The day after Aryan's first battlefield triumph broke clear and sharp—a Westerosi sky for the first time, three dragons circling above, and a host that believed fate was turning in its favor. Yet Aryan knew the horizon was filled with challenge. Victory had made them visible. Now, every king, lord, and ambitious upstart from the Reach to the Vale would begin to move. The dance would only accelerate.
The Ripple Effect
While the army mended wounds and sang new Targaryen songs, Aryan seized the moment to act faster than rumor. The battlefield's victory and the living presence of three dragons offered an unprecedented surge in recruitment. Messengers rode in all directions: some to lords rumored to hold grudges against the Lannisters, others to cities and townships long oppressed by tax and war, promising justice and a new order under the "dragon banner."
Reports flowed in by noon. In Maidenpool, villagers tore down Baratheon standards overnight. In Blackwater Bay, river pirates pledged service if Aryan would spare their kin and offer royal pardon. Even among disillusioned Lannister bannermen, discontent spread—spurred by tales of mercy to defeated mercenaries and the "miracle-born" dragons.
Yet Aryan's meta-awareness kept him cautious. The world was waking, but not all its noises were friendly. House Lannister was already gathering gold and blades for retribution. Robert Baratheon's court, long complacent, began to buzz with fear and strategy.
Dragons as Diplomats
Aryan called a council under an awning as scouts, leaders, and a growing cadre of hopefuls gathered. Daenerys sat beside him, Skywrath clutching her sleeve; Verdantyr, now heavier and more confident, lounged on Aryan's armored shoulder. Missandei kept records and relayed local dialects from new arrivals.
Aryan outlined the campaign:
"We must hold the hearts of the people as tightly as we hold these dragons," he said. "We will not march blindly at King's Landing's walls. We take the towns with offers of protection and justice, not simply threats."
Daenerys would ride in person with small detachments, her dragons always present, to meet with minor lords and commonfolk. Every meeting would become a legend: a queen who listened, dragons that brought rain, a price paid in service—not fear.
Trusted Unsullied and liberated correspondents would spread the word: House Targaryen would pardon, not punish, all but the worst of the lion's loyalists. Aryan would offer amnesty and a seat at the table for those who broke from House Lannister now.
First Serious Alliance
In the following days, Aryan's gamble paid off. Lord Grafton of Gulltown, a seasoned banner provider once loyal to House Arryn, sent envoys to parley for alliance. Drawn to Aryan's discipline and hopeful, yet wary, they were stunned by the sight of three dragons—and more so by Aryan's refusal to demand immediate loyalty.
"We will shelter your people from the reaver and the taxman," Aryan promised. "We will not burn fields—unless you turn on us first." His words, matched by Daenerys's warmth and actual flying dragons, irrevocably tipped the scales.
Gulltown's gates opened, its militia swelling Aryan's host. Most crucially, Aryan secured the port—his first direct sea link to Westerosi nobility and new fleets arriving from Essos.
The Test from Within
Not all celebrated. The influx of new troops and opportunists brought spies—and a small, desperate band made an attempt in the night to poison Verdantyr by lacing goat meat, hoping to weaken Aryan's legend. Daenerys caught wind of the plot early from a repentant squire, and Aryan's agents intercepted the would-be saboteurs.
Aryan handled the matter publicly but with calculated leniency—exiling the traitors, but sparing their lives, and letting witnesses see the unwavering bond between dragon and lord. The spectacle didn't lessen his authority; if anything, it made belief in his legend sharper. The word was out: the dragons could not be caught so easily, and the Silver Prince forgave—yet never forgot.
Rivalries Ignite
By now, King's Landing was boiling with alarm. Ravens flew from the Red Keep in all directions calling banners. Cersei Lannister, described in reports as furious and afraid, pressed gold and threats into the hands of mercenary companies. Even Stannis Baratheon, silent and cold, began fortifying Dragonstone in anticipation of a storm.
Aryan met with Daenerys and Ser Willem beneath the moon. "We can't split our forces yet. Not until the dragons are grown or more lords swear to us. Dany, you and I must remain the heart—and the shield."
"We will not be separated," Daenerys agreed, her voice strong with the weight of loss and hope. "We will win, together."
Verdantyr, bigger every day, coiled around Aryan's back—watchful, possessive, as if imbued with his rider's own ambition.
Foreshadow: The Next Step
As Aryan walked the ramparts of newly-won Gulltown, watching the dragons arc across a blood-streaked dawn, he realized the pieces were moving as they never had in any story he'd read. The world of Westeros rippled: armies massed in the Riverlands, banners were called in the Stormlands, and—always—new rumors flew ahead of Aryan's advance.
Aryan's army stood on the threshold of the true war: no longer just survival, but the struggle for the Iron Throne itself. For the first time, he felt not just the burden, but the exhilaration of mastery—the sense that the legend of the Targaryens was his to write, his to defend, and, perhaps, his to win.
The dance had become a storm. And Aryan, dragon at his shoulder and sister at his side, was at its furious, unignorable center.
End of Chapter 21