read lots story at patreon
always update and finish
CaveLeather >> 9$
The position of Prince of the Dragonblood was created specifically for Rhaegar and any future Targaryen branches that might be granted lands.
On one hand, it would protect the main royal line, clearly define heirs and royal family members, and keep detailed records of all royal holdings, rewards, and punishments.
On the other hand, it would log every branch of the family. Rhaenys and the child Lyanna had given Rhaegar—little Aegon—would be formally recorded as a secondary branch, with their inheritance rights placed after the main royal line.
That meant Rhaegar's children would not only come after Daeron, but also after his younger brothers Jaehaerys and Viserys. Once Daeron had children of his own, they would fall even further back.
In his letter, Rhaegar had also made it clear that Elia would remain his first wife and Rhaenys his primary heir.
"Rhaegar actually did his homework," Daeron thought. "He even got the details right."
When Daeron had read about the old Valyrian dragonlords, he remembered they could have multiple wives and that heirs usually came from the first wife. He hadn't realized they ranked the wives themselves to settle succession.
Even Aegon the Conqueror had married both his sisters—Visenya and Rhaenys—yet passed the throne to his eldest son, Aenys, not to Maegor.
No one knew for certain which sister Aegon had married first, but Visenya was older, so logic said she came first.
Under normal Targaryen tradition, Visenya should have been the main wife, and Aegon the Conqueror should have taken Rhaenys as his second. Yet it was Aegon who sat the Iron Throne.
Some maesters had theorized that before the Conquest, Dragonstone had actually belonged to Visenya. The three siblings had agreed it was time to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, and Visenya had personally crowned Aegon after he landed, naming him King of the Seven Kingdoms without demanding extra power or land for herself.
That theory also explained why Visenya had returned to Dragonstone in fury when Aenys named his own son "the Uncrowned" Aegon as Prince of Dragonstone on the boy's nameday. Dragonstone had originally been Visenya's line—the inheritance meant for Maegor—not part of the main royal holdings.
Aenys had crossed a line. Later, after Aenys died and the realm fell into rebellion, Visenya threw her full support behind Maegor, helping him seize the throne and kill his nephew.
Before that, Visenya and Rhaenys had actually been close. Visenya had even quarreled with Aegon after Rhaenys's death and lived apart from him for a time.
Aenys's stupidity had enraged a warrior queen.
After Jaehaerys the Conciliator signed the "Holy Accord" with the Faith, House Targaryen had abandoned polygamy. No one really remembered how the Conqueror's three siblings had truly arranged things anymore. The old customs had been quietly folded into Andal tradition.
Rhaegar's move was essentially peeling back the layers and recovering the original Valyrian dragonlord system of marriage and inheritance.
If Daeron ever took multiple wives, at least he now had a working model.
"You actually did one good thing," Daeron thought, genuinely impressed by Rhaegar's determination. The man would chase what he wanted no matter the cost.
If only he could fix that reckless streak.
The lords listened and understood the purpose and importance of the new Prince of the Dragonblood position.
Still, even if the position kept perfect records, Rhaegar had restored polygamy and faced no real punishment.
"Your Grace," Lord Peck of Starfall said, pressing the point, "naming Prince Rhaegar Prince of Summerhall is acceptable, but his decision to take a second wife still violates tradition."
Daeron answered evenly. "Naming my brother Prince of Summerhall is both a mark of respect and compensation for voluntarily giving up his claim to the Iron Throne."
"However, my brother has chosen to root himself in Lys and build a new branch of the family outside Westeros. Strictly speaking, he is no longer bound by Andal tradition."
Making Rhaegar Prince of Summerhall gave Daeron room to maneuver.
If he wanted to push forward, Rhaegar's new title would set the precedent. Others could follow the example of multiple wives.
If he needed to pull back, Rhaegar was now technically a Lysene. No one in Westeros could tell him what to do.
Lord Peck caught the implication and turned red. He looked ready to laugh in sheer disbelief.
So Rhaegar wasn't really a Westerosi anymore?
Exactly.
The right to interpret the rules now belonged entirely to House Targaryen.
Daeron's expression said it clearly: That's right.
Politics was a messy game. You stirred the pot, fished in troubled waters, and grabbed what you could without getting burned.
If your heart wasn't cold enough, you had no business playing.
The lords, however, were not going to accept this quietly.
The last king who ignored noble sentiment had been Daeron's great-grandfather, Aegon V. His "Fair Law" had sparked repeated rebellions throughout his reign and left him desperate for dragons—until the Tragedy at Summerhall.
Daeron had dragons now.
Would he use them?
Not yet.
Once Daeron finished explaining, the matter was shelved for the moment, though the tension remained.
He wasn't going to let it rest.
He had won the vote. He had produced Rhaegar's letter renouncing the throne. He was now the undisputed heir to the Iron Throne and Prince of Dragonstone.
It was time for the new heir to stand before the realm and start handing out rewards and painting bigger pictures.
"My lords, if I may have your attention."
Maester Aemon instantly understood what his great-nephew was doing and followed the rhythm.
"According to Prince Rhaegar's own wishes and the results of this Great Council's vote," he said slowly, "the second son of Aerys II, Daeron Targaryen, shall become the new heir to the Iron Throne and Prince of Dragonstone."
He gestured to the two Conclave representatives, signaling that it was time for the king to speak.
Aerys, still fuming, formally confirmed Daeron's status as heir and named him Prince of Dragonstone.
And just like that, Daeron became the official heir to the Iron Throne—holding the titles of Prince of Dragonstone, Regent Prince, Warden of the Realm, and more.
No one was more legitimate than he was now.
The lords applauded warmly, giving the new heir his due while quietly cursing Rhaegar for abandoning his claim and breaking Andal tradition.
Perhaps a new heir was exactly what they needed.
At least this one had dragons.
Dragons—the ultimate source of Targaryen legitimacy.
Daeron accepted the applause with a small, satisfied smile.
All the hardship had finally paid off.
As heir, the future of House Targaryen looked bright. Step by step, they would restore the glory of the past.
When the applause faded, Daeron's expression turned serious.
"My lords," he said gravely, "now that I am heir to the Iron Throne and Regent Prince, I must take responsibility for the peace and safety of Westeros."
???
The lords looked confused. Hadn't the four-kingdom rebellion already been crushed? What new danger was there?
Daeron pointed toward the second row on the left.
"Lord Selwyn Tarth, would you please come forward?"
Lord Selwyn, one of Daeron's strongest supporters, stepped up without hesitation.
"Two months ago," Daeron continued, "a band of Tyroshi pirates raided Tarth, Estermont, and several other coastal regions of the Stormlands. They killed people and carried off a great deal of wealth."
"I'm sure some of you have heard that the Triarchy has been fighting over the Stepstones, turning the Narrow Sea into a battlefield."
"What I am about to tell you is that the fighting in the Stepstones is no longer just between the three Free Cities. Pirates, slavers, and smugglers from all over the world have flooded into the disputed islands, spreading death and chaos across the entire Narrow Sea."
"The reason? A rich vein of special gems has been discovered in the Stepstones."
He nodded to Lord Selwyn, who began recounting the attack on Tarth in detail.
Selwyn described how the Tyroshi pirates had struck, how Daeron had arrived like a divine intervention on his terrifying red dragon, and how the royal fleet had crushed them. He made the battle sound far more desperate than it had been, emphasizing that only Daeron's presence as a dragonrider had allowed them to overcome the gem-sequence fighters among the pirates.
He then moved on to the battles at Tyrosh itself, Grey Gallows, and the wider Narrow Sea campaign.
He painted the Stepstones as a treasure chest that every pirate, slaver, and smuggler in the known world was fighting to claim.
Without Daeron's dragon, without the alliances he had forged with Pentos and Myr, and without the great storm that had struck at the perfect moment, victory would have been impossible.
And if they had lost, Westeros would now be facing invasion from the east.
Tarth and Estermont were only the first warnings.
"There's really something like that going on?" Lord Mathis Rowan asked, stunned. He had been recovering in the Reach and had only heard vague rumors about chaos in the Stepstones and a massive storm. He hadn't realized how much hidden fighting had been happening.
Lord Peck looked equally surprised. "The Stepstones actually have a vein of special gems?"
As a second-tier house, the Pecks had a few members and sworn knights who had awakened life force. The Reach had been talking about the "gem sequence" for some time, but the price of special gems was brutal. Even the cheapest—amethyst and yellow sapphire—cost between two hundred and two hundred eighty gold dragons apiece.
That was already expensive. Most second-tier houses couldn't afford them.
And they were almost impossible to buy anyway.
The supply was tightly controlled by the Hightowers of Oldtown, the Tyrells of Highgarden, House Lannister, and the Iron Throne itself. The last two had long worked together and dominated the ports of King's Landing, Gulltown, White Harbor, and Dragonstone. The first two used Oldtown's maritime trade and deep pockets.
Most lords found it nearly impossible to obtain the gems they wanted for their life-force users and sworn knights.
If the Stepstones were the source of these gems—and the Triarchy and the rest of Essos were already there—then Westeros was in serious trouble.
Essos had gem mines. Westeros did not.
From what Prince Daeron and Lord Selwyn were saying, Essos had already embraced the gem sequence and was producing large numbers of powerful warriors.
If this continued, Westeros wouldn't just fall behind economically—it would fall behind militarily.
And then the east really might invade.
"Your Grace, you fought in the Stepstones," Lord Peck asked urgently. "Are there truly that many gem-sequence warriors in Essos?"
Daeron's face was grim. He nodded slowly.
"Yes. Many."
The lords exchanged uneasy glances. Even those who had been quietly buying gems in secret to keep their advantage now looked worried.
As Essos grew stronger, Westeros's safety was slipping away.
"How many life-force knights does your house have?"
"Two. Yours?"
"We have one sworn knight who's absorbed a yellow sapphire—"
Some lords began quietly comparing numbers, trying to gauge whether their combined strength could stand against an eastern invasion.
Daeron watched them with calm satisfaction.
This was the first step in his plan: bake the cake, paint the big picture, and create a sense of crisis.
If the great houses didn't feel fear, they would never truly submit to the crown.
Only external pressure would make them understand how much they needed a strong royal family.
Then Daeron could offer the real rewards and pull them in.
This Great Council was no longer just about deposing Rhaegar.
It had become a rallying cry to unite the Seven Kingdoms against the rising threat from the east.
And Daeron had a gift for speeches.