Have you ever gotten so tired that you got genuinely delusional? Like I was writing that last chapter at like 3am possibly 4 I'm not entirely sure. It's not the most sleep-deprived I've ever been but it just hit different on that particular night.
Anyway, the name change is officially to Ancalagon a bit overused sure but I don't hate it at all. Anyway this chapter was going to be the great council in its entirety before I realized it took half a year to even start and there was a lot more to it than I knew about.
As for the winner of the last chapter all hail King CaptainMorga π Long may they reign.
Also I have my math final tomorrow so wish me luck I need it.
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Harrenhal 101 AC
Aemon Targaryen POV
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The flight to Harrenhal was an interesting one. Instead of heading straight there we landed a few times and spoke with several lords. It ended up taking us a few days thanks to us meeting and staying with a few of the lords on the way. Almost all of them held small feasts in our honor, thanks to the unexpected visit that Father definitely said was not a threat. It definitely was but I suppose that was just a difference in opinion. Plus almost every day lords and ladies were pushing their daughters in my face no doubt that they were all attempting to charm me into a betrothal or something like that. Even so, we made a much faster pace than the royal party and didn't stay at most of the crown and river lords' castles for very long.
But something odd was happening to me as we got closer to Harrenhal each day. I began having more and more strange dreams. At first, they were in Kings Landing I would find myself in the stables far from anyone bothering me for a while. Usually it would be the night but sometimes late day and instead of already being there I was going back into the stables. Then I would sometimes be let out in the morning and I was always fed. It didn't take me long to realise I was dreaming into the mind of my horse Balerion. But as we got further into the Riverlands the dreams changed.
I would often find myself back home in Runestone. Only it wasn't me exactly rather I was someone else or something else sometimes a strange cat others a bear. It wasn't always the same one either often times it was different ones. But I had noticed that not only were the young animals getting on well but several of my family members had taken to each of them. Mother, Gunthor, Willam, and Gerold had all taken fondly to one of the bears each while a few of my cousins had taken better to the shadow cats. But as we went further west those dreams transferred to my dragon I would sometimes dream of him hunting and flying through the night sky. He normally had a taste for sheep and fish although as he got bigger he started going for sheep more and more often. Now however he was trying a varietyof animals for the first time. First it was a few deer then a couple of stags and then he started eating whole cows and wild horses. It had already been hell trying to get him to not to eat the ones at Runestone but now he was eating the wild ones anyway. But his night flying took him farther and last night he went all the way to the trident and he started hunting Aurochs.
That's when I told him to never hunt those as they were already highly endangered animals and much like direwolves would later only exist beyond the wall in Weastaros. I also decided that I would look into trying to domesticate the wild animals better in Vale. Plus told him off about eating horses again he was upset but listened when I told him to stop it. I was worried my sweet baby dragon was starting to turn into a rebellious teenager but I would never use the tame skill on him. I was fine doing it to other dragons but I would never take away his free will. Dragons aren't slaves and they were never meant to be chained down by anything not even magic. I would have to do so with others for practicality but not my own.
Soon we were soaring through the clouds though. It was midday and Father had me sitting in front of him on Caraxes' back. I gripped the saddle not too hard but not too weakly either. The warm sun and the fresh air breeze eased the slight discomfort in my legs I had been feeling from flying for the past four hours.
Meanwhile, Agaraxes whom I had renamed Ancalagon was flying behind us. He had no trouble keeping pace with Caraxes despite the size difference which proved to be a boon. At first, Father stopped so Ancalagon could rest but he realized soon enough that the young dragon had been keeping up with us just fine so he kept going. I think that alone took about two days of our trip through the riverlands. In all honesty, it wouldn't have taken us more than a day to travel to Harrenhal if we flew nonstop but Father had taken the time to treat with damn near every single one of the river lords on the way here.
We had been making small talk for a while but the conversation had dried up after a while. About an hour or two had passed since we last spoke and truthfully I would have been bored if not for the fact that I was atop an actual dragon which made it much more interesting for me. We did change altitudes occasionally for better navigation so I could see the changes in terrain sometimes. But for the most part it was just us flying through the clouds and with my smaller size it was hard to see over Caraxes at times. Luckily the sky dragon eyes helped him see farther down with greater ease. Now it was the part of the trip that was kind of just flying forward and that was it.
"We should be nearing Harrenhal soon. We'll be going down so hold on tighter." He said gripping the reins and without even shouting a command Caraxes trills with joy not saying anything in particular. Then he swoops down beneath the cloud as an ocean of green travels beneath us. The wind blasted my face and I had the squint not to get whatever dust and water the clouds held in my eyes. We soared north and just off to our left is a massive river and ahead of it an even larger lake. It's blue and water sparkled in the sunlight like sapphires and emeralds and in its center was a small island covered in red weir wood trees.
But beyond that was a massive black castle largest castle in theΒ Seven Kingdoms. When it had been freshly made I'm sure that it was beyond beautiful but now it was a dark and ruinous place. The castle has five towers of dizzying size, with equally monstrous curtain walls. Each wall was made of a black stone and like its towers its walls, the five immense round towers of Harrenhal are made of black stone.
"Burn this into your memory Aemon that is the true strength of our house. Not that Velaryon cunt with blood as thick as water but the true fire of the dragon lords of old Valyria,"Father said in a almost nostalgic voice as if he missed the idea of a burning castle with nothing but the might of the ancient creature beneath him. Harrenhal's castle which was ones grand now a scorched deck of disrepair. Its shortest tower is half as high as the tallest but none of the towers were proper rather, being bent, lumped, and cracked from the melting of the stone during theΒ burning of HarrenhalΒ byΒ Balerion , theΒ dragon of KingΒ Aegon I Targaryen not my horse of the same name, over a century earlier.
By now we had passed over the town of Harrenton, orΒ was it Harrentown? I couldn't remember but in truth I couldn't care less. Still the town on the northern shore of the God's eye. The town seemed to have a trail of lords trickling in though we were two high up to read the sigils. It's seems father noticed if just wanted to show off and so we banked down with a screech from Caraxes announcing his glory to the onlookers who were no doubt gasping with awe and fear.
We flew lower over the town and closer to the castle itself. With each flap of Caraxes and Ancalagons' wings objects scattered children pointed and mother's hugged them too their sides. I even saw one child not too much older than me with silvery gold hair clutching the arm of a brown haired woman. My eyes now the blue purple reptilian slits scanned the whole area in slow motion. Then after scanning the crowds of peasants in town with hawklike precision the shifted to the approaching castle gates. It was just as large as the reputation had made it out to be if not bigger. The gate itself was the largest I had ever seen by no contest. Even the gates of King's Landing's walls were much smaller by comparison.
But as we drew closer what truly caught my attention were all the tents outside the castle. All the lords of the realm were here and even now more were arriving. In the distance a train of carriages all along a road to the castle came followed by another in the distance. Along side them dozens if not hundreds of men and women some knights some squirrels some simple servants. Several houses trailed behind one who I assumed would have been here a bit sooner than us.
House Lannister came in like a roaring lion at the head of its pride. Other Weasterlander houses both great and small followed them like lionesses. Several random banner men escorted a large wheel house. It was far bigger than your average carnage and was pulled by at least 20 horses alone. Of course it was covered in Lannister sigil and flew their flag. It was even painted in their colors and they had several hundred guardsmen, bannermen, men at arms, and servants all around.
That reminded me of something the Lannister twins no not the incestuous ones but the other ones. Jason and Tyland Lannister I had seen them before on Dragonstone. The two boys were young as well about 8 or 9 I would guess. Young enough to still be my friends as such they could prove key allies and likely trade partners in the future. Plus if Tyland still ends up being the master of coin some day it wouldn't hurt to have him on my side.
Speaking of future allies I suppose making s good impression on all the children of the other lords would be quite valuable as well. Even so, we swooped lower and circled a few times. Then I spotted a smaller party bearing Targaryen banners as well as house strong that was most likely sent in advance to resolve us and the other members as we got here.
"Hold in tight and when the time comes cover your face!" Father shouted above the winds that were suddenly roaring past us as the dragon sped up. Then to my surprise instead of landing right away when my father found a proper place to land. He yanked the black reins hard and Caraxes flew straight up and roared. Even I admired the strength of connection between the two of them. Without even shouting a command the blood wrym knew exactly what he wanted. I turned around to see him grinning wildly as he ushered Caraxes to rise faster and faster into the sky.
"What do you mean? Why should I cover my face!?" I yelled over the wind but he didn't respond and before I could say anything else Caraxes roared again.
"ππππππ πππππππ πππππππ ππ πππππ πππ πΏππππππ!" Or something like that a bit hard to hear over the wave of blood red flames that blasted out from his mouth and covered us. It wasn't all to hot all things considered but on reflex I ducked my head down and as we flew directly through the fire. Luckily not even a single hair on my pale golden head was singed. My hair had been growing longer lately I hadn't bothered to cut it because Grany liked it so much. Rhaenyra and Aemma had complemented it as well but I'm sure others liked at as well considering how well I took care of it.
But as the flames passed my head rose back up and I realized that the fireball wasn't hurting me at all. Rather it was warm and almost pleasant and over far too quickly. We flew higher past the smoke and sideways before turning back around towards the ground then rushing lower. My legs tightened on the seat and it wasn't for the rattle of the chain attached to me I'd be worried about flying off.
Then we circled the area one more time and if they hadn't noticed before then they certainly did now. Daemon Targaryen had made his entrance on dragon back not just a display of his riding prowess but also a statement of intent. He didn't come me here to play instead he came to show them what a Targaryen looked like. Then we landed with surprising gentleness as Caraxes spread his wings and lowered us down. As soon as settled Caraxes roared again.
"πΏππππππ ππππππ ππ ππππππππ πππ πππππππ ππ ππππππππππ." He shouted high-pitched as always. Slowly a delegation approached us and father helped me down as we dismounted. They were men of House Targaryen and House Strong as well. One stepped forward.
"My prince welcome to Harrenhal we are honored by your presence." One of them said as he stepped forward and knelt along withthe rest behind him. He was closer than the others but keept a respectful distance and no matter how they tried to hide it their fear of the grand beast before them. Caraxes himself lowered his head and leaned closer to them.
"π¬ππ πππππ ππππππ ππ πππππ ππ ππ ππ ππππ ππ πππππ?" He growled and clicked out between rows of sharp yellow teeth the size of daggers. Daemon walked over to the blood wyrm's head and patted it calmly. Without any command or way of understanding what the dragon was saying, Father seemed to just know. Meanwhile I turned my gaze back to the sky where Ancalogon circled around for a few moments before landing a little farther away from us. I walked over to him ignoring the conversation that started between my father and the guards. Instead, I went over to my bond who turned to lock eyes with me.
"πΈπππ π ππ€ π₯πππ£π π€π πππ₯ππππ πͺπ π¦ ππππ?" He hissed more than growled. My dragon had grown significantly since he had first hatched. It was mostly thanks to the fruits of the dragon tree which seemed to grow more every year. He was about 10 feet long or 3.048 meters and had a 15-foot wingspan
"No I just wanted to see you and tell you a few things." I said as Ancalagon walked closer to me. The young black dragon had eyes the same shade of purple as mine but his scales were all a shimmering obsidian black as if he were freshly polished.
"π π π§ππ£πͺ π¨πππ." He looked more attentive now than before his slit eyes narrowing slightly. Ancalagon focused more intently on me and I could see the increased intelect reflected in them as well.
"Firstly we'll be staying here for some time and won't be leaving for about half a year. So no eating any people or horses here. Secondly, I'm going to do something so we can communicate mentally from now on. I should have done it sooner but I've been thinking about other things and forgot." I slowly reached out my hand to gently scratch that place behind his horns I know he always liked. Then I leaned my head against his and used animal bond.
[Skill: (Type: Single Use Skill) Animal bond:
Allows the user to command the bonded animal telepathically from any distance. It also lets the user feel the animal's emotions see through their eyes and share their senses. They can also control the animal's body akin to skin changing but without negative side effects. Lastly, if the user dies they can transfer their consciousness to a bonded animal.]
Now I only had 6 uses left and I was rather happy I used one on my dragon. I had no plans of dying anytime soon but if I did I'd rather be living the rest of my days inside the body of a dragon rather than a horse. Plus who knows if I'll reincarnate again this time could have just been a fluke or something. Plus Ancalagon would probably live a few hundred years anyway given a dragon's natural life span and his enhancements. Maybe it would be fun to sit around as House Targaryen's guardian beast or explore the world as a giant fire-breathing weapon of mass destruction.
But as my thoughts wandered while I pet my greatest companion in this life our known shared senses spotted someone approaching me. I turned to see my father walking closer to me not even a drop of hesitation while being so close to Aancalagon. He stopped only about four feet away from me and leaned his weight on one side. It was odd just how easily I could read his balance and center of mass now. I hadn't even activated the skill of animal bond yet it seemed to have some residual effects anyway. Daemon cocked his head and put one hand on Dark Sister. I noticed that the Targaryen guards had stayed here while the Strong guards had left of the two groups ours seemed slightly calmer in the presence of dragons. A few dragon keepers no doubt also sent in advance were heeding Caraxes away from the people and closer to the castle.
"It was fine you didn't speak to those cunts. But you must make a show of greeting the lords and their heirs do you understand?" He smirked and tilted his head towards the glancing lords nearby. I looked to the gathered crowd far enough to not be dragon food close enough to see the majestic creatures clearly. Two of which were shorter and blond-haired with red clothing and gold lions on their chests.
"Yes, Father I understand I will do my best to sway them to our side," I said turning my head to lock eyes with him. He smirked down at me and in his eyes, I could see the approval and behind that slight surprise. Did he think I didn't know why he had been going out of our way to meet with the river lords? Why had we taken such an indirect route to Harrenhal? Or was he just surprised that I knew exactly what he wanted me to do?
"Those blue bastards won't know what hit them." He barked out a laugh, "Come find me when you're done playing around." Then he turned and left marching towards the castle. I almost forgot about that father overheard me calling Rhaenys faction the blues and our faction the reds and he started calling them that himself. From there it started to catch on and no doubt our countless visits have spread it.
So now the question is between the reds and the blues over the course of the time it takes for all the lords to gather from every corner of the continent. Which side will gather more support? I have no doubt in our victory but my true goal is to gather a list of future allies to my side. Allies who will play a key role in the elevation of both Houses to which I belong. And I know exactly where to start after all these are the lands of House Strong and if I'm right there are two boys whom I will target first.
[Chapter image]
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Don't worry I won't make the great council a whole arc maybe just a chapter or two. Also I think I may have astigmatism. Could I go see a doctorβ¦ maybe. Will Iβ¦. Probably not.
Remember to leave some likes and power stones so more people can read the fic. Also more comments means more motivation for me which means more chapters. π