, was now

replaced by barely contained anger. His mother
had drawn Visenya's dagger and the three pups
began to show their fangs in the direction of the
Kindly man and the girl beside him. In his chest,
Aegon felt how Balerion was also stirring at the
threat.

"We have been here for hundreds of years,

kingdoms and armies tried to confront us and they
all ended in the same way. As offerings to the God
of Many Faces." said the Kindly man with venom,
all kindness disappeared from his voice. "Perhaps
you will also receive The Gift! insolent girl. So he
will teach you to disrespect our God in his house!"

He didn't need to look at his father to know what

would happen next. Aegon’s right hand was on the
priest's neck in an instant, easily lifting him so
high that his feet were no longer touching the
ground and was struggling for breath. The Kindly
man skull face, now became the face of an old
man.

The skinny temple girl tried to pull a knife out of

her robe, Rhaegar quickly tugging at his long
sword, ready to strike her. But his mother Lyanna
was quicker and stood between the woman and
Aegon himself with the dagger in hand, ready to
defend her son.

However, none of this was needed. The Direwolves

defeated his parents. Aegon saw only three flashes
moving with blinding speed in front of him and the
next thing he knew was that Summer was on the
young woman's chest and her neck was in Ghost
and Nymeria's mouth, breaking like an egg under
the pressure of the strong jaws of the wolves. The
girl body went limp in an instant.

"Don't ever threaten my family again." Aegon’s

words sounded more like a roar than spoken
words.

The Kindly man was now struggling to breathe.

"Do you think your God can protect you?" Aegon
asked in a voice thick with rage. "Do you want to
see a God?" He spat practically, at the same time
that he threw the assassin to the ground, where
this one began to cough, trying to fill his lungs
with air.

"[I will show you a God!]" Aegon practically roared

again and was immediately in contact with
Balerion ‘[My friend, destroy this place, but be
careful with my family and the wolves.]'

Suddenly a earthbreaking roar was heard from

above. The people who had gathered outside the
temple began to shout and pray to their gods. The
thud of the Black Dread was heard violently
landing on the building, tearing it with its hind-legs
and tail. ‘Soon there would not be much left of the
building.’

Vhagar let out another deafening roar, albeit

softer, and joined Balerion in the destruction that
was causing. The interior walls of the building
collapsed from the weight of both dragons.

To Aegon's horror, human faces stored in the

building began to spread among the rocks, and
throughout the inner courtyard.

The real assassin’s face now took on the yellow

color of the skull with which he tried to scare them
earlier, the limbs were shaking so much that could
not get up from the ground.

"Valar Morghulis." Aegon said now in a harsh,

threatening voice to the Kindly man. Although he
would have liked to avoid using the dragons, the
position the Faceless Men had left Aegon with no
choice. "Now if you allow me to explain myself
without making any threat from either side,"
Aegon concluded, directing a reproving glance
towards Arya.

“Valar Dohaeris, Dragonlord. What do the last from

Valyria need from the God of Many Faces?"
answered the old man from the ground, recovering
as he could.

“I come to warn you that someone is making fun

of your god. I come to warn you that if you do not
join us, there will be no life left on the planet and
false gods will take the place of yours.” Aegon
explained ominously and with aplomb.

"And who are those who, according to you, mock

and supplant our god? I don't see why we should
stand against the end of existence if our god has
so decided. Only he can grant the gift of death,
just as he did with Valyria." replied the Faceless
Men condescendingly.

“Because the enemy of whom we speak does not

allow those they kill reach the Gift. On the
contrary, once they had taken the light from their
lives, they revive them and enslave them as their
diabolical puppets, wights that are a mocking to
your god, with the intention of becoming
omnipotent gods whom will plunge the whole
world in darkness." Bran began to speak, now with
his magical voice, full of wisdom and that seemed
to come from the bowels of the earth.

"I know that you had a hand in the Doom,

although by far not all the responsibility and it was
more of a coincidence." His valonqar concluded by
fixing his eye, which seemed to take on reddish
tints similar to those of the mark under the socket
of Bran's left eye, on the man lying on the ground.

“And I know that your main function is to avoid the

suffering of those defenseless, whom will be better
off with the gift than continuing their lives. You say
that your only owner is the God of Many Faces, yet
you have strayed and allowed yourself to be
corrupted by gold. In exchange for a payment, you
give the gift to people who have not earned it. Tell
me, kinslayer, do you think that the false gods of
death will let you live and will not make you their
slaves? Do you think your tricks and illusions will
prevent the Great Other from annihilating you?"

If the faceless man trembled at Balerion and

Vhagar's display of power, the words, the magical
air and the tone used by Bran, caused the assassin
to involuntarily loosen his bladder on the ground
where was still lying.

“I can recognize you whatever the face you wear,

just like our dragons and our Direwolves. I know
there are eleven of you in all, and I know you have
at least ten more acolytes." Bran said, speaking
confidently and rhythmically, but threateningly.

“Choose. Serve the Freehold of Valyria and

Westeros, helping your God in his true struggle,
bestowing the gift to those who are judged to
receive it by the Red God. Earning wealth for doing
your mission. Or perish. Decide now." Aegon
concluded his brother's threat with a hard, cold
voice, to add as looked up at his dragon that was
perched above the crumbling walls, fixing its fiery
eyes on the terrified assassin. “The next time I
address to my dragon, it will be to burn the
remaining rubble of this building to ashes. You can
choose whether to be part of them or not."

When they finalized the details with the Kindly

Man, as the Faceless Men in charge of coordinating
the organization called himself, they were ready to
go to their next stop: the Iron Bank, undoubtedly
a more arduous negotiation, but deep down, now
less dangerous.

As all climbed back onto the dragons, Aegon

looked from his mount on Balerion towards his
father, whom returned the look.

They both nodded and addressed their two

dragons, still leaning against the collapsed walls
and roof of the building. It was time to put an end
to The House of Black and White once and for all.

"Dracarys"

[1] From Quenya or High Elvish. Throughout the

fiction, especially to name places, I will use
Tolkien's wonderful language as a primitive dialect
of High Valyrian (High Valyrian would be the
Sindar of the elves who did not see the two trees)

[2] From Quenya

Notes:
All inspiration for the
administrative policy structure of
the Freehold comes from the
reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes
in Athens, the Athenian civic
structure, the reflections of Plato
(Republic Book IV), Polybius (On
Rome), Aristotle (The Forms of
Government ), Saint Augustine
(The City of God), The city-states
of Northern Italy in the late
Middle Age, the elective method
of the night watch / Ironborn and
the structures of the Lower
Republic / High Roman Empire
and certain touches of Roosevelt's
New Deal (The monopolization
and direction of production and
its means).
This chapter is along with Eddard
II's the longest in fiction.
I can understand that it is not the
most attractive chapter due to the
lack of "action", but for my
history and the construction of
the "Free" Freehold, I need the
Targaryen conquest /
establishment/ blood claims to
have a historically viable base
and above all I wanted to end the
vassal society based on oaths to
the domains.
Although it is high fantasy, I
cannot write something that I
know is unfeasible at the political-
structural level of medieval age.
Daenerys's big problem in ADWD
and surely in AWoW is and will
be, her pathetic management /
rule of the conquered territories.
One cannot decapitate economic
structures, productive and social
aspects of a society / culture and
move forward hoping that it
idyllically governs itself.
It is understandable that Dany in
the books, 14 -17 years old and
with no preparation, makes such
shit. But in this case we are
talking about a figure by which
time itself bends before him,
Aejon (Before the conquest /
After the conquest) who has the
help of, according to all that is
known about him in canon, one of
the most brilliant people in
Westerosi history, like Rhaegar
Targaryen, his father
Aemon will appear more and will
continue to spread wisdom (in
this chapter he's Socrates LOL)

This chapter along with Rhaegar

II's part on the Iron Bank are the
exposition of the Targaryen plan
between now and the Long Night,
so bear with me with some
patience.Then there will be much
less exposure of this
----- Important Note, regarding
future battles
, THERE WILL BE NO UNSULLIED,
DOTHRAKIS, OR COMPANIES OF
MERCENARIES, THERE WILL BE
AN ARMY IN THE ROMAN WAY /
SPANISH TERCIOS !!!

---- Explanatory note regarding

the political ordering of the
Freehold
IN THE FREEHOLD THERE WILL
BE NO VASALS, THERE WILL BE
CITIZENS !! THERE WILL BE NO
GREAT LORDS, IF NOT
PROTECTORS AND MAGISTRATES
OF THE ADMINISTRATION IN ALL
PROVINCES-PROTECTORATES!!
THIS POLICY AND STRUCTURE
ONLY APPLIES TO TERRITORIES
CONQUERED / CREATED BY THE
FREEHOLD !!

Thus, Eddard Stark and the

North, is a kingdom federated to
the Freehold. It maintains its
social structure (there's
vassalage), but not the economic
or productive one and they are
allied via contracts and oaths to
the Freehold, personified in
Aegon and the Targaryen family.
Tar-nu Fuin is a Province-
Protectorate of the Freehold, as
will all the old daughters of
Valyria. The inhabitants of the
provinces / kingdoms defined as
protectorates are Citizens of the
Freehold (There is no vassalage.
All productive activity is paid by
salary in monetary value or in
kind) The population of the
protectorates, the citizens, are
those who are linked by a
contract and the double oath to
the Freehold and House
Targaryen, not with the lords /
regional / provincial
administrators
PS: THE 3rd image is an image of
what will be the new capital of
the Freehold. It will be on the
Rhoyne and close to the dragon
roads. NY SAR.

P.D2: I base the military numbers

on the population tables taken
from
 https://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.
php?/topic/115756-population-
estimates-of-the-7k-and-essos/
An army of more than 15,000
people it was too large to be
controlled in medieval battles, not
to mention the logistical burden
involved.
The army of the First Crusade
that takes Jerusalem, is properly
a combination of different armies
that did not add up to more than
23,000 men and there were "a
thousand different armies" in one
(with its own command chain...
but all proven military) against
one of over 70,000, mostly forced
levies
Until Friederich the Great first (on
whom I also rely a bit for the
Freehold army), although really
until the Battle of Sedan, almost
a century and a half after this
one, armies of more than 20,000
people under a single command
was impractical. Communication
and orders were given by signals
of flags and the rhythm of the
marching drums.
There is no greater nightmare for
a military man than being unable
to command his men on the
battlefield.
Numerical superiority never,
never, never guarantees victory
(unless you are the USSR or
China LOL)
The Muslim invasion of the
Iberian Peninsula began with a
light army of less than 7,000 men
Next one; Jaime I

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