[Chapter Size: 3000 Words.]
Third Person POV.
King's Lading.
...
...
A year had passed since the encounter with Odahviing.
Daemon stood before his children with a very serious expression, every space at the entrance of the Red Keep filled with men and women. Many of the women held handkerchiefs in their hands as a sign of good luck for the king.
"I'll be back soon. Don't worry. I'll return before long," the king said with a smile, looking at each one of his children.
The five children simply nodded. Rhaenys had been born a few moons ago, so she was in Lucis's arms, still trying to understand the world around her.
At that moment, Daemon was departing for yet another war in the Stepstones. One that had already begun, and he was about to join the troops in order to bring it to an end.
The Triarchy had been rebuilt, or something very close to it. Although they no longer used that name, the structure remained practically the same, but with the addition of Pentos this time. All united by fear of the growing power of House Targaryen, many men had once again begun financing an alliance against Westeros, trying to find a way to weaken the current government.
Pentos was also part of it, and the reason was simple. Besides seeking revenge for the death of Illyrio Mopatis years earlier, the city had lost enormous sums of gold by investing in the Blackfyre cause, money it would never recover.
Now that winter had finally come to an end, the snow was disappearing little by little, announcing the arrival of spring. Snow was no longer seen south of the Neck.
At the same time, the attacks against ships had reached a level that was impossible to ignore. Despite every strategy adopted to bypass the Stepstones, the losses to trade only continued to grow.
So Daemon raised the entire Royal Army. The forces of the Crownlands, the Vale, and the Stormlands marched together with the Royal Fleet, led by Stannis. The Reach had also begun to suffer from the constant attacks on its trade routes and sent part of its fleet to take part in the campaign. The Redwyne fleet advanced from the south.
It would be a full-scale assault by Westeros. While the armies fought on land and sea, Daemon would lead the dragons.
Aegon, now six namedays old, simply nodded beside his siblings as he watched his father.
After saying goodbye to the children, Daemon turned to his wives.
Daenerys also wanted to accompany him. However, he preferred to leave her in King's Landing. Besides needing to govern the realm during his absence, this would be an exhausting war over the coming moons. The enemy hid in caves scattered throughout the Stepstones, making every battle slow and difficult. That had already been proven even with two dragons, more or less 200 years ago...
Daemon also intended to strike several of the Free Cities. It was time to deliver a blow that would make it clear to everyone that challenging the Dragon King would have consequences.
Daenerys merely nodded, though her reluctance was obvious. She also needed to remain behind to take care of the children.
After bidding farewell to his family, Daemon mounted Viridrax and took to the skies, with Winter following close behind.
The two dragons disappeared beneath the gaze of everyone in King's Landing.
A short time later, they arrived at the first island of the Stepstones, where the Royal Fleet had already established its headquarters under the command of Stannis Baratheon.
Daemon landed his dragon and immediately headed to the war council. Before the large map of the islands, the commanders discussed every known hideout in the Stepstones.
Aurane Waters.
Gerold Dayne, the Darkstar.
Nobles from Essos.
Merchant financiers.
Other nobles from Dorne.
All of them were united in that alliance.
Daemon studied the map carefully. As he analyzed each marked position, he had already made his decision about how that war would end.
To Daemon, the campaign could hardly be called a war. The first engagements came as a complete shock to the enemy.
Unlike the battles 200 years ago, Daemon did not even need to remain in the sky the entire time. He advanced alongside his men aboard the ships while the dragons provided cover from above.
Wherever he went, he left nothing but destruction. Blasts of fire. Waves of ice. He created storms. It did not matter where he was during the following moons. Men shouted that he was some kind of demigod. There was no one capable of stopping him on any battlefield where he chose to fight.
Meanwhile, the soldiers of Westeros continued exterminating the pirates. The first major enemy he encountered was Gerold Dayne, the Darkstar.
He found him in a pirate town defending it from one of the sieges. Daemon destroyed the gate, and his men stormed the settlement.
When he found him, Gerold had no choice but to draw Dawn. Daemon noticed the man's nervousness the moment their eyes met.
Even so, Gerold stood his ground, advancing with Dawn in hand. Daemon met him with Blackfyre.
The first successful strike was not even aimed at his neck. Gerold's two hands were severed. Not even his steel gauntlets could stop them from being cut apart like butter.
"My Lord Commander of the Kingsguard never liked seeing someone like you wielding that sword. It also holds special meaning for me. Its previous owner died wielding it while protecting me in that tower in Dorne... I think sending you to the other world without your hands is a fitting punishment."
The Darkstar barely had time to react. The next instant, his head was rolling across the deck.
The next to fall was Aurane Waters.
Daemon did not even use his dragons against him. He ordered them to remain on the opposite side of the archipelago, drawing the enemy fleet's attention.
While Aurane waited to attack after his men reported seeing the dragons far from the area, he was caught completely off guard when, in the middle of his assault, Daemon unexpectedly emerged from the very ships they were attacking.
Aurane's men barely had time to understand what was happening before they were slaughtered. He had walked straight into a trap.
By the time he realized it, it was the enemy fleet that had crashed into his ships.
Barristan Selmy also took part in the campaign. Although Daemon had initially wanted to leave him in King's Landing, the old knight had insisted that this would probably be the last war of his life.
Daemon decided to grant his request.
Barristan, Sandor Clegane, and two other knights of the Kingsguard fought alongside the king when Daemon drove Blackfyre through Aurane Waters's throat.
The man collapsed, choking on his own blood.
Without their principal leaders, the pirate campaign became even easier to deal with. Using Aurane's own communication network, Daemon sent false orders to the remaining pirates, pretending that their commander was still alive.
One after another, they all fell into traps prepared by his forces. It was also during these battles that they captured several important men from Essos and Dorne who had secretly financed the entire organization.
Daemon had already suspected their involvement. Now he had proof. He would be visiting Sunspear very soon.
When the fighting finally came to an end, Daemon gathered his commanders. The Royal Fleet, a small Manderly fleet that had also arrived over the past few moons, and the Redwyne fleet were all assembled.
Every pirate had been exterminated. But those who had financed the war were still alive. With Bran's help, he quickly tracked down every man involved in the conspiracy.
Then he made his decision.
"Lys... Tyrosh... Pentos... and Myr."
His gaze swept across the map on the table.
"If they believed they could challenge Westeros by financing pirates, then it's time they learned the price of that choice."
Hundreds of ships from the Royal Fleet immediately turned toward Essos.
The war in the Stepstones was over. Now it was time for punishment.
Soon the fleet split apart. Daemon remained in the skies alongside his dragons, while Stannis Baratheon sailed for Pentos, Lord Redwyne headed to Myr, Barristan Selmy and the Velaryons led their ships toward Tyrosh, and the Manderlys sailed for Lys.
Each fleet was dispatched to attack one of the Free Cities involved in the conspiracy.
The people of Lys were the first to be caught completely by surprise when more than a hundred ships appeared before their harbor.
Before they could even react, one of the dragons dove from the heavens. Flames erupted across the harbor of Lys.
As the fire consumed the ships, the soldiers of Westeros landed, beginning the assault.
Daemon focused on Lys first.
The other cities would be attacked shortly afterward. He preferred to bring them down one at a time, keeping command of the campaign organized. After all, they all depended on their harbors to resist, and Daemon would open the way through each of them.
After destroying the harbor defenses and clearing a path for the Royal Fleet, his men stormed the city.
Daemon captured the leaders of the three most influential families in Lys. The rest of the nobility immediately knelt in fear.
Documents found in their estates revealed years of financing the pirates, whether directly or through merchants and intermediaries to conceal their involvement.
It was exactly the proof Daemon had been looking for. Those responsible were executed. Their sons were sent to the Night's Watch, while the women and girls were sent to the Silent Sisters on the western side of Westeros.
None of them would ever have the opportunity to seek revenge in the future.
After confiscating all the gold from the families involved and distributing it among his soldiers as a reward, Daemon left Lys.
The second attack took place at Tyrosh. The city resisted for only a short time. When it realized there was no hope of victory, it surrendered. Even so, its leaders met exactly the same fate.
Myr fell into panic upon learning what had happened to the neighboring cities. They tried to negotiate, but found only Daemon's blade.
Five of the city's most powerful families were wiped out. Their sons were sent to the Night's Watch, while the women and girls were sent to the Silent Sisters, sealing the fate of their bloodlines.
Pentos was the last. Even after hiring a massive Dothraki khalasar to protect it, the city was unable to stop the Dragon King's advance. Daemon simply unleashed flames upon the entire khalasar.
It was the largest Dothraki host to emerge since the death of Khal Drogo. A new khal had gathered thousands of warriors beneath his banner. But none of them were prepared to face magic and dragons.
Besides the fire, Daemon used Winter to freeze part of the Dothraki Sea, leaving a mark upon the Dothraki people.
The supernatural cold spread a deadly mist across the battlefield. Men and horses alike began dying simply from breathing that air.
Terror spread rapidly among the Dothraki.
Soon afterward, Pentos also fell. Those responsible for financing the war in the Stepstones were executed without exception.
When the campaign came to an end, Daemon returned to King's Landing while the rest of the fleet dispersed across every corner of Westeros, their ships laden with gold.
Six moons had passed since Daemon left King's Landing... Upon his return, he found Daenerys waiting for him, already six moons pregnant with their third child, something Daemon had already learned through Ghost's eyes and from the letters. Val, Lucis, Ygritte, and all the children had also gathered to welcome him home.
After that, he resumed ruling Westeros. Braavos expressed some dissatisfaction with the massacre Daemon had carried out against the leading families of the four Free Cities.
However, they limited themselves to quiet protests. No one wished to challenge the Dragon King directly, and he had proven that he was willing to answer with fire and blood.
Some still attempted to seek revenge through the Faceless Men, but without success. There was the pact, yet other assassin guilds were also hired.
But they all died... Both the assassins and those who had employed them. With Bran's help and his ability to perceive people's auras, Daemon identified every assassin before they even had a chance to act.
The years continued to pass. After that, Daenerys gave birth to Jaehaerys, the couple's third child. Later, she became pregnant for the fourth time, and they also welcomed a pair of twins, further expanding the Targaryen family.
The children never suffered from any health problems.
None were stillborn.
None died during childbirth.
Over the years, they all grew up strong and healthy, thanks to the supplements Daemon produced through alchemy and the powerful bloodline they had inherited from their father.
The dragons also hatched from their eggs as their time came and began growing rapidly.
By the time they reached twelve namedays, it had already become common to see Aegon soaring through the skies atop his red dragon. Brandon, in turn, flew upon a blue ice dragon, while Rhaella rode her winter-white ice dragon, despite being only nine namedays old. The other children also had dragons of their own and would be able to fly once they reached eight namedays.
Each of the children possessed both a dragon and a direwolf. Daemon could not help but look upon all of it with satisfaction.
Years later, he granted Skagos to Brandon when he reached twenty namedays. The island had become an important center of trade, connecting the North, Beyond the Wall, and Braavos.
Dragonstone was given to Aegon as the heir to the Iron Throne. Even after taking possession of the castle, he continued spending time with his siblings and frequently flew to King's Landing to visit them.
The Reach was granted to his daughter Lyanna, who later married one of the Redwyne sons. The Tyrells could no longer complain that Highgarden lacked royal blood.
Harrenhal also passed to Aenar, who took possession of the castle upon reaching the proper age.
Many other changes took place over the years. The first grandchildren were also born. Aegon eventually married Rhaella, and together they had their first son.
The boy was named Daemon, in honor of his grandfather.
Daemon could honestly say that he was a fulfilled man. Although he had always hated politics, he had become a good king over the years.
He had not been a perfect father, but neither had he been an absent one. He helped his children whenever they needed him, and he was also strict whenever he had to be.
He had a few disagreements with his children, as any father would. Even so, they always listened to him when it truly mattered, and Daemon was grateful for that.
Especially when Rhaella awakened the blood of the Dovah within herself. Her first Shout made the very castle tremble, and Aegon had a dangerous wife by his side.
She was still very young when they discovered it, and she could not control her power whenever she became angry. Daemon had many headaches teaching her, but she always proved to be daddy's little princess, and the girl never stopped loving her father.
Brandon also awakened the Voice of the Dovah, and Daemon spent years training the two of them to control that power. He solidified his rule over Skagos.
Later, Daemon, Aegon's son, also showed that he possessed the same gift.
For thirty years, Daemon ruled the Seven Kingdoms. Then, one day, he announced that he would hand the crown over to his son, Aegon.
The news surprised many people. But it was a decision that had been discussed for years among every member of the royal family, which had now grown enormous.
Thirty years earlier, there had been only two Targaryens. Now there were more than twenty men, women, and children living throughout the kingdom that Daemon had reclaimed.
He believed that a king should not remain upon the throne until death. He preferred to pass the crown to his heir while he was still alive, so that he could advise and help him whenever necessary.
He also hoped that Aegon would do the same with his own children. No man should die bearing the weight of a crown upon his head.
After fulfilling his duty, a king also deserved to spend his final years in peace, surrounded by his family, watching his children and grandchildren rule the kingdom he had helped build.
Thus, Daemon Targaryen, the First of His Name, finally laid down the crown.
Despite bearing a name that many considered cursed, one that recalled Daemon Blackfyre and the Rogue Prince, he ultimately changed forever the way that name would be remembered by history.
After three decades of reign, he left behind a kingdom that rivaled the era of Jaehaerys the Conciliator.
There had been wars, it is true. But none of them had ever come close to threatening the stability of the Seven Kingdoms after he had united them.
His name was recorded in the history books as the man who profoundly reformed the Citadel, preventing the maesters from ever again manipulating the fate of the realm for their own benefit. It was also during his reign that the Order's ancient aversion to magic finally came to an end.
For the first time in centuries, magic was once again openly studied at the Citadel. With more than twenty-five living dragons soaring across the skies of Westeros, ignoring its existence was no longer possible.
Daemon Targaryen relinquished the Iron Throne in 331 A.C., known by many names. Some called him Daemon the Great. Others preferred Daemon Dragonborn.
But everyone agreed on one thing.
He had become the greatest king Westeros had ever known.
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