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Chapter Text

The following texts are abridged excerpts from Grand Maester Raemon’s The King of Knights, a book cataloguing the entire life and reign of the great King Daemon I ‘Blackfyre’ Targaryen. Many of these excerpts have also been used in other books with Raemon’s permission, including Archmaester Gyldayn’s Fire & Blood, Being a History of the Targaryen Kings of Westeros and Maester Yandel’s The World of Ice and Fire.

For all the great deeds he would later accomplish, the legendary King Daemon had a rather turbulent beginning. Late in the year one hundred and seventy after Aegon’s Conquest, Princess Daena gave birth to a bastard son she named for her grandfather, "for the Prince Daemon who had been the wonder and the terror of his age".

She would not name the father, and it was for this act of defiance against the strictures of her pious brother, Baelor (called the Blessed but more commonly referred to by many as the Befuddled nowadays), that Daena would earn herself the name of Daena ‘the Defiant’.

Baelor would later fast himself to death in 171 AC, as ‘penance for his sister’s sins,’ and Daena attempted to claim the Iron Throne, as was her right she argued as the eldest daughter of King Aegon III and sister to both Daeron I and Baelor. Many refused her claim, however. Ten years of seclusion in the Maidenvault had left Daena with few allies and having a bastard had sunk her worth in the eyes of many.

Daena attempted to pressure her uncle, Viserys II into relinquishing the throne to her with the threat of publicly declaring that the father of her son Daemon was indeed her cousin Prince Aegon, as many suspected. Viserys II however refused to be cowed by his niece and Daena followed through with the threat.

It did not accomplish what she had hoped it would, beyond causing a minor scandal and further worsening the relationship between Prince Aegon and his siblings, Princess Naerys and Ser Aemon, the Dragonknight, a member of the Kingsguard.

Defeated, Daena had no choice but to accept her uncle’s ascension to the throne that should have been hers. Like Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was before her, Daena had been robbed of her rightful inheritance and she never forgot it.

A small consolation prize at the very least that had been given to her was her uncle’s public acknowledgement of her son’s paternity and permission for both of them to live comfortably all their lives in the Red Keep, with a generous financial allowance. This was continued even after Viserys II died a year later I 172 AC from a sudden illness and his son, Daemon’s father, came to the throne as Aegon, the Fourth of His Name.

For the next twelve years, Daena and Daemon continued to live at court, and little would change their circumstances as a disgraced and disinherited princess and her bastard son. Nonetheless, Princess Daena continued to cultivate her connections and gain allies. One of these connections was Lady Barba Bracken, one of many ladies in waiting that had been sent to be at the side of her and her sisters in the Maidenvault during Baelor’s reign.

Upon his ascension to the throne, Aegon IV openly took Barba as his mistress and named her father as his Hand of the King. Daena had helped to facilitate this, thinking it would give her increased influence over the King through her friend. Her efforts would backfire on her, however.

Barba gave birth to a son, Aegor Rivers, only two weeks before Queen Naerys nearly died in childbirth, and her father then began speaking of the King taking Barba as his new Queen with Naerys lingering near death and this greatly displeased Princess Daena who saw it as a betrayal of their friendship that Barba would seek to advance herself and her son at the expense of Daena and her own. And perhaps some part of Daena still had familial loyalty and affection to her cousin Naerys as well.

Once Queen Naerys had recovered, all of these suggestions by Lord Bracken had become a scandal and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight and Prince Daeron, Naerys’ brother and son, forced the King to dismiss Barba and her father from court.

Daena did not intervene on behalf of the Brackens in this incident, still feeling betrayed by their grasping. However, many years later, after the execution of Barba’s younger sister, Bethany, and their father in 178 AC for Bethany’s unfaithfulness to the King as his seventh mistress, the Brackens’ favor at court had fallen to an all-time low and Princess Daena saw the opportunity to drag them back into her sphere of influence and offer them a lifeline.

Daena had earned much favor with her cousin the King in the intermediate years. Though never a formal mistress, she had continued to lay with him on occasion, plying his affections and ensuring he thought of her fondly. Her son Daemon had also earned much favor with the King, excelling in all aspects in the training yard which pleased him greatly, as did Daemon’s filial and obedient attitude whenever his father visited. The perfect image of a dutiful son. Quite unlike his supposed older half-brother Daeron who continued to be at odds with the King.

Princess Daena put this favor to use and arranged, with the King’s permission, for Aegor Rivers to come to court at last as her ward, to serve as a companion to her son. This she later noted in her private journals, was aimed to make the Brackens dependent on her for any favor and influence at court, reminding them of their place while drawing them back to her side as an ally.

It also provided her son Daemon with a true brother, as he had rather childishly begged for her to bring Aegor to court for him to befriend. Though Daemon had very many friends, for he was charming and his strength in the yard impressed many, he lacked much familial interaction apart from his mother. His father King Aegon was affectionate but distant, while Queen Naerys and Prince Aemon knew not what to think of him and his elder ‘brother’ Daeron was distant to him as was his other half-brother Brynden ‘Bloodraven’ Rivers and Daeron’s sons, who were all closer to each other than they were to him.

As Daena admitted in her journal, she would likely not have gotten the idea at all had it not been for her son’s pleading. Yet once it had entered her mind, it would not leave, and it was not long before she succeeded in having Aegor brought to court where he took to her and Daemon readily, becoming the best of friends and closest of brothers with Daemon and coming to see Daena like an aunt or second mother of sorts.

This was not the only sibling that the young Daemon convinced his mother to adopt either. After the death in childbirth of both Queen Naerys and Serenei of Lys, the King’s ninth and last mistress, in 180 AC, Daemon ended up convincing his mother to extend some motherly affection to his eight-year-old trueborn sister Daenerys and newborn bastard sister, Shiera Seastar, and raise them as their own.

Daemon and Aegor were both exceedingly close to Daenerys who favored their company over their other brother Brynden, whom all three disliked, and the sons of their distant older brother Daeron, Baelor, Aerys, Rhaegel, and Maekar. Serenei of Lys’s cold and haughty attitude towards others at court had also left her newborn daughter with no family or friends aside from the ever distant and hedonistic King Aegon IV.

Both Daenerys and Shiera were thus left without any family to really turn to besides Daena, Daemon, and Aegor, and they welcomed them and took them in. Princess Daena later wrote in her journal that taking in Aegor, Daenerys, and Shiera was perhaps the best decision she had ever made in her life.

Things continued to churn for the next three years. Daemon and Aegor continued to grow in strength and stature at the training yard while their rivalry and distance with Daeron, his sons, and Brynden simmered. Daenerys and Shiera meanwhile continued to grow closer to Daena, Daemon, and Aegor, and a mutual though at the time childish and innocent affection began to fully bloom between the adolescent Daemon and Daenerys, one that Daena and Aegon IV both greatly approved of.

In 183 AC, when he was only twelve years of age, the young Daemon proved himself like never before. Not only did he win a squire’s tourney at such a young age, but he had also disguised himself and entered the knights’ tourney as a mystery knight in a suit of plain black armor, reaching to the quarterfinals before finally being unhorsed and unmasked. It was an incredible display of martial potential and skill, something unheard of in one so young.

So pleased with his son was King Aegon, that he personally knighted the boy and bestowed upon him the Sword of Kings, Blackfyre, shocking the entire court. He then shocked the court even more when he formally legitimized Daemon as a Prince of House Targaryen in line to the throne after Daeron and his sons, and betrothed him to his younger half-sister Daenerys.

It was a meteoric rise. In a single day, Daemon had gone from a bastard with a promising future as a knight to a Targaryen prince bestowed a Targaryen bride and the sword of all Targaryen kings. Many began murmuring then that the King intended to name Daemon his heir in place of Daeron whom he had quarreled with many a time (and whom many whispers suggested was actually the son of Aemon the Dragonknight and not the King).

Others also started to remember the claim of Princess Daena to the throne and whispered that her son, Daemon ‘Blackfyre’ as he was now nicknamed, was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne twice over. Furthermore, as Daemon was now a prince, many also started calling him the Black Prince, after the mystery knight’s suit of armor that many saw as having earned him his new status and favor with the King.

All the while, Prince Daeron and his sons and favored brother Brynden could only stare at Daemon’s rise in jealousy and horror.

The final years of Aegon IV’s reign would be filled with much confusion after this incident. Rumors spread that King Aegon sought to arrange a betrothal with Rohanne of Tyrosh, the daughter of the Archon, for either Daemon’s second wife or Aegor’s first. That the King sought to legitimize the remainder of his bastards in addition to Daemon, or that he would formally name Daemon as his heir in place of Daeron. None of these things would ever materialize beyond hearsay however for the King expired in 184 AC, wasting away from sheer corpulence and obesity.

His death brought his eldest ‘son’, Daeron, Second of His Name, to the throne. Daeron was in all aspects, very much unlike the rest of his supposed brothers. He was not a warrior by any means, instead keeping company with maesters and other wise men. Unfortunately, such company did not in turn make Daeron wise. He was gentle and kindhearted his supporters said, but this would later be revealed as little more than a façade hiding his weakness and spiteful jealousies.

He was also far too influenced by his Dornish wife, Myriah Martell. So much so that Daeron immediately schemed on how to join Dorne into the realm ‘peacefully’ upon his ascension and make amends for his father and namesake’s ‘provocations’. And though he had cleared the corruption his father had enabled in the court, he replaced it with Dornish influence for Dornishmen soon dominated all the positions at court save for those on the Small Council itself, and Dornish nobles made up the majority of the courtiers.

Rumors had spread in the realm (some say spread by Aegon IV himself) for many long years before his ascension that Daeron was Falseborn, and in truth the bastard son of Aemon the Dragonknight and Queen Naerys and not the true son of King Aegon IV. To many this seemed plausible given the closeness the two had for each other and how much they far preferred each other’s company over their brother’s. Others also pointed to how unlike each other the two were (and those who had much to dislike about the King thought Daeron far nobler than he and much more alike to the Dragonknight than the Unworthy).

No such suspicions had ever fallen on Daeron’s sole living trueborn sibling, Princess Daenerys, for Aegon IV had by then become King and had the authority to ensure Aemon and Naerys were kept as far away from each other as possible at all times. For Daeron himself however, the rumors only continued to grow, and once Ser Aemon and Queen Naerys had both perished, there were none left who could truly refute them, as Aemon had done through trials by combat while they both still lived.

We pause here for a moment to consider Princess Daena’s views on the matter, as she relates in her private journals. In the words of the princess, it was without a doubt in her mind that Daeron was indeed Aemon’s son. The entire family had long known that Naerys loved Aemon and not Aegon and even Viserys II would later come to regret that he had married her to Aegon instead of Aemon.

Daena herself had initially far preferred Aemon to Aegon and in her youth she had held it not against her cousin Naerys for laying with “by far the worthier brother”. This would change later in her life however for reasons that would soon become clear.

While Princess Daena’s elder brother, Daeron I, the Young Dragon, had still lived, the family had been much more united. Despite their immense differences with each other, both Aegon and Aemon had greatly loved Daeron and seen him as a younger brother and king worth following, so much so that he could mediate and bring cooperation between them like no other could.

In those days, there was not truly yet the notion that Daeron the Younger was Aemon’s bastard son and those that suspected that was the case even within the family said nothing to keep the peace. Prince Aemon, according to Princess Daena’s journal, had even been the one to suggest that Naerys’ newborn son be named Daeron and the then Prince Aegon had for once, eagerly agreed with his brother. In later years it would come to be japed that Daeron II was named for Daeron I by both his fathers.

When Daeron I was infamously slain by sinful Dornish treachery under the sacred truce banner of the Seven in the year 161 AC, Prince Aemon was captured alive after failing to protect him, as was his duty as a Kingsguard.

Neither Aegon IV nor Princess Daena ever quite forgave Aemon for this failure, and the Princess, who had idolized her eldest brother was greatly distraught. At the height of her second brother Baelor’s reign, while she was imprisoned within the Maidenvault, Daena once pleaded with her cousin Aemon to set her and her sisters free, arguing that as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard he had the ability to see it done.

Prince Aemon had refused, citing his oaths and vows to obey the king even if he disagreed with his decisions. Princess Daena had grown wroth then and told him that he already failed as a Kingsguard once before, what was stopping him this time? When Prince Aemon had refused to answer and walked away, Daena had shouted at him that he should have died in Dorne instead of Daeron.

The once close bond between cousins fractured permanently on that day and it affected Daena’s relationship with Naerys as well. Daena would begin drawing closer to her other cousin Aegon and this eventually led to the conception of their son, Daemon Blackfyre.

Upon the death of Baelor, when Daena and her son were denied the throne she saw as rightfully theirs, Daena grew wroth with the entirety of her uncle’s family. She never forgave Viserys II for as long as he lived, seeing her uncle as a traitor who had left her to languish under Baelor’s imprisonment before stealing her throne, and some of this resentment had passed onto Viserys II’s children as well.

Though she later reconciled with Aegon IV, partly out of genuine feelings seeing how he treated their son with favor, and mostly out of pragmatism to win even more favor, Daena’s hatred for Aemon and by extension, Naerys, only continued to grow.

The affair and bastard son she had once blamed them not for having now stood between her son and his rightful throne, and she no longer saw Aemon as just a failure but as the worst of usurpers, one who sought to utterly supplant the line of Daena’s father, Aegon III, and even his own brother, Aegon IV. Idly she even began to wonder if Aemon had purposely let her brother Daeron die that day in Dorne, knowing that Baelor was unlikely to have children and Daena and her sisters did not have enough support to claim the throne. All part of a master plan to seize the throne for his bastard son.

This of course is exceedingly unlikely, for despite any of the flaws he may have had, Aemon the Dragonknight greatly loved his cousin as aforementioned and it is rather contrived to think he could have conceived of such a plan twenty years in advance and predicted such a specific outcome. Nonetheless that Daena even began to suspect this spoke of the volume of sheer hatred she began to develop for Aemon and his supposed bastard son, Daeron.

She considered it a personal insult and complete and utter disgrace that her brother’s namesake dishonored his memory and constantly advocated for peace and friendship with the people who had murdered him and desecrated all decency and civilized customs in doing so. Daeron II’s very name drove Daena’s hatred of him when he failed to live up to it and she more than anyone else fueled the rumors that Daeron II was Falseborn during the reign of Aegon IV.

Even Aegon himself refused to believe he was cuckolded at first and many to this day wonder if the Unworthy ever actually believed it or if he was simply that spiteful to Daeron that he allowed the rumors to spread and even contributed to spreading it himself alongside Daena.

For their part, it is suggested that Aemon and Naerys never developed the same animosity towards Daena despite her ceaseless attacks upon them, perhaps sympathizing with her deep down and knowing her anger was righteous yet also aware it would ruin either of them should they let her have their way. Even when it was exceedingly obvious that men like Morgil Hastwyck who openly cast aspersions on Queen Naerys’ fidelity had been egged on by Daena or Aegon IV, neither of the two did anything beyond Aemon killing any who dared speak those rumors openly.

The opinions Daena held on Aemon, Naerys, and their supposed bastard son Daeron were repeated to her own son Daemon, and oft subtly reinforced by his father Aegon as well. Daemon however had grown up admiring the Dragonknight’s skill and chivalry as a paragon knight and wondered at the truth in his mother and father’s words, especially when the Lord Commander would often sneak him some sword lessons and advice whenever neither of his parents were watching.

In many ways it is tragic that such hatred and bitterness had grown to complicate the bonds between kin, and whatever the complete and utter truth of Daeron II’s parentage was, it died with Aemon and Naerys, the former defending his brother against the vengeful Toynes in 179 AC and the latter in childbirth with a child who died with her a year later in 180 AC.

Aemon and Naerys had only ever shown him kindness and despite their distance and at times rivalry with each other, neither Daeron nor his sons had ever been rude or uncourteous to Daemon growing up, further complicating his thoughts on the matter. Baelor in particular, Daeron’s eldest son, was of age with Daemon and the two had trained together on occasion and developed a mutual respect.

The one exception to this surprising cordiality however was Brynden Rivers. Almost instantaneously both Daemon and Aegor hated Brynden. Though there were some underlying reasons for it such as the Bracken-Blackwood rivalry and Aegor’s bitterness that his mother had been supplanted by Brynden’s, the three’s personalities clashed violently and some accounts even suggest that Daemon’s hatred of Brynden exceeded even that of Aegor’s at times, though it was never clear why as he had little reason to truly hate Brynden at first beyond supporting his favored brother.

There were a number of incidents in the boys’ youth escalating matters further. The two would grow especially wroth whenever Brynden attempted to spend time with either Daenerys or the young Shiera Seastar and drove him away however they could from them, often with violence if need be.

Many a time Daemon and Aegor claimed that Brynden was spying on them and Brynden even went so far as to claim that they had tried to take his life a few times. Such bold and slanderous accusations never amounted to anything but it did much to damage relations between Daemon and Aegor and the sons of Daeron who locked ranks behind their most favored and trusted uncle at the behest of their father who had befriended Brynden’s mother, Melissa Blackwood, once upon a time.

Nonetheless despite all the complex interpersonal relations within the family and at court, things were peaceful for the earliest years of Daeron II’s reign. Daeron II displeased many with his overtures to the Dornish but he seemed so much more capable and less corrupt than his predecessor, Aegon the Unworthy, that many were willing to tolerate it or even accept his ‘eccentric love for the Dornish’ at the start.

Daemon himself would soon be distracted from his burgeoning rivalries with Daeron’s side of the family by his blossoming romance with Daenerys. With their betrothal formalized by their father, the two fell deeper and deeper in love and both would only continue to grow in beauty, stature, and repute at court.

By the year 186 AC, Daemon had come of age. He was tall and powerful, with broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a flat stomach, an appearance fit for a warrior king that contrasted sharpy with that of the mild and scholarly King Daeron with his thin spindly legs and small pot belly in the eyes of some. Many even likened Daemon, the Black Prince, to portraits of Aegon the Conqueror, with his clean-shaven face, silver-gold hair, and deep purple eyes.

He had matured into a man of considerable skill and strength, mastering all weapons of war, but with his favored Blackfyre in hand, he was said to fight like the Warrior himself. He distinguished himself time and time again in tourneys around the realm, winning his first true knight’s tourney at fourteen. Always adorned with a costly and ornate suit of black and red plate, with a distinctive warhelm arrayed with batlike steel dragon wings on the sides.

Exceedingly charismatic with a welcoming smile and pleasant demeanor, he won friends easily, and many women were drawn to him, though he only ever had eyes for his beloved Daenerys.

Daenerys was in 186, four and ten, not yet of age, but already blossoming into an exceedingly beautiful and clever woman of great charm and popularity at court. Daemon’s darling, and darling of the whole realm beside she was called, and that became her own epithet in time. Daenerys the Darling (of the Realm). In later years, many would say that only her own half-sister, Shiera Seastar, could rival her beauty and charm.

The two were perfectly matched in the eyes of everyone. A most handsome couple. The picture-perfect image of beautiful princess and dashing and brave knight out of all the childhood songs and tales all had grown up loving. Daemon had even been promised land upstream along the Blackwater Rush by their elder brother Daeron II to raise a keep once they had wed after Daenerys came of age, and this act of good will did much to reconcile the two sides of the family from any bad feelings and distrust that had developed. All seemed to be perfectly set for the couple and indeed for the realm as a whole.

That is why it came as such an immense shock when, late in 187 AC, Daeron broke the betrothal and announced the wedding of Daenerys to Maron Martell at the dawn of the new year of 188 AC.

Ever since he had come to the throne, Daeron had been negotiating with his goodbrother, Prince Maron of Dorne, the terms and conditions for Dorne to peacefully join the realm and bend the knee. Many terms and conditions were agreed upon such as House Martell having the right to keep their royal title ‘Prince of Dorne, the autonomy to maintain their own laws, the right to assess and gather the taxes with only irregular oversight from the crown (with only minimal taxes to begin with anyway) and other such matters. The continuation of Dornish influence at court and the predominance of Dornish courtiers would also continue.

One key demand that Maron had asked for however, was a Targaryen princess to seal the pact through marriage. Daeron’s supporters argued that Daeron had initially attempted to offer Shiera but that Maron had rejected it, Dorne may not hold prejudices against bastards but they would not consent for a bastard as the wife of their Prince he said, and besides that Shiera was far too young to be a bride.

Faced with no other choice, Daeron broke the betrothal between Daenerys and Daemon and in the eyes of many, sold his sister to the Dornish to maintain his desired peace deal with Dorne. Many of the king’s critics and supporters of Daemon and Daenerys would whisper that Daeron was not nearly as reluctant to do this as he claimed and the deal with Dorne only gave him the pretext to deny Daemon a match that could further strengthen his claim to the throne since Daenerys was the only trueborn child of their father whose paternity was beyond reproach.

Daemon and Daenerys refused to accept their broken betrothal however and conspired to elope together. They were aided in this by many allies at court who thought Daeron had gone too far, an opinion that became even more widespread once the exact terms of the agreement and the exceedingly unprecedented concessions given to Dorne therein became common knowledge. That Daeron had spat on all traditions of filial piety by openly breaking a betrothal his father had explicitly arranged, simply to sell his sister to Dorne, only worsened things in the minds of those who aided the two star-crossed lovers.

Chief among the allies who aided the two was Ser Quentyn Ball. Known as ‘Fireball’, Quentyn was the master-at-arms of the Red Keep and had been the man who had trained Daemon and all the other young princelings in the Red Keep, including all of Daeron’s sons and his three half-brothers. He was renowned as one of the paragon knights of the realm and his efforts in training the princelings had been noticed by King Aegon IV, who had promised him a place on the Kingsguard at the next opening.

Unfortunately for Quentyn, Aegon IV died before he could honor his promise and when Quentyn reminded Daeron II of his father’s promise in 186 AC, the King turned him down, gently, but a rejection nonetheless, in favor of naming Ser Willem Wylde to the Kingsguard. Many suspected that Daeron mistrusted Quentyn who was exceedingly close to Daemon (so much so that Daemon would admit later in life that Quentyn had been more his father than Aegon IV had been) and wished not for him to be one of the seven swords trusted with guarding his person.

Nonetheless, Daeron’s refusal to honor his father’s promise to Quentyn Fireball had already caused a minor scandal at court and along with his breaking of Daemon and Daenerys’ betrothal, was seen as an indicator that Daeron was a king who would not honor the word of his predecessors. The insult was particularly grievous to Fireball as he had set aside a betrothal of his own to remain eligible for the Kingsguard after Aegon IV’s promise and all of that sacrifice had now been for nothing.

When he heard that the boy he had trained and all but raised had been slighted as he had been, Quentyn pulled on every connection he had at court to help spirit Princess Daenerys away from her guards and chaperones and allow the two to be wed as they rightfully should be.

Out of spite and at Fireball’s gleeful suggestion, Daemon and Daenerys would end up eloping and consummating their marriage the week before her planned wedding to Prince Maron, at a time when the entire realm and all the Dornish nobility had already gathered in the capital, including the spurned groom himself.

With the entire realm as their witness, the two declared their marriage and dared the King to do anything about it in open defiance in the Great Hall of the Red Keep. Some accounts claim that Daeron had been of half a mind to have Daemon arrested in that moment and Daenerys forcibly marched to the Great Sept of Baelor but the humiliated and cuckolded Maron vehemently declared that he would not have ‘used goods’ for a wife and many of Daemon’s friends and allies, and even some who had not previously thought much of him but had been displeased by Daeron’s heavy-handedness, rallied to his side.

Daeron was left with no choice but to back down. However, he made it clear that Daemon and Daenerys were no longer welcome in court and the land that had been promised to Daemon was now forfeit.

“The price of your disobedience,” all accounts agree Daeron had said to Daemon.

“If this is the price of love, the punishment for honoring our father’s word, then I gladly pay it, Your Grace,” Daemon had retorted.

The very next day, Daemon and Daenerys left King’s Landing with Daena, Aegor, Shiera, Ser Quentyn Fireball (who had been removed from his post as master at arms) and a great host of their other friends and allies in tow. Daeron meanwhile was left to try and salvage his deal with Dorne but the price the furious and humiliated Maron Martell demanded was so high even Daeron balked.

In addition to all of the previously agreed upon terms, Dorne would now pay little more than a token tax to the Iron Throne, Maron would become Hand of the King, the next opening on the Kingsguard would be filled by a Dornish knight, the Small Council seats would all be given to Dornishmen, and a law would be made that at least one seat on the Small Council and half of the minor court positions be reserved for Dorne in perpetuity. Several more additional concessions were obtained as well, such as the right for House Martell to grant charters, including city charters, in their own name and power in Dorne instead of that going to the Crown as it should have.

Even worse than continuing to remain independent in all but name, Dorne now all but ruled the rest of the Seven Kingdoms too, and when Daeron eventually acquiesced to the additional demands, he confirmed to many their worst fears. Their king was ruled by his Dornish wife and goodbrother, and he had sold the kingdom to a foreign power that had slaughtered tens of thousands of their countrymen and broken all norms and customs of decency to kill a beloved king, Daeron II’s own namesake, whose memory he desecrated.

Dissent and unrest grew enormously as a result and all who were displeased with the ill-rule of Daeron had the perfect claimants to rally around. Daemon Blackfyre and Daenerys the Darling.

The star-crossed lovers

Chapter Text

Daemon Blackfyre (Ignore Reverse Colors)

Immediately upon leaving King’s Landing, Daemon and his company were faced with a choice. Where should they go now?

Aegor Bittersteel offered the hospitality of his kin in Stone Hedge in the Riverlands but Quentyn Fireball suggested that they go instead to the Reach as they had far more friends there that would gladly house them and the kingdom was much more enraged by Daeron II’s actions than the Riverlands. Quentyn knew his fellow Reachmen well and knew they’d be as infuriated as he about the ludicrous concessions the Dornish had acquired.

Daemon agreed ultimately and it was thus decided that they would go to the Reach. They went first to the seat of House Ball where Fireball’s kin welcomed them gladly before they were invited by Daemon’s close friend, Lord Gormon Peake, to reside in one of his three castles. Whitegrove.

The two had met at a tourney and the younger lord who had recently come into his inheritance admired Daemon greatly and japed, ‘I have three castles. It would be no trouble to part with one for a time’.

Daemon accepted his friend’s generous offer graciously and settled his household and family in the castle of Whitegrove, though an uneasy feeling began hovering over all of them as they were neither the lords nor even the stewards of the castle, making their status a strange kind of limbo. Furthermore, though Gormon had asked for nothing in exchange, Daemon disliked being in anyone’s debt, feeling it was improper for a knight to simply idle and laze instead of paying what he owed.

In order to repay his debt to his friend, Daemon instead aimed to put down an endemic bandit problem which had been plaguing the lands of House Peake in the Dornish Marches, as well as many of their neighbors, for several years now.

Gormon of course, being a capable knight on his own and lord of the lands in question to boot, refused to let Daemon go alone and mustered his whole household of knights to join him in his mission. Daemon, Bittersteel, Fireball, and Gormon were the foremost knights in this joint company but far from the only ones, and together they hunted down several of the bandits across the Marches, even entering into the Stormlands at one point with permission and eventually collaboration with the Stormlords to put down the bandits.

They eventually discovered that many of the so-called bandits were in truth Dornish which came as little surprise to the Marchers who had long dealt with their ilk. Most of them originated in the lands of Houses Blackmont, Manwoody, and Wyl, and while they could never prove that those Dornish lords had officially condoned and supported these raids, the timing was particularly damning.

While raids from Dorne had been occurring with sporadic flareups for many years, it being discovered that Dornishmen were raiding the Marches even as King Daeron II gave up humiliating concessions to bring Dorne into the realm infuriated many.

After all, one of the key justifications for the deal was that it would ‘extend the King’s Peace to Dorne’ and finally calm the ever conflict-stricken Marches. The Dornish looked to be acting in bad faith for still raiding even after the agreement was made or even earlier while negotiations had been ongoing and furthermore in breach of the peace treaty Baelor had made with them, unpopular as it had been in the realm at the time.

The agreement Daeron II had made had already angered most in the realm, but this incident made it truly personal for those in the Reach and the Stormlands. It also made Daemon Blackfyre a household name in both kingdoms. No longer was he just a distant though capable princeling and knight, but a local hero who had defied the unpopular king to expose the Dornish perfidy. One who had fought and bled alongside their own men to see justice done.

The singers began making exaggerated tales of Daemon’s defiance of Daeron to marry Daenerys and elaborated greatly on his feats in tourneys or the field of battle against Dornish raiders. Some had even begun creating whimsical ballads of him as a fearsome warrior and heroic knight like Serwyn of the Mirror Shield of old and they became exceedingly popular among lowborn and high alike.

Outside of the songs, the nobility of the Reach and the Stormlands moved quickly. Over the course of the year 188 AC, Daemon and his company would spend little time in Whitegrove itself, for they were constantly on the move almost like a royal progress of old, visiting castles great and small alike across all the Reach and Stormlands, and even going as far as Crakehall and Silverhill in the Westerlands on one occasion.

Everywhere they went, they were hosted in the homes and seats of friends and allies and many lords who had previously not cared for them now extended them invites to feasts or tourneys, wishing to befriend them, out of spite for Daeron II if nothing else. Many also now saw the sheer potential and value in having such a capable warrior prince as an ally, especially with their king literally in bed with their foes and thus failing to uphold his duties and protect them.

Daemon had proven himself against the Dornish raiders, and he took full advantage of the acclaim he had won for that. He took care to accept as many of the invites as he could, attending many feasts and competing in countless tourneys, of varying sizes. His reputation and stature as a knight only continued to grow as he either won or distinguished himself admirably in more and more jousts, melees, and even the occasional archery competition, testing his skills against both the ordinary and the extraordinary, measuring up against the greatest knights of the realm.

One particular habit of Daemon’s also began to stand out. In all the tourneys he competed in, while he always accepted the victor’s purse graciously, Daemon never ransomed the armor and horses of those he defeated at unjust rates. Indeed, many considered the ransoms he asked exceedingly generous and on occasion he would even return the forfeited property for free should their owner have financial difficulties.

This generosity and charity astounded many, especially as Daemon lacked lands and incomes of his own to support his household, and while he and his family were not paupers for they still held much of their previous royal allowances and had invested them wisely, they were by no means so wealthy as to have no concern at all for money and Daemon, instead of taking advantage of his rightfully earned spoils to help support himself and his family, had chosen the more difficult but more just and chivalrous path.

Daemon’s actions had ramifications just beyond his own repute. It started to inspire many to do the same. The ideals and oaths of knighthood started being taken more seriously, for men saw the paragon that was Daemon and wondered why not could they do the same? And on the occasion that Daemon was unhorsed or defeated, such was the respect for him that few would ask him for any ransom at all and most would instead give him their thanks for a hard fought and honorable match.

The growing renown and reputation Daemon accrued with all his actions, be they his legendary strength at arms, proven against Dornish bandits, or his chivalrous conduct and charitable generosity, won him many new friends and much acclaim in ways that went far deeper than mere alliances of convenience.

The foremost among these new friends was Leo Tyrell, the Lord Paramount of the Mander and Lord of Highgarden himself, known as ‘Longthorn’ for his fearsome skill as a knight, particularly with the lance be it for war or jousting.

Longthorn had not previously thought much of Blackfyre and according to his confidant Septon Luceon who ran the Highgarden castle sept, this was due to his dislike of Daemon’s association with Gormon Peake and some of his other vassals whom he viewed as grasping and envious of House Tyrell’s status as rulers of the Reach. The perception of House Tyrell as upstart stewards was the source of great insecurity in every Lord Tyrell since the Conquest after all and it was well known that many of their vassals with greater pedigrees chafed under their rule.

Nonetheless, despite this initial mistrust and wariness, Longthorn sought to befriend Daemon. As Septon Luceon recounts, this began as pure spite for Daeron II and hatred for the Dornish.

Lord Tyrell’s grudge against Dorne ran deep. His father Lyonel had died in the service of Daeron I as a governor in Dorne almost thirty years prior, when Leo had been only a babe himself. He had never known his father because he had been treacherously murdered in a breach of guest right by a Dornishman whom he had called friend, Lord Qorgyle, who had faked his support and friendship in putting down the rebels to earn Lyonel’s trust before betraying and murdering him.

And now Daeron II had bent over backwards completely to the Dornish. Longthorn had already been displeased by the original deal but the amended agreement almost had him forswearing his fealty in disgust the moment he heard about it. With a Dornish Small Council, Hand, and all their other concessions, he might as well be ruled by Dorne instead of Daeron II now.

Longthorn and many others started whispering to each other that Daeron II was being fucked by his wife with queer contraptions instead of the other way around. ‘What else could explain how much he had bent over to Dorne’, they half japed and half lamented at the state of the realm.

His displeasure with Daeron II and the Dornish was so great that he put aside his wariness to invite Daemon Blackfyre to a tourney and feast at Highgarden in order to meet the man in person, after hearing of his deeds fighting against the Dornish.

Septon Luceon recounts what followed next, out of sheer amazement. Daemon Blackfyre’s sheer charm and charisma instantly put Lord Leo at ease with him and made him more amenable to him, for all that he had come to Highgarden in the company of Gormon Peake. However, what truly earned Blackfyre Longthorn’s respect was what happened in the joust of the tourney.

As was his wont, Daemon had made it to the final match and he was put up against Longthorn’s own younger brother Loras (Longthorn himself did not compete as it would be improper to as the host). When a malfunction occurred in Loras’ saddle after they had broken their third lances against each other, one that would have given Daemon an easy way to unhorse him in the next tilt, rather than continue the match as was his right (for voluntarily dismounting one’s horse was seen as a forfeit), Daemon instead demanded that Loras be allowed to change his saddle.

He declared to the impressed crowd that honor demanded he allow his opponent joust him without such a regrettable disadvantage and stated he would not accept it cheapening their tilts, whether they should end in his loss nor victory. This was a tourney after all, not war, and it would be neither honorable nor sporting to exploit such a mishap for personal gain when the purpose of the competition was to test one’s skill. It went unspoken, but many were even more impressed considering that the reward Longthorn had offered to the victor of the joust was unprecedentedly high.

In the end, Loras’ saddle was changed without it being considered a forfeit, and he would break two more lances against Daemon before being unhorsed and yielding graciously. The victorious Daemon then accepted the victor’s purse and crowned his wife Daenerys Queen of Love and Beauty, having won the tourney through pure skill and chivalry, not an exploitation of the rules nor a technicality, something which endeared him to many and further reinforced his reputation.

That night, Daemon was hosted at the closing feast as the guest of honor and had many a conversation with the lords of the Reach at the high table, including Longthorn. His genial charm made all think highly of him, for it was just the right amount of respect and deference to look sincere without appearing like flattery or costing Daemon his own pride and dignity as a prince.

Furthermore, Daemon’s wit and wisdom astounded many, old friends and new acquaintances alike. He was well-spoken, and his astute observations about the state of the realm made many see him as more than just a legendary knight or capable princeling. They began to see him as a king that would be worth following, one that would be like Jaehaerys come again. As capable with a sword as he was a pen, a fearsome warrior and wise ruler both.

By the time Daemon Blackfyre left Highgarden, Septon Luceon recounts that Longthorn’s opinion of him had changed completely. No longer was he wary of Daemon, he was now genuinely impressed and inspired by the way the young prince had carried and conducted himself. He had even offered the prince a fief as his bannerman so he could support his family but Prince Daemon had politely turned him down, implying that his goals required him to not be tied down in such a way.

While this has been used by some to criticize that even then in 188 AC, Daemon had aspired for the throne, it is not a guarantee. After all, as we will soon see, Prince Daemon indeed had ambitions not even related to kingship that required him to not be a bannerman of any lord, and instead remain above and impartial, retaining his status and dignity as a prince.

Nonetheless despite the rejection of his offer of land and presumable attempt to lure him away from Gormon Peake’s influence, Septon Luceon notes that Lord Leo was not at all offended. In fact, as later histories would testify, Daemon’s influence and charisma was so great that it even had Longthorn reconsidering his opinions on Gormon Peake.

Daemon had been a bridge between the two during his time in Highgarden and opened dialogue between them that had not previously been possible. This would bear fruit as the two lords would later form a mutual respect and willingness to work together, a friendly rivalry and perhaps even a true friendship, though a distant one. A relationship that would be a key centerpiece in what Daemon sought to build, though that did not become apparent for some time yet.

As 188 AC died, Daemon and his wife Daenerys welcomed their eldest children, twin sons, named Aegon and Aemon Targaryen. The birth of their children made the couple even more popular in the Reach than they had been before. The tales and songs of their, by now, famous defiance of Daeron II for the sake of love had spread far and wide and many men and women could not help but enjoy a love story coming to life before them.

The couple was the ideal image of a marriage and the romantic fantasy of many a lady (and whether they admitted to it or not, many a lord and knight as well). All agreed the pair were most suited to each other and one of the few ways the two, usually quite composed, could actually be flustered was whenever they were teased by friends and family after a particularly enthusiastic night together. And those nights were common indeed and often, despite their best efforts, could be heard quite easily.

It made for some particularly bawdy jokes but given that the two were married, it was hardly a scandal and indeed simply a source of amusement that helped to endear them to the people of the Reach even more.

That the two were so happy together genuinely pleased those around them, not only because the two were a joy to see and watch together, but because of what their marriage represented. A denial of the Dornish who had taken so much from them and wanted to sully their darling princess as well. In many ways, Daemon and Daenerys’ trueborn and purebred Targaryen children were seen as a representation of their discontent and uneasiness with Daeron II’s rule and many noted that Daemon having two trueborn and pure Targaryen-looking sons gave him heirs should he move for the throne.

Daemon Blackfyre (Ignore Reverse Colors)

Daenerys the Darling

Daemon and his wife and children stood out and contrasted with Daeron II’s Martell shrew of a wife and halfbreed Dornish brood in the eyes of many, especially with regard to Prince Baelor and his children (more on this below). Daemon and his family thus didn’t just act the part of a true royal family in the eyes of the Reachmen and others who met them, but they looked the part as well and when many were already calling into question the legitimacy of Daeron II and his line, that was half the battle won already.

King Daeron II however, for all the wisdom he lacked, was not utterly bereft of any sort of cunning. He was well aware of how much he had angered his subjects and as much as he could, he immediately began whittling down on Dornish influence in court to mollify and appease his subjects and slowly soothing his goodbrother’s anger, aiming to dismiss most of the Dornish Small Councilors as soon as he could without insulting them and restoring lords from other kingdoms to the council.

Daeron II also acted swiftly in regard to the marriages of his sons, moving even more desperately and carefully than he would have done previously. As a rather evident clue of Daeron’s near panic, all four of his sons were wed by 190 AC, and Baelor in particular was married exceedingly quickly in 188 AC itself as Daeron desperately tried to appease the Great Houses and perhaps feared that they’d move to overthrow him long before Daemon ever did.

Some surviving sources indicate that Daeron had originally planned to marry his sons off strategically to best calm the waters after his first deal with Dorne was negotiated and his approach was even more desperate and targeted now. Where previously Jena Dondarrion, Aelinor Penrose, Alys Arryn, and Dyanna Dayne were considered as the brides for his four sons respectively, now only Alys remained in place.

Jena was now betrothed to his youngest son Prince Maekar instead, and Prince Maekar, as the most martial of Daeron’s sons after his eldest, was also the intended ruler for the seat of Summerhall that Daeron was raising in the Dornish Marches as a symbol of the realm’s new unity with Dorne joining peacefully (though in light of the new unstable situation in the realm, previous plans for a pleasure palace were scrapped in favor of a traditionally built and fortified castle albeit one with a luxurious and palatial keep and interior).

Daeron was quite fortunate that his original intentions to wed Jena Dondarrion to his eldest son Baelor were not publicly known at the time or it was possible the offended Dondarrions would have refused even his fourth son. As it was, they were already outraged by his agreement with Dorne, Marchers as they were, and only accepted the marriage with Maekar due to the prestige of a royal match they simply couldn’t turn down.

Rhaegel, as planned, was wed to Alys Arryn, while Daeron’s eldest sons, Baelor and Aerys, closest to the throne, were married respectively to Robyn Baratheon and Meridia Lannister.

The two were actually first cousins as well, for Meridia’s mother Erena was the sister of Lord Corwen Baratheon (a famous knight known as ‘Stormbreaker’), both of whom were children of the late Lord Royce Baratheon, the posthumous son of Lord Borros Baratheon in the Dance. Meridia’s grandfather, Lord Loreon Lannister, was also an infant and orphaned child lord from the Dance, and her father, the late Ser Tyland (named for his grandfather’s twin brother), had married her mother Erena in 174 AC.

Quite rarely for a Lannister as a result, due to their Baratheon heritage, Meridia and her brother Damon the Grey Lion and their sisters Lynesse and Johanna had black hair though their eyes were a mix of blue and green. Robyn Baratheon of course had the true and full Baratheon look as well. These looks would soon become relevant.

The marriage of Daeron’s eldest sons to the two cousins thus bound all three houses in an alliance that was strong in theory, and it was Daeron’s hope that it would give him the allegiance of the Westerlands and the Stormlands along with Maekar’s marriage to a Dondarrion Marcher lady and Rhaegel marrying the daughter of Lord Arryn bringing the Vale.

Daeron however had overestimated the amount of influence and control the Great Houses had over their vassals. While he had now bound Lannister, Baratheon, Arryn, and Dondarrion to his side through his sons’ marriages, many of the vassal houses of the three kingdoms were much more mixed in their opinions. Most had little desire to become ‘Dornish lapdogs’ (due to Daeron II being perceived as their puppet) and many houses like Reyne, Crakehall, Penrose, Caron, Selmy, Swann, Royce, Corbray, and more began leaning to favor Daemon.

In many ways, some argue that Daeron II had cost himself so much legitimacy that those who now supported him only really did so for the sake of his exceedingly popular eldest son and heir, Prince Baelor. Though he was unfortunately named for the feeblest king Westeros ever had, Baelor was every inch a warrior unlike him or his own father and even came to earn himself the moniker of ‘Breakspear’ after defeating his new wife’s father, Corwen Stormbreaker, in the final joust at his wedding tourney, competing with his new goodfather over who got the right to crown Lady Robyn the Queen of Love and Beauty.

Many even argue that Baelor was truly a peer of his uncle, Daemon Blackfyre, not just in age but in skill as well. Baelor had unhorsed Daemon in tourneys they had both competed in before and always measured up well when they dueled with swords, though whenever Daemon had Blackfyre in hand he always won. Certainly, there is no doubt that Breakspear was one of the finest knights in the realm and even Daemon’s supporters acknowledged that, with some whispering that Aemon the Dragonknight’s blood had finally shown itself in Daeron’s sons Baelor and Maekar in some strange mix of slander and praise.

Much like his suspected grandfather, Baelor was also possessed of a great chivalry, one that matched Daemon’s. He was a true knight in every sense of the word, and lived up to his vows, going so far as to look out for and champion the weak and defenseless against the strong (though unlike his namesake he also took care to not offend the powerful when doing so, wise and mindful of his position as Prince of Dragonstone). The smallfolk loved him as much as they loved his namesake Baelor the Blessed and were torn between Breakspear and Blackfyre in equal measure.

Neither Daemon nor any of his supporters ever had anything truly bad to say about Baelor’s character either, unlike his father. Baelor was truly a genuinely good man and knight and one they respected greatly, his reputation was beyond reproach and his charity and generosity and friendliness was well known. Even Daemon himself could not help but like his nephew before family feuds drove a wedge between them. They were of age after all, and there was once a time in which they had been almost friends, training together in the yard whenever Baelor and his family visited the Red Keep from Dragonstone.

Tis a true shame indeed that Breakspear was in the situation that he was. In another world perhaps, he could have been a worthy king of Westeros had his mother been anyone else and his father not so spineless. In another world perhaps, one where Daena the Defiant had not been denied her rightful throne, Baelor might have grown up as Daemon’s closest friend and companion and the two would have ushered in a great era for Westeros as King and Hand respectively.

Alas, that is not the world that we live in and it was almost inevitable that Breakspear and Blackfyre would end up at odds. Nonetheless, despite him being opposed to him, Daemon never allowed any to gainsay Breakspear or impeach his character as he and all his supporters did his father. He had too much respect for Breakspear, one knight to another, to tolerate such talk. His respect was reciprocated too, for even in the worst of their clashes (most of which were over Bloodraven), Daemon and Baelor had never come to blows unlike their brothers and they had never developed any animosity or hatred towards each other.

The only true criticism that Daemon tolerated being spoken against Baelor in his presence, and in all the honestly the only one that any could really levy at him was that he, much like his father, was exceedingly favorable to Dorne. Expected in all honesty and justified even some might argue given who his mother was. He cannot be faulted for his filial allegiance to his Dornish kin any more than Daemon can be faulted his filial piety to his own father, Aegon the Unworthy, no matter how loathsome both were.

No matter if it was righteous or not however, the realm was extremely displeased and discontent with Daeron II’s favoring of the Dornish and Baelor looking like he would be continuing that did him no favors. The one mark on Breakspear’s honor, many would call it.

Baelor’s looks also acted against him here. While Daemon looked every inch a Targaryen, with some even comparing him to portraits of Aegon the Conqueror, and had a Targaryen wife and pureblood Targaryen sons, Baelor took after his mother the most out of him and his brothers. His skin was more olive than pale, and his hair was black and some even said he resembled his uncle Maron (who was particularly loathed after the ludicrous concessions he had forced upon King Daeron II).

Appearances matter more than most give them credit for, and when many put Daemon and Baelor together and ignored all other considerations, most deemed Daemon to look the part of a true Targaryen king far more than Baelor for all that both were arguably equally qualified in terms of character and wisdom.

Baelor’s wife having typical Baratheon looks did not help matters either. Both of their sons, Valarr (born 189) and Matarys (born 191), had completely black hair and this only reinforced the perception many had that the true Targaryen dynasty represented by Daemon and his family was being supplanted by Dornish puppets that looked nothing like their esteemed ancestors and would continue giving over the realm to a foreign power’s whims.

Few wish to be ruled by foreigners. That was the very justification the Dornish had cited for their continuous resistance of Targaryen rule and now it was being flipped back onto them by those they had long fought. For all that the Targaryens had conquered Westeros with dragons in Aegon I’s day, almost two hundred years of rule had cemented their image as Westerosi, as kings.

The true Targaryens in Daemon Blackfyre and his family did not appear to be foreigners but the same could not be said for Daeron II’s line, who for all of Breakspear’s sterling reputation, could not shake the image of looking like Dornish half-breed puppets.

Nonetheless, they tried their very best. Realizing that his sons were one of the last advantages he still had, Daeron did everything he could to uplift them and their reputations.

To strengthen Baelor’s renown as a great and chivalrous knight capable of rivalling Daemon, Daeron bestowed upon him in full view of the court, the Valyrian steel blade Dark Sister after his victory over Corwen Stormbreaker in his wedding tourney.

Dark Sister was the second of the two blades House Targaryen possessed and with Blackfyre in the possession of his half-brother, it was the best that Daeron could bestow upon his son Baelor. He hoped that it would further strengthen his reputation and appeal to match Daemon and it succeeded. While Dark Sister was not the sword of kings, it had been wielded by famed warriors like Daemon the Rogue Prince, Baelon the Brave, and Visenya herself. It did much and more to enhance Baelor’s reputation and further allowed him to match Daemon though it only accelerated the sidelining of Daeron II as king and leader of his own faction in favor of Breakspear.

The granting of Dark Sister to Baelor also displeased Daeron II’s favored bastard brother and unofficial Master of Whisperers (with the Dornishman holding the seat not yet dismissed), Brynden Bloodraven. According to Bloodraven’s private journal, he had been promised the blade by his brother and though he understood why it had to go to Baelor instead, he was still not happy about it. Despite this temporary rift however, Brynden’s hatred of Blackfyre and Bittersteel was great enough that he eventually got over it and accepted Daeron II’s actions as necessary to combat them.

Efforts to improve image were not restricted solely to Baelor. Daeron’s second son Aerys, bookish like himself was trained to frame and carry himself in public appearances as a wise and learned future Hand for his brother, like his great-grandfather Viserys II had been.

Viserys II had served as Hand to Aegon III, Daeron I, and Baelor I, and was often considered to have kept the realm in good shape while they brooded, warred, and prayed respectively. He was also not particularly known for being a good warrior though he had certainly been better than either Daeron II or Aerys. Nonetheless, by modelling Aerys after his grandfather, Daeron hoped that his son’s reputation would improve and he was at least partly successful in this.

However, his efforts would be hampered by rumors that he had had to force his son away from his beloved books under threat of burning them in order for him to finally consummate his marriage and sire children with his wife Meridia Lannister. Aerys’ temperament and preference for books over the beds of women was well known and the few who knew their histories well enough likened him to the Conciliator’s sullen Archmaester son, Vaegon.

Even with Daeron’s efforts to improve his image, the rumor was widely considered fact and it displeased the Lannisters though not enough to break the alliance after the couple’s children, the twins Naerys and Aenys were finally born in 192 AC. To Daeron’s relief, the children did not inherit their mother’s black hair but instead his and Aerys’ own silver hair though Aenys had green eyes instead of violet.

His third son Rhaegel’s children, the twins Aelor and Aelora (born 191), took a lot after their Arryn mother but still looked somewhat Targaryen enough, as even Queen Alysanne had had blue eyes and honey blond hair. Unfortunately, however, their father, for all that he looked the part of a Targaryen, was suspected by many to be rather… eccentric at best.

Rhaegel was most aptly described as meek, mad, and sickly. On the rare occasions that he was lucid and coherent enough to speak, he almost seemed to sit quietly and fade into the background even more than Aerys would despite being a prince. And then he would have his mad tendencies, stripping off all his clothes and dancing nakedly across the Red Keep or shouting nonsense and rambling randomly. Mischievous misbehavior for a child but a clear indicator something was not quite right for a grown man. Either that or an absolute failure of Daeron II and his wife Myriah Martell to raise Rhaegel properly.

To minimize the damage he was doing to the royal family’s already struggling reputation, Daeron kept Rhaegel from all public appearances and events as much as possible and he and the rest of the family would take turns in helping his gooddaughter Alys Arryn raise her children whenever Rhaegel was indisposed.

Daeron’s youngest son, Maekar, was as capable a warrior as his elder brother and had a powerful broad build that many likened to Corwyn Stormbreaker or even Maegor (though this they whispered). He was however rather prickly and impatient, a harsh man that was quick to judge and condemn. Unlike Baelor, he was not very charismatic and did not make friends and allies easily.

Nonetheless, after his brother Baelor, Daeron found it easiest to mold Maekar’s image and reputation as he needed and he set his fourth son up to be his eldest brother’s most trusted and mighty enforcer and general, a weapon that could be turned against all the foes of their family. ‘Mightmace’ as he came to be known through Daeron’s efforts for his terrifying skill with his fearsome spiked mace.

With the exception of his eldest son Daeron (born 191), Maekar’s children with Jena Dondarrion also all looked like true Targaryens, further strengthening Daeron II’s efforts to uplift his image. After Daeron, Maekar and Jena had Aerion (born 194) and Aemon who was born at the eve of the War of Restoration in 198 AC.

Overall, despite the poor chain of decisions that had led him to bend over to Dorne and yield so much to them, Daeron II was not blind to the anger he had caused in the realm and he took steps to ameliorate it as much as possible and uplift the image and reputation of his sons so that they could win back the realm’s loyalty in a way that he never could. His plans succeeded to an extent, but it also ensured that when war finally came, Daeron II’s ‘loyalists’ did not truly fight for him but rather for his sons, Baelor Breakspear and Maekar Mightmace.

Meanwhile, back in the Reach, Daemon continued travelling with his company and family on their unofficial progresses throughout 189 AC, visiting more castles and towns throughout the kingdom and foraying into the neighboring Stormlands, Westerlands, Riverlands, and Crownlands more and more, taking part in many more tourneys, hunts, balls, feasts, and other social events.

It seemed like almost everywhere Daemon went; he was welcomed with open arms and feasted. His reputation as a knight only continued to grow as he competed in more tourneys and worked with new friends and allies to hunt down more bandits and raiders in countless more engagements. Whenever Daemon heard of bandit troubles in the area he was traveling through, he could not help involving himself to put an end to the bandits, winning himself much acclaim through word of mouth and the tales spread by bards and nobles alike.

Daemon would also spend more time seeing to his household in Whitegrove. Now that he and his wife had two newborn sons to raise, they truly needed a home for some stability in their life and he wrote to Gormon Peake on many occasions expressing his gratitude for the gift of the castle as a temporary home. Many of these letters were preserved and one of them has been included below as reference:

“Dear Gormy,

The twins are growing faster than ever. They’ve already started crawling about the castle. I hope you don’t mind. Whitegrove is a lovely castle and your family is fortunate to count it as one of your own. I’m honored to be allowed to stay here as I am. I still can’t thank you enough for that gift you’ve given us. I will never forget it my friend, and I swear it shall be repaid one day.

Daenerys and I are well, as is my mother, Fireball, Aegor, Shiera, and all the others. We all miss you dearly and we shall be glad for your company when we see you again at the New Year’s Day Tourney.

Your help and permission in planning that event has been invaluable Gormy. Everything is all in order now. It’s going to go perfectly I think, and once it does, we will have written history my friend.

No, not just history. Something more than that. A legend that you and I and all the others will be part of. A tale that our descendants will never forget. Like Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, the heroes of the Kingsguard, or the Order of the Green Hand of old. What a legend it shall be!

Forgive me. I’ve been rambling. But I hope you can understand my excitement. It’s been a long time coming and the day is soon to be here at last.

I’ll see you soon. Until then, take care of yourself and your kin.

Sincerely,
Your Friend,
Daemon.”

This letter, along with all the others that Daemon had sent him (save for those suspected burnt due to containing sensitive content), were preserved by Lord Gormon in his private library at Starpike and were later surrendered to the King’s Citadel by Gormon’s grandson for historical record and catalogue.

Apart from giving insight into the strong friendship between King Daemon and Lord Gormon (so much so that the former affectionately called the latter with a nickname), it also reveals some clues about the planning leading up to a most famous tourney indeed, one that would, just as Daemon suggested to Gormon, alter the future of Westeros itself and give rise to a new legend.

The New Year’s Day Tourney, was, as the name suggested, set on New Year’s Day. The very first day of 190 AC, the anniversary of the Conquest itself. Always one with an eye for symbolism and imagery, Daemon had intentionally chosen that date for what it represented. A new decade, a new start for Westeros, a new beginning. Many of his friends and closest allies were aware of his intentions, but for those that were not, the event would be a powerful and shocking announcement indeed.

Though Gormon had helped to fund the tourney as it was held at his castle, the event was hosted by and paid for primarily by Daemon, tapping deep into the funds he had in order to do it. An incredible risk, even with the business investments he had made, but one he had to take for his goals to succeed.

The splendor of the decorations and generous prizes for the tourney made it clear that no expense had been spared and that fact that it was being hosted by none other than Daemon Blackfyre himself attracted many of the greatest knights of the realm to attend and compete. Exactly as Daemon had hoped.

In attendance came all of Daemon’s friends and allies, and many neutral lords and knights whom Daemon hoped to sway to his vision.

Among these as of yet unaffiliated guests were the Corbrays from the Vale and Ser Gwayne ‘the Greatheart’ Corbray who wielded the family’s sword of Lady Forlorn and had hoped to join the Kingsguard before he learned that Daeron had promised the next opening to a Dornishman. A grievance he shared with Fireball.

Also in attendance were Daemon’s kin by his aunt Elaena. Princess Elaena’s second husband, Lord Ronnel Penrose had served as the Master of Coin on Daeron II’s Small Council though many agreed that Elaena had actually been the one performing the duties. After the unceremonious dismissal of her and her husband from their post to placate Dorne, Elaena had started reconciling with her sister Daena whom she had once idolized and her attending her nephew’s tourney was seen by many as a public declaration that her allegiance had permanently shifted.

With Elaena came not just her children with her husband Ronnel, Robin, Laena, Jocelyn, and Joy, but also her previous children, her son, Lord Viserys Plumm with her first husband (posthumously supposedly as most suspected the true father was Aegon IV), and her bastards with Alyn Oakenfist, Jon and Jeyne Waters. Elaena and her children did not just have strong political connections, they were kin and could be trusted like few others could be. Furthermore, Jon Waters, was a capable knight, one whom Daemon had actually already befriended and encouraged to take on the new name ‘Seafyre to escape the taint of bastardry.

The most controversial attendees by far however were Houses Dayne and Yronwood from Dorne. With so much Anti-Dornish sentiment, many did not wish to see them there but Daemon had personally invited the Yronwoods knowing that they had their own grievances with the Martells and were honorable for Dornishmen. And with the recent marriage of the Yronwood heir, Yorick, to Lady Dyanna Dayne, the Daynes were brought in as well. With them came Dyanna’s brother, Ser Ulrick Dayne, the Sword of the Morning and a knight respected all across the land despite his Dornish origins.

Daemon spoke up on behalf of the Yronwoods and Daynes when others questioned their presence and they would not forget it.

He made it clear that he would not proceed until they relented with their complaints, speaking with the authority of a prince before his words were accepted and his expression changed instantly into a welcoming smile. He made merry and led a hunt and ball before the great tourney itself began on New Year’s Day, 190 AC.

With so many of the greatest knights of the realm in one place, the spectacle of the competition was riveting.

Black Byren Flowers and Aubrey Ambrose were neck and neck in the archery competition, their friendly rivalry so fierce and their skill so great they were splitting each other’s arrows down the bullseye. Roderick ‘Redtusk’ Crakehall, Quentyn Fireball, Aegor Bittersteel, and Gormon Peake battled it out in the melee’s final round until Redtusk finally emerged the victor. And the ever-prestigious joust saw the likes of Longthorn and Lord Robb Reyne tilt against legends like Gareth ‘the Grey’ Swann until Ser Ulrick Dayne, the Sword of the Morning finally emerged victorious.

Though Daemon had spoken on Ulrick and his fellow Dornishmen’s behalf earlier, one of them winning the joust and the victor’s purse was still displeasing to many. Ser Ulrick Dayne however was aware of this, and wishing not to cause any trouble, he unprecedentedly challenged Daemon, the host of the tourney, to a friendly joust. Saying that it was a shame indeed that a knight as fine as Daemon had been unable to compete thus far.

Knowing what Ulrick had in mind, Daemon graciously accepted, sending for his horse and armor. The two faced off against each other then, Daemon in his ornate black and red armor and famed dragon-wing helm, Blackfyre on his hip, and a lance in his hand. His opponent was arrayed in silver and purple armor, enameled with stars, and the famous Dawn was in his scabbard.

All looked on in eagerness, sure that they were about see a spectacle the likes of which had not been seen in decades. They were not disappointed. Ulrick and Daemon tilted against each other over and over again, breaking twenty-five lances before Ulrick was finally unhorsed.

An almost palpable sigh of disappointment filled the grounds then, for many had hoped in vain that the Ulrick and Daemon might beat the thirty broken lances record set by Ser Clement Crabb and Ser Ryam Redwyne of the Kingsguard during the tourney celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of King Jaehaerys’ reign.

Neither Ulrick nor Daemon were satisfied, however. Their blood was up, their thrill evident in how they moved. Both could not be gladder to face a worthy opponent and fellow knight of great esteem. Daemon dismounted from his horse and unsheathed Blackfyre while Ulrick Dayne rose to his feet and drew Dawn in a single fluid motion.

The crowd went wild, screaming in excitement as the two knights circled each other, feeling each other out before they clashed, blade against blade. Blackfyre met Dawn in a song of steel.

If the failure to break the jousting record had disappointed the spectators, this duel more than made up for it. Many looked upon it in awe and said later that they had never before seen such incredible feats of swordsmanship and this too after a long day where all the greatest knights of the realm had clashed and competed. Ulrick and Daemon moved so fast and fluidly that the audience struggled to follow their duel with their eyes, only keeping track of their movements thanks to the pale milkglass of one blade contrasting against the smokey dark of the other.

The climax of the duel came at last after ten minutes of furious sword strokes when Daemon took a gamble and threw his shield at his opponent, who batted it aside easily with his greatsword but the distraction gave Daemon time to come in close with his longsword and disarm him.

All was quiet in Whitegrove then. None could believe their own eyes as they processed the duel that had just ended.

Ser Ulrick sank to his feet and took off his helm.

“I yield Prince Daemon!” he said. “You have bested me and proven that you are the greatest knight present here.”

Daemon disagreed as he took off his own helm. “I was still fresh good Ser. You on the other hand faced me only after you had defeated all the other skilled knights in whose fine company I shall not dare be so arrogant as to proclaim myself greatest. I would not rob you of your victory, nor will I ransom your horse and armor. The true victor of this tourney remains you Ser Ulrick. Our match cannot count.”

“Yet I think all would agree it was the most thrilling display. And as the victor, it is my choice on what shall be done with the winnings is it not? I choose to return them to you.”

Daemon smiled then. “Very well then Ser. But I shall accept only half. I must insist you take the rest.”

The crowd cheered like never before as the two grasped arms and Daemon pulled Ser Ulrick to his feet.

The feast that night was jubilant and uproarious. All complaints about Ulrick Dayne and the other Dornishmen’s origins were seemingly forgotten in light of the incredible display of chivalric skill and etiquette they had witnessed and Marcher lords and knights drank and toasted to Ser Ulrick Dayne and his kin in House Dayne and Yronwood like they were the oldest of friends.

Daemon himself danced with his wife all throughout the night, making many a lady swoon at the romantic sight. It was the finest of feasts and the best of balls.

Finally, the moment came at last. Daemon finished his last dance with his wife and called the room’s attention to him. All the chivalry of the south and their lady loves watched with rapt attention as he brought all eyes to a red cloth that had hidden something round and mysterious in the middle of the great hall throughout the whole of dinner, with strict instructions to all guests not to disturb it.

With a great, solid pull, Daemon removed the red cloth and unveiled a round table beneath, carved from the finest ironwood and polished to perfection until the black wood almost seemed to gleam.

Daemon went on to explain then, that in his travels around the realm the past two years, he had realized something. The institution of knighthood was failing.

These were bold words that seemed to offend everyone in the room and send them into an uproar for what greater insult could there be to such an audience? Yet they were all halted in their tracks when Daemon spoke again, elaborating on all the crimes he had seen as he had traveled, how many false knights he had encountered, how the realm and its people suffered from bandits and Dornish raiders and all kinds of other wrongdoers.

Those were their failings, Daemon proclaimed. For as knights had they not vowed to shield the weak and innocent? Had they not sworn to protect their realm and people? Why then did they allow evil to thrive? How did they allow oathbreakers to sully the tenets of knighthood and the ideals of chivalry?

No longer would they stand by and watch he declared. He called upon each and every one of them in that moment, the greatest knights in the realm, to join him and lend him their swords and purses for a great quest in which they would rid Westeros of all the false knights, bandits, raiders, and criminals and usher in a new era of peace, prosperity, and chivalry.

Daemon spoke with an eloquence that roused the hearts of all who heard his words and set their hearts ablaze with an idealistic passion most had not felt in many long years. They remembered how they had once genuinely believed in the ideals of knighthood and how age and cynicism had torn that away but it was reignited now. As one, they all drew their swords and raised them high, declaring their heartfelt agreement with Daemon’s words and their intention to join him on his quest.

Many of the finest knights of the realm gathered on that day to Daemon Blackfyre’s side, a roll of heroes the likes of which might never be seen again. Yorick Yronwood, Desmond Tarly, Jon Seafyre, Martyn Mallister, Edric Templeton, Eustace Osgrey, and so many hundreds more. Daemon’s younger cousins, Viserys Plumm and Robin Penrose joined the company as well, first as Daemon’s squires and later as knights in their own right.

The name this noble company of knights declared for themselves that night was the Black Swords. In honor of their leader, Daemon the Black Prince and his famed weapon, and as a subtle statement of defiance and opposition to Daeron II and his Kingsguard, the White Swords.

The eleven greatest of these Black Swords would sit and hold council at that very table with Daemon Blackfyre himself as their leader and first among equals. They were to be a band of brothers in Daemon’s words. One which sat and took counsel with each other at a round table, so that all of their voices could be heard equally without feudal hierarchies of prince, lord, and vassal getting in the way and keeping them from achieving greatness together.

The twelve knights who sat at this ironwood table would soon become known across all the land from the Wall to the Summer Sea as the Knights of the Round Table, Commanders of the Black Swords. And never before had such a roster of knights been assembled that even the Kingsguard in White Sword Tower knew that they had met their match when they heard what esteemed names would take a numbered seat at the highest and most equal of tables.

The Knights of the Round Table in 190 AC:

The Knight of One, Prince Daemon Targaryen, Blackfyre

The Knight of Two, Ser Aegor Rivers, Bittersteel

The Knight of Three, Ser Quentyn Ball, Fireball

The Knight of Four, Lord Leo Tyrell, Longthorn

The Knight of Five, Lord Gormon Peake

The Knight of Six, Ser Gareth Swann, the Grey

The Knight of Seven, Lord Robb Reyne

The Knight of Eight, Lord Roderick Crakehall, Redtusk

The Knight of Nine, Ser Byren Flowers, Black Byren Fowers

The Knight of Ten, Ser Aubrey Ambrose

The Knight of Eleven, Ser Gwayne Cobray, the Greatheart

The Knight of Twelve, Ser Ulrick Dayne, the Sword of the Morning

When word came to Daeron II in King’s Landing, he acted immediately, issuing a decree that forbade Daemon, as a member of his house, from formally chartering the Order of the Black Sword as a true knightly brotherhood. He knew that Daemon would not allow anyone else to formally create and charter the order, like Longthorn and some others had authority to do, as that would not put him at its head as he so clearly desired.

All however saw this ploy for what it was and Daeron’s jealousy and envy of Daemon had never been clearer. Formal charter or not, the Black Swords declared, they would conduct themselves as if they were a true knightly order and Daemon would be their leader and grandmaster no matter what.

As a badge of membership and a symbol of their allegiance, each of the Black Swords would begin wielding a castle-forged steel sword tinted in black, and even those with a renowned Valyrian steel weapon or Dawn would carry a spare sword of this color in a show of brotherhood and unity.

Meanwhile, the White Swords, the seven Kingsguard, redoubled their training efforts like never before, intent on ensuring that their status as the premier knights of the realm could not be challenged by the new Round Table. And Daeron’s seven at the time were legendary indeed. Lord Commander Damon Darry, known as the Demon of Darry, led Ser Willem Wylde, Ser Jeffory ‘Neveryield’ Norcross, Ser Michael ‘the White Owl’ Mertyns, Ser Alyn ‘the Pale Griffin’ Connington, Ser Robert Flowers (Red Robert Flowers), and Ser Roland Crakehall, the cousin of Roderick Redtusk.

In addition to the Kingsguard, many other great knights like Prince Baelor Breakspear, Prince Maekar Mightmace, Ser Brynden ‘Bloodraven’ Rivers, Lord Corwen ‘Stormbreaker’ Baratheon and his son Ser Olyver Baratheon, Lord Donnel Arryn, Lord Damon ‘the Grey Lion’ Lannister, Ser Donnel of Duskendale, and Ser Florian Fowler still stood at Daeron II’s side. The latter two were being eyed for the Kingsguard themselves and all concurred Ser Florian Fowler was the Dornishman that would take the next open spot in the King’s seven, as had been begrudgingly agreed with Prince Maron.

The rifts which had already begun forming widened as the realm divided in two like it had not since the Dance of the Dragons. There were no more Blacks and Greens, and no more dragons. The war all knew was coming would not be won with dragons but with the sword and the spear, and so that was what men called themselves.

The Swords rallied around Daemon Blackfyre, while the Spears coalesced around Baelor Breakspear, a faction name taken in honor of their own de facto leader while their foes attributed it to their Dornish sympathies. Two rival factions led by two capable princes and chivalrous knights, each seen even by some of their foes as worthy of being king, but at the end of the day there was only one crown and only one could rise.

The lines had been drawn, the board had been set, and the game of thrones would now begin.

Chapter Text

With the establishment of the Black Swords and the Knights of the Round Table at the dawn of 190 AC, Daemon now had his knights and they were quick to act. Donations flooded in from all of the  affluent members to equip and feed their burgeoning chivalric army and the Black Swords organized themselves into an efficient and orderly chain of command underneath the Knights of the Round Table, one based not just on birthright and status but on merit, fame, competence as a knight, chivalric character, and the acclaim of one’s peers.

Absolutely none doubted Daemon’s choice for the eleven knights that sat at his Round Table with him and with them as his lieutenants, the Black Swords began setting out on missions all across the Reach and the neighboring Stormlands, Westerlands, and Riverlands. Everywhere they went, the Black Swords would make the roads safe for travelers, putting down bandits and raiders and taking part in many tourneys and hunts to test their skills against fellow knights and continue winning more acclaim.

In time, people began to say that a maiden girl could walk down the Roseroad from Oldtown to King’s Landing in her name-day gown and still go unmolested, and travelers could find fire, bread, and salt at many an inn and holdfast for there was peace and plenty, strangers could be trusted and all bad things had been vanquished by the Black Swords.

Many who had previously doubted the order, especially after Daeron II forbade its formal chartering, began to be swayed and started donating if not outright joining its ranks. And even in faraway lands where the Black Swords had not yet ventured, their example began inspiring many to act and curb the injustices of the world at large.

A new chivalric age seemed to have begun as knights all over the realm rose up like never before, like a fire had been lit in their souls, calling them to arms to make safe their domains from raiders, criminals, bandits and more.

Daemon’s personal example of chivalry and magnanimity was exceedingly powerful here. Though wise enough to not alienate his powerful noble supporters, he was eloquent and charismatic enough to speak up on behalf of the plight of the smallfolk on many occasions and inspire those who followed him to do better by the smallfolk, as the tenets of the Faith called for, as their vows as knights demanded.

In Daemon’s words, to be knights was to be examples to all the land. It was an ideal of perfection that none could attain, not even himself, but there was meaning nonetheless in striving for perfection, to honor their vows and oaths as true as they could.

Daeron II was not content to simply allow Daemon to win the love of the realm so easily, however. He began propping up his son and heir, Baelor Breakspear, as a competitor to Daemon’s reputation like never before and as mentioned before, the faction that began to emerge around Baelor was known as the Spears and many saw Baelor and not Daeron II as the man they would fight for as King.

Though Baelor did not create an order of knights like the Black Swords, a company of famed knights began to form around him nonetheless as had been aforementioned. These included the seven knights of the Kingsguard, Lord Commander Damon Darry, known as the Demon of Darry, Ser Willem Wylde, Ser Jeffory ‘Neveryield’ Norcross, Ser Michael ‘the White Owl’ Mertyns, Ser Alyn ‘the Pale Griffin’ Connington, Ser Robert Flowers (Red Robert Flowers), and Ser Roland Crakehall, the cousin of Roderick Redtusk.

In addition to the Kingsguard, there were also Baelor’s younger brother, Prince Maekar Mightmace, Lord Corwen ‘Stormbreaker’ Baratheon and his son, Ser Olyver Baratheon, Lord Donnel Arryn, and Ser Donnel of Duskendale and Ser Florian Fowler who were both seen as future Kingsguard. Lord Daemon ‘the Grey Lion’ Lannister also joined the company, first as Baelor’s squire and later as a knight in his own right.

Another particularly notable member of Baelor’s company was his bastard uncle, Ser Brynden ‘Bloodraven’ Rivers, who also served as an unofficial Master of Whisperers on the Small Council in addition to his service at Baelor’s side. With his inheritance from his mother Melissa and an exceedingly generous allowance from his brother, King Daeron II, Bloodraven had formed a particularly large personal guard of longbowmen armed with weirwood bows known as the Raven’s Teeth.

Brynden placed his Raven’s Teeth at Baelor Breakspear’s command who combined them with members of the King’s Landing City Watch, the Targaryen household guard, those of the Kingsguard assigned to him and his brother Maekar, and the forces provides by allies like his goodfather, Corwen Baratheon, to form his own company of knights and soldiers rivalling Blackfyre’s Black Swords.

Almost in direct imitation of the Black Swords, Baelor and his company similarly began to travel around the realm putting down local bandits and criminals and taking part in tourneys to win acclaim and fame and sway hearts and minds. Something Baelor could do as well that Daemon couldn’t at this time was use royal authority as the Prince of Dragonstone to hear petitions and requests and enact immediate and desired lasting changes, however minimal, which helped him shore up support for his father’s ailing reign.

The two factions, the Swords and the Spears, consequently began a political race of sorts, competing over which bandits they could destroy, tourneys to participate in, and lords to court the support of, and the two factions would encounter each other on numerous occasions, participating in the same tournaments and even at times hunting down the same parties of bandits.

Admirably, both Daemon and Baelor kept the peace between their respective factions at each of these encounters. An undercurrent of mutual respect did exist between the respective companies of knights and they were able to peaceably compete in tourneys and even on a few occasions work together to accomplish mutual goals to safeguard the people and eliminate criminals. Nonetheless it was undeniable that tensions were brewing. None dared to speak it aloud, but many could feel that war was looming and both factions believed they were competing for the support of the realm when that war finally came.

Never was this clearer than the incident at the Tourney of Maidenpool in 192 AC. Baelor Breakspear and Daemon Blackfyre were both semi-finalists in that tourney and it was seen as a foregone conclusion by many that they would proceed to the final match and it excited all attendees as the two princes were both famed knights and seen as paragons of chivalry. A joust between them would surely be a spectacle to behold, one that none had seen since Prince Daemon had left court in 188 AC.

That match would never end up happening however as a vicious brawl broke out in the tourney grounds outside the jousting arena shortly before Daemon’s semi-final joust and after Baelor’s own match. The men involved included several of the Black Swords and the Raven’s Teeth, all of whom had jumped in to support their respective leaders, Ser Aegor Bittersteel and Ser Brynden Bloodraven. The Kingsguard forcibly put an end to the brawl and the two ringleaders were marched to the command tent where both Princes Baelor and Daemon demanded answers.

Bittersteel brought forth accusations that he had discovered tampering with the harnesses and straps on Daemon’s saddle that could endanger his life in the impending semi-finals of the joust. He laid the blame for this on Bloodraven, arguing that Bloodraven had hated both himself and Daemon ever since they were young boys and only he had the motive out of everyone at the tourney.

Many witnesses were also able to testify on Aegor’s behalf that Bloodraven had been seen constantly glaring with hatred in his eyes at both Daemon and Aegor throughout the tourney and in a shocking turn of events , one of Bloodraven’s own personal guards, a member of the Raven’s Teeth, broke rank and reported that he had been viciously slandering both Daemon and Aegor in private, casting aspersions on their characters and insulting both of their mothers.

Bloodraven however defended himself, dismissing the witness testimony of his guard as lies and provided an alibi with many of his Raven’s Teeth and even some of Daemon’s other Black Swords testifying that he had been seen elsewhere and his whereabouts accounted for not just on that particular day of the tourney but every preceding day as well. It seemed physically impossible for Bloodraven to have personally tampered with Daemon’s equipment and when Baelor demanded if Aegor could provide any evidence that Bloodraven was responsible, either directly or indirectly, Aegor hesitated.

Lady Ermesande Mooton noted in her diary that Aegor Bittersteel had frozen in that moment, hesitant on how to answer. His eyes had flickered briefly to his twelve-year-old younger sister, Lady Shiera Seastar, who was in attendance and then to his brother Daemon Blackfyre before he looked down and said that he had none.

Breakspear grew wroth then and censured Bittersteel for assaulting a member of their family without just cause and bringing forth accusations with no evidence. His attempts to punish Bittersteel more harshly were rebuked by Daemon, however.

Lady Ermesande recalled that Daemon had been uncharacteristically furious throughout the whole incident and she insisted that it was the kind of anger that was directed at multiple people. Both at Bittersteel for acting so foolishly and at Bloodraven for his slanders and perceived attempt to have him killed.

When Baelor openly mused the idea of forcing Aegor to pay recompense of some kind to Bloodraven for the assault, Daemon could stay silent no longer. He retorted that there was a witness testimony that Brynden had been viciously slandering himself, Aegor, and their mothers.

It was far from unthinkable for him to have been responsible for the attempt on his life with that considered, Daemon argued, and even if they ignored that whole matter entirely, the kind of vicious slanders Bloodraven had been spreading, so vile they shall not be repeated here, were more than enough cause for any man to assault another.

It was a matter of honor, Daemon said, declaring that any man who would slander another’s character and insult their mother should be able to back up their words with the sword. He proposed a trial by combat between Bittersteel and Bloodraven, one that would resolve both honor and justice and let the gods decide who was in the right here.

Baelor immediately rejected this proposal. He declared that Aegor had forfeited any right to such an honor duel when he had incited a brawl that had disturbed the peace and endangered the lives of bystanders. Furthermore, Baelor argued that there was no justification for a trial by combat of any kind without even a shred of evidence that Bloodraven could be in any way responsible for anything more than slander.

He continued to demand that Aegor’s false accusations be punished, stating that the realm would turn to chaos if they allowed any man to simply bring forth false accusations against their personal rivals without any consequences. There was no justice in that he proclaimed.

At that Daemon Blackfyre took off his gauntlet and threw it at the feet of Bloodraven. He declared that while Aegor may have given up his right to an honor duel, he had not and Bloodraven had insulted both him and his mother as well.

“If justice demands that Aegor be made to pay recompense for his supposed false accusations, then I demand justice as well for my mother. Does the law not say that any man who slanders a member of the royal family shall forfeit their speech forevermore? Who does this bastard think he is to speak such calumnies against my mother, a trueborn princess of the realm? Let him defend his words if he can with the sword and if he cannot, I shall gladly take his tongue as wergild,” Daemon declared.

Many noted that Daemon’s anger appeared primarily motivated at the insults to his mother, Princess Daena, rather than to his own person. Others praised his cleverness and wisdom, for Daemon’s own roots as a legitimized bastard himself were often used to gainsay him and by anchoring his challenge against Bloodraven around his mother, a trueborn princess whose legitimacy none questioned, Daemon made his cause look more righteous.

Regardless of political affiliations, all agreed that a bastard slandering a trueborn princess of the blood was unacceptable and with the renewed chivalric spirit across the realm, a knight like Bloodraven slandering a lady was seen as particularly uncouth. Many agreed that Prince Daemon had every right to challenge Bloodraven to an honor duel and Prince Baelor was now in an exceedingly tough position.

While Baelor was an honorable man, he too was biased in favor of his preferred kin. If Daemon stepped up to shield Aegor despite his misguided actions, Baelor would do much the same to protect Brynden Bloodraven, his favored uncle and kinsman. A duel between Daemon and Brynden would only ever go one way and Baelor was not willing to accept the chance that Brynden would be maimed or even killed by Daemon in the duel.

Asserting his authority as the Prince of Dragonstone, Baelor declared that there would be no honor duel but he conceded that Aegor’s actions, while foolish, had been borne out of reasonable mistrust and righteous anger at the insults to himself and his kin. Baelor proposed to Daemon that they let the matter lie and consider it settled as both Aegor and Brynden had acted out of turn and should both be disciplined by their respective lieges without escalating matters any further.

To the surprise of some, Daemon agreed, showing his wisdom and restraint, and the matter was considered to be ended. The burning hatred between the three brothers, Blackfyre, Bittersteel, and Bloodraven had only grown from the incident however, as had the tension between the faction. An outright brawl had occurred between members of both factions and it had almost escalated into something neither was yet ready for.

Daemon and the rest of the Black Swords withdrew from the tourney immediately after the incident, and the anticipated joust between Daemon and Baelor would never come to fruition. Baelor was crowned the victor of the tourney after easily defeating Daemon’s would be semi-finals opponent but many observed that his mood was troubled after the Black Swords’ departure.

A new rift soon appeared to develop between Breakspear and Bloodraven in the aftermath and Bloodraven ceased accompanying Baelor on his expeditions across the realm. Instead Bloodraven increasingly spent more and more time in King’s Landing and in 193 AC, King Daeron II was finally able to prevail on his Hand of the King and goodbrother, Prince Maron Martell of Dorne and find excuses to honorably dismiss many of the Dornish members of the Small Council and replace them with his loyalists.

The first of these was Brynden, who became the Master of Whisperers and was henceforth known across the realm as Lord Bloodraven. Rumors soon began to spread of whispers of sorcery that allowed Bloodraven to infringe the privacy of lords and ladies across the realm to bring all their secrets to Daeron II, for so grim and uncanny did his knowledge feel at times. Some began to murmur that Bloodraven’s spy network was so widespread that he had a thousand eyes instead of two.

Daeron’s small council might have been less Dornish now but the realm was no less agitated by it. While admirable men like Donnel Arryn and Corwen Baratheon soon took seats on the Small Council as well, others remained simply unpalatable just like Bloodraven. One of them was Daeron’s choice for the Master of Ships.

Originally the Master of Ships had been the aged and venerable Lord Addam Velaryon, the son of Alyn Oakenfist and Princess Baela, who had served as Aegon IV’s Master of Ships and on Daeron’s Small Council until he had been unceremoniously dismissed and replaced with a Dornishman in the aftermath of Prince Daemon and Princess Daenerys’ elopement as part of Daeron II’s attempt to preserve his Dornish union.

The Velaryons had been greatly slighted by this and it did not help that they had always had a tense at best relationship with Daeron II and his wife Myriah. Alyn Oakenfist had been one of the closest allies and supporters of the Young Dragon’s Conquest of Dorne and had famously split Dorne in two when he had smashed through Plankytown and led his entire fleet to burn and sack their way up the Greenblood.

Once she had become Queen, Myriah had used her position to disadvantage and weaken the Velaryons as much as possible, pushing through restrictions on their fleet and trade and once they had been dismissed from the Small Council and her brother became Hand of the King, the two went even further.

The humiliated and spurned Velaryons were not trustworthy to be made Master of Ships again in Daeron’s mind. Too many bridges had been burnt and he recalled all too well that his rival Daemon shared kinship with the Velaryons through his grandmother Daenaera and his aunt Elaena’s bastard children, Jon Seafyre and Jeyne Waters, both of whom had joined Daemon’s party.

In Daeron’s mind, it was already a foregone conclusion that the Velaryons would back Daemon and so he doubled down on disfavoring them, using as much royal power as he had just cause to wield to disadvantage them and their fleet and make a royal fleet that was as powerful and independent from the Velaryons as he could. With the Velaryons disfavored and other traditional loyalists like Celtigar untrustworthy due to their ties to Daemon and the Velaryons, Daeron had to turn to other parties.

He initially considered offering the position to the Redwynes but the Reach as a whole had become very hostile to Daeron II for his favoring of Dorne and the Redwynes had been long since courted by Daemon and had kin serving him in the Black Swords, so they were ruled out for the same reasons the Velaryons were ultimately. According to the Grand Maester at the time, Daeron II had in fact offered the position to the Redwynes who ended up spurning the offer in favor of maintaining ties to Blackfyre but many question the veracity of this as the position of Master of Ships would have been beneficial to Daemon’s cause had that been their true reasoning.

Regardless, Daeron II ultimately made the decision to make Torwyn Greyjoy Master of Ships. It was a decision that surprised many though it made much sense on paper as with the Reach and the Velaryons both estranged from the crown, the Iron Islands were the foremost replacement. They were considered one of the preeminent naval powers of the realm and it was thought that their fleet when combined with the fleets of the Westerlands would easily be able to defeat the Redwynes, Hightowers, and other fleets from the Reach and assert naval dominance in the Sunset Sea.

Daeron II no doubt remembered the Red Kraken’s rampage in the Westerlands during the Dance and thought the Greyjoys could place a similar sword to the backs of the Reach should they rise for Daemon’s cause. Daeron was not the only one who remembered this though, and it caused much friction from Daeron’s allies in the Westerlands where memories of the Red Kraken’s raids had endured long even sixty years later. It also further galvanized growing discontent and resistance to Daeron’s rule in the Reach and Riverlands who saw their king as doubling down on the accusations of falling in bed with treacherous raiders and dishonest oathbreakers.

“The king has already allied with Dornish and ironmen, will he make wildlings Kingsguard and pirates lords next,” they asked each other, only half japing.

It did not help matters at all that despite Daeron’s efforts to try and restore his Small Council to normalcy and remove overt Dornish influence and membership, Prince Maron Martell remained Hand of the King and there was little way for Daeron to remove or undermine him without compromising the entire union he had sacrificed so much for.

Maron Martell’s tenure as Hand of the King is one that is greatly decried as one of the worst in history. The Dornish prince was always trying to make the court and every possible facet of King’s Landing more Dornish, appoint more and more Dornishmen to high offices, positions in the City Watch, the Royal Fleet, and more, while also constantly trying to push through laws and policies favoring Dorne at the expense of the other kingdoms.

He was often aided in this by his sister, the Queen, Myriah, and the realm would constantly whisper and rumor about their doings with suspicion. Many did not trust in the slightest that Daeron II was working to moderate them or undermine their more extreme policies and any credit that ever was given for that was mostly attributed to Daeron’s son, Prince Baelor Breakspear.

Both Maron and Myriah also kept long grudges. The Velaryons were but one of many houses that were disfavored in court due to their actions in the Conquest of Dorne and Maron even prevailed on Daeron II to expel the Alchemists’ Guild from King’s Landing due to their support of one of Aegon IV’s ill-conceived attempts to invade Dorne. (The expelled Alchemists ended up finding new patronage under the Velaryons and Daemon.)

Neither Maron nor Myriah were stupid however and despite their efforts to promote Dorne’s interests, they knew it couldn’t be done entirely at the expense of Daeron II’s position. In 193 AC, Maron would finally end up marrying the younger daughter of Lord Corwen Baratheon, and younger sister to Robyn who had married his nephew, Baelor. The marriage was heralded by supporters of the Spears as an initiative to bring peace between Dorne and the Stormlands and consolidate the alliance between Houses Baratheon, Martell, and Targaryen. Some in the Stormlands however saw it as their liege getting in bed with the Dornish, further dividing the region.

Midway through 193 AC, Maron Martell also shocked the entire realm when he presented the famous Valyrian steel crown of Aegon the Conqueror to Daeron in a lavish and flowery ceremony. Maron claimed that the crown had been lost for many years but after a long search, it had finally been discovered and was being returned now to its rightful owner.

Maron had no doubt intended to strengthen his ally’s ailing legitimacy and make Daeron II seem like a better king in the eyes of his realm and indeed much of Daeron II’s faction did rally to his cause due to the crown’s discovery, even if most of them only saw it as Baelor Breakspear’s future crown with how much he had become the true leader of the faction.

However, the fortunate ‘discovery’ of the crown enraged many as it reminded them of just how the crown had been lost to begin with. The Martells among other houses had killed Daeron II’s namesake under a banner of truce and none, not even Daeron II’s supporters, believed that the crown had actually been lost instead of lying in some Dornish vault for thirty years.

That the Dornish had kept the crown for so long and never returned it even after Baelor had made peace with them or Daeron II had unified them with the realm infuriated many and made them suspect Dorne’s intentions and goodwill. Far from shoring up Daeron II’s legitimacy, the return of the Conqueror’s crown only divided the realm even more as many saw it as the Dornish shoring up support for their puppet king and refused to be swayed by such a meaningless gesture.

While all this came to pass, Baelor and Daemon continued their chivalrous knightly adventures across the realm with their companies and their efforts ended up making the realm safer than it had been in many, many years as a result. A rare benefit of the intense division and competition that was growing in the realm.

It has been mentioned previously how Baelor and his brothers’ families were growing in this time as well but Daemon and Daenerys, ever the passionate couple were not idle either. After the birth of their twin sons, Aegon and Aemon in 188 AC, the couple had another set of twins, their daughters Daena and Laena born in 190 AC, then a third son named Aegor in 192 and a daughter named Serra in 193. Many began japing that the couple were aiming to outdo the Conciliator and the Good Queen and the couple’s passionate romance seemed to more than rival that of Prince Baelon the Brave and Princess Alyssa.

Daenerys the Darling

It was not all rosy, however. Daemon’s constant adventures and expeditions with his Black Swords clashed heavily with his responsibilities as a father and husband. The children naturally needed stability in their life, which was why, despite accompanying Daemon on many of his adventures and progresses to win more acclaim and court more support, Daenerys and their children would remain at home in Whitegrove more often than not and the children would go weeks and sometimes even months without seeing their father at times.

These constant absences were the cause of a few arguments between the Prince and Princess, and though they reconciled every time (often with a passionate night in the bedroom) and the Princess was more than understanding of Daemon’s reasons and even agreed with them, it did still trouble and hang between them. Political considerations warred with familial responsibilities and it was often difficult to juggle them, though the two eventually found a balance that worked for them and the children.

The first major challenge to this balance came shortly after the birth of their daughter Serra in mid 193 AC, when word came from the North of a massive revolt against House Stark by the Skagosi. None in the south had even thought of interfering, but Daemon proposed to the Round Table and the Black Swords that they should intervene.

Publicly, Daemon declared that it would only be chivalrous and just to aid the Northmen, their fellow subjects of the realm, in fending off the scourge from the cannibals and savages of Skagos. Privately behind closed doors, he saw a golden opportunity to test the skills of his men in actual war instead of just bandit hunts and to build connections with the largest of the Seven Kingdoms which could prove useful.

While the Knights of the Round Table and the Black Swords were eventually won over by Daemon’s passionate arguments after some initial hesitance due to the distance and the estrangement between the North and the southern kingdoms, Princess Daenerys was far from pleased. Their daughter had only just been born and now her husband was scheming to gallivant off to the furthest corners of the realm?

Reportedly, the Princess refused to speak with her husband at length for months while the expedition was being planned and only finally broke on the final day when the two had a lengthy and private conversation. What exactly they discussed is not known but it is noted that Princess Daenerys was much more at ease and understanding after it and waited patiently and loyally for her husband’s return.

Finally, as 193 AC waned into its tenth moon, Daemon set off for the North with a vast company of a thousand knights, almost the full force of the Black Swords and each of the Knights of the Round Table. Months of planning, logistics preparation, and the like had been done, and the Starks had been contacted and informed of their intentions, which they had accepted after getting over their surprise.

The Knights of the Round Table made the decision to travel by land rather than by sea for a number of reasons. For one, there was no major port in the western coast of the North that could really receive their army and traveling the long way around to the eastern coast would have been a great delay and fraught with risk due to the pirates in the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea storms.

The one-to-two-month journey by land also allowed them to very visibly seen riding off to a chivalric war by the people of the realm and this brought them more acclaim and even inspired other knights to join their cause as they traveled north. By the time the Black Swords finally entered the Neck, their original thousand strong company had doubled in strength and many newcomers had become Black Swords in all but name.

They finally arrived in Winterfell as 193 AC died and they were welcomed and feasted by Lord Barthogan Stark, who by happenstance also bore the nickname ‘Barth Blacksword’ which he had earned for his prowess in combat, wetting his sword Ice with the blood of his enemies enough times that it had turned black or so the stories claimed.

Barth Blacksword greeted the similarly named Black Swords with a twisted mix of gratitude and suspicion. The war against the Skagosi was brutal and not going well and any help was much appreciated, but the fact that the North, long ignored by the south was receiving any aid at all made him greatly suspicious as to the intentions of these southern knights. It did not help that the Black Swords were not alone in providing aid to the North.

Once it had become clear that Daemon Blackfyre was leading his company north, Baelor Breakspear had declared his intention to do the same and boarded his company onto the royal fleet and sailed them north to White Harbor.

Both princes and their companies were hosted and feasted in Winterfell and it soon became evident to Barthogan Stark that his political support was being courted. Most believe that this annoyed him greatly, thinking that the south only paid the North attention when it sought their soldiers.

Nonetheless he was a wise lord and he spoke nothing of this. Instead, he challenged several of the newcomers to duels, as his own skills with the blade rivalled that of his father Cregan who had measured up well against Aemon the Dragonknight and Barth wished to test the mettle of the Southrons. The histories note that each of the Knights of the Round Table, including Prince Daemon won his respect through these duels, as did Prince Baelor and several of his company’s knights.

Soon enough however, there would be little time for political games as the Skagosi launched new raids on the mainland and even laid siege to Karhold after defeating the Karstarks in a sudden battle. The North immediately sprang to action with the aid of the newcomers.

While Baelor Breakspear commanded the royal fleet, Blackfyre and Blacksword led their respective armies to the relief of Karhold by land and with a thunderous charge they fell upon the Skagosi and slew them all to a man. The chivalry of the south united with the valor of the Northmen on that day and the stoneborn savages were vanquished.

If they had earned some of Barth’s respect previously, the Black Swords had truly won all of it now that he had seen them endure the harsh Northern climate and fight and bleed alongside Northmen. And they continued proving themselves worthy of that respect as the Northmen and the Black Swords alike took the fight to Skagos itself.

The Skagosi had been forbidden the sea ever since the reign of King Brandon IX Stark but in secret they had built up a large fleet in the centuries since and had unleashed it during Barth’s rule as Lord to devastating effect. The rest of the North had had little power at sea ever since Brandon the Burner and had struggled to counter the Skagosi raids and incursions as a result. Even after rebuffing them, they had struggled to put down the rebellion as each of their invasion attempts were crushed by the Skagosi fleet and many lives were lost.

Baelor Breakspear’s royal fleet proved critical here as it utterly crushed the Skagosi fleet at the Battle of the Bay of Seals, giving a much-needed opportunity for an invasion force to land safely on Skagos. Though the Skagosi sued for peace after the defeat of their fleet, knowing their doom was to come, Barthogan refused to accept it and demanding nothing less than their complete and total surrender, intent on wiping the scourge of the Skagosi out once and for all.

With Daemon and his army by his side, Barthogan landed on Skagos with his Northern army and began a punitive campaign to crush the Skagosi in their entirety and fully pacify the island as part of the North.

It is here that some argue Baelor Breakspear made a mistake. Breakspear had assumed that providing the critical royal fleet would win much favor from the Northmen and when they landed on Skagos, he led his forces well in the battle to seize Deepdown with Barthogan and Daemon Blackfyre. After the fall of Deepdown, however, Baelor accepted Barthogan’s suggestion that he take Driftwood Hall while he and Daemon continued on to seize Kingshouse and bring the war to a quicker end by dividing their forces.

Baelor had assumed a little too much and forgotten that for all that Barthogan had treated him with honor, it was much harder for him to win the Stark lord’s favor than it was for Daemon for reasons that weren’t truly Baelor’s fault. Barthogan’s elder brother Rickon had died in Dorne many years earlier and Barthogan had never forgotten or never forgiven. Baelor looked Dornish and had a Dornish mother and his father was bending over to the Dornish and all of this displeased him greatly. That the royal fleet Baelor had brought with him was built in part by the efforts of the Greyjoy Master of Ships further sat ill with Barthogan.

All the while however, Daemon Blackfyre had steadily proven to be a fine prince and alternative prospect to Baelor and more than that, they had begun to form a genuine and mutual respect and friendship, while Baelor for all of his affability and good nature, had had some level of distance with Barthogan due to being the Prince of Dragonstone and thus Barthogan’s technical liege, coloring all of their interactions with the slightest tint of imbalanced authority which of course, rarely pleased prideful lords.

Still all of this might have ultimately amounted to nothing in the end if not for what happened at Kingshouse. As the siege of Kingshouse had progressed, some of the forces of House Magnar had snuck out of a secret passage and ambushed Lord Barthogan who would have surely died if Prince Daemon had not come to his aid.

Fighting like the Warrior himself, the stories tell that Daemon singlehandedly sliced through twenty Skagosi savages and pulled the wounded Barth Blacksword to his feet before the two cut down the rest of their foes, their Valyrian steel blades, Blackfyre and Ice, cleaving through primitive furs, flesh, bones, leather, and rusted mail with ease. The experience solidified the friendship and bond between the two men and Barthogan would never forget it for as long as he lived, forever remembering the life debt he now owed to Daemon.

After that incident, the war continued until Kingshouse and Driftwood Hall had both fallen and Barthogan’s younger brother had been installed as the Lord of Skagos. The victors returned in triumph to Winterfell after months of ceaseless fighting in the eleventh moon of 194 AC and celebrated for many days.

Daemon Blackfyre in a northern forest

Daemon’s fighting prowess had won him much acclaim and respect from the Northmen throughout the entirety of the campaign and a few grizzled veterans who had had the honor of fighting alongside his uncle Daeron I all those years prior in Dorne began to compare the two, comparing their spirits and prowess in arms. Many began saying the Black Prince was the true successor of the Young Dragon’s legacy, both in spirit and in blood, and many began calling him the Black Dragon, a dragon in human form just like his uncle, with indomitable ferocity and prowess in battle.

The other Knights of the Round Table and many members of the Black Swords as well as Prince Baelor and his company also won much acclaim and renown, but none could quite compare to just how much Daemon Blackfyre had impressed the Northmen, and the bond he had built with the Lord of Winterfell and the legendary tale of how he had come to his rescue and the two had fought against Skagosi savages together had been no small part of that.

On the fifth day of the festivities, the entire hall was stunned into silence when Daemon and the other eleven Knights of the Round Table made a shocking announcement. They had, by unanimous consensus, agreed to extend a personal invite to Lord Barthogan Stark, Barth Blacksword, to join their ranks and become their thirteenth member, and he had accepted.

There before the eyes of all the stunned onlookers, Barthogan Stark walked up to Prince Daemon and their conversation is immortalized in the histories.

“When I asked you to join the Round Table, you told me that you couldn’t. That you weren’t a knight, and that knighthood was not for you because it was only for southrons, for those who followed the Seven. Do you remember what I told you?” Prince Daemon asked, speaking loud and clear for all to hear.

“Aye. You said that knighthood wasn’t about the Seven, and it wasn’t about oils or prayers. It was about honor, about chivalry, about good and honest men who fight to protect all that is good. Who keep their word and honor their vows,” Barth replied, looking humbler and more thoughtful than any of his lords and vassals had ever seen him.

“And what do you think?” Daemon asked in turn.

“I think… that if that’s what knighthood is all about, if it means to be like you or all the other Black Swords and the Knights of the Round Table, maybe it won’t be so bad being a knight.”

Daemon smirked. “Then kneel.”

Barthogan Stark knelt as if he was pledging fealty to his king and Daemon drew forth Blackfyre, the other eleven Knights of the Round Table drawing forth their own swords as they stood in a circle round the two. Laying Blackfyre on Barthogan’s right shoulder, Daemon spoke.

“Barthogan Stark, do you swear before the eyes of gods and men to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your captains, your liege lord, and your king, to fight bravely when needed and do such other tasks as are laid upon you, however hard or humble or dangerous they may be?”

“I do,” came his reply and Daemon placed his sword on his other shoulder before he bade him rise.

“Then rise Ser Barth Blacksword, Knight of Thirteen!”

A great cheer resounded through all the hall then and many agreed that it was the most memorable event in all the festivities. But Baelor Breakspear and his company only clapped politely, grim expressions on all their faces. When both princes returned to the south, they returned triumphant and lavished with honors and acclaim but all knew that only one had achieved what he had truly wanted.

Daemon took a long three-month break upon his return to Whitegrove, spending all of that time with his wife and children in the first half of 195 AC and almost predictably it was not long before Daenerys was with child again, sending many of their friends and family and people across the realm in general to laughter and japes. But beyond all of that, the two were truly happy to be reunited and add another child to their growing family.

Daemon’s new epithet as the Black Dragon continued to cement in this time and it was not long before it was competing with his most famous epithet “Blackfyre’. Princess Daena, once she heard of how the Northmen had acclaimed her son, publicly toasted and hailed him upon his return as a worthy successor of her brother, Daeron the Young Dragon, and many took up her words as a chorus, spreading the new nickname further and further.

The name Black Prince increasingly began falling out of usage as men all across the realm took to calling Daemon the Black Dragon instead and for one simple reason. Only kings had ever been given the epithet of ‘Dragon’, Daemon’s uncle Daeron the Young Dragon, and Aegon the Conqueror himself. What had long been unspoken had begun to subtly emerge.

The Black Dragon

The Spears were not simply idle while all of this was happening, however. While Daeron II schemed to forge closer ties with the Boltons and some other houses in the North to try and undermine the Starks now in bed with Daemon, playing up his and his son’s support with the royal fleet, Baelor had a different plan in mind to redeem his failure and win some much needed acclaim, prestige and support for his own faction.

For months he planned in secret with Lord Donnel Arryn and cunningly timed his plan to commence near the time that Daemon and Daenerys’ seventh child would be born. A month before, Baelor announced that he and Lord Donnel would be leading a great quest to rid the Vale of Arryn of the wild mountain clans and raiders once and for all, calling upon all the knights of the realm to join them in their mission.

The announcement caught the Black Swords completely off guard and they scrambled to respond, rushing their planning for an expeditionary force to join the quest while their leader was once again torn in two as the quest came right as his new child was due. Some sources suggest that Daemon had even been considering not going but in a rather dramatic reversal of her previous discontent when he had sought to go north, Princess Daenerys all but ordered him to, reminding him that he had sworn oaths to fight alongside his brother in arms, Ser Gwayne Corbray who would surely take part in the quest, and that he could not allow anything to jeopardize the reputation he had built.

Reluctantly Daemon agreed and a month after the birth of their seventh child late in 195 AC, a fourth son named Daemion, Daemon and his Black Swords set off for the Vale.

By the time they finally arrived as 196 AC began however, Baelor Breakspear and Donnel Arryn had already destroyed a few mountain clans and though they were welcomed with open arms, the Black Swords could feel a shift in the Vale’s opinion that had shifted to support Breakspear and Arryn more and more as they had achieved great successes in the campaign.

The member of the Knights of the Round Table that won the most acclaim during the campaign was Ser Gwayne ‘the Greatheart’ Corbray, Knight of Eleven. As a native Valeman, he had been involved in the campaign since the very beginning along with many other Valemen and quicker knights in the Black Swords.

While the rest of the Black Swords and the Knights of the Round Table were lauded and celebrated all the same, they had been late to the quest and greatly disadvantaged by the circumstances of its beginning, lagging behind Breakspear and Arryn in the resources and cohesion they could bring to the campaign and thus failing to win as much prestige and support in the Vale and across the realm than the Spears did for their contribution.

It was almost as if the tables had been turned between the campaigns in the North and the Vale and while neither faction was looked upon negatively, it was clear that the Vale, which had always been very strong in its support for the Spears due to the marriage of Alys Arryn to Prince Rhaegel and lack of any major grievances with the Dornish, had now solidified more than ever behind Daeron II. House Corbray remained among the few who still firmly supported Daemon in the region due to their son Gwayne’s position on his Round Table.

The Black Swords stung at the loss and felt it as sharply as Baelor had the loss of the North to Daemon, wondering why they hadn’t thought of the idea before he had and begrudgingly gained greater respect for Breakspear as an adversary as a result.

The last mountain clans in the Vale were finally destroyed by the end of 195 AC and after the requisite feasting and celebrations, the two factions doubled their efforts, returning to their endless expeditions and adventures across the realm, taking part in tourneys, hunts, balls, feasts, and more, hunting down bandits and evildoers wherever they went and courting the support of lords and smallfolks more than they ever had before.

Few dared to speak it aloud, but all could feel it in the air. Something was brewing and the lines had already begun to be drawn. With the North and the Vale fully committed, it was now a race to win over the last neutrals to their side before it all came crashing down.

Two more years passed in this frantic frenzy but when the time finally came, it was almost unnerving how quietly it all began.

As 198 AC dawned, Daemon and Daenerys were riding to Stone Hedge in the Riverlands from their home in Whitegrove in the Reach, accompanied by all of their children, Princess Daena, and their good friend Gormon Peake. By this point, the couple had eight children, having welcomed another daughter by the name of Visenya into their family in early 197 AC.

The wedding of their beloved brother and sister, Aegor Bittersteel and Shiera Seastar had been organized by Aegor’s maternal kin, House Bracken and their party was traveling to attend the wedding. It was a hundred strong party of knights and men at arms guarding all the important individuals and it should have been more than enough yet as they crossed the gold road, they were ambushed in a sudden rain of weirwood arrows that cut down almost all of the knights.

Daemon’s entire party soon found themselves surrounded on all sides by the Raven’s Teeth and Bloodraven declared in the name of King Daeron II, that they were all under arrest and ordered them to surrender or die.

Princess Daenerys recounts that moment as the most terrifying in her whole life knowing that her children and her husband, her whole family really was at the mercy of her feared and hated half-brother.

Many historians agree that Bloodraven might very well have killed Daemon and his family regardless of whether or not they surrendered but fortunately he never got the chance as a sudden charge took the Raven’s Teeth in the rear. From the north an unhoped-for aid had come, Bittersteel and a whole host of knights from out of Stone Hedge, including many of the other Knights of the Round Table and Black Swords.

It has never been determined how exactly they had been aware Daemon and his party were in trouble, with most theorizing that Lady Seastar had already developed the network of spies she would later be known for, one powerful enough to rival Bloodraven’s, and they had discovered Daeron II and Bloodraven’s plot.

However, word had come to them, Aegor and his company had immediately set out to find and warn their brethren and upon discovering them about to be treacherously slain by Bloodraven, they acted immediately. Most of the Raven’s Teeth present were slain and though Bloodraven managed to escape back to King’s Landing, Daemon, his family, and Lord Peake were all saved.

In the aftermath of the harrowing encounter, the Knights of the Round Table present regrouped at Stone Hedge where Aegor and Shiera’s wedding festivities were cut short as all present knew war loomed on the horizon. Ravens were already flying across all the realm, carrying tales of Daeron II’s treacherous and unjust plot to arrest and kill Daemon and his family and calling to arms all the Black Swords, their allies, and all good and honest men to rise and fight for the one true king, Daemon Blackfyre.

The War of Restoration had begun.

________________________________________

The Knights of the Round Table in 198 AC:

The Knight of One, Prince Daemon Targaryen, Blackfyre

The Knight of Two, Ser Aegor Rivers, Bittersteel

The Knight of Three, Ser Quentyn Ball, Fireball

The Knight of Four, Lord Leo Tyrell, Longthorn

The Knight of Five, Lord Gormon Peake

The Knight of Six, Ser Gareth Swann, the Grey

The Knight of Seven, Lord Robb Reyne

The Knight of Eight, Lord Roderick Crakehall, Redtusk

The Knight of Nine, Ser Byren Flowers, Black Byren Fowers

The Knight of Ten, Ser Aubrey Ambrose

The Knight of Eleven, Ser Gwayne Cobray, the Greatheart

The Knight of Twelve, Ser Ulrick Dayne, the Sword of the Morning

The Knight of Thirteen, Lord Barthogan Stark, Barth Blacksword

House Targaryen in 198 AC

Known Issue of Aegon IV

Chapter Text

The storm was instantaneous as soon as the ravens sent forth from Stone Hedge began reaching their destinations all across the land. A furious uproar thrummed across every corner of Westeros at the outrageous, unprovoked, and dishonorable attack upon the party of a Prince and Princess of the Realm and the threat to the lives of their young children. It broke all norms of decency, chivalry, and law, and many who might once have risen for the Spears now began declaring neutrality or outright for the Swords as blame fell sharply upon the dishonorable falseborn, Daeron II, and his vile Master of Whisperers, Bloodraven.

Yet despite this, Daeron II had much support still, or more accurately his beloved son Breakspear did. All across the realm, seven of the traditional nine Great Houses declared for the Spears. Most of the Crownlands rallied to Baelor Breakspear, for even if sympathies for Daemon were high, King’s Landing’s reach was too strong to resist so soon. The Greyjoys pledged their fealty to the Iron Throne though many suspected they were simply in it for their own goals to raid and conquer as much of the west coast as they could.

Apart from the Iron Islands however, no single kingdom was fully committed to the Spears’ cause. In the Crownlands, the Velaryons and Celtigars declared for Daemon Blackfyre and with them went the entire royal fleet, gutting the Spears’ power in the Narrow Sea as the two oldest vassals of House Targaryen laid siege to Dragonstone itself. Baelor and his family were fortunate to not have been on the island when that siege had begun. In the Stormlands, Riverlands, Westerlands, Vale, and Dorne, the Great Houses all declared for the Spears but even in Dorne there were those that declared for the Swords instead.

While the Lannisters led most of the Westerlands to rise for Daeron, Reyne, Crakehall, and Banefort all declared for Daemon. In addition, the Spears’ alliance with the Greyjoys unnerved many of the Westerlanders who remembered well the Red Kraken’s rampage and refused to commit soldiers to either side in favor of defending their fiefs lest the reavers once again turn their attentions upon the West.

Dorne and the Vale were mostly solidified behind Martell and Arryn respectively who in turn backed the Spears to the hilt but both had their respective holdouts. Dayne and Yronwood in Dorne, and Corbray and Templeton in the Vale. The Stormlands and Riverlands meanwhile split right down the middle despite the Baratheons and Tullys declaring for Daeron. The entirety of the Dornish Marches save for Dondarrion (who even then joined the Spears only for honor’s sake as their daughter was wed to Prince Maekar) rose for Daemon, as did Penrose, Tarth, Estermont, Buckler, and more. In the Riverlands, Mallister, Frey, Bracken, Vance, Vyrpren and more were pitted against Tully, Mooton, Lothston, Darry, and Butterwell.

In contrast to the rather sharply divided kingdoms backing Daeron, the Swords had a solid foundation of support in the two largest kingdoms in the realm. The entirety of the Reach and the North declared for Daemon, led by Leo Longthorn and Barth Blacksword, Knights of the Round Table. Many considered it exceedingly impressive how the entirety of the Reach rallied for Daemon seeing as neither the Blacks nor the Greens had managed that feat during the Dance of the Dragons sixty years prior, a testament to how beloved Blackfyre was in the Reach after living in the kingdom for a decade. Others also believed that Barth Blacksword was far more committed to the cause of the Swords than his father Cregan had ever been to the Blacks in the Dance.

Beyond the Reach and the North, Daemon’s support was strong in the rest of the realm as well, as aforementioned, and one of the key objectives of his initial campaigns was ensuring his supporters in the other kingdoms were not crushed by the Spears for their support of him.

Twelve of the Knights of the Round Table (with only Barth Blacksword absent) had been present at Stone Hedge in the aftermath of Bloodraven’s attack and Aegor and Shiera’s wedding and there at the seat of House Bracken they laid out their strategy for the war to come before dispersing to their respective missions.

All present save three returned to their respective family seats to raise their banners and join the war while Daemon, Bittersteel, and Gwayne Corbray remained behind in the Riverlands, and the vast majority of the Black Swords (those that didn’t have major fiefs of their own at least) joined them. It was agreed that the Greatheart was unlikely to be able to reach Heart’s Home, deep inside the Vale, and so he remained at Stone Hedge.

The mustering of the entire west coast, Sword and Spear alike, was delayed by the renewed reaving of the nominally Daeron-allied Ironmen. Torwyn Greyjoy, despite his status as Master of Ships, had been in the Iron Islands at the time of the war’s outbreak which further fueled the suspicions of many that all of this had been planned and orchestrated by Daeron. Torwyn would go on to lead his forces exceedingly well, very much living up to the legacy of his ancestor, the Red Kraken, as he joined forces with the Lannister fleet and smashed the Redwynes and other Reacher fleets in the Battle of the Shield Islands.

With nominal supremacy over the entire Sunset Sea, the Greyjoys and Lannisters greatly hampered the war efforts of the Swords in the early days of the war as neither the Reach or the North could properly muster and commit their troops to other campaigns with their western coasts exposed. Nonetheless, as the war progressed, the tide slowly turned in the favor of the Swords.

Six months into the war, at the Battle of Lannisport, Fireball cut down Lord Lefford while Redtusk and Robb Reyne defeated the young Lord Damon Lannister who was forced to withdraw into Casterly Rock and watch as the three Knights of the Round proceeded to sack Lannisport and burn the Lannister fleet where it had been moored in the harbor for resupply and repairs.

With the Lannister fleet destroyed and the Lannisters driven into the Rock, the Swords now had a free hand in the Westerlands and many Westerlords began defecting to the Swords, starting with the Farmans. The ambiguity of who was now fighting for who gave the Greyjoys a pretext to expand their raids into the Westerlands as well and effectively going rogue and this in turn drove yet even more of the Westerlands into the arms of the Swords as the Lannisters were seen as weak and ineffectual, defeated and cowering inside the Rock while the Reynes, Crakehalls, and other Sword houses defended the kingdom from the Ironmen.

Eventually, once the Westerlands stabilized, Robb Reyne remained to command the defense against the ongoing raids from the Ironmen while Fireball and Redtusk took a portion of the army into the Riverlands to reinforce Daemon, Aegor, and Gwayne who continued to lead the campaign in the Riverlands which had fallen into complete chaos as countless houses had declared for either side in all corners of the kingdom, causing great confusion.

Further south meanwhile, as pressure on the western coasts alleviated in time with the destruction of the Lannister fleet and the distraction of the Ironmen who started raiding the West as well, the Reachmen rallied under the many Knights of the Round present in their kingdom and went on the offensive.

Spearheaded by Leo Longthorn, Gormon Peake, Black Byren Flowers, and Aubrey Ambrose, the armies of the Reach converged upon the Dornish Marches which had almost wholly declared for Daemon with the sole exceptions of Blackhaven and Summerhall.

Reuniting with their fellow Round member, Gareth ‘the Grey’ Swann, the five Knights of the Round Table combined the full might of their armies present and completely crushed Blackhaven and Summerhall by the end of 198 AC, with the surviving Dondarrions bending the knee to Daemon Blackfyre while Summerhall was claimed for his line of the family.

As 199 AC began, the armies split into two, with a major force led by Longthorn, Ambrose, and Grey marching into Cape Wrath and Shipbreaker’s Bay to support the rest of their allies in the Stormlands while Peake and Flowers led another force into Dorne where they relieved their beleaguered Dayne and Yronwood allies who had been surrounded for a year and took the Fowlers, Manwoodys, Blackmonts, and Wyls from the rear. Linking up with Ulrick Dayne and the rest of his house and the Yronwoods, the Swords then defeated a failed Martell attempt to break into the Prince’s Pass at the Battle of Skyreach, effectively sealing the Dornish into their own kingdom and ensuring they could give no further aid to Daeron II’s cause.

In the midst of all this however, the Spears were not idle. Though the Greyjoys had gone rogue and Dorne had been effectively cut in half with its loyalists unable to provide any aid, the Spears had had victories of their own. In the Vale, Donnel Arryn and his loyalists soon crushed the Corbrays and Templetons and forced them in line before sending the fleet at Gulltown to relieve Dragonstone which had fallen to the Velaryons and Celtigars and break the blockade strangling King’s Landing. However, the Velaryon-Celtigar fleet dealt a crushing defeat to their Arryn-Grafton counterparts, ensuring Dragonstone remained under Sword control and the blockade held.

Meanwhile, Maekar and the Baratheons had taken Parchments and other Sword-declaring castles north of Storm’s End though unfortunately for them, everything south of Griffin’s Roost including all of Cape Wrath had solidified behind the Swords and Longthorn and Gareth Swann were poised to threaten Storm’s End itself.

As for the Riverlands, the fighting had been continuous for almost two years and as 199 AC entered its second half, the Spears led by Breakspear and Bloodraven had solidified everything east of and including the Trident, Twins, Gods Eye, Harrenhal, Harroway, Darry, and Maidenpool, securing the High Road and the land connection to the Vale and cutting off the Starks from Daemon who had nonetheless managed to secure the rest of the Riverlands, crushing the Blackwoods and Tullys.

A stalemate of sorts soon arose as each respective side began to regroup and recoup their losses, planning for their next moves. With the entire might of the Vale and much of the Crownlands and Riverlands arrayed against them, Daemon knew that it was unlikely that either he or Blacksword would successfully break through the Trident and link up with each other and in the southern fronts, much of the power of the Reach was expended simultaneously fending off the reaving Ironmen, supporting Dayne and Yronwood in Dorne, and reinforcing Cape Wrath and the Dornish Marches to threaten Storm’s End.

Nonetheless, with the full might of the Reach backing him, it was clear as day that Daemon had the numerical advantage and he took full advantage of that. Starting in the sixth moon of 199 AC, he withdrew a significant portion of his armies from the fronts in Dorne, the Stormlands, and the Riverlands, massing them in the northern Reach near Stoney Sept and poised to strike at King’s Landing itself. For the first time in almost two years, the twelve original Knights of the Round Table had all gathered in one place.

Daemon had predicted that neither Baelor and the Arryns in the north nor Maekar and the Baratheons in the south would dare to press the offensive in their respective fronts as they simply didn’t have the numbers to do both that and reinforce King’s Landing at the same time and if they did make that mistake then he would simply march in and take King’s Landing unopposed, it would just prolong the war by a little bit.

In the end however, the Spears had had no choice but to respond to the threat to the capital. Baelor and Maekar both withdrew into the Crownlands and the Baratheons and Arryns went with them. Unwilling to yield the rest of the Crownlands so easily, the combined army of the Spears marched out to meet Daemon’s Sword army approaching from the west on a picturesque field of hills and grass near the Gold Road in the eleventh moon of 199 AC.

Daemon’s army numbered an astonishing seventy thousand strong, the largest army ever seen in one place in Westeros, larger even that the army at the Field of Fire. In order to contest the Swords with an even remotely similar numerical parity, the Spears had had no choice but to utterly gut the garrisons in the Riverlands and the Stormlands, denuding them of men as their armies had converged in the Crownlands.

Blackfyre had used his enemies’ need to defend the capital against them and pressed his complete numerical advantage to decide the strategic and tactical battlefields that he desired. Though he could not advance the front in the Stormlands as most of his own forces there had joined him on the Gold Road and the remainder could not hope to challenge the walls of Storm’s End, the bare garrisons in the northern Riverlands could not hope to stop the Northmen from sweeping down the Kingsroad and severing the High Road, effectively cutting off the Valemen from their home kingdom.

The long years of mustering had been fully to the Starks’ advantage as they had gathered their full host and rooted out hidden traitors in their own ranks such as the Boltons. Though they had left about ten thousand men to hold the west coast against the Ironmen, there was little true threat to the North by this point as the rogue Ironmen found much more lucrative targets to raid in the West and Reach compared to the more barren North. As a result, almost the full might of the North was able to finally descend once the Valemen and Breakspear departed and by the time the two main armies were due to do battle near King’s Landing, the Northmen were besieging Maidenpool.

Breakspear had made a serious gamble here. He knew full well the odds were against his family and with Dorne itself split in half and the Velaryons and Celtigars controlling the Blackwater Bay, there would be no escape. For better or for worse, the war would end right here in the Crownlands and there was no use defending all of their gains in the Riverlands or holding what little remained of the Stormlands if King’s Landing fell.

As the jaws closed around them, Baelor knew their only chance in victory was to defeat Daemon’s army on the Gold Road and hope they still had enough strength to face the Northmen descending down the Kingsroad. To that end, he devised yet another risky strategy.

He placed his brother Maekar and the Arryns directly in front of Daemon’s army marching towards King’s Landing while he and the Baratheons waited further to the south and Bloodraven and his Raven’s Teeth would seek out strategic high ground to rain down arrows on the Sword host.

When the Swords arrived, they would attack Maekar’s army and Baelor and Bloodraven would strike them in the rear and flanks, in that way Baelor hoped that their numerical inferiority (fifty-five thousand to Daemon’s seventy) could be made up for.

Yet when the day of battle finally came, all of Baelor’s plans fell to pieces before his very eyes. It has often been a case of wonder how exactly Daemon had been aware of Baelor’s plans, with some suggesting that Shiera Seastar’s spy network had informed him, or perhaps that his army’s outriders had detected the positioning of Baelor and Maekar’s armies, or that his own intuition was simply that good. Perhaps it was all three.

Once battle commenced, Fireball commanded the host that charged into Maekar’s lines and was about to overrun them when Baelor’s army came up from the south and hit them in the rear. The trap was soon turned upon Baelor for the bulk of Daemon’s army which he had kept in reserve then slammed into the Spear army from the west, linking up with Fireball’s army and reinforcing them.

With Baelor’s section of the army unable to focus on Fireball any longer, Fireball was soon able to sweep up Maekar and the Arryns with the aid of Gwayne Corbray, Aubrey Ambrose, and Black Byren Flowers, but their triumph came at a bitter cost.

Black Byren Flowers felled Ser Willem Wylde and Ser Jeffory ‘Neveryield’ Norcross, two knights of the Kingsguard escorting Prince Maekar with his great ebony bow before being crushed by the Mightmace who was in turn cut down by Fireball. Aubrey Ambrose was slain by the two Donnels, , before the Greatheart in turn slew Donnel of Duskendale and captured Lord Donnel Arryn.

By noon the ground was soaked in blood and Maekar’s army had disintegrated, its remnants routing and fleeting for King’s Landing, but still the battle continued as Fireball and Greatheart turned around and lent their strength to their brothers facing against Baelor’s host.

Ulrick Dayne fought alone against both the Baratheons, Lord Corwen Stormbreaker and his son and heir Ser Olvyer as well as Florian Fowler and felled all three of them before succumbing to the blood loss from the accumulated collection of wounds they had dealt him.

Longthorn sounded the charge and continued lancing into the Spear lines over and over again and it was in his fifth and final charge, that Breakspear himself was isolated from much of his host. Though Longthorn was not in the position to move for Breakspear, Daemon and the rest of the Rounds were.

In the midst of danger, the three remaining Kingsguard rallied to their prince. Two of their brothers had already been slain with their charge, Maekar, and the last two were in King’s Landing guarding the rest of their royal family. They gave their lives defending Baelor as the Knights of the Round Table converged upon them.

Roderick Redtusk faced off against his Kingsguard cousin, Ser Roland Crakehall, with both of them eventually slaying the other just like the Cargyll twins had done in the Dance. Meanwhile Robb Reyne, Gormon Peake, and Gareth the Grey slew the White Owl, Ser Michael Mertyns, and the Demon of Darry, Lord Commander Damon Darry, though Gareth gave his life to bring down those worthy foes.

And as the Kingsguard and the Knights of the Round battled around them, many could not help but look (with some losing their lives to opportunistic opponents for it) as the two princes themselves faced off against each other.

The two Valyrian steel swords in their grasp glinted dangerously in the afternoon sun. Blackfyre and Dark Sister, the ancestral swords of House Targaryen, a dark reminder that kin were fighting kin, that two men both worthy in character to rule were now in a duel to the death because only one could wear the crown.

Both astride their mounts, they spurred their horses onwards and met in a furious clang of steel, too evenly matched for any onlookers to tell who had the upper hand. Every strike Daemon made would be parried by Baelor, every stroke of Dark Sister countered flawlessly by Blackfyre.

As their duel continued and the ground continued to soak in blood, neither Bloodraven nor Bittersteel were anywhere to be seen on the field.

Throughout all the fighting, Bloodraven had been scaling a ridge overlooking the site where Breakspear and Blackfyre were duelling, intent on putting an end to his hated half-brother with his arrows. Yet once he summited the ridge with his Raven’s Teeth, Bittersteel was waiting there for him with his own contingent of men.

The whole time, Bittersteel had commanded the strategic ridge and he had had a force of archers yet he had done nothing with it. He had not rained down arrow upon either Maekar or Baelor’s armies. Because he had known Bloodraven would be going for that ridge and he had lured him there so they could settle their rivalry, once and for all.

The Raven’s Teeth and Bittersteel’s most trusted clashed about them as the two brothers dueled to the death. Bloodraven put up a good fight, but he had been caught off guard and ultimately Bittersteel had always been taller, stronger, and better with a sword than he and as an archer Bloodraven had been less heavily armored and was soon killed when Bittersteel shoved his sword straight through his eye and into his brain.

With Bloodraven and the Raven’s Teeth killed, Aegor and his men took their weirwood bows as trophies and began loosing volleys of arrows into Baelor’s army, sealing the fate of the battle as a Sword victory.

Yet as his army started falling apart around him, Breakspear did not buckle or retreat. He knew he had but one chance to eke out a victory of any kind and that was to defeat and kill the rival claimant. They had been fighting for over an hour already however, and Baelor made the slightest of mistakes in the duel, allowing Daemon to get the upper hand and thrust Blackfyre straight through a weak part of his plate and into his chest, the Valyrian steel blade ramming through the mundane castle-forged steel like no lesser sword could.

When they saw their prince fall, what remained of Baelor’s army began to rout but they were soon ridden down by Daemon’s cavalry and cut to pieces by Aegor’s archers atop the ridge.

The battle had finally come to an end and Daemon was victorious, but victory was bittersweet indeed and bought with a steep price in blood. Thirty thousand men had died, ten thousand from the Swords and twenty thousand from the Spears. The list of the dead included proud and distinguished names. Five members of the Kingsguard, five members of the Round Table, Princes Baelor and Maekar, Lord Baratheon and his son, and many, many more. The flower of the realm’s chivalry had died upon that field and their like shall perhaps never be seen again. From that day onwards it was forever known as the Redgrass Field.

The Battle of the Redgrass Field

Daemon rested his army for a time after the Battle of the Redgrass Field, licking their wounds, mourning their dead, and feasting for their victory, knowing that the final hour of the war had come. In the north, Barth Blacksword and the Northmen broke Maidenpool and continued to descend down the Kingsroad, securing the northern Crownlands, and Daemon readied for the final push.

By New Year’s Day of 200 AC, Daemon and his whole host were at the gates of King’s Landing and the Starks had arrived to reinforce them while the Velaryon and Celtigar fleets were blockading the harbor of the capital itself.

Though Daeron II’s loyalists stubbornly held the city walls, the people and the lower rank and file of the City Watch feared a sack immensely and when Daemon promised them on his honor that the city would be spared should they surrender, a mutiny broke out in the Watch as many still recalled their beloved prince from years prior.

The gates were opened and Daemon’s army marched in. Under pain of death and execution, Daemon ensured his word was kept and his army did not disturb the peace and once the fear passed and the people realized that they were spared a sack, they soon began to cheer and greet Daemon like a returning triumphant king.

The Red Keep itself did not last long under siege and when the gates were breached and Daemon’s army marched in, they found the entirety of Daeron’s court assembled in the throne room. All of his councilors and remaining kin were present and Daeron himself was seated upon the Iron Throne, guarded by the last two of his Kingsguard, Ser Alyn Connington, the Pale Griffin, and Red Robert Flowers.

When Daemon and his knights strode into the throne room, Daeron II said but one thing.

“Will we be treated with honor, brother?” he asked.

“More than you ever gave me,” came Daemon’s reply.

Then to the shock of many, Daeron nodded and simply descended from the Iron Throne, ordering the Kingsguard and all the other guards to lay down their arms as he walked up to Daemon and took off his crown, the crown of Aegon I, and handed it to him. He did not kneel yet nonetheless Daeron II was more gracious in dethronement than he had ever been in kingship.

Before the eyes of all present then, friends and former foes alike, Daemon ascended the steps of the Iron Throne before seating himself upon it and placing the crown upon his head. Within the month, his family arrived from Stone Hedge where they had resided for the duration of the war, including Daemon and Daenerys’ youngest child, Rhaenys, who had been born in the midst of the war in 199 AC.

There, before the gathered eyes of his greatest allies and companions and witnessed by his defeated enemies and rivals, Daemon was officially crowned as King Daemon I Targaryen and the person that placed the Conqueror’s Crown upon his head was none other than his mother, Princess Daena. Onlookers described Princess Daena as looking more proud and joyful than they could ever recall.

Daemon had won his throne and been crowned as the acknowledged king of all Westeros, yet the war was not yet over and many regions still remained defiant.

With Donnel Arryn as his prisoner, securing the submission of the Vale was easy enough, especially once Daemon promised that Donnel’s sister Alys and her husband Prince Rhaegel and their children would not be harmed, though Daemon extracted his own concessions out of Donnel with regards to the Corbrays and Templetons who had fought for him loyally.

After the Vale was dealt with, Daemon ordered Robb Reyne and Leo Tyrell both back to the western coasts to receive the submission of the Lannisters in the Rock and rebuild fleets that could be used to put down the Ironmen once and for all.

Meanwhile he and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table, including Barth Blacksword, led a large army south into the Stormlands and acquired the submission and fealty of all the Stormlords and of the castle of Storm’s End itself.

As 200 AC progressed into its second half, Daemon’s armies then marched into Dorne while the Velaryon and Celtigar fleets sailed down the Narrow Sea as Daeron I’s Conquest of Dorne was repeated.

Both Maron and Myriah Martell had been captured in the fall of King’s Landing and the remaining Martells and their loyalists in Dorne did not hold out long against the onslaught coming their way as Daemon and his allies unleashed thirty years’ worth of vengeance and resentment upon Dorne, crushing all resistance and taking hostage every surviving member of every Dornish house that had taken part in the treacherous assassination of his uncle. When the dust settled, the Daynes and the Yronwoods were installed as the rulers of Dorne and propped up by their allies to enforce their will.

The year 201 AC saw a grand fleet and allied coalition of former Swords and Spears alike aligned under Daemon’s command to sail to the Iron Islands and put down the rebellion there at long last. Under Daemon’s orders, just like in Dorne, nearly every Ironman house was attainted and the surviving members taken hostage.

The full scale of Daemon’s reordering of Westeros became clear as the three and a half year long war finally came to a close. Though the process had already begun ever since Daemon took the Iron Throne and even before that, the changes now began to solidify clearly and they were widespread and plentiful.

Loyalists and allies of Daemon found themselves rewarded beyond belief, gaining new honors, lands, and titles at the expense of rivals who had fought for Daeron II who found themselves humbled and forced to give up lands, titles, and hostages to survive, and in some cases were outright attainted and their lineage forcibly ended.

The North was honored and lauded for their contributions and Daemon restored the New Gift Alysanne had taken from them with its borders exactly as they had been before the Good Queen’s edict. The Vale meanwhile got off surprisingly lightly, for Daemon had much great respect for the chivalry and honor of the Valemen and perhaps understood that even with Donnel Arryn as his prisoner, the Vale had not been militarily subjugated and so could not be punished too harshly.

Nonetheless Daemon still increased the taxes on all Valemen houses for a period of ten years save for his two loyalists there, Corbray and Templeton, and took hostages from every Vale house. Corbray and Templeton both saw their lands increased massively at the expense of their neighbors, finally restoring the proud but impoverished Corbrays to some measure of wealth and power while the Templetons were additionally honored by finally being made official Lords of Ninestars instead of simply overly mighty landed knights.

The Lannisters were allowed to remain as the Lords of Casterly Rock and Wardens of the West but were similarly forced to give up hostages and faced significant fees, tarrifs, and taxes on Lannisport and their gold mines. In addition, their rights, privileges, and taxation over those of their vassals that had fought for Daemon were significantly curtailed, greatly weakening their rule of the West.

Daemon’s allies and loyalists in the West such as the Reynes, Crakehalls, Farmans, and Baneforts, received many honors, privileges, and rewards, including reduced taxes and greatly increased lands and titles at the expense of their liege and their neighbors. The Reynes were even made the overlords of the Tarbecks and the Baneforts of the Westerlings, greatly empowering both houses and overall Daemon’s loyalists were made arguably stronger than the Lannisters themselves, ensuring that the West was neutered as a united threat to Daemon’s power with strong friends and allies there that would always stand against the Lannisters in support of the crown.

The Reynes were also restored to their ancestral Valyrian steel sword, Red Rain, which was recovered from House Drumm during the Iron Islands campaign, further endearing Daemon to them and securing their loyalty for eternity.

Meanwhile, the Reach was similarly lauded as the North and other loyalists had been, receiving tax breaks, honors, privileges, and new titles and epithets and certain concessions, though since the entire Reach had been united in backing Daemon, none of the Reach houses got any expanded land grants and so were rewarded in other ways.

Daemon also intervened on behalf of the Osgreys who had fought long and loyally for him. Ser Eustace Osgrey had lost his two elder sons in Redgrass Field and his erstwhile friend Lord Webber of Coldmoat had also perished fighting for Daemon. In order to keep his promise to Eustace and restore the Osgreys to prominence, Daemon publicly honored and acclaimed the Osgreys and made them Lords once more, raising their last remaining castle of Standfast from a knightly to a lordly fief and betrothing Eustace Osgrey’s last remaining son to the heiress and daughter of Lord Webber, Lady Rohanne Webber, and since it so happened that the pair were already romantically fond of each other, there was little opposition to Daemon’s intervention. And so for the first time in almost two hundred years, Coldmoat had returned to Osgrey hands.

In both Dorne and the Iron Islands, near every single noble house was attainted and stripped of all lands, titles, and incomes, with their fiefs redistributed to more deserving loyalists and allies to Daemon. Dorne itself ceased to exist as a formal entity as it was officially partitioned by Daemon into two halves.

The Daynes were granted Blackmont as part of their direct lands and were named Lord Paramounts of the Torrentine and Wardens of the Wide Way and the Sands while the Yronwoods were granted Sunspear, Plankytown, and other Martell lands as part of their direct fief and were named the Lord Paramounts of the Greenblood and Wardens of the Stone Way. Martell’s dominon was divided by the Yronwoods and Daynes and the lands of their vassals redistributed to cadet branches and other allies and kin of the Yronwoods, Daynes, Daemon himself, and the Stormlords of the Dornish Marches and the Reachmen.

Meanwhile, Greyjoy, Baratheon, Tully, and Lothston were all similarly attainted and the Iron Islands, Riverlands, and Stormlands were all formally annexed into the Crownlands and sworn directly to the Iron Throne. Pyke and Lordsport were given as fief to Jon Seafyre, King Daemon’s cousin, while Storm’s End, Riverrun, and Harrenhal were made Crown Castles.

House Bracken was awarded the Teats and the village of Pennytree which it had long disputed with House Blackwood which was also attainted. The lordship, lands and incomes of Raventree Hall were awarded to Daemon’s brother Aegor Rivers, who officially proclaimed his sobriquet ‘Bittersteel’ as the name of his new house and renamed his new castle as Seastar Hall in honor of his wife, Lady Shiera Seastar.

There were many more border changes and houses honored and humbled alike and the list is far too great to go into detail here but suffice to say, Daemon’s reign began with a radical reshaping of Westeros. One where those that had fought for him were rewarded beyond belief while those that had fought against him were treated with honor in defeat but nonetheless punished for opposing the rightful king.

Finally, once all the rewards and punishments had been doled out, all of the attainted male royals and nobles were sent to the Night’s Watch. The sensitive list of prisoners could cause great harm if they escaped and so Barth Blacksword personally escorted each and every prisoner to the Wall when he returned to the North.

The list included the former king, Daeron II, his last remaining sons, Princes Aerys and Rhaegel, all of his grandsons, his goodbrother Maron Martell, and all the other members of the attainted houses of Baratheon, Tully, Lothston, Dorne, the Iron Islands, and more.

Meanwhile, Myriah Martell and all the granddaughters of Daeron II in addition to the daughters of all the attainted houses were sent to join the Faith as silent sisters or septas in the motherhouses of King’s Landing where they were close by to Daemon’s court and could be watched carefully to ensure they were not used against the Crown.

Some ladies who had married into the attainted houses such as Alys Arryn, Meridia Lannister, and Jena Dondarrion were returned to their families though many chose to remain in King’s Landing anyway to stay close to their daughters now that their husbands and sons had already been ripped away from them and sent to the Wall.

And in the end, though Daemon never officially declared them as such, most of the realm would come to agree and consider the line of Daeron II as Falseborn Waters, the illegitimate descendants of Aemon the Dragonknight who had pretended to the Iron Throne that was rightfully Daemon’s. And as this view became the prevailing sentiment across all the realm, the war that Daemon had fought took on a new legendary acclaim.

During the war itself, the supporters of Daeron the Falseborn dubbed it the Blackfyre Rebellion but upon the victory of Daemon Blackfyre at the Battle of the Redgrass Field in 199 AC and his subsequent and righteous ascension to the Iron Throne, few dared to use that name for how could a king rebel against a throne that was rightfully his?

Instead, Daemon’s supporters and various singers gave the war many monikers. Some more imaginative poets named it the Song of the Swords and Spears for the famous clash of the two factions or the Falseborn’s Folly for Daeron II’s foolish attempt to arrest or even kill Daemon and his family which began the whole war. Others named it the Knights’ War for the sheer number of distinguished knights who had fought and died in it.

The proper name that the war has since been accorded in history, however, is the War of Restoration. For the war had been fought to restore the true lineage of House Targaryen to the Iron Throne; a trueborn and pure line descended from Aegon III and Aegon IV both, rightful heirs twice over by all laws in Westeros. A line embodied in the person of King Daemon Blackfyre himself.

The war had been fought to restore the dignity of the realm and save it from the foolishness and cowardice of Daeron II who had allowed the Dornish who had treacherously murdered his namesake to rule in his stead and poison the realm with their grasping greed and treachery.

With his ascension and the magnificent reign that followed afterward, Daemon the Restorer, the King of Knights, the King Who Bore the Sword, renewed the dignity and pride of the Targaryen dynasty after it had been sullied for so many long years. No longer would falseborn and foolish kings submit to a foreign, Dornish, power. From the shores of the Summer Sea to the icy heights of the Wall, a new golden age had just begun.

Daemon the Restorer, the King of Knights

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The Knights of the Round Table in 201 AC:

The Knight of One, King Daemon I Targaryen, Blackfyre

The Knight of Two, Lord Aegor Bittersteel

The Knight of Three, Ser Quentyn Ball, Fireball,

The Knight of Four, Lord Leo Tyrell, Longthorn

The Knight of Five, Lord Gormon Peake

The Knight of Seven, Lord Robb Reyne

The Knight of Eleven, Ser Gwayne Cobray, the Greatheart,

The Knight of Thirteen, Lord Barthogan Stark, Barth Blacksword

Vacant Seats:

The Knight of Six, formerly held by the late and honorable Ser Gareth Swann, the Grey

The Knight of Eight, formerly held by the late and honorable Lord Roderick Crakehall, Redtusk

The Knight of Nine, formerly held by the late and honorable Ser Byren Flowers, Black Byren Fowers

The Knight of Ten, formerly held by the late and honorable Ser Aubrey Ambrose

The Knight of Twelve, formerly held by the late and honorable Ser Ulrick Dayne, the Sword of the Morning