Chapter Text
Ser Vaemond’s younger cousins fled to King’s Landing with his wife and sons, there to cry for justice and place their claims before the king and queen. King Viserys had grown extremely fat and red of face, and scarce had the strength to mount the steps to the Iron Throne. His Grace heard them out in a stony silence, then ordered their tongues removed, every one. “You were warned,” he declared, as they were being dragged away. “I will hear no more of these lies.”
Yet as he was descending, His Grace tired from the exertion, fell in front of the court, though by luck and blessings, he managed to avoid any of the jagged blades of the Throne. His Grace spent some time trying to right himself before falling again. The King was much embarrassed by this and spent several days alone in his chambers. The Princess Rhaenyra and her family visited His Grace to give him thanks for defending the position of Prince Lucerys as Heir of Driftmark. She also brought with her own Maester Gerardys who spoke of moderation and exercise. The King, in past years, had ignored similar talks from his wife, Grand Maester and Hand, but now after his fall took more committed action.
The King would also converse with his daughter who herself had gained much weight in recent years. Though the Princess could not be called grossly fat, the toll of her successive pregnancies had left their mark and both King and Princess swore together to make an improvement.
The princess made great strides but never regained the beauty that she had once been heralded for. The King, though his transformation was slow, for he still loved food and drink and often relapsed, began to appear more and more in the yard to practice fighting and reduced the quantity of excess. Like his daughter, Viserys never recovered his truly youthful appearance but his body did slim substantially and he was given of a new vigor that he had lacked in many years.
This was for both good and ill for both the Greens and the Blacks, for a stronger and more energetic Viseys was prone to fits of fancy. Whereas before, he’d almost always abandoned them at either the insistence of his wife or daughter, now from time to time, he stuck to them steadfastly. Not oft, for while the strengthening of the body had had some impact on Viserys’ disposition, it had not truly changed his character, but enough times that it became matter of inconvenience for both Green and Black. Neither Green or Black could tell whether Viserys would abandon any new idea as a fancy or would insist upon it.
For example, upon the birth of the Princess Rhaenyra’s final child, a girl named Visenya in the year 129 AC, Viserys moved three quarters of the court including the whole of the Small Council to Dragonstone and would not be dissuaded no matter how Queen Alicent begged otherwise and Viserys spent the next year and a half on Dragonstone.
Then in the year 131 AC, the men of Rhaegor Valtarys, the latest pirate King of the Narrow Sea attacked a Velaryon ship upon which Lucerys Velaryon and his kinsman and cousin Daeron were on (though Daeron had contested Lucerys’ claim on Driftmark, he had not voiced suspicions of bastardry and had thereafter chosen to be reconciled to Corlys and Lucerys). Lucerys and his dragon Arrax burned the attacking ship though he was wounded in the attack and Daeron was slain. Such attacks had become increasingly common in the last two years and Prince Daemon and Lord Corlys suggested a new fleet be assembled to drive out Valtarys and retake the Stepstones as their own. In the past, Viserys had been dismissive of the private war that his brother and Lord Corlys had engaged in, and had expressed fear of Valtarys’ connections with the Triarchy. But now he took a different tone, mayhaps because of the direct attack on his own grandson.
“Let Valtarys regret this attack on mine own subjects and mine own blood. We shall drive him out and take the Stepstones as our own. And if the Triarchy doth try to stop us, they too will feel the wrath of dragonfire.” Even Otto Hightower, Hand of the King, could not protest such a declaration for Valtarys had made a direct attack on the King’s grandson. Prince Lucerys had been sailing under the colors of both House Velaryon and House Targaryen and such an affront on the might of the Iron Throne could not be abided. Though he did counsel that Valtarys, though a son of Tyrosh, was not actually an agent of the Triarchy. War could not be entirely avoided, but it could be lessened. Yet Otto pushed for all his grandsons to join the war effort.
“If all the dragons of House Targaryen join in unison,” he said to his grandsons, “then this war will be over soon enough.” For the Blacks, of course, there was no question that war in the Stepstones was the only option.
“He who touches a single member of House Targaryen must remember that they shall be paid back a hundred times over in fire and blood,” Prince Daemon said to Princess Rhaenyra after delivering the news of the attack on Prince Lucerys. Corlys Velaryon agreed, but his experience in the Stepstones had made him wary of how long the war against Valtarys might take and insisted to Princess Rhaenyra that her sons Jacaerys and Lucerys take their betrotheds Baela and Rhaena to wife. But Princess Rhaenyra pointed out that any such event would be, by its nature, a rather rushed affair, not worthy to be the wedding of two Princes of the Realm and his grandsons and granddaughters. This did not appeal to the Sea Snake, who was known to oft show off his wealth and splendor, and in the end an equitable compromise was reached. Prince Jacaerys Velaryon wed Baela Targaryen with only his mother, stepfather, grandparents, and siblings, and the courtiers of Dragonstone and Driftmark in attendance to watch but Prince Lucerys, the Sea Snake's heir, would delay his wedding to Lady Rhaena.
By the standards of a royal wedding, it was indeed both humble and quick. But Baela smiled as her new husband placed his cloak over her and the kiss between them was deep and passionate and all those in attendance applauded. The next day, Corlys Velaryon and his wife Princess Rhaenys as well as Princess Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen began their war council. The five sons of Rhaenyra and the two daughters of Daemon did also attend as well as the Lords Celtigar and Bar Emmon and Ser Alfred Broome, the most senior knight of the Dragonstone garrison.
“Valtarys must learn the price of attacking my own grandson and slaying my kinsman, the Velaryon fleet stands ready,” Lord Corlys told those gathered.
“I owe this pirate king a scar,” Lucerys told his mother, “I shall be glad to do my part to scourge the Stepstones of him and his.” Indeed, all five of the sons of Rhaenyra - even young Viserys who was but nine years of age and had no dragon of his own, announced their intention to leave for the Stepstones.
Of the elder two, there was no question that they would join the war effort. Lucerys had been the Prince so injustly attacked by Valtarys and Jacaerys was the eldest son of Rhaenyra and had been knighted by his stepfather a year ago. All would call him coward if he did not. Even Rhaenyra who was ever a protective mother acknowledged this. It was of the younger three that lay some hesitancy - the eldest of these three was Joffrey who was four and ten which was of a manageable age for war but his brothers Aegon and Viserys were one and ten and nine respectively.
Though Joffrey was the youngest of Rhaenyra’s thee elder sons, he had grown larger and stockier than his lithe elder brothers had and was of an equal height to Jacaerys despite the years between them and insisted that he would not be left behind to cower on Dragonstone with the children.
“He has the right of it,” Corlys said, “a man of his size calls to be a warrior.” And so Rhaenyra parted with another of her sons but fought so hard and ferociously that Aegon and Viserys should be left behind, though each insisted that they would bring back the head of Valtarys to present to their mother.
“My sons have the blood of the dragon in them,” Daemon said, “let them both come as squires.” In the end, Rhaenyra was swayed to let Aegon come as his father’s squire but would not be parted with Viserys who she felt too young to join in such a war. Viserys did not speak to his mother for two days afterinsisting that Aegon was not so much older than him and if Aegon could go then so should he. Only when Prince Jacaerys did promise him that if the war had not ended by the time Viserys had reached one and ten, then Jacaerys would personally take him on as his squire. But Viserys was not the only remaining member of House Targaryen who insisted on leaving for Princess Baela, who was fierce of spirit and boyish in her manner, insisted that she would take Moondancer to war.
“You must remain safe here,” her grandfather told her, “for you will be the wife of a king and the mother of another.”
“I will be the wife of a king, that is true,” Baela said, “but I may be mother to a queen. And it is for the succession that I must go, for I intend to be with child sooner rather than later and I shall need my husband for that.” No matter how Corlys cajoled, Baela insisted and her father Daemon laughed and assented, proud of his daughter’s dragon blood. Fortunately, Baela’s sister Rhaena insisted on no such thing for her dragon Morning was not even a year old and Rhaena was of a more girlish disposition than her sister.
So it was that of the Black dragonriders, it was Daemon Targaryen, his daughter Baela, and the four elder sons of Rhaenyra that left for the Stepstones. Princess Rhaenyra and Rhaenys remained behind to defend Dragonstone - and King’s Landing if need be. Of the Green dragon riders, Otto Hightower’s words had worked and his three grandsons, Aegon, Aemond and Daeron all consented to ride for the Stepstones but Princess Helaena and her children Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor were to be left behind.
The First War for the Stepstones had inspired many a young knight throughout the realm and now that the Second War for the Stepstones was officially backed by the King, many young lords and knights were sent to take part in the fighting and to reap the glories and treasures that would surely follow. And there would be treasures for all knew or believed that Rhaegor Valtarys was a puppet and an agent of the Triarchy whose ships were laden with silks and spices and other treasures that would make all rich.
The events of the Second War of the Stepstones, which led the fall of the Triarchy, the true annexation of the Stepstones and the Conquest of Tyrosh are best covered in Maester Grandon’s Blood on Stone and Sea, which detail how for a short two years the Greens and the Blacks put aside their differences and how bitterly they fought against each other once the demesne of Tyrosh and the Stepstones were to be awarded though in the end, His Grace chose to award that prize to his brother Daemon, much over the protest of his wife and his Hand...