Capítulo 80: Daemon Blackfyre
Daemon Blackfyre was born in an ordinary house in the year 231AC, his mother was the owner of a small bakery in Braavos and his father Daemon III Blackfyre. Young Daemon spent the first four years of his life not even knowing his father's name, which changed on his fourth nameday.
On his nameday little Daemon went downstairs as fast as he could because he knew that a glass of milk and his favorite muffins would be waiting for him at the table. The little boy was very surprised when he saw a stranger sitting at the table.
He was a tall handsome man, dressed in silks with a short cloak hanging from one shoulder. Daemon thought he was some Braavosi noble at first but his features didn't match the typical Braavosi, the stranger had pale blonde hair mixed with silver and lilac eyes.
Little Daemon only knew a few people with similar traits, Valyrian traits he had heard they were called. The boy looked into the eyes of that stranger, the same eyes he had seen reflected in the water of the canals hundreds of times, and he felt a strange sensation in his chest. Hope mixed with anxiety and nervousness.
"Are you my father?" The boy stuttered.
The stranger got up from the chair and walked towards him with a soft smile on his face, crouched down in front of him and answered.
"Yes"
Daemon did not know what to feel, joy since he would no longer be the only fatherless child in his group of friends, anger for all the years that his father was absent, nervousness to meet him,... The four-year-old boy could barely process a fraction of all the emotions that drowned him.
And he did not have enough time to understand all his emotions because 2 moons later his father left for war, in 236AC Daemon III Blackfyre went to claim his throne.
"I will recover our kingdom and then come after you with a whole fleet, your mother will be my queen and you will be the crown prince." Those were the last words his father said to him.
Daemon did not understand that of "our kingdom" or "crown prince", he only understood that his father was leaving but that he would return with many ships to take them to a new home where they would be a family.
Day after day Daemon went to the port and looked at the sea with hopeful eyes, waiting for his father's return. Time passed and winter turned into spring, the snow melted and the flowers began to bloom. The end of winter meant an increase in trade and more ships came and went from the port, Daemon always asked the port workers the same questions.
"Have you seen a man who looks like me? He is my father and he promised to come back soon!"
The answers did not change.
It was almost two years later when Daemon finally received an affirmative answer, a man with silver hair and lilac eyes had arrived by ship. The boy, excited and full of hope, ran home to wait for his father. Hours later the one who entered the door was not Daemon III Blackfyre, but Aemon Blackfyre accompanied by Aegor Rivers.
That was the first time Daemon met his uncle and the legendary Bittersteel, but if you were to ask Daemon what he remembers from that day he wouldn't tell you anything about those men. The only thing Daemon remembers are the words of his uncle.
"Sorry, nephew, but the news I bring is not pleasant to hear. My brother, your father, was killed in combat."
The worst thing about that news was not Daemon's personal feelings about it, it was his mother's reaction. A light seemed to go out inside of her and she lost all of her smiles.
Daemon hates Duncan the Tall for taking his mother`s joy more than for killing his father.
A few days later Daemon left Braavos and became the ward of Bittersteel. Aegor taught him to fight and lead armies while his uncle taught him the most delicate facets of being a king such as diplomacy.
The years passed and Daemon proved himself to be a capable military leader from a very young age, Bittersteel always took him on every campaign of the Golden Company and made him attend every meeting. Little by little Daemon stopped just listening and began to intervene, sometimes his ideas were childish and impractical which caused the captains to hold back their laughter and mockery but other times Daemon gave good advice or proposed something very ingenious, those times Aegor smirked and nodded.
Bittersteel became like a father to him and losing him was a huge blow, Daemon was only 10 years old when his father figure died on the battlefield.
Aegor "Bitterstel" Rivers was 69 years old when he died, the old knight had seen more war than anyone and died as he always hoped to die: with a sword in his hand. His only regret was not seeing a descendant of his brother ascend the Iron Throne.
Daemon swore that he would see his adoptive father's ambition fulfilled.
He will succeed where his father, his grandfather, his great-uncle and great-grandfather failed. He would be the first Blackfyre to sit on the Iron Throne.
Following Aegor's death it was Aemon Blackfyre who took command of the Golden Company, a post he held for four years before passing it on to his 14-year-old nephew.
After half a life traveling with the Golden Company at age 14 Daemon had more experience in warfare than many green knights in Westeros years older than him. But despite being raised in the company of soldiers and warriors there was still much skepticism from his followers when he took command, his cousin and adoptive brother Edarion spoke of Daeron I Targaryen and his military victories when he was the same age as Daemon shutting up the talkers.
But those doubts did not completely disappear until the young Commander proved himself on the battlefield.
Currently Daemon was riding down an ancient Valyrian road surrounded by 14 trusted soldiers, his personal guard.
"Do you think we will arrive before nightfall, my lord?" asks Lucan, one of his guards.
"Yes, we are close." Daemon answers.
After another two hours they finally reach the meeting point, a hill with a large cherry tree at the top.
On one side of the hill is a small camp with half a dozen men.
"Welcome, my lord!" One of the men greeted him.
Daemon nods his head and asks the following:
"Where is he?"
The soldier points to the cherry tree and Daemon focuses his eyes, sitting there on one of the branches he sees a figure.
"He said you go up there as soon as you arrive, I tried to talk some sense into him but you know how he can be."
"Yes, I know."
Daemon sighed in exasperation before handing the reins of his horse to one of his guards.
"Eat something and rest." He told them before going towards the cherry tree.
"Aren't you going to come down?" He asked the figure once he reached the base of the tree.
"No, come here." Edarion Blackfyre replied.
Daemon sighed again and proceeded to climb the tree.
"If I fall and crack my head I will haunt you Ed." Daemon complains once he reaches the branch where Edarion is sitting.
"Don't be so dramatic Daemon." Edarion laughs amusedly and hands him his wineskin. "Have a drink and enjoy the views."
"The views?" Daemon raises an eyebrow but takes a drink of wine nonetheless. "We're at a crucial point in our mission and you want me to sit in a tree at sunset and enjoy the view?"
Edarion lets out a laugh.
"When you say it like that it sounds-" He says before bursting out laughing again.
"Ed..." Daemon shakes his head. "What did you find out in Westeros?"
"Patience Daemon." Edarion takes a drink of wine. "In these times we have to appreciate the few moments of tranquility, so stop being so curmudgeonly and enjoy the good Volantis wine and this magnificent view for a few moments."
Daemon takes the wineskin from Edarion's hand and takes another drink before looking at the view.
The hill separates a green grassy plain filled with all kinds of flowers from a forest of ash and birch trees. The late afternoon sun caresses the grass and flowers giving them a mystical air, Daemon has to admit that it is a beautiful sight.
"The forest has birch, ash and some elm trees, how did a cherry tree get here?"
"That's a great question Daemon," Edarion smiles at him like an excited child. "I asked myself the same question and did some research on it. A nice woman in a nearby village told me the story of two lovers from Myr and Tyrosh who met and fell in love at a mutual friend's birthday party in Lys. Alas not only were their cities rivals but an enmity existed between their families
But they did not accept that their love was forbidden and they met in secret in this exact place, where they consummated their love and promised each other eternal fidelity. They promised to meet again on this hill in half a year to elope. To recognize this place one of the lovers sent for a beautiful cherry to be planted here."
"What happened to the lovers?"
"The rest of the story has many versions. One version says that a friend from Lys, in love with the woman, told her family about her lover and she was forced to marry some nobleman, he `graciously` proposed himself as a candidate. Her lover, enraged, raised an army and marched on Lys. In that version the woman commits suicide by jumping off a cliff when a maid, in love with her now hundsband, lies to her and tells her that her lover died in battle. Her lover hears the news and loses the will to live, he kills himself with his own sword.
Another version says that the man's cousin discovered the lovers and blackmailed him to give him his inheritance, to do so the man had to fake his death. Something he did with joy because that way he got rid of all his responsibilities and could start a new life with his lover. Unfortunately the news of his false death reached his lover and she couldn't bear the grief and killed herself.
In another version, the most famous, it was the man who died of an illness before being able to join his beloved. She arrived at the cherry tree and waited for him for a long time, a few years later a friend of hers found her and told her about the death of her lover. That friend begged her to come home but she didn't listen to him, she told him that she would wait for her lover until the end of time.
What all the versions have in common is the ending, after dying the spirits of the lovers come to this tree and wait for their beloved, always, sometimes after a few days and sometimes after a few decades, they meet again here."
"That is a tragic yet beautiful story."
"It's the tragedy that makes it such a beautiful story, Daemon. If the lovers had had a happy ending in life the story would have been forgotten long ago."
Daemon doesn't answer anything, he just watches as the last rays of the day disappear on the horizon.
"Are you going to tell me now what happened in Westeros?"
"Yes, yes. I won't keep you waiting any longer. As planned, I used the Redwynes to get the plans for the genius-boy's ship. Everything went as planned, Redwyne paid the bribe and I got the plans. But something unexpected happened."
"Something unexpected?"
"I underestimated the range of the Martells."
"Didn't you get the plans?"
"Oh I got them, held them in hand and verified they were authentic. Drawn by Doran Nymeros Martell himself."
"Then what happened?"
"Shortly after leaving Alfyn's office and before dealing with Ser Bryon, one of the Martell men exchanged the plans with fake ones. I didn't realize it until we were already on the ship."
"The reach of the Golden Viper in her kingdom is admirable." Daemon recognizes the Princess of Dorne as a fearsome adversary, and he respects her for it.
"The Golden Viper..." Edarion frowns and watches a leaf fall from the tree. "I don't think it was her." He mutters under his breath.
"Did you say something Ed?"
"No, nothing Daemon." Edarion gives him a half smile. `If my hunch is correct then there is another Martell to keep an eye on`
"Well, while getting those ships would have been a great help to our plans, not having them isn't an insurmountable blow."
Daemon planned to transport a part of his army in the caravels taking advantage of its speed to launch a surprise attack on Westeros, taking advantage of the bewilderment of his enemies to seize a stronghold that would serve as a base for his army.
"Although we don't have the plans, one of my partners managed to capture one of the caravels and their shipbuilders are studying it thoroughly. Sooner or later those ships will be ours, but I'm afraid that won't be for at least a year or two. "
"What about the other matters? What about our allies in the west?"
"Houses Caswell, Boggs, Risley, Westerling, Strickland, and Ambrose are loyal to our cause. The Freys, Reyne, and Tarbeck have all claimed to support us, but if that support were to harm them, they would betray us in a heartbeat."
"Yet they are still powerful Houses, second only to their Lords Paramount."
"Not in the case of the Freys, at least not anymore."
"What do you mean?" Daemon looks at Edarion questioningly, as he remembers from his lessons the Freys are the second most powerful House in the Riverlands.
"A couple of years ago a Frey insulted Prince Daeron, the king got so angry that he punished House Frey publicly. Being despised by the Crown much of his influence was reduced, and the Darry took advantage of the anger of the Targaryens to ask them for a loan to build a bridge on their land. King Aegon agreed to give them the loan. Other Houses saw the Darry start to get rich off their new bridge and build their own. Soon half a dozen bridges were built, and given the bad reputation of Walder Frey and the Crown's disdain for them few still used the Frey bridge."
"The Freys have been using dishonest tactics for centuries to prevent the construction of more bridges. The Darrys' move was very clever, they could have asked any other House for that gold but they asked the Crown so that the Targaryens would be involved with the construction of the bridge, making any attempted sabotage seen as an attack on them. But was that Lord Darry's or the king's idea?"
"That is a very good question." Edarion had no answer.
"The important thing is that the Targaryens were involved. Since the Freys' main source of income was their bridge, I presume their wealth has diminished?"
"Considerably."
"They have every reason to hate the Targaryens and yet their loyalty to our cause is not certain?" Daemon raises an eyebrow in confusion.
"The Freys are vermin Daemon, they will support us if that support provides them with a profit but if it seems that we will lose the war they will not hesitate to betray us."
"Isn't that the case with half of our supporters in the previous wars?" Daemon has a look of disdain in his eyes.
"This is how the world works, some are guided by loyalty but many others by profit." Edarion's eyes darken and a shark smile blooms on his face.
"I don't have the need to ask you what kind of person you are, Ed." Daemon looks at him amused.
"I never hide that from you Daemon, I support you because it benefits me and my family."
Daemon is married to Edarion's twin sister, Caelys Blackfyre, and together they have two sons and one daughter. Therefore, if Daemon is successful, Edarion`s sister will be the queen and his nephew will be the crown prince.
"I know, frankly, that honesty of yours is refreshing. I know what to expect from you, unlike another cousin of mine…" he finishes with a dark look in his eyes.
"Maelys."
"Let's not talk about that man right now. We were talking about our supporters in Westeros, I noticed you didn't mention any Dornish Houses."
"Yes, the Golden Viper has been working to remove any of our supporters in her kingdom." Daemon sees the admiration in Edarion's eyes.
"But not all of our supporters."
"But not all." Edarion recognizes.
***
NOTE: As I researched more about the Blackfyre rebellions I saw something that I had missed. House Yronwood was a Blackfyre supporter in three wars, that doesn't change my plans but it does alter a bit what I had in mind for the next few chapters.
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