Chapter 86: Texts
(Rhaegon's POV)
"Prince Oberyn." I said as he approached me, "I thank you for coming. I am sorry that the girls aren't here."
I was standing at the edge of the gardens, the celebration still happening. It was getting a bit late and everyone expected the bedding ceremony to begin. However, I told the King that it wouldn't happen and the consummation would happen privately. He honored that and immediately shut down anything that even regarded it. Not like he was going to allow it to happen, though. But the customs of Westeros are hard to ignore.
"Worry not, Ser." He said as Ellaria walked up next to him, "I have something to discuss with you."
"What is it?" He asked
"The trouble in the Stepstones. It has risen again." He said with a serious tone, "I am afraid the time of war will be upon us. Several movements are happening. I don't know when, but it will be soon. We might need you and your Dragon in Dorne."
I nodded and sighed, "I expected as much." I said, "This whole.....Blackfyre thing.....it's very strange to me.....I....Well, I know one thing; Dorne will be the first to be hit. I can't shake that feeling off."
"You're right to think so." He said, "I did not want to alarm the King, but.....I will not be at Court for some time. With all of this happening."
"I understand." I said
"It is a shame the girls were not present here, Ser Rhaegon." Ellaria said
I nodded, "They may not be here in the feast, but..." I said while scratching my cheek, "Let's just say that I have much work to do tonight."
Oberyn raised his eyebrow, "Oh? Is that so?" He said, "I did not see them."
"You can see them after." I said, "I was not going to leave them at Summerhall alone, letting their frustration and envy pent up so it could blow up in my face. I have my own strings to pull and if the Lord-Hand has an issue with that, he knows who he can talk to, and right now, Morghul is slumbering so he'll be in a foul mood."
"Still, congratulations." Oberyn patted my shoulder, "Many men would kill to be in your position."
"Not many men can handle your daughters. In fact, I don't think any man is capable." I said, "To say they're a handful is an understatement, but I've grown accustomed to it."
"Ah, you're a humorous one." Oberyn chuckled, "If you excuse us."
"Good seeing you, Ser." Ellaria smiled
I nodded, "Likewise."
As they walked away, I looked over to the table where Myrcella was sitting; she looked very beautiful in her golden dress, her beautiful hair adorned with the best of jewelry, as befitting a Lannister.
Lannisters and their gold, always doing too much. But most of the jewelry are in the shape of a dragon, so I guess that's good.
I turned to the sea, "Hm...." I said
"Ser Rhaegon." I heard a voice say
I turned to see Varys standing, his usual stance, "Oh, Lord Varys." i said, "Fancy seeing you around. Well, you're a council member, so it should not be surprising. What's surprising is that I haven't seen you since I've gotten to the capital."
"Well I've spent most of the time conversing with your mother, catching up." He said, "Your youngest brother is the spitting image of your Father....and yourself."
"Ah, yes. Steffon." I said, "He'll grow to be a strong warrior."
"He has your mother's eyes, though...." He said
"Yea, I know." I said with a chuckle
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat, "At the behest of the Princess, your wife, I've gathered some texts that you might be interested in."
I looked at him, "Hm?"
"Your Mother has told me that you're trying your best in figuring out what could be related to this entire conflict we have right at our doorstep." He said as he looked around, "And she believes a bit of a history lesson would lit up some candles in that skull of yours."
I raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"
"Her words." He chuckled, "And Princess Myrcella thought the same. In fact, she's asked me to gather some of the texts that were written by the first Dragonkeepers since the Rebirth. Would that not be interesting?"
I nodded, "I suppose so."
"Perfect." He said, "When can I hand to you?"
"Tonight." I said
"Uhm..." He said, "A-Are you not going to....."
"Yea." I said as I walked past him, "After that."
**********
"So...." I said as I sat and looked at an open tome, "After the Dance and during Aegon III's reign, the Dragons mysteriously died out....and Dragonkeeping died out with them...."
Varys sat across from me, "That's what the records say." He says
We were at a table that was full of books that he gathered. It was after Myrcella and I's consummation. She was in her chambers asleep, where I had Nymeria and the others stay after I paid them a visit. Of course, I trusted that no drama would come out of this. And if anyone had a problem with it, they can get bent.
"The records don't say the truth of the Dance of The Dragons." I said as I flipped the page, "But that's beside the point. After Aegon III, there were no dragons. Eggs, yes, but they were cold and lifeless. After the Unlikely's ritual, they returned.....and with them, the dragonkeepers. Apparently, they were remnants of those studies.....am I right?"
"Yes." He said, "Many scholars from all over Essos came running at the opportunity to dragonkeep."
I looked at him, "That's peculiar...." I said, "Not a single one from Westeros?"
"Dragons died out in Westeros...." He said, "Only the Targaryens remained."
"Still strange...." I said as I looked at the book, "So...hm...every single Dragon command in High-Valyrian was recorded and stored in these tomes. That's quite interesting."
"The language was recorded safely in the books that remained here and in the Citadel." Lord Varys said, "But when it comes to Dragons, I think only the Citadel has some original texts that came from before the Conquest."
"Interesting." I said as I read the contents of the book, "I assume that in the other tomes, there should be something about dragon behavior and such....."
"Most of the Dragonkeepers learned the customs of Old Valyria to understand how to approach dragonkeeping." He said, "It is amazing that scholars kept things recorded, especially since the dragons died out."
I looked at the letters of the page as I flipped to the other one, "Hm...." I said, "From...Essos..."
"Pardon?" He said
"All these books, they came from Essos, right? The scholars and aspiring keepers from then, when my Grandfather rose to the Throne." I said as I looked at him
"Yes." He said, "If I recall, I even brought some when I came to Essos as a young man. After, my little...well, you know. I knew a couple of scholas in Volantis."
"Cutting." I said as I looked back at the page, "Hm...."
"Is something the matter, Ser Rhaegon?" He asked
I looked at the words, something about them seemed off. They looked so familiar to me, which was odd. I rarely read any old or historic books and whatever knowledge I had was from word of mouth. The only study I've actually done was just learning High-Valyrian at a young age when my Mother would keep me in her study for hours before going out to play with Morghul.
These books were from Essos and I never really paid them any attention, so why did the lettering look familiar.
I leaned in closer and narrowed my eyes, "Something's.....Off...." I said soflty
"L-Like what?" He asked
I stood up, pushing the chair away and I walked over to the desk that was at the far end of the room, a small beat-up chest on it.
"After the Battle of Summerhall, I had this letter returned to Myrcella, because she wanted it back." I said as I opened it and took out the letter, "Something about how precious it was to her and the history of our Family."
"Letter? Oh, you mean Aerion's Letter to Rhaenyra." He said, "Such a heartfelt thing when you considered what happened."
"Yea...." I said as I walked back up to the table and unfolded the letter, placing it next to the book's page, "But.....something is off...."
I was looking between the book's page and the letter, the hand-writing was similar.
No.
They were the same.
"Varys...." I said, "Come look at this."
Varys stood up and walked over to me, "What is it?"
I pointed at the letter's contents, "The handwriting..." I said, "I am sure the tomes were hand-written but the handwriting is the same."
He leaned in and looked at the letter and the pages, "W-Well....." He said, "I.....I think you are right..."
I frowned, "What the hell..." I said, "How could this be? This...this is Aerion Targaryen's handwritting....a letter from right before the Dance of The Dragons.....Aerion's War....."
Varys straightened up, "This letter, Ser Rhaegon, was safely guarded in the deepest of the Red Keep's library." He said, "There is no way that this made contact out of the capital before you took it with you."
I nodded, "W-What does this mean?" I said
There was no mistaking it, the handwriting on the tomes was Aerion Targaryen's. The Aerion Targaryen. Unless it's some coincidence, this was his writing.
Varys looked at me with a similarly dumbfounded face, "Rhaegon.....these tomes came from Essos....they are decades worth of knowledge before the Rebirth." He said, "They were written far before the Rebirth and before your Grandfather's reign..."
"What could this mean....." I said softly, "What does it mean.....? It is his writing, right? Aerion's..."
"They are identical." He said, "Unless someone mastered the art of copying handwriting. From what I understand, Aerion Targaryen rarely wrote letters, he would have people write for him. But.....Unless we can look for the records of Ravens that he would have written...but that would take too long...that letter is his writing, it's message is that clear...he wrote it...."
"And if these books are from Essos..." I said, "That could mean one thing....."
I remembered one of the things Ser Yohn told me when I visited Runestone. One of the rumors about the legendary man's fate.
"By the gods..." I said,
"Aerion Targaryen didn't die in The Dance."
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