Rhaegor couldn't explain his wife's dream, and Draezell didn't answer his son's questions either. He merely told him that the dream foretold something good, which was enough to ease both Rhaegor and Daenyra's hearts.
And indeed, Draezell's prophetic words—no matter how mystical they sounded—soon proved accurate. Daenyra had been filled with anxiety when giving birth to Daenerys, but her second delivery went remarkably smoothly. Seryna and Lady Helena, who had rushed to assist, didn't even have time to properly prepare the usual precautions, when Daenyra easily gave birth to a baby boy.
A beautiful baby boy who opened his eyes the moment he was born.
He too had heterochromatic eyes. His left eye inherited the deep violet of his grandfather, but his right eye took everyone by surprise—for its color had never appeared before in the family.
Brilliant gold.
The child even giggled when he saw his grandfather. Draezell, without hesitation, kept the boy close by his side as he grew, raising him together with Diana.
It wasn't a matter of favoritism—every child of the third generation of House Vaelarys was raised under Draezell's watch. And the aging Diana especially adored children.
Draezell personally named the boy Igon.
Igon Vaelarys—in High Valyrian with the Targaryen accent, Aegon Vaelarys.
In these peaceful years, the population of House Vaelarys had slowly continued to grow.
Helena, Jacaerys's wife, had safely given birth to their son a year earlier—a boy with bright blue eyes and light golden hair. Rhaegor named him Osserys Vaelarys, making him the third boy of House Vaelarys's third generation. Not long after, Dan and Valenna's firstborn son was also born. The boy, named Daemon, likewise received much affection from the elders.
But House Vaelarys could afford to raise so many children. Each child even had their own specific roles: Jacaerys and Dan assisted their older brother while also holding responsibility over key military strongholds of the family.
Jacaerys oversaw the three fortresses guarding the Boneway—the title of "Key to the Boneway" that Draezell bore now rested upon him. Dan held the nominal title of High Admiral of the Silver Fleet, even though he knew nothing of naval warfare.
But he had a dragon.
And that was enough.
Orion held the title of Commander of the Prince's Pass, responsible for overseeing the newly fortified checkpoints along the pass.
And yet...
Boys, boys, boys.
House Vaelarys might be able to support them. But that didn't mean other houses could. The younger sons of the noble families within the Marcher Principality could join the Silverblood Army or pursue their studies at the academy in Silvercrown City—the Principality still had a strong demand for maesters.
But that didn't mean the same options were available to the minor lords and landed knights from the rest of the realm.
The two major Dorne territories, which had suffered great losses during the war, might still be able to absorb some of these newborn children. But other regions? Not so much. And those who had lost their lands during the chaos of the Dance of the Dragons—or seen them drastically diminished—were faring even worse.
They needed an outlet for release.
King Aegon was well aware of this, but he yearned more for peace and stability. So he did everything he could to maintain the delicate balance within the realm. But balance is meant to be broken, and someone had to rise to forge a new one.
King Aegon was unwilling to be that man.
And by now, he no longer had the strength to be that man.
After giving birth to Baelor, Queen Samantha had taken ill and remained bedridden ever since. King Aegon poured nearly all his energy into caring for her, leaving matters of state to his heir, Daeron.
Before then, the Targaryens had welcomed three new dragonriders into their bloodline.
Daeron's younger brother, Rhaegar Targaryen, successfully tamed Hornstorm, becoming the rider of the young giant dragon. That same year, Princess Elenna's dragon egg also hatched—after Elenna's birth, Queen Samantha had revived the Targaryen tradition of placing a dragon egg in the cradle of each child. Unfortunately, the eggs for Elenna and Baelor hadn't hatched while they were still infants.
But fortune turned when, in the year Rhaegar tamed Hornstorm, Elenna's egg—platinum with a streak of gold—finally cracked open, revealing a hatchling of matching hues.
And finally, Prince Aegon's younger brother, Illion—the quiet, reticent boy—successfully tamed Vermax, bringing the once royal dragon back to King's Landing.
He would serve the King as a royal dragonrider.
King Aegon was helpless in the face of Queen Samantha's worsening condition. He had once believed he would pass before his wife.
But unexpectedly, he was the first to fall.
That year was 168 AC.
Draezell was sixty-two, Rhaegor forty-two, King Aegon forty-eight, and Crown Prince Daeron twenty-four.
At forty-eight, the King was still conducting his duties as usual. That morning in the throne room, he had ruled on a cattle theft case, sentencing a wandering knight who had stolen a plow ox to have his hand cut off—wandering knights were becoming ever more common in the realm. They had no way to make a living beyond their swords, and the lords had no interest in granting them lands. The result was a growing number of vagabond knights—and with them, more robber-knights.
Strangely, the rise of robber-knights gave many wandering knights employment. They were hired by petty lords and villages to offer protection for a set period. Some more capable knights, through strength and valor, even earned a place among the households of great lords—or even before the King himself.
King Aegon worked hard to maintain balance. On the one hand, he harshly punished the lawless robber-knights, stripping them of their titles and sentencing them severely. On the other hand, he sought to coordinate land grants, settled a number of wandering knights, and even employed some directly—whether within the royal court or as a royal guard force to keep peace in the Crownlands.
The White Cloaks of the Kingsguard expanded during this period, and the King also organized a separate unit of wandering knights specifically tasked with combating banditry in the royal domain.
But no one could have foreseen what happened. That same morning, after handling numerous affairs of state, the King collapsed on the path to Maegor's Holdfast after enjoying a lunch of roast meat and mead.
The maesters ruled out poisoning and provided emergency care for the suddenly unconscious King.
But alas, a man of forty-eight was already considered elderly by Westerosi standards. Grand Maester Alford ultimately diagnosed him as having suffered a sudden stroke that caused multiple organ failure.
The maesters could do nothing to save a man so near death.
A black raven brought black tidings. After more than thirty years of peace, the bells of King's Landing tolled once more for the dead.
Aegon II, who had brought nearly four decades of peace and prosperity to the realm, died suddenly of a stroke. His illness came so swiftly that he left no final words or will.
But the maester in attendance recorded the King's final utterance just before he lost consciousness.
It was the High Valyrian word: "Samantha".
The people loved him. So wrote Grand Maester Qarth in The Chronicles of the Targaryen Kings, many years later.
Aegon II of House Targaryen—Aegon the Peaceful, the Summer King, the Just King. None held back their praise, for under his rule the realm knew peace, prosperity, and stability. Even the worsening issue of lawlessness was somewhat contained—if only by treating the symptoms, not the cause. Long summers followed one after another, as if eternal. Since the troubled times of Maegor I, this was the second time that Westeros had such a good era. No long winters.
By the later years of his reign, even peasants with the smallest holdings could fill their cellars with enough grain to last through winter. They drank their own sour wine and purchased salt brought by traders traveling the well-maintained King's Road.
Those more fortunate—wealthier peasants and townsfolk—could enjoy meat and spices regularly.
No one failed to remember this golden age, a time even more cherished than the reign of Jaehaerys the First.
After King Aegon's funeral, Queen Samantha—now increasingly frail—chose to remain in the Black Keep, never again leaving the palace.
And Daeron—now King Daeron—flew swiftly to Harrenhal after his coronation, where he summoned the lords.
He was calling a Great Council.
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