Meeting adjourned.
Daeron walked out of White Sword Tower and ran into Varys coming other way.
Varys smiled and nodded, a silent greeting.
"My Lord, I hear your homeland is across Narrow Sea?"
Daeron stopped him.
Varys played humble, smiling. "You could say that."
Daeron was interested in Essos and needed a way into conversation. "After First Blackfyre Rebellion, Targaryen ancestral sword 'Blackfyre' was taken across Narrow Sea by Bittersteel. It's been missing ever since. Do you have any way of tracking it down?"
Varys had his own secrets to hide, so he naturally wouldn't make any promises.
"Prince, that was a generation ago. Even 'Monstrous' Maelys didn't wield Blackfyre."
"But I want to reunite two ancestral swords."
Daeron patted Dark Sister at his waist, asking, "If you hear anything, you must let me know immediately."
"It is my duty."
Varys bowed slightly.
They parted ways. Daeron chewed over conversation.
Varys was a master of talking without saying anything. Flawless.
If he wanted real intel on Triarchy, spider probably wouldn't spill any hard facts.
Daeron shifted gears, thinking to himself, "It's been two months. Is Lyanna pregnant yet?"
Not to talk shit, but Rhaegar's track record with his partners left a lot to be desired.
In original timeline, Elia gave birth to her first child, Rhaenys, right around end of 280 AC.
By spring of 281 AC, during Tourney at Harrenhal, Elia was already pregnant again, and she gave birth to baby Aegon late that year.
That meant Rhaegar didn't give his wife a single second to recover. As soon as she dropped first kid, he immediately knocked her up again.
Elia nearly died giving birth to her second child, leaving her permanently bedridden.
And exact moment Rhaegar decided to run off with Lyanna? Right after maesters told him Elia could never have another child.
Rhaegar rode straight for Riverlands and grabbed Lyanna.
Working backward from Jon Snow's birth in 283 AC, Lyanna got pregnant almost immediately.
"Prince That Was Promised wasn't born from your line."
Daeron shook his head.
Based on original story, prophesied Prince/Princess was their unborn little sister, Daenerys Targaryen.
Now? It was 80% likely to be him.
Daeron thought as he walked, "Rhaegar running around doing side quests isn't going to accomplish a damn thing."
Plus, because of Daeron's interference, Elia had returned to King's Landing early. She never got pregnant second time.
butterfly effect seemed to have completely erased baby Aegon from existence.
Could Rhaegar still pull off 'dragon has three heads' prophecy?
Lord Rickard Stark rode hard from Winterfell, crossing mountains and rivers, finally reaching King's Landing.
Moment he hit Red Keep, he demanded an audience with King.
Hearing news, Aerys actually agreed to see him.
Because of massive scandal between their two houses, meeting was set in Small Council chamber.
Midday. 12:00 PM.
Wrapped in a heavy black cloak, Lord Rickard dropped to one knee and pleaded, "Your Grace, my son is about to be married. He had no intention of offending Iron Throne. I beg you, release him so he may finish his wedding."
"Your son getting married has absolutely nothing to do with me."
Aerys was in a decent mood, but completely confused.
Daeron was at meeting, sitting in first seat to King's right, directly across from Hand.
He sized up Lord of North.
Lord Rickard Stark was in his forties, tall and heavily built, with a rugged, commanding face and a thick, full beard.
He didn't burst in demanding answers about his eldest son, nor did he obsess over what happened to his daughter Lyanna. He simply begged for his son's release as a father.
Faced with King's confusion, Lord Rickard paused. "My son heard rumors about Crown Prince and Lyanna. He abandoned his wedding with Lady Catelyn Tully and rode hard for King's Landing. I haven't heard from him since."
According to his intel.
People saw Brandon and his crew hit King's Landing, only to get tied up and dragged straight into Red Keep.
How could King not know?
Aerys genuinely had no idea. Thinking Rickard was mocking him, he instantly snapped. "I haven't seen your damn wolf pup. Your daughter seduced my son, and I haven't even settled that score with you yet. And you have nerve to come here and demand answers from me!?"
He immediately ordered guards to tie Lord Rickard up.
"Hold on!"
Tywin suddenly stopped them.
Aerys raged, "Tywin, what hell are you doing?"
"Your Grace, you misunderstand Lord Rickard."
Tywin was completely unfazed.
He laid it all out: how Brandon and his crew tried to storm King's Landing to demand answers from King, and how he had sent men to intercept them on road.
Tywin added, "They are currently locked in Red Keep dungeons, awaiting your judgment."
Lord Rickard was shocked and deeply unsettled. He looked from high-and-mighty Hand to completely clueless King, his heart rate spiking.
He knew he was completely fucked.
Sure enough, Aerys's face twisted into a maniacal grin. "A little wolf pup actually dared to ride into King's Landing to question me?"
"Lord Rickard, you've raised a fine son."
Lord Rickard scrambled to explain, "Your Grace, my son is impulsive. He doesn't know any better. Please, consider that no real harm was done and show mercy."
Furious Aerys didn't hear a single word. He only wanted to punish them brutally to show realm how ruthless he could be.
He was going to kill Stark father and son in most agonizing way possible.
And all those noble kids who rode with wolf pup were going to burn with them.
Aerys screamed, "Guards!"
Bang! Doors flew open, and two Kingsguard marched in.
Daeron didn't try to stop it. Instead, he shot his great-uncle a look.
Catching signal, Maester Aemon stepped in to cool King's jets. He asked, "Lord Rickard, Rhaegar and Lyanna eloping is a scandal for both House Targaryen and House Stark."
"But just a moment ago, you mentioned your eldest son was about to marry a Tully girl."
"If my memory serves me, wasn't Brandon deeply in love with Barbrey Ryswell, daughter of Lord of Rills? Hadn't they already discussed marriage?"
Daeron had leaked this info.
Brandon "Wild Wolf" Stark was a notorious playboy, far from innocent. He had been sleeping with Barbrey since they were kids.
But he dumped her to take Tully betrothal.
He even told Barbrey he didn't like Catelyn Tully, that it was just an arranged marriage, and that they could keep sleeping together after he was married.
Absolute scum. Worse than Robert.
But during that whole mess, Barbrey actually explained why she and Brandon couldn't get married.
Lord Rickard's pupils shrank. He never expected to see Maester Aemon of Castle Black here, let alone that old man would know so much about Stark family business.
"I—"
Maester Aemon's eyes might have been clouded with age, but they were sharp as a razor right now. "Do not lie, Lord Rickard. If you do not tell whole truth, I cannot help you."
Lord Rickard's face drained of color. He slowly lowered his head, his voice muffled. "It was Maester Walys Flowers of Winterfell. He advised me to expand House Stark's influence in South through a marriage alliance with House Tully."
"And?"
Maester Aemon's voice was soft, like a quiet, patient listener.
Lord Rickard knew he had nothing left to lose. He sighed heavily. "I betrothed my eldest son Brandon to Lord Hoster's eldest daughter, and I sent my second son Ned to Eyrie to be fostered by childless Lord Arryn."
Coincidentally, Robert Baratheon, heir to Storm's End, was also fostered at Eyrie.
He formed a deep bond with his second son, Ned.
So, he just went with flow and betrothed his daughter Lyanna to Robert.
foundation of four-region alliance was born right there.
Aerys was absolutely mind-blown. He went completely berserk. "I knew it! You're all a bunch of treasonous bastards, plotting to steal my Iron Throne!"
He nearly launched himself out of his chair before Ser Gerold grabbed him from behind.
Losing his shit in front of court wasn't a good look.
Hearing this massive secret for first time, Tywin frowned. "Who is Walys Flowers?"
"I know a little about him."
Maester Aemon's expression was incredibly complicated. "Walys was a bastard of House Hightower. He did well at Citadel and eventually became Maester of Winterfell."
"House Hightower of Oldtown?"
Tywin's eyes turned lethal, shooting a glare at Lord Commander of Kingsguard.
Based on what Lord Rickard just said, it was obvious Walys had been constantly whispering in his ear, feeding his ambition until four-region alliance was born.
What hell was House Hightower trying to pull?
This was second time they were tearing Seven Kingdoms apart.
Ser Gerold snapped to attention, completely serious. "I've never even heard of man. He must be a bastard from some distant branch of family."
He was old enough to know better.
Tywin pulled his gaze back, and tension eased slightly.
But once seed of doubt is planted, it puts down roots.
Daeron frowned. "Until we get to bottom of this, take him to dungeons."
House Hightower of Oldtown had a murky history.
And Citadel was entirely funded by them.
Looking back at brief history of House Targaryen, plenty of family members and famous maesters had given their takes on Dance of Dragons.
King Viserys I, absolute cause of whole mess, deserved at least half blame.
But House Hightower, Daemon Targaryen, and 'Sea Snake' Corlys Velaryon were real puppet masters behind Dance.
No debate. Those three factions steered entire civil war from shadows.
Kings and Queens of both Black and Green factions were literally just puppets they propped up, completely lacking any real political agency.
And after Dance ended, during reign of Aegon III "Dragonbane," Targaryen dragons went completely extinct.
House Hightower absolutely played a role in that too.
Maesters of Citadel were executioners.
Remember Citadel's core philosophy: deny all magic.
extinction of dragons wasn't just Aegon III letting them die; it was actively pushed along by House Hightower and Citadel.
If he could figure that out, there were plenty of smart people in room who could too.
For first time, Maester Aemon's face turned incredibly dark. Tywin frowned silently.
Aerys, on other hand, didn't understand a single damn thing and was just focused on venting. "No! Tie Rickard up! Him and his wolf pup are traitors. I'm going to chop their heads off."
Lord Rickard panicked, struggling wildly. "I told you everything! Why won't you show mercy!?"
Aerys finally had a moment of brilliance and fired back, "You didn't confess, you were caught!"
"No! This isn't a fair trial!"
Lord Rickard's survival instinct kicked into overdrive. He immediately shouted, "If I am guilty, let Seven Gods decide my fate! I demand a trial by combat!"
He refused to accept this!
He had already confessed. Why were they still trying to kill him?