Chapter 53: Chapter 47 - The Calibre of a Ruler
20 AC
Arpaz Tyl
Elaegelle Targaryen
Two years had passed since Elagelle's fostering in Dornia began, and she spent that time buried in countless books on Dornia's recent history, its academic and technological achievements and on other governmental paraphernalia that helped deepen her understanding of the Dukedom.
She had to admit though, even though her parents were credited with uniting Westeros under one banner, Arin was not lying when he said it was more an uneasy confederacy of kingdoms united under duress. Many old houses retained their power and privileges, and much of the land was under Andal rule, which tended to be opposed to the Valyrians and anyone else who did not conform to their faith.
In contrast, Dornia - or Dorne as it used to be known - held complete control over all its lands and had the total loyalty of its people. All the old nobles were swept away to make way for new blood to fill their posts, and bureaucratic and military power was concentrated in the hands of House Rada. Furthermore, it practised a policy of religious tolerance (to a point, of course) and bilingualism - where two official languages were adopted and practised - ensuring it would open its doors to migrants and foreign visitors.
And the achievements of Arin Rada himself towered as high as the heavens themselves, her own parents' achievements a pale shadow in comparison.
Which makes me all the gladder Arin is our ally and not our enemy. Even with dragons on our side, I shudder to think of what he could achieve should his chains be broken.
She eagerly walked towards the break room where Arin was waiting, sipping some tea while reading a book.
"I'm here, Lord Arin. What shall we discuss today?"
"The matter of House Targaryen's style of government," Arin answered, "I figured that it's best you learn it outside of Daro Vilinion, so that you can have a fresh perspective."
Elaegelle nodded excitedly, "Yes, please!"
"Let's start with the noble hierarchy," Arin stated, "Do you know why I instituted my own unique hierarchy in Dornia?"
Elaegelle pondered for a few moments, struggling to come up with an answer, but came up blank.
"I don't know, Lord Arin," She replied.
"It's alright. As for the reason why, it is to separate the nobles according to the amount of land, power and privileges they possess," Arin said, "For as long as Human society endured, there has been no official hierarchy of titles for nobility, am I correct?"
"That is correct," Elaegelle nodded, "Even Valyria lacked the defined hierarchy Dornia has."
"Do you know the benefits of this system, Your Highness?" Asked Arin.
Again Elaegelle shook her head.
"It is to restrict the powers and privileges of the nobility," Arin explained, "If all you have to go by is memory work on the sigils they bear and their size of land, it is easy to exploit an ambiguous hierarchy to abuse your rights to serve personal interest. Minor lords can oppose senior suzerains, suzerains can abuse minor vassals and so on. To minimise this, it is important to implement and enforce a defined hierarchy, so you can restrict all echelons of nobility and prevent them from acting out of line, especially against the overlord of an entire kingdom - or in my case, the dukedom."
"I'm sorry, but I don't really follow," Elaegelle admitted, "I mean, I get that there are flaws in an ambiguous hierarchy, but I do not see how this would actually curb the nobles from acting out of line."
"Indeed, just implementation alone isn't enough; you need the right people to enforce it, and you need power so the nobles are intimidated," Arin admitted, "I would never be able to do it so long as the old nobility remained in power."
"Is that why you exterminated the old nobility, Lord Arin?" Questioned Elaegelle, "So that they cannot oppose your reform in any manner?"
"Exactly so, and that was just the first step," Arin nodded.
"But would that not leave a power vacuum that risked leaving the country severely weakened, inviting foreign aggression?" Asked Elaegelle.
"That is true, too," Arin acknowledged, "Hence why I made sure to establish a wide pool of educated bureaucrats."
"Paletillia (The Crownlands) has a wide pool of educated manpower, and that is why my family was able to smoothly take over and govern the three isles before my father's conquest," Elaegelle nodded in understanding, "No wonder Dornia remained stable after your rebellion."
"That is partly the reason, but there was a third: The invasion of the Reachmen," Arin put forth.
"I remember the War of Roses and Serpents," Elaegelle nodded, "I always found myself fascinated by how you managed to overcome an enemy who held the greater advantage, how you defeated the chivalric Reach on the open field and demonstrated the power of your new order."
"It was a difficult fight, and one where I literally gambled with my life on the line," Arin smiled wryly, pointing to his scars, "I still sometimes dream of how close I was to dying by Mern the Bloodhand's blade."
Elaegelle simply nodded, not understanding a war veteran's perspective.
"Might I ask what are your personal opinions on the war, Your Highness?" Questioned Arin.
"It's a defensive war against an invader, that's for sure," Elaegelle stated, "Although I believe it was also political."
"In what way?" Arin asked.
"You only just took control of Eastern Dorne, and people did not know if you could repel a foreign invader as powerful as the Reach especially after how handily they conquered the Red Mountains," Elaegelle answered flawlessly, "By defeating the Reach, you demonstrated to your people and all of Dorne that you were a proper successor to the Martells, and instilled caution in your direct neighbours. Furthermore, your own followers have become assured of your dedication, your power and talent, and they became far more loyal to your cause in turn, disregarding whatever rewards you distributed. This way, you managed to secure peace both within and outside Dorne."
Arin clapped briefly, "I salute your insight, Your Highness."
Many could misinterpret it as brown-nosing, but Elaegelle knew in her heart Arin was anything but a sycophant. Even so, she had to admit being complimented genuinely like this was a nice feeling.
"I'll take the compliment," Elaegelle answered.
"On that note, there are notable flaws and weaknesses in your family's style of government. Meaning no offence, of course," Arin said.
"Would it be pertaining to our use of dragons?" Asked Elaegelle.
"Their overreliance on such powerful creatures, to be more specific," Arin replied, "Considering they simply left the old nobles in their old positions and privileges instead of conducting the wholesale replacement as I did, what do you think would happen once your family loses the greatest source of its power?"
Elaegelle paled at this, instantly realising what Arin was getting at; the nobles would double down on their politicking, becoming more brazen in their defiance of royal authority or even managing to manipulate some of the more gullible scions into becoming their unwitting pawns. Civil war would tear the land asunder, and the nobles would become more powerful, depending on who benefitted the most.
On the other hand, Arin created an entire generation of Dornian nobles loyal to his ideas and his family, and they would be more inclined to follow the new system than the old one. Even if there was corruption in a period here and there, the foundation Arin built would not so easily crumble.
"...Nothing good for my family at all," Elaegelle answered.
"Yes, nothing good at all," Arin repeated, "Who do you think is the greatest threat to House Targaryen's rule, Your Highness?"
"The nobility, of course, especially the Andalic nobility," Elaegelle said.
"Yes, but what if I told you there were other factions we must be wary of?" Arin pointed out.
"There are? Who are they, then?" Asked Elaegelle.
"The Conclave of Maesters and the Faith," Arin answered.
Elaegelle was bewildered by Arin's words, unable to comprehend what he was getting at.
"Excuse my words, but I just cannot fathom how old men in scholarly or religious garb could ever pose a problem," She countered, "The Faith Militant is but a thing of the past, and the High Seption himself obedient in fear of the dragons. The Maesters are also harmless scholars who cannot lift a blade to defend themselves."
"It is exactly those kinds of men who can be most dangerous, because they do not pose a direct threat," Arin argued back, "The Maesters are officially neutral, but they are secretly spies for the Citadel in Oldtown, while the clergy hold the faith of the average citizen. If they so wish, they could incite a riot to suit their own benefits."
Elaegelle said, "I still do not understand, I'm afraid."
"Then how about I put it this way?" Said Arin, "The Maesters are indispensable scholars and healers in every noble's court, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are," Elaegelle nodded, "Although in Paletillia, we don't employ Maesters of any kind, but our own physicians and scholars instead."
At least the Targaryens aren't stupid enough to invite such people into their confidence.
"Imagine if these Maesters secretly record every meeting, every scrap of private information they can get their hands on, report it back to their superiors, and then use it to spur other nobles into action or blackmail them to get what they want," Arin explained slowly, "And then there is their knowledge on medicine; who is to say they will not turn to slowly poisoning someone they dislike, say if they were perpetrating knowledge against their wishes?"
Elaegelle blanched at the thought, "But why?"
"Because they want to maintain their monopoly on knowledge, and keep the nobility reliant on their services," Arin answered, "It's one reason why Westeros has stagnated in technological advancement after the Andal migrations."
"Then what about the Faith?" Elaegelle inquired further, "I know they hold great influence and power throughout Westeros, but in Paletillia they hold virtually no power."
"Their hold over believers' hearts makes them dangerous, and the primary reason why most nobles outside Paletillia, Sonaria (The North) and Dornia do not dare risk antagonising them," Said Arin, "As I said earlier, they can incite their followers to rebel and riot whenever they feel it necessary, and if that happens, it will cause endless trouble to the nobility because with every rebellion they put down, another springs up, then another and another, like a pack of flies incessantly buzzing around."
"Wouldn't the fear of dragons stop them from doing such things?" Elaegelle suggested.
Arin shook his head, "Faith is an extremely potent drug and motivator for people. When they feel a higher power watches over them always, they feel invincible, they feel fearless, and they feel they can do no wrong. They are so blinded by faith they turn fanatical, and are willing to brave dragonfire if they feel that dying brings them to heaven."
Elaegelle shivered with fear at such a scenario, and while Arin sympathised with her, he knew it was better than to give a whitewashed lie.
"That is why when I took over as Grand Duke of Dornia, I sent Udohanar priests to convert the local populace to the Rhoynar faith," Arin concluded, "And eventually, you will have to deal with them too."
And by deal with them, Arin means only one thing…
"The Maesters, no one will miss them, but the Faith's another thing entirely," Elaegelle pointed out, "I'm sure you already know this, and why a regular purge will not be accepted among the people."
"Not unless you are so beloved by the Faith's adherents or in a position of absolute power no one can ever hope to topple, though the former's likelier," Arin shrugged.
"Do you have a plan to deal with the Faith?" Asked Elaegelle curiously.
"I don't," Arin admitted, "At least not a concrete one."
"I see," Elaegelle nodded.
"Are you alright?" Asked Arin.
"...I realise I've much to learn about being a proper princess, and not the way those Andals love to espouse," Elaegelle admitted, "I don't know if I can come anywhere close to becoming the pillars of authority my parents are."
"You don't have to be them, Your Highness. Rather, you should not be," Arin gently reassured.
"Why, Lord Arin?" Asked Elaegelle.
"Because the worst thing a prince or princess can try is becoming as successful and achieved as their parents were," Arin explained, his eyes tinged with sorrow and understanding, "It puts undue pressure as they try to measure up to overwhelming expectations, and if they are not careful, they could end up making mistakes that undo that legacy regardless. Granted, it does not always result in something so horrible, but… it's best to not be so demanding."
"People are always demanding," Elaegelle mumbled.
Arin heaved a sigh, "My daughter Azella faced severe pressure to succeed as much as I did, and to that end she made the decision of taking in Dothraki refugees after the War of Crimson Steeds."
"The one that was fought alongside the men of Daeria?" Asked Elaegelle.
"Yes, and the one that left a hundred thousand refugees at the mercy of their betters," Arin nodded, "It was what opened my eyes to the sheer weight of expectations placed on my children."
Arin took a deep breath, then turned to Elaegelle.
"Would you say your parents force expectations on you?" He asked.
"No! No, of course not," Elaegelle firmly denied, "They've always been supportive of me, and they always tell me to not be overly concerned about being a proper successor to the family. In fact, they always encouraged me to be able to find my own path in life."
Arin patted Elaegelle's shoulder encouragingly, "You have good parents. Treasure them for as long as they live; you never know when they are gone one day. And whether or not you are a proper successor, as a Targaryen princess you will be drawn into politics one way or another, and as such there will always come a time when you must make hard decisions when no one else can. It simply comes with our unique birth."
"What if I cannot decide by myself?" Asked Elaegelle.
"Then you will need confidants in whom you can confide your greatest weaknesses and fears," Arin suggested, "Confidants who can give you the final push to make that crucial decision."
"What if I still cannot decide?" Asked Elaegelle, clutching her arm tighter.
"You have to decide, one way or another," Arin gently pointed out with a sad smile, "As a leader, you have to make that decision. I know it sounds really harsh, but you cannot shirk your responsibilities like that."
Elaegelle slowly nodded, comforted by Arin's words.
"I don't know if I'll ever measure up as a worthy scion of House Targaryen, to be honest," Elaegelle admitted, "I pray I will be able to make that crucial decision when that time comes."
"You're too young to worry about such things right now, Your Highness," Arin smiled reassuringly, "For now, just focus on enjoying your childhood and doing what you like to do alongside your studies."
Elaegelle smiled with gratitude, "Thank you, Lord Arin."
"My pleasure," Arin smiled back.
Whatever type of leader Elaegelle would be, she made the decision to never be like her siblings - too fixated on dragons to ignore Human power.
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