News, heavy and foreboding, spread across the newly conquered lands of Westeros: Aegon the Conqueror was dead. He had perished in the ruins of Valyria, his desperate quest for lost knowledge concluding with his death, though not without yield.
In King's Landing, the formal rituals of succession began. The Lord Paramounts—the great lords of the Rivers, the Stormlands, the Westerlands, the Reach, and the Vale—were summoned to the city.
One by one, they were compelled to kneel and swear fealty to Aenys I Targaryen, now crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms, and his wife, Queen Alyssa Velaryon.
Aenys, inheriting the throne defined by conquest and shadowed by the North's defiance, was a man of gentler temperament than his father, but equally bound by the Valyrian destiny.
The oaths were taken, the bells were rung, and the Targaryen dynasty continued, though its architect was gone.
Meanwhile, Visenya Targaryen retreated into the dark heart of the Red Keep. The time for public grief was over; the time for power was at hand.
She immediately delved into the contents of the heavy, tar-wrapped bundles Balerion had brought back from the smoking ruins.
The objects were a testament to Aegon's final, fateful gamble. There were several finely crafted Valyrian steel swords and pieces of armor, undoubtedly salvaged from the ancient dragonlord vaults.
More importantly, there were vast, crumbling volumes of knowledge: ancient books on different types of ritual magic, texts detailing the applications of Fire Magic and Wind Magic, and engineering innovations used in Valyrian architecture.
She found Glass Candles, the obsidian artifacts of communication, and several strangely carved Dragon Horns, their purpose deeply unsettling.
Crucially, there were also a few unhatched dragon eggs, a desperately needed resource for a House that had suffered losses.
Visenya understood immediately that Aegon had secured the tools for the next phase of Targaryen dominance.
She wasted no time. Her grief was transmuted into purpose. She began the intense training of the next generation—Aenys, Maegor, and her grandsons and granddaughters.
Aenys and Maegor were her primary focus. Already enhanced by Visenya's own blood rituals, they quickly began to absorb the new teachings.
The princes took readily to the intense discipline of Fire Magic—the control of pure dragon-flame energy—and the swift, defensive maneuvers of Wind Magic.
Of the two, Aenys, despite his softer demeanor, proved to be slightly more talented in pure magical study, demonstrating an inherent flair for the complex Valyrian incantations.
Maegor, ever the formidable combination, utilized his martial strength to ground the magical lessons, his fire proving more focused and destructive. At the same time, his wind magic served as a lethal extension of his already superior swordsmanship.
Visenya, the last remaining wielder of pure dragon power, poured every drop of her knowledge and every secret from the recovered texts into them, preparing them not just to rule, but to conquer what her brother could not.
In the cold, secure halls of Winterfell, Torrhen Stark, the King in the North, received the news of Aegon's death and Aenys's succession. The grim certainty of war settled over him like a permanent winter cloud.
Torrhen was a King of traditional wisdom, yet he understood the new reality his brother Alaric had created. "The peace is over," he stated to Maege, his voice low. "Troubled times are ahead."
He knew that as long as Visenya lived, the Targaryens, bound by the magical oath, would not directly attack the North.
The Queen Dowager was pragmatic; she would allow her sons and grandchildren to mature and her resources to recover before risking another confrontation with Alaric's impenetrable defenses.
But once Visenya was gone, the attack would come. It might take a decade or two, but the new, magically potent Targaryens would look north, their honor demanding vengeance and their power demanding total dominion.
Torrhen had already amassed crucial intelligence, thanks to the vast network established by Alaric. His wargs regularly sent reports from the Neck, detailing the movements, mood, and now, the training regimen in King's Landing.
He knew of the Dragon Knights—the Targaryen guards enhanced by Visenya's earlier blood rituals, possessing superhuman strength that rivaled his own Winter Wolves. Yet, he also knew their fundamental weakness: they did not possess the magic now common among the Stark command, nor did their common infantry possess the runic armor and enhanced skills of the Winter Kingdom's forces.
He also had disturbing reports confirming Alaric's warnings: the Targaryens were now practicing Fire Magic, an elemental force that could potentially challenge the ice-wielders of the North.
Torrhen made the necessary preparations with quiet, unyielding resolve.
First, he sent a messenger through the teleportation gate to Brandon Snow, his bastard brother at Moat Cailin, and a guard to fetch Edric Stark, his son and heir. The North's three most powerful leaders needed to convene and finalize their joint defense strategy.
He ordered the Northern Lords to begin stockpiling supplies far more than usual. The reserves of wood, iron, and grain were quietly moved to fortified positions deep in the mountains.
He increased the funding and resources flowing to Moat Cailin, reinforcing the gate and ensuring Brandon Snow's garrison was at full strength, their enhanced longbows and ballistas ready. The statue of defiance was to remain the unyielding symbol of their sovereignty.
Torrhen knew the war might not knock on their door for decades, but the North would not be caught unawares. Every day that Visenya focused on her grandsons was a day the North would use to refine its elemental shields, fortify its mountain passes, and ensure that when the dragon came, it would find only ice and steel, unyielding and unbreakable. The longest night was coming, and the Starks would be ready.