Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Aftermath
Kings Landing, Red Keep
King Robert was going berzerk, word came from the Riverlands on what had transpired and he was furious. Not in the lives lost of his allied soldiers, or for the loss of the ships, he was more mad about Lord Whent and Lord Mallister joining forces and basically rebelling against him.
Lord Tywin Lannister was pissed that his brother Kevan not only was killed, but he lost a large force of trained soldiers, he was also deep down terrified by the reemergence of dragons.
Word spread that Aiden had a dragon made of fire and was larger than even the Black Dread itself, as well as all the Targaryen children having dragons of their own. So this meant that they had a total of five dragons, two more than what even Aegon the Conqueror had when he brought all of Westeros to heel.
The small council was in complete disarray, Jon Arryn knew things were about to spiral out of control. He would be returning home soon to get his wife and son to bring them to Kings Landing, they would be safer within the capital. He was afraid that some Lords within the Vale would turn on him, trying to appease the dragon by capturing his family as hostages.
After a long while, King Robert finally calmed down enough to speak, "How many of our Bannermen have shown up?"
Jon Arryn released a sigh, "Most Stormland Lords have responded and have made their way here for the meeting, most of Westerland as well. Hoster Tully has basically been ousted by his brother Brynden the Blackfish, so the Riverlands and Reach refuse to answer your summons. As far as the Vale only my direct bannerman have responded many of them wish to remain neutral."
"Neutral! There is no bloody neutral when it comes to those dragonspawn! Send out another letter demanding the Lords here, those that don't come will be considered rebels and will face my armies first. I'll not have discord in these lands!"
"What of the Reach, Riverlands and Dorne?" Renly Baratheon asked, he was very close to Loras Tyrell, both had met and realized that they shared a common interest in men, so had become quite close.
"It's not surprising that Dorne wouldn't get involved, the Riverlands too was unexpected since Brynden Tully was able to de-throne his brother so easily. Apparently Hoster Tully had been hiding his sickness very well, after learning of his complete losses his condition worsened, he has been confined under house arrest under the charge of attempted kinslaying. The Reach has stated they will not participate in a war that was started by the crown. This doesn't bode well considering we need the food grown from the Reach to supply any marches or expedition into the north, as well as their ships. I have lost quite a few ships in the assault." Tywin answered.
"Bullshit, I'm done with those Tyrells! Demand that Mace Tyrell come to Kings Landing or I will march on Highgarden myself and find another to rule the Reach. I already suspect they have sided with the dragonspawn after the tournament." Robert said thru gnashed teeth.
Petyr Baelish spoke up, "We could offer the Hightower family control of the Reach, but we still have an issue with funds. After that tournament we don't really have the gold to wage a war right now, not without going to borrow from the Iron Bank."
"I wouldn't suggest that. We already owe a large debt to the Iron Bank as it is." Jon Arryn stated.
"What about the dragons my Lords?" Grand Maester Pycelle interjected.
"Exaggerated tales from the enemies, dragons aren't invincible creatures, we will need to build scorpions all along the walls of the castles. If we build some in hidden locations, while having some exposed, the dragons shouldn't be a issue. They are most dangerous in open battle." Tywin interjected, he wasn't that afraid of dragons, he felt they were just beasts so could be easily outsmarted.
Tywin drummed his fingers on the table in thought, "Both the Reach and Riverlands are at a disadvantage, if we can offer Dorne to join our forces then the Reach would be the easiest, they would be surrounded on all sides basically. Perhaps offering a marriage to the crown, Prince Doran has a daughter, we could offer a marriage to Joffrey as well as offering them to lead the attack into the Reach. That would be two large benefits considering that Dorne and Reach have a lot of bad blood, it may be enough to tip the scales in our favor. Adding Princess Myrcella to wed his son would solidify the alliance further." Tywin suggested.
Grand Maester Pycelle shook his head, "I doubt it would be enough, I don't see them turning on the Targaryens considering Princess Elia is still alive, they probably already feel they have royal connections."
"Get it done! Offer them all three if need be, we can then focus our efforts on the Vale first then Riverlands. I want the Starks heads on spikes for their betrayal." Robert stated, he was pissed that his "good brother" hid the fact that Lyanna was alive from him.
In Highgarden, Lady Olenna was sitting in her garden, it was her favorite place to think. She knew by not responding to Roberts summons they were painting a target on themselves, but she didn't want to risk sending her son Mace to Kings Landing.
Olenna knew that Mace may be easily swayed to agree to allying with Robert, all they would have to do would be to offer a marriage with the crowned prince and Mace would jump on board. So she ordered that a reply of neutrality be given.
She didn't want to go against a dragon, she didn't believe the reports on the size of the dragon considering Margaery had said the dragon was a baby, she felt that they exaggerated the size greatly to try to scare the Usurper. What she did believe was that the other Targaryen children had dragons of their own.
Olenna thought long and hard on what to do, she had put much thought into Aiden's true identity. She also believed what Margaery had said about him not truly a Sand, but she believed him to be a decendant of the Blackfyre that was found by Rhaegar.
This would explain a lot, if Rhaegar could join a Blackfyre to his daughter, this would solidify their reign like never before. Even Varys had the same thoughts, he too believed that Aiden came from such a line, he just couldn't figure out which of the Blackfyre he came from.
After all Aegon the Unworthy had quite a few bastards, he bedded just about every lords daughter and wife in his time as king, they practically handed them over to him willingly. Then just before his death, he legitimized all his bastard children. So it was almost impossible to know just which bastard he would've hailed from.
Olenna was brought out of her thought's by an excited Margaery who ran into the gardens excitedly.
"See, see I told you grandmother, but you didn't believe me about the dragon." Margaery said as she neared her grandmother.
"Aye, however the reports say that the dragon isn't a babe, but one larger that even Balerion himself, not to mention that it was made from fire."
"She's not an 'it' grandmother, she has a name, Flamebird. Maybe she can grow, it would explain her name." Margaery answered after puffing her cheeks in annoyance.
"That's impossible, dragons cant change their sizes, even if they are said to be magical creatures, never has there been a dragon with such ability. Where is your idiot of a father?" Olenna asked.
"He is in his solar with the other lords or their proxy."
"Little Rose, help me in delivering a message to your father in his solar. Have him and the others come meet me here, have the servants bring in a table to accommodate the Lords of the Reach here. I'll not have a meeting in that stuffy solar of his. There is much that needs to be done. Robert and that old lion will not sit idle, we need to prepare for retaliation. I want you to use those funds Aiden gave us to go hand out to our people in need, we need to reinforce our importance to the commoners should the crown try to strip us of our titles." Olenna ordered, she knew Robert would be on a war path, it was the one good thing he was good at.
In the North, Catelyn Stark wasn't doing well, the stress of the rumors surrounded by her father was truly unsettling. She didn't want to believe her father would betray her sons, but there was no denying that her uncle Brynden had taken control over Riverrun easily. This meant that there had to be some truth to the matter.
Catelyn's stress had caused complications in her pregnancy, this caused Maester Luwin to have her confined to the bed and distanced from the political information until further notice. Ser Rodrik Cassel, Winterfell's Master-At-Arms, was made Regent of Winterfell until Ned returned.
Rodrik turned his immediate attention to the Bolton lands, they had received word regarding Roose's betrayal, he feared that the houses under the Boltons may retaliate due to the deaths of both Roose and his heir Domeric.
Ravens were sent to House Umber, Karstark, Hornwood and Flint to surround the Bolton lands along with the Stark men. Their territories all bordered Bolton lands, and they wanted to ensure any uprising could be delt with.
It wasn't difficult to do so, many of the Northern houses feared and despised the Boltons since they practiced flaying men alive. Although flaying had been outlawed by the Starks, the Boltons had a reputation for still practicing the act behind closed doors, so it wasn't difficult to get the houses to surround the area.
The Boltons were the second most powerful house in the north, had the Starks not had the loyalty of all other houses in the North they were high contenders against the Starks. However, even after they eventually bent the knee to the Starks all other houses called them "the Bane of the North" since they were the most cruel and gruesome vassel.
Rodrik sent his son Jory Cassel who was Captain of the Guards to House Stark to lead a force to the borders of Bolton lands and hold position until Ned returned. Their orders were to kill any soldiers trying to leave, only commoners were allowed to migrate from the Bolton's land.
In Dorne much was going thru Doran's mind, he didn't like Lyanna or her son, he had been plotting to kill her son Aegon VI so that his nephew would become king. He wasn't happy with his sister Elia, she had been adamantly in opposition to him when he had approached her regarding poisoning the child.
To him Aegon V was older and the first born of Rhaegar so should be the one to take the throne. When Elia showed him the copy of the annulment documents she had signed with Rhaegar, he ripped it into pieces.
Since then there was a rift between himself and Elia, in fact she had stopped returning to Sunspear with her children, only visiting Starfall here and there. Even Oberyn had not approved of his brothers plan.
Oberyn had been told by Elia thru the bracelets given by Aiden to access Kandor, upon learning of what his brother wanted to do he suggested that she have Doran's access to Kandor revoked until they knew he would drop his desire for the throne. He promised to have a long conversation with Doran after he returned from his journey with Gerion Lannister.
He felt his brother was too ambitious, that ambition could spark another civil war or turn the Targaryens against Dorne due to his brothers actions. Word had even spread to Essos regarding Flamebird's existance, merchant ships that were sailing from Westeros back to Essos had seen and heard her in the air.
Oberyn had hoped that his brother would get word of Aiden's dragon and drop his thoughts on placing Elia's son on the throne and instead seek peace between the houses of Martell and Stark. There was a war on the horizon and having unity between the houses was important.
Doran wasn't one to back down so easily, he was determined to have his own blood on the throne, it was why he never once sent help to Lyanna when she was in Dorne at the Tower of Joy. He hoped that she and the baby would die during child birth so that it would place his nephew back in line to inherit the throne.
The gears in Doran's mind turned as he too began to make his own plans, he had received the the initial letter from King Robert requesting a call to arms against the traitors in the North and Riverlands. He hadn't answered the call just yet, he wanted to wait to see what the king was willing to offer in return for his troops.
Doran didn't fear a dragon like the other lords, Dorne has stood against the Targaryens and their dragons before, even killing one. Queen Rhaenys had attacked Dorne during Aegon's conquest of Westeros, she attacked with her dragon Meraxes, burning many of Dorne's soldiers.
One day however, during another assult on Hellholt a scorpion bolt pierced Meraxes eye causing both the dragon and its rider to fall to their deaths. It was unclear on if Rhaenys was killed from the fall, there were several conflicting stories.
Some said she fell off the saddle and fell to her death, others said she was crushed by her dragon when it hit the ground, then there was another claim that she survived the fall and was brutally raped and tortured to death by House Uller and their men. Her body was never returned or recovered so there was no way to know the truth.
Even after Aegon and Visenya had unleashed hell on Dorne in response to their sisters death, they were unable to defeat Dorne. It wasn't until Daeron I Targaryen, who was 14 years old and without the use of a dragon since by his time all dragons were gone, did he conquer Dorne.
However that was short lived, just a few years later Dorne revolted. The first war had cost Daeron ten thousand men just to conquer Dorne and another fifty thousand to try to keep it. So when the Dornish rebelled he attacked once again and was winning, but when Dorne raised a white flag he assumed they would surrender once again, it was a trick and the Dornishmen attacked Daeron and his retinue killing him and three of his Kingsguard. He was 18 years old and had no heir so was succeeded by his brother Baelor I Targaryen, better known as Baelor the Blessed.
So Doran knew just because the Targaryens had dragons once again, Dorne wouldn't be so easy to conquer. Seeing his sister and brother not approve, he felt as head of House Martell he had the final say, so Doran decided to keep his options open.
So when the second letter came with offers of marriage for his daughter Arianne and Quentyn Martell in exchange for attacking the Reach, he gladly accepted and began to ready invasions into the Reach.
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