#the short sad reign of aegon ii

[horizon-verizon]

“Rhaenyra the Pretender was gone, her dragons dead, the mummer kings all fallen, and yet the realm knew not peace,” Septon Eustace wrote soon after. With his half-sister slain and her only surviving son a captive at his own court, King Aegon II might reasonably have expected the remaining opposition to his rule to melt away…and mayhaps it might have done so if His Grace had heeded Lord Velaryon’s counsel and issued a general pardon for all those lords and knights who had espoused the queen’s cause. Alas, the king was not of a forgiving mind. Urged on by his mother, the Queen Dowager Alicent, Aegon II was determined to exact vengeance upon those who had betrayed and deposed him. He started with the crownlands, sending forth his own men and the stormlanders of Borros Baratheon against Rosby, Stokeworth, and Duskendale and the surrounding keeps and villages. Though the lords thus accosted, through their stewards and castellans, were quick to lower Rhaenyra’s quartered banner and raise Aegon’s golden dragon in its stead, each in turn was brought in chains to King’s Landing and forced to do obeisance before the king. Nor were they freed until they had agreed to pay a heavy ransom, and provide the Crown with suitable hostages. This campaign proved a grave mistake, for it only served to harden the hearts of the late queen’s men against the king. Reports soon reached King’s Landing of warriors gathering in great numbers at Winterfell, Barrowton, and White Harbor. In the riverlands, the aged and bedridden Lord Grover Tully had finally died (of apoplexy from having his house fight against the rightful king at Second Tumbleton, Mushroom says), and his grandson Elmo, now at last the Lord of Riverrun, had called the lords of the Trident to war once more, lest he suffer the same fate as Lords Rosby, Stokeworth, and Darklyn. To him gathered Benjicot Blackwood of Raventree, already a seasoned warrior at three-and-ten; his fierce young aunt, Black Aly, with three hundred bows; Lady Sabitha Frey, the merciless and grasping Lady of the Twins; Lord Hugo Vance of Wayfarer’s Rest; Lord Jorah Mallister of Seagard; Lord Roland Darry of Darry; aye, and even Humfrey Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge, whose house had hitherto supported King Aegon’s cause. Even more grave were the tidings from the Vale, where Lady Jeyne Arryn had assembled fifteen hundred knights and eight thousand men-at-arms, and sent envoys to the Braavosi to arrange for ships to bring them down upon King’s Landing. With them would come a dragon. Lady Rhaena of House Targaryen, brave Baela’s twin, had brought a dragon’s egg with her to the Vale...an egg that had proved fertile, bringing forth a pale pink hatchling with black horns and crest. Rhaena named her Morning.

Fire and Blood, by GRRM, pg 555-557

[Aegon II after Rhaenyra’s Death and her Supporters]

[stromuprisahat]

Alas, the king was not of a forgiving mind. Urged on by his mother, the Queen Dowager Alicent, Aegon II was determined to exact vengeance upon those who had betrayed and deposed him. He started with the crownlands, sending forth his own men and the stormlanders of Borros Baratheon against Rosby, Stokeworth, and Duskendale and the surrounding keeps and villages. Though the lords thus accosted, through their stewards and castellans, were quick to lower Rhaenyra’s quartered banner and raise Aegon’s golden dragon in its stead, each in turn was brought in chains to King’s Landing and forced to do obeisance before the king. Nor were they freed until they had agreed to pay a heavy ransom, and provide the Crown with suitable hostages. This campaign proved a grave mistake, for it only served to harden the hearts of the late queen’s men against the king. Reports soon reached King’s Landing of warriors gathering in great numbers at Winterfell, Barrowton, and White Harbor. In the riverlands, the aged and bedridden Lord Grover Tully had finally died (of apoplexy from having his house fight against the rightful king at Second Tumbleton, Mushroom says), and his grandson Elmo, now at last the Lord of Riverrun, had called the lords of the Trident to war once more, lest he suffer the same fate as Lords Rosby, Stokeworth, and Darklyn. To him gathered Benjicot Blackwood of Raventree, already a seasoned warrior at three-and-ten; his fierce young aunt, Black Aly, with three hundred bows; Lady Sabitha Frey, the merciless and grasping Lady of the Twins; Lord Hugo Vance of Wayfarer’s Rest; Lord Jorah Mallister of Seagard; Lord Roland Darry of Darry; aye, and even Humfrey Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge, whose house had hitherto supported King Aegon’s cause.

Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

How badly do you need to piss off the Lords, for Brackens to defect and join the same side as Blackwoods of their own free will?

[lya-dustin]

Rereading Fire and Blood for the end of All is Bliss

And this part is rather interesting

“Your Grace,” the Sea Snake said, when the rump of the once proud green council had assembled, “you must surrender. The city cannot endure another sack. Save your people and save yourself. If you abdicate in favor of Prince Aegon, he will allow you to take the black and live out your life with honor on the Wall.”

“Will he?” King Aegon said. Munkun tells us he sounded hopeful. His mother entertained no such hope.

“You fed his mother to your dragon,” she reminded her son. “The boy saw it all.” The king turned to her desperately.

“What would you have me do?”

“You have hostages,” the Queen Dowager replied. “Cut off one of the boy’s ears and send it to Lord Tully. Warn them he will lose another part for every mile they advance.”

Imagine seeing the end is nigh (or as it was put couple of pages ago standing naked before your enemies) and its either torrtue a kid after traumatizing him on your mom's orders or take the Black.

Anyways looking forward into Alicent’s descent into madness and cruelty and seeing Aegon truly have no one on his side except for the woman who threw him into the path that led to this end.

There is a poetry to the person who gave you life be the unknowing architect of your death.

[aegonpedia]

AEGON II TARGARYEN — QUOTE DIRECTORY.

fire and blood (2018)

# aegon ii quotes :: fire and blood.

# aegon ii quotes :: fire and blood, aegon dialogue.

# aegon ii quotes :: heirs of the dragon — a question of succession.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — the blacks and the greens.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — a son for a son.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — the red dragon and the gold.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — rhaenyra triumphant.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — rhaenyra overthrown.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — the short, sad reign of king aegon ii.

# aegon ii quotes :: aftermath — the hour of the wolf.

house of the dragon, season one (2022)

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon, season one.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon, aegon dialogue.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x3 second of his name.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x4 king of the narrow sea.

#aegon ii quotes :: 1x5 we light the way.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x6 the princess and the queen.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x7 driftmark.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x8 the lord of the tides.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x8 the green council.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x9 the black queen.

house of the dragon, season two (2024)

# tba.

cast and crew input

# aegon ii quotes :: cast and crew input.

# aegon ii quotes :: tom glynn-carney.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon cast.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon writers.

(bless my beloved geo @rhaenysology for inspiring me to do this)

[fairysluna]

unrequited.

Aegon was unable to keep his love for you as a secret, but he did not expect for you to shatter his heart into pieces after realizing you do not feel the same way.

MASTERLIST

PAIRING — Aegon II Targaryen x Fem!Reader.

TAGS — angst, unrequited love, inspired by THAT scene from little women, hurt/no comfort, a bit of miscommunication, one sided love, a lot of crying, guilt, cursing, aegon was named heir. If something is missing, let me know!!

AUTHOR'S NOTE — i was sad, i was watching little women, and then i remembered that i haven't written angst in a very long time. It's short, but well, it is what it is. I'm trying to escape the writer's block so bear with me if this isn't perfect, hope you all like it!🤍

WORD COUNT — 1.6k

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤenglish is not my first language.

There was something in the way his eyes looked at you that should have warned you about what was going to happen. Maybe the way his company felt slightly different, or the way he purposely brushed his hand as he walked beside you along the shore of Dragonstone.

A peaceful silence reigned between you two, where only the sound of the sea and seagulls were heard. There was never a need to be talkative whenever you were with him, you two did not need words to express to one another, just a single glance at him and you would be able to read him as if he was a book. It had always been that way. Aegon had never attempted to hide how much he enjoyed your company; no matter how many duties and responsibilities his position might have, he would always find some time during the day to make you company. The mere sound of your cheerful laughter was enough for him to feel whole. Happy.

Your friendship with Aegon began unexpectedly; you were a Lady of a small house, bannermen of the Tyrells. Not even in a million years you would have thought you were going to be one of the heir's closest friends. But you were, and Aegon loved it. You were not like other maidens, you always saw beyond his royal title, beyond the power he would once hold. You saw him as Aegon, Egg as you would sometimes prefer to call him. He loved that you were a breeze of fresh air that would wake him up from his torment every time he felt too overwhelmed.

You were everything for him, an escape of the four wall prison that would often be disguised as a castle. You set him free.

Aegon, inevitably, fell for you in the most beautiful of ways; slowly and unexpectedly. One day he woke up and felt the urge to hold you in his arms each morning; he could not stand another minute without you by his side - it felt almost unnatural to be without your company. His heart found a reason to beat with your presence, his brain would often overshadow his thoughts with silly daydreams about you.

You, you, you. It's always you. It has always been you.

Now, as you were complaining about your Septa scolding you that same morning, Aegon was in awe, mesmerized by you doing such a mundane thing like talking. And, bewitched by the way your lips moved, he stopped his pace. Salty air filling his lungs as he encouraged himself to say what he has been dying to say to you.

You did not realize about it until you were a few steps further than him, and you turned around. He was just looking at you; his puppy, lilac eyes staring at your face almost without blinking. You chuckled nervously, confused about what was happening. You smiled awkwardly, feeling a bit too exposed all of the sudden.

“Is something wrong?” You asked, frowning.

He did not reply, but you saw it in his eyes.

Your smile slowly faded away once the realization hit you, and the atmosphere changed immediately.

“Aegon…” You mentioned his name so differently, it felt almost foreign due to the way it left your lips. It was a plea, you were begging him to not say the words that were about to be pronounced.

He took a step closer; the dreamy glow in his eyes was still there, as if he had not seen the look on your face yet.

“Please, don't,” you managed to say, breathlessly. Your heart was beating so fast that you felt tired. Exhausted, even. You desperately tried to stop it before it was too late.

But you failed.

The weight in your chest became heavier, almost unbearable. Your lower lip was shaking, your legs trembling. You were heartbroken because you knew what you would have to do. Shaking your head, you refused to let him speak, both of you interrupted your words as a desperate attempt to silence each other.

“You need to hear me-”

“-stop this, Aegon-”

“-there’s no use to keep hiding it-”

“-don’t do this-”

“-you know what I'm about to say-”

“-Aegon, please-”

“-I love you.”

The heat of the burning sun was not enough to vanish the coldness that suddenly grew between you two. You closed your eyes, defeated. The silence became painfully awkward, and in that moment Aegon knew the truth.

His heart shattered.

You lifted your head to meet his eyes; they were covered by a layer of tears that were reluctant to escape. He was trying so hard not to fall apart, almost shaking as he stood as stiff as a rock.

“I love you,” he repeated in a whisper, thinking you might have not heard it the first time. “Please… please say it back.”

“Aegon-”

“Please,” he pleaded. His voice was broken and weak, trembling as he choked on a sob. “Please, say it.”

“You cannot do this to me-”

“I have loved you since the first day,” he confessed. “I’ve been trying to deny my feelings, trying to convince myself that it was nothing more, but it is. I need you, I love you more than words could tell, and my heart cannot bear another day without you being mine.”

“Aegon, I don't- I can't-”

“I want you to be my queen, my life companion,” he continued, watching you as you kept shaking your head. “My love, I want everything with you. I want to rule this fucking kingdom with you by my side. Please…”

“Aegon, I'm not fit to rule-”

“Me neither, but we can be a great team, I- I know that-”

“I can't be a queen, I can't marry you,” you interrupted him, trying to make understand your point.

You hated the prohibitions of a title. You see how Aegon was trapped in an invisible cage without escape, and you did not want that for yourself. You wanted freedom, you wanted to travel, to cross the Narrow Sea and meet foreign lands. As a queen, you would be caged; and as a wife to a king, you would be forced to provide him with heirs you do not wish to have yet.

It was selfish, you thought, but it was the thing that would make you happy.

“Aegon, this would never work,” she murmured as she grabbed his hands. He took a sharp breath when he felt your touch. “We're too different, we do not wish for the same things.”

“I know you love me too…. I know you do,” he told you. Some part of himself knew that it was a desperate attempt to try and convince himself that his words were true. But, deep inside, he knew it was not the case; one single glance at you would tell him what he's too afraid to accept.

“You are my best friend, you are the person that I trust the most, you-”

“Because you love me!” he raised his voice.

“I don't, Aegon…” you stopped him before he could say more. His nostrils twitched once he felt the itch on his nose, his lips trembling. “I don't love you like that.”

There was another silence. It was torturous. Aegon pulled his hands away from you. You quickly wiped the rebel tear that fell down your cheek.

“I know you think I'm the one, but I'm not. We would never work, this would only make you miserable-”

“You're the one for me,” he murmured, his eyes lost in the ground.

“I'm not,” you said, trying to reach him, but he just took another step back. “You'll find someone who will love you, who truly deserves you-”

“Am I not worthy of your love?” He suddenly asked, your heart aching at his broken voice.

Gods, you were about to explode.

“You're much more than what I truly deserve, Aegon, you're way better than-”

“I want you, I don't want another. I love you, I could never love anyone else the way I love you!”

“But you will!” you raised your voice to match his. “You will love someone else, and you will forget about me.”

“I can't ever forget about you,” he muttered. He remained quiet for a while before he looked down at you, noticing your teary eyes; a part of him hated himself for making you cry. After a few seconds he said, “I figured you would love me too… After everything we've lived and felt together. I thought we were gonna be happy-”

“You will be happy, Aegon. You'll find a fine young maiden who will give your life a purpose, but that is not me. It cannot be me.”

“You were my purpose,” he murmured, his face covered in tears as his puppy eyes would not look at you.

He felt embarrassed for how broken he was. For how naive he had been to even dare to believe you could possibly love him back. He wondered how he could be so foolish.

“I wish I could be the woman you want, I wish I didn't have to say these things- Aegon!”

He walked away, not wanting to hear any other of your excuses. It hurted enough as it is, your words would only wound him even more.

You tried to stop him, to grab his arm, yelling his name, and try to make him understand you, but he just walked away leaving his footprint on the wet sand as you stood there.

Tears were streaming down your face as you watched him go, one of your hands pressed against your chest as if you were trying to take the pain away. It hurted you to see him so broken, especially when you know it was you the one who caused it.

You had just lost your best friend, and there was no returning point from that.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤfollow @by-fairysluna for more updates!

[tomheath]

"The king commanded for the Dragonpit to be rebuilt and two statues commissioned of his late brothers, Daeron the Daring and Aemond One-Eye".

- Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II.

[visenyaism]

I must’ve missed it. Why would Criston Cole become a saint? I think this would be verrry contentious in the seven kingdoms and likely not officially recognized by the High Septon for diplomacy purposes, tho I could see him being locally worshipped in various places

in my mind it’d be one of those things that got pushed through during the sad short reign of aegon ii where he’s not ruling he’s just coping like yeah i need gazillion foot statues of aemond and daeron built right now i need my mom and my sister to be historicized as the only true queens of westeros. also can you get criston cole canonized. and corlys velaryon and larys strong just have to be like uh huh sure thing my liege by the way want me to hold your drink while you’re busy making all these decisions

[thewingedwolf]

aegon feeds his own sister to his dragon in front of her son and gets to be called “the true king” by Gyldayn, then the next chapter is called “the short sad reign of aegon ii”

[starksinthenorth]

I haven’t seen this anywhere, but imo it’s pretty clear each season of HOTD is two chapters of F&B? So we probably get 2-3 more?

season 1: heirs of the dragon; the blacks and the greens

season 2: a son for a son; the red dragon and the gold

season 3: Rhaenyra triumphant; Rhaenyra overthrown

season 4: the short, sad reign of Aegon II; the hour of the wolf

maybe season 5: the hooded hand; war and peace and cattle shows

[duxbelisarius]

The Dance of the Dragons: A Military Analysis (Pt. 4)

Before we begin, a huge thank you to those readers who have continued following these posts (in particular @notbloodraven, @branwendaughterofllyr and @lemonhemlock). If this is your first post you’ve seen, parts 1, 2 and 3 are all linked here.

Before analyzing the campaigns and battles of the Dance, we must first determine the army size of the Blacks and the Greens; doing so allows us to determine the military strength of the factions relative to each other, and by extension their capacity for waging war in pursuit of their goals. The numbers provided in the text unfortunately veer between straight forward and indeterminable, based on their convenience to George’s narrative.

Excluding the Iron Islands, which fought no major battles on land, the text gives us straightforward army sizes for the North, Vale, Westerlands and Stormlands. According to The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant, Roderick Dustin led a force of 2000 Northmen into the Riverlands to support the Blacks (the so-called “Winter Wolves”). Cregan Stark subsequently led his own host south after the return of Aegon II, which Septon Eustace and Maester Munkun place at 20000 and 8000 respectively. Gyldan places it at twice the size of the Lads’ Riverlands army or c.12000, giving the North a total force of 14000 troops. The Vale reportedly assembles 1500 knights and 8000 men-at-arms at the same time as Cregan’s march, eventually sending out 10000 men under Leowyn Corbray. Finally, Borros Baratheon assembles near 6000 men upon calling his banners per Rhaenyra Triumphant, but The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II tells us that Borros had only 600 knights and 4000 foot soldiers with him when he marched on King’s Landing.

As for the Westerlands, Jason Lannister leads a host of 1000 armoured knights and 7000 archers and men-at-arms against the Riverlands; the destruction of this host at the so-called “fish feed” is said to have slain or scattered the greater part of the west’s chivalry, suggesting that 8000 was the ceiling for the Westerland’s army size. This figure conflicts with other numbers provided by TWOIAF and F&B, with the former stating that 1000 Lannister knights and 10000 men-at-arms fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings; the latter states that the Lannister-Gardener host at the Field of Fire numbered 55000, of which the Gardener’s brought half again as many as the Lannisters, suggesting a split of between 20 to 22000 Westermen and 33 to 35000 from the Reach. 

The task of determining the army size of the Crownlands is a far more difficult one, as George never provides us with solid numbers within the text. The Crownlands houses that we know fought in battles during the Dance are as follows: Rosby, Stokeworth, Darklyn, Staunton, Crabb, Brune, Celtigar and Hayford. We’re told that 100 men of House Staunton were killed when Criston Cole sacked Rook’s rest, while the 800 men killed in the battle would have included men from House Stokeworth, Rosby and Darklyn that had switched sides to Aegon II. Aemond and Criston Cole attacked Harraenhal with an army of 4000 men, which almost certainly included Crownlanders given that Aemond called his banners before hand. We also know that Cole led 100 knights and 500 men-at-arms from the royal household against Duskendale and Rook’s Rest along with 1800 sellswords, so the 4000 men cannot only be from the Crownlands. 

Those from the ‘Green’ side of the HOTD fandom are likely well aware of the notoriety of the Riverlands army, the size of which seems to fluctuate based on the needs of the plot. The best figure to go off of from Fire & Blood is that of Aegon’s army at the Field of Fire, which numbered 11000 men primarily from the Riverlands. House Tully’s forces can be estimated by comparing the forces of Addam Velaryon at Second Tumbleton and the Lads army that fought at the Kingsroad. The World of Ice and Fire and F&B both suggest that Elmo Tully led forces at Second Tumbleton, but neither Elmo nor the Tully forces are mentioned in the actual accounts of the battle in F&B or the original Princess and the Queen. Addam’s force was about 4000 strong and comprised of troops from house Frey, Blackwood, Piper, Darry, Vance (presumably Wayfarer’s Rest), Smallwood, Vypren and Deddings. We know that the Lads’ army contained Tully troops and was nearly 6000 strong, comprised of troops from house Frey, Blackwood, Darry, Mallister, Vance and Bracken. Given that the Riverlords suffered only 100 casualties at Second Tumbleton, we can assume that there was crossover between those who fought there and who later marched with the Lads; assuming that the Brackens could substitute for the forces of house Smallwood, Vypren and Deddings, this would place House Tully’s forces at about 2000 men. 

In The Hour of the Wolf, Gyldan states that the Tullys possessed less land and a smaller army that the Blackwoods, Brackens, Vances and Freys, while we know from Catelyn’s second chapter in A Storm of Swords that Walder Frey supplied 1000 knights and 3000 infantry to Robb Stark. Between 2500 to 4000 men seems a reasonable estimate for these houses, given the Riverlands a potential army of between 12 and 18000 men including the Tullys and no other houses, or c. 8000 to 12000 excluding the Brackens and the Vances of Atranta, This is without including any of the other houses that fought in the Dance (Mooton, Piper, Roote, Darry, Mallister, Smallwood, Wode, Bigglestone, Chambers, Perryn, Grey, Charlton, Vypren, Deddings), nor does it consider all the figures provided by George. 

Aside from the armies raised by Addam Velaryon and the Lads, the only other host whose size we are given is that which fought at the Lake Shore (the “Fish Feed”) and the Butcher’s Ball. Aside from the 2000 ‘Winter Wolves,’ Forrest Frey commanded 200 knights and 600 foot at the Lakeshore, alongside 300 archers led by Robb Rivers of Raventree. These were joined by survivors from earlier battles alongside Lords Bigglestone, Chambers and Perryn, with Garibald Grey, Jon Charlton and Benjicot Blackwood arriving later. When this host appears again at the “Butcher’s Ball,” it consists of 300 mounted knights, 300 longbowmen, 3000 archers and 3000 Riverlands infantry, and all that remained of the Winterwolves (less than a third of their original strength). This would give the Riverlords over 7000 men if we factored in casualties from the Lakeshore, resulting in a grand total of 13000 men between the Lakeshore host and that of the Lads. Factoring in losses from the other battles fought in the Riverlands, it seems likely that the Blacks could have raised 15 to 17000 men.

Determining the size of the Reach’s armies is somewhat easier thanks to George offering some numbers for the armies raised, though considerable guesswork is involved. Although the Hightowers did not send troops to the Field of Fire, the size of the Gardener host at the battle gives us a number to work back from. The Gardener host probably numbered 33 to 35000 men as referenced earlier, while Maester Munkun places the size of Ormund Hightower’s army prior to 1st Tumbleton at over 20000, of which 10% were mounted knights. Ormund’s original force comprised 1000 knights, 1000 archers and 3000 men-at-arms, accompanied by ‘uncounted thousands” of sellswords, freeriders, camp followers and ‘rabble.’ If we assume the number of freeriders and sellswords was similar to the sellswords that fought beside Criston Cole at Rook’s Rest, Ormund would have an additional c.2000 men. If we assume that non-combatants (ie the camp followers and ‘rabble’) accounted for c.3000, then Ormund’s host would be 10000; House Rowan and the other Blacks of the Reach would likewise have 10000 troops, based on Gyldan’s comment that the Rowans descended on the Mander with a host of equal size. The other 13 to 15000 can be accounted for between the forces of House Tarly, Beesbury and Costayne and those houses that later surrendered to Ormund and Daeron. Of course this method does not account for House Tyrell and those houses not mentioned in the Dance, but it allows us to work with what little numbers George gives, however crude the calculations might be. 

I’ve decided to forgo a discussion of population estimates for Westeros, so I’ll link Atlas of Ice and Fire’s blogpost on the subject and a video by TWOIAF editor Elio Garcia which address this subject. Suffice it to say that the army sizes arrived at above are well below what Westerosi population estimates suggest they would be, and this can be chalked up to discrepancies between George’s writing in the main books and his side works. The total army sizes using our figures above come out to c. 40000 on either side, though not all of these forces were active at the same time during the Dance. 

Thank you for following along if you’ve made it this far; I promise it gets FAR most interesting from this point onwards, as we’ll begin analyzing the ground battles of the Dance. Stay tuned for Part 5, and as always, the replies and my inbox are wide open if you have questions/want to chat!

[eschercaine]

Lord Lyonel was an infant when the Dance of the Dragons broke out in 129 AC. During his minority, Lyonel’s mother, castellan, and steward ruled the Reach in his name as his regents. At the outbreak of the war, Lyonel’s mother was judged likely to align the Reach with their “overmighty” bannermen, House Hightower, and the greens in support of Aegon II Targaryen. As the war progressed, the Tyrell bannermen were split, with men of the Reach fighting on both sides. With their bannermen divided, Lyonel’s regents thought better of their support for Aegon II and decided that House Tyrell would remain neutral for the remainder of the war. — The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II

House Hightower, an overmighty bannermen, according to House Tyrell.

I almost forgot that the Tyrells are the WARDEN OF THE freaking SOUTH and the Hightowers are one of their bannermen.

Desiring Highgarden for himself, Ser Ulf White declared that the Tyrells should be attainted as traitors for not taking part in the war. Ulf was poisoned after the Second Battle of Tumbletown, however. When Lord Kermit Tully marched on King’s Landing against Aegon II, the king desperately wrote to Lord Tyrell for support, but his mother wrote that she had reason to doubt the loyalty of her son’s bannermen and was not fit to lead a host to war herself, “being a mere woman”. The war ended shortly after when Aegon II was found poisoned. — Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II

Lord Lyonel’s mother, whatever your name is... YOU’RE A FUCKIN’ G!

[horizon-verizon]

Though in great pain, the king did not retreat to his bedchamber again, nor avail himself of dreamwine or milk of the poppy, but immediately set to pronouncing judgment upon the three “dayfly kings” who had ruled King’s Landing during the Moon of Madness. The squire was the first to face his wroth, and was sentenced to die for high treason. A brave boy, Trystane was at first defiant when dragged before the Iron Throne, until he saw Ser Perkin the Flea standing with the king. That took the heart from him, says Mushroom, but even then the youth did not plead his innocence nor beg for mercy, but asked only that he might be made a knight before he died. This boon King Aegon granted, whereupon Ser Marston Waters dubbed the lad (his fellow bastard) Ser Trystane Fyre (“Truefyre,” the name the boy had bestowed upon himself, being deemed presumptuous), and Ser Alfred Broome struck his head off with Blackfyre, the sword of Aegon the Conqueror. The fate of the Cunny King, Gaemon Palehair, was kinder. Having just turned five, the boy was spared on account of his youth and made a ward of the Crown. His mother, Essie, who had presumed to style herself Lady Esselyn during her son’s brief reign, confessed under torture that Gaemon’s father was not the king, as she had previously claimed, but rather a silver-haired oarsman off a trading galley from Lys. Being lowborn and unworthy of the sword, Essie and the Dornish whore Sylvenna Sand were hanged from the battlements of the Red Keep, together with twenty-seven other members of “King” Gaemon’s court, an ill-favored assortment of thieves, drunkards, mummers, beggars, whores, and panders.

Fire and Blood, by GRRM, pg 554-555

Aegon II after Rhaenyra’s Death – the Shepherd, Trystane Truefyre,and Gaemon Palehair Pt.1

[stromuprisahat]

Queen Alicent had reluctantly agreed to the betrothal of her granddaughter to Rhaenyra’s son, but she had done so without the king’s consent. Aegon II had other ideas. He wished to marry Cassandra Baratheon at once, for “she will give me strong sons, worthy of the Iron Throne.” Nor would he allow Prince Aegon to wed his daughter, and perhaps sire sons who might muddy the succession. “He can take the black and spend his days at the Wall,” His Grace decreed, “or else give up his manhood and serve me as a eunuch. The choice is his, but he shall have no children. My sister’s line must end.” Even that was thought to be too gentle a course by Ser Tyland Lannister, who argued for the immediate execution of Prince Aegon the Younger. “The boy will remain a threat so long as he draws breath,” Lannister declared. “Remove his head, and these traitors will be left with neither queen nor king nor prince. The sooner he is dead, the sooner this rebellion will end.” His words, and those of the king, horrified Lord Velaryon. The aged Sea Snake, “thunderous in his wroth,” accused king and council of being “fools, liars, and oathbreakers,” and stormed from the chamber. Borros Baratheon then offered to bring the king the old man’s head, and Aegon II was on the point of giving consent when Lord Larys Strong spoke up, reminding them that young Alyn Velaryon, the Sea Snake’s heir, remained beyond their reach on Driftmark. “Kill the old snake and we lose the young one,” the Clubfoot said, “and all those fine swift ships of theirs as well.” Instead, he said, they must move at once to make amends with Lord Corlys, so as to keep House Velaryon on their side. “Give him his betrothal, Your Grace,” he urged the king. “A betrothal is not a wedding. Name Young Aegon your heir. A prince is not a king. Look back at the history and count how many heirs never lived to sit the throne. Deal with Driftmark in due course, when your foes are vanquished and your tide is at the full. That day is not yet come. We must bide our time and speak to him gently.”

Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

[dreamingdruka]

JAEHAERA TARGARYEN

On the seventh day of the seventh moon of the 131st year after Aegon’s Conquest, a date deemed sacred to the gods, the High Septon of Oldtown pronounced the marriage vows as Prince Aegon the Younger, eldest son of Queen Rhaenrya by her uncle Prince Daemon, wed Princess Jaehaera, the daughter of Queen Helaena by her brother King Aegon II, thereby uniting the two rival branches of House Targaryen and ending two years of treachery and carnage.

The Dance of the Dragons was done, and the melancholy reign of King Aegon III Targaryen had begun.

–Fire and Blood, The Dying of rhe Dragons (The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II)

...On the twenty- second day of the ninth moon of 133 AC, Jaehaera of House Targaryen, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and the last surviving child of King Aegon II, perished at the age of ten. The little queen died just as her mother, Queen Helaena, had, throwing herself from a window in Maegor’s Holdfast onto the iron spikes that lined the dry moat below. Impaled through breast and belly, she twisted in agony for half an hour before she could be lifted free, whereupon she passed from this life at once.

–Fire and Blood, Under the Regents (War and Peace and Cattle Shows)

Created using Nightcafe Creator

[lya-dustin]

Someone will remember us

Chapter 86

Cw: mentions of violence, death , the usual

Taglist: @stargaryenx @mercedesdecorazon @aemondx @darylandbethfanforever9

Gif by @ashley-jones

“The Citadel names the clash that followed the Battle of the Kingsroad. The men who fought it named it the Muddy Mess. By any name, the last battle of the Dance of the Dragons would prove to be a one-sided affair.”

---The Dying of the Dragons: The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II

While Vermithor would never replace Vhagar in his heart, Aemond had to admit the Bronze Fury flew like a dream.

Despite the rain, both dragon and rider managed to cut through Baratheon's ranks like butter.

Well, what was left of it anyway.

The Archers led by Black Aly decimated the horses and killed half the riders, those who managed to arrive near the shield wall were killed by Bloody Ben’s men.

Those who managed to escape the ensuing rout were met by a dragon hungry for violence.

“Mercy, King Aemond!” Baratheon’s remaining men cry when he dismounts after.

Baratheon is not dead yet, despite his injuries the bastard is alive enough to be brought forth to Aemond and Aemma who had come like a silver goddess on her silver mount to put the fear of the gods in those who surrender.

They fall to their knees for them, more for her because they remember Aemma as the merciful princess who shares Baratheon’s blood.

“Yield, my lord.” She asks gesturing for the Maesters to treat the injured.

The man refused to be treated, but the Maesters do so anyways going as far as removing his dented armor.

But he won’t yield, not when he knows he’s too far deep to get away with it. Had he not sided with Aegon to give Cass a crown, perhaps he could simply yield with minor repercussions.

“I’d sooner dance in hell than wear your chains.” The man said with a curse before taking his own dagger and plunging it into his stomach.

Seven days later, his second son, Olyvar Baratheon, is born.

Had the man had more sense, he would have lived to meet him.

A shame so many had to die for this.

“They say he claimed Vermithor. They call him Jaehaerys Reborn.”

Every word and raven that comes after the Battle of the Kingsroad makes Corlys laugh like a madman.

Aegon would go against his own brother, the person he had believed would put him over his own wife.

By New Year’s Day, the rightful queen will sit on the Iron Throne and all this will end.

Word had come saying the last of his allies had changed their allegiance.

Lady Lannister would give her fealty in exchange for calling off Dalton Greyjoy, Lady Tyrell had her men take the remaining Hightowers into custody, Ser Tyland Lannister, Ser Marston Waters and Ser Julian Wormwood had all been captured by loyalists before they even left the bay.

Corlys did not need to bend the knee.

“Rhaenys, my love, just let me live long enough to see Laenor’s girl take what was meant to be yours.” Corlys prays to the only one being he ever had absolute faith in, his late wife.

It would not be long now, Corlys can feel the coldness of the Stranger in his bones. Either he will lose his head or whatever illness has taken root inside him will have him be burned with his ship.

He only asks that his remaining grandchildren get to be at peace when they have him join their parents and grandmother in the afterlife.

It is not much, but the Gods have never been generous anyways.

Aemma knows that by this time tomorrow, it will be finally over.

It had stopped raining by the time they reached Hayford.

They are given the Lord’s rooms because Hayford’s only remaining family are a maiden aunt, a babe sharing a nursery with his three-year-old sister, Lyra, the heiress of Hayford.

“Tomorrow, I will fuck you so hard you will limp on your way to the throne.” Aemond gives a hoarse laugh. “Gods, I miss our bed.”

“I would rather sleep on the floor than sleep in Aegon’s bed.” Aemma said and added, “Remind me to have his shit burned when we get there.”

It’s over tomorrow with the dawn they fly into the city and finish it.

Tomorrow they will arrest Aegon or kill him.

Aemma doesn’t know why that is enough to have her roll out of the bed and spill this evening’s supper into the chamber pot.

“Another dream, love?” Aemond asks, brow creased with worry as he helped her back to bed.

“I think I may be with child again.” she answered shaking her head. “I wager it’s a girl.”

And sure enough, the Maester can confirm her pregnancy with a sample of her urine and some wine.

Man fancied himself a pisse prophet, claims to know how to read piss and congratulated them on another son.

Seven moons later the good maester will apologize for his mistake when Princess Aenya, or Aennie for short, is born.

Aenya who will bring Dorne into the Realms with the only blood being that of her maidenhead by marrying Prince Morgan Nymeros Martell, son of Aliandra Nymeros Martell.

But that is still too long in the future and these dreams Aemma has are quickly forgotten the next morning.

“Do you think he will surrender?” she asks Aemond who tightened the chains on her saddle with enough wiggle room for her to jump should she have to.

“There is only one way to find out.” His hands shakes and had he not been wearing gauntlets, she would have taken them in hers and kissed them in assurance.

When they fly into Kingslanding, there are no cheers like before.

There are frightened screams drowning out those who cheer for them.

They cry for mercy thinking she will burn them to the ground.

But they did not attack them, so that was a good omen.

They land in the courtyard, where Jaehaerys and Alysanne once did with these same dragons.

Larys Strong comes to them, bows as best as he can and reveals a dead Aegon whose face had turned purple from poison.

“And so, it ends.” Aemond whispers, trying not to look at his brother’s corpse with pity.

He has her grandfather who is not too bad from his stint in the black cells with a circlet once worn by Queen Rhaenys, then her good daughter, Queen Alyssa, and would have been worn by her daughter, Jocelyn Baratheon, when Prince Aemon ascended the Iron Throne.

A Valyrian steel circlet with seven rubies that matched Aegon the Conqueror’s Crown and had been returned by Princess Deria of Dorne on the orders of her father.

A simpler thing than that of Alysanne and Aemma Arryn and Alicent Hightower.

And a different legacy as well.

“The King is dead, Long Live the Queen.”

With those words, the Dance of the Dragons ends.

----

Next up: the epilogue

[lemonhemlock]

That being said, I'd like to add that Aegon agreed to send Rhaenyra those generous peace terms after he was crowned + the debacle with Meleys. So he may have liked how the crowd responded to him, but he wasn't so high on power that he refused to do what his mother advised.

That whole Meleys scene should be a monumental beat for all characters facing her! And for King's Landing as a backdrop (and greek chorus, one would hope?) but I doubt they will since they boldfaced stated they did that all for an epic MCU moment which is such a shame.. like that's major??? Guess just another Tuesday in King's Landing huh?

Like I really wonder do the writers understand the major implications for, at least, the main cast of characters? Background characters and settings such as the peasants aside for now. Like I believe you're absolutely right in your reading of Aegon by the end of EP10 as at least cooperative to a certain extent, but are the writers? IDK what it looks like inside a writing room and what it's like having to share a narrative with so many people but IDK Scoobs it's not looking that bright.......

I totally follow prev. Anon's line of thinking and I really hope for something nuanced that won't clock you over the head.

I actually don't think we will stay with Aegon a lot... everyone working on HOTD seem to agree that Alicent and Rhaenyra are the MCs and heart of the show which I have nothing against but by nature of it Aegon is secondary to tertiary character. And I say tertiary because they made a bigger effort to put us in, for example, Aemond's POV and I expect them to keep it up going forward. I see no reason why they wouldn't, tho, If I remember correctly, Condal did say he's very interested in the reign of Aegon II so maybe they're saving Aegon-focus for his Hysterical King Arc. Additionally, Aegon will be down post-RR while Aemond is doing fuck all as Prince Regent and Local Terror of Riverland, then Aegon disappears from the face of the earth and the narrative until Sunfyre hits him up again. OFC this is all speculation on my side and depending on the narrative they decide to shoot for, focus and POV can shift. Yet, once again, I see no reason why they would.

I fully expect to see Fight over Dragonstone focalized thru Baela's POV (tho there's much more wiggle room in visual mediums), which I don't mind; she barely gets anything to do in the war as it is.

Rhaenyra being chosen as a POV for her own death march to Dragonstone is a no-brainer.

His return to KL in F&B is already super gloomy and cursed. Hell, his reign is called The Sad Short Reign LMAO so I expect the tone to be kept as oppressive and gloomy as the coronation, if not worse. Like this man is not gonna have a "facing the white stag" fairytale moment. Maybe a dove will anoint him by shitting on him IDK!

Hope the vibes of this ask aren't too bad; I'm in fact rather cheery since I'll be entertained either way!

That whole Meleys scene should be a monumental beat for all characters facing her!

Agreed! Aegon finally has his confirmation that Mother loves him. He should be obsessed with that, instead of towering over her (IDK??) Isn't that more interesting, at least? Trailing behind her like a puppy? King Chihuahua?

Like I really wonder do the writers understand the major implications for, at least, the main cast of characters? Background characters and settings such as the peasants aside for now. Like I believe you're absolutely right in your reading of Aegon by the end of EP10 as at least cooperative to a certain extent, but are the writers? IDK what it looks like inside a writing room and what it's like having to share a narrative with so many people but IDK Scoobs it's not looking that bright.......

Yeah, I expect there are going to be inconsistencies when you have many different writers, each with their different take on the characters (that's inevitable), but there should be someone in charge to even things out and keep track of them thematically. Maybe that's why we had Alicent bitchy @ Rhaenyra in one episode and then wanting to reconcile in the next, with little context/explanation in between?

If I remember correctly, Condal did say he's very interested in the reign of Aegon II so maybe they're saving Aegon-focus for his Hysterical King Arc.

I hope you're right and I hope it means he'll get something to work with.

Aegon disappears from the face of the earth and the narrative until Sunfyre hits him up again.

They could do a lot with this actually. He has to convince some Dragonstone people to take him in and care for him, defect for Rhaenyra and fight for his cause instead. That's no easy feat and could constitute for some meaty, compelling characterization. I hope they're not going to show him in a coma for 3/5s of the show. 💀

His return to KL in F&B is already super gloomy and cursed. Hell, his reign is called The Sad Short Reign LMAO so I expect the tone to be kept as oppressive and gloomy as the coronation, if not worse. Like this man is not gonna have a "facing the white stag" fairytale moment. Maybe a dove will anoint him by shitting on him IDK!

This is the perfect time to go full-Commodus!!! But there has to be some sort of progression to get there, otherwise what's the point of his arc? If he's just a flat character.

Hope the vibes of this ask aren't too bad; I'm in fact rather cheery since I'll be entertained either way!

No worries, I also aimed to be entertained. I just hope we get the best possible story. 😭