Chapter 52: The Hammer and Anvil's Echo, and the Raven's Icy Exile (Reign of Maekar I & The Fall of Bloodraven)
The death of King Aerys I Targaryen in 221 AC, a monarch more enamored with dusty prophecies than the pragmatic realities of rule, brought his stern and martial brother, Maekar, to the Iron Throne. Maekar I was a proven battle commander, a man who had fought valiantly on the Redgrass Field against Daemon Blackfyre, and many hoped his firm hand would bring a much-needed strength and stability to a realm still scarred by rebellion, plague, and years of neglectful governance under his bookish predecessor.
From his eternal seat within Mount Skatus, Aelyx Velaryon observed Maekar's ascension with a measured interest. "From a king who would not rule, to one who perhaps knows only how to command soldiers," he commented to his immortal inner circle. "Maekar possesses the Targaryen warrior spirit, but lacks Daeron the Good's diplomatic grace or Viserys II's administrative genius. His reign will be one of unyielding, perhaps brittle, order."
Publicly, Lord Aelyx Volmark III (Aelyx's descendant, now a venerable patriarch in Northern eyes, though his true ancestor watched, ever-youthful, from the shadows) dispatched the customary pledges of loyalty and lavish "tributes" from the "Heir's Hoard" to King's Landing via Winterfell. Skagos remained the North's steadfast, wealthy, and enigmatic guardian, its prosperity a stark contrast to the lingering hardships faced by many southern regions still recovering from drought, famine, and the lingering economic shadows of the Great Spring Sickness.
Maekar I's reign was indeed characterized by a stern, uncompromising approach. He was a man of duty, but also of quick temper and harsh judgment. His relationship with his own sons proved to be a source of constant frustration for him, and a subject of keen analysis for Aelyx.
His eldest son and heir, Daeron, known derisively as "Daeron the Drunken," was a charming wastrel, more interested in wine and women than statecraft, though he was plagued by prophetic dreams – a trait Aelyx noted with particular interest, instructing Lyra and Daenys to subtly try and glean any insights into the nature of these Targaryen premonitions. "Even a broken vessel may sometimes catch a drop of true foresight," Aelyx mused. "Though more often, it merely reflects the dregs of a troubled mind."
Maekar's second son, Aerion, called "Brightflame" or "Aerion the Monstrous," was a far more disturbing figure. Cruel, arrogant, and obsessed with fire and Valyrian sorcery (of which he possessed a dangerous, incomplete understanding), Aerion was a source of constant terror and embarrassment to the court. Aelyx watched Aerion's descent into madness with a kind of detached, scientific horror. This was Valyrian hubris in its most degenerate form. The eventual news that Aerion had died an agonizing death after drinking a cup of wildfire, believing it would transform him into a dragon, brought a grim, mirthless smile to Aelyx's lips. "So ends another fool who sought the dragon's fire without understanding its soul," he declared. "A true Valyrian ending – self-immolation born of supreme arrogance. Let it be a lesson to all our bloodline: power without wisdom is but a faster path to oblivion." The irony of Aerion's demise, compared to Aelyx's own mastery over true dragons and ancient Valyrian magic, was not lost on him.
Maekar's third son, Aemon, was a gentle, scholarly youth who, to his father's bewilderment and Aelyx's quiet approval, chose the path of a Maester, eventually forsaking all claims and taking his vows at the Citadel before journeying to the Wall. "A mind wasted on the Night's Watch, perhaps," Aelyx commented. "But also a Targaryen removed from the line of succession, thus reducing the potential for future conflict. And a man of intellect choosing knowledge over power… a rare, if ultimately inconsequential, phenomenon in that blighted family."
The fourth son, Aegon, later known as "Egg," was a boy who had spent his youth wandering Westeros as a squire to the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall. His experiences among the common folk had instilled in him a humility and understanding of their plight rare in Targaryen princes. Aelyx's agents had occasionally reported on the boy's travels, noting his inherent decency and resilience, qualities that made him a stark contrast to his elder brothers.
Throughout Maekar's reign, the most significant power behind the throne, at least in its early years, remained Brynden Rivers, Lord Bloodraven. Though Maekar was king, Bloodraven, as Hand, continued to wield his vast network of spies and his subtle sorcery to maintain order and suppress Blackfyre plots. The Third Blackfyre Rebellion, which flared in 219 AC during Aerys I's reign but saw its leader Haegon Blackfyre and many key supporters captured or killed thanks to Bloodraven's vigilance and ruthlessness (Haegon being executed despite promises of safe conduct), cast a long shadow. Bittersteel had once again escaped with Haegon's son, another Daemon, ensuring the Blackfyre threat would continue to simmer in Essos.
Aelyx focused considerable attention on Bloodraven. He was a unique anomaly in Westeros: a sorcerer ruling, for all intents and purposes, in the open, his power derived not from dragons, but from information, fear, and a mastery of the hidden arts that, while paling in comparison to Aelyx's own, was nonetheless significant.
"Bloodraven understands the value of unseen power," Aelyx explained to his descendants, particularly those being trained for his Emissary program. "His 'thousand eyes and one' are a mundane, yet effective, parallel to our own house-elf network and greensight capabilities. He uses magic not for overt display, but for strategic advantage – to gather secrets, to instill fear, to eliminate threats before they can fully materialize. His methods are brutal, his reputation fearsome, but his effectiveness in preserving the Targaryen regime, however flawed that regime may be, is undeniable. Study him. Learn from his successes, and from his inevitable mistakes."
Aelyx's Emissaries, now generations deep and subtly integrated into various strata of Southern society, were under strict instructions to avoid any direct contact or confrontation with Bloodraven's agents. Their role was to observe, to gather, to analyze, and to report back to Skagos. The magical defenses of these Emissaries were formidable, layered illusions and mental shields crafted by Aenar and Rhaenys Volmark, designed to resist even Bloodraven's rumored scrying.
The reign of Maekar I ended abruptly in 233 AC, when the King was slain in battle, crushed by a rock thrown from a rebel castle during the Peake Uprising, a conflict stemming from lingering Blackfyre resentments. His death, like that of his father Daeron II, plunged the realm once more into a succession crisis. His eldest son Daeron the Drunken had perished years earlier from a pox caught from a camp follower. Aerion Brightflame was dead from his own folly. Maester Aemon was sworn to the Citadel and the Wall. This left Maekar's young grandson, also named Maekar (son of Daeron the Drunken), and his youngest son, Aegon "Egg," as the most viable claimants.
Another Great Council was convened in King's Landing in 233 AC. Aelyx, observing through Lord Aelyx Volmark II and his agents, watched with keen interest as the lords of Westeros once again gathered to choose their king. The council was fraught with tension. Many feared another civil war. It was Bloodraven, still wielding immense influence despite Maekar's death, who largely steered the council. He spoke against the young, feeble-minded Prince Maekar, and against any notion of Aemon being released from his vows. He then brought forth Aegon "Egg," Maekar's fourth son, who had traveled with Ser Duncan the Tall and knew the realm and its people. Aegon was chosen, becoming King Aegon V Targaryen, later known as Aegon the Unlikely.
One of Aegon V's first acts as King, however, sent a shockwave through the political landscape and was of profound interest to Aelyx: the arrest of Brynden Rivers. Bloodraven was accused of ordering the death of Aenys Blackfyre, another Blackfyre pretender who had come to King's Landing to participate in the Great Council under a promise of safe conduct. Whether Bloodraven acted on Maekar's orders, or on his own initiative to eliminate a threat, was debated. But Aegon V, perhaps wishing to begin his reign free from the shadow of his great-uncle's fearsome reputation, or genuinely outraged by the breach of guest right, offered Bloodraven a choice: death, or the Night's Watch.
Bloodraven, ever pragmatic, chose the black. He journeyed to the Wall, accompanied by two hundred Raven's Teeth still loyal to him, and eventually rose to become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
"The Raven flies north," Aelyx announced to his immortal family, as the news reached the sanctuary. "A sorcerer of his caliber, a greenseer, at the Wall… this is significant. The Wall is a place of ancient magic, a hinge of the world. His exile there is not merely a punishment; it may well be a new beginning for him, a deeper communion with the powers he has only dabbled with in the south."
Aelyx immediately tasked Lyra and Daenys to extend their greensight towards the Wall, to try and subtly monitor Bloodraven's activities, his connection to the weirwoods, any signs of his magic growing or changing in that desolate, power-infused landscape. He also instructed his Emissaries in the North to gather any mundane intelligence on the new Lord Commander. The removal of Bloodraven from King's Landing altered the magical and political balance of power in Westeros. It left a vacuum in terms of overt magical influence near the Iron Throne, making Aelyx's hidden dynasty even more unique. It also placed a powerful, knowledgeable sorcerer very close to the ancient threat the Wall was built to contain – the Others, and the Long Night, prophecies of which were a constant undercurrent in Aelyx's long-term strategic thinking.
Throughout these turbulent reigns, the hidden kingdom of Skagos continued its inexorable, silent bloom. The great-great-great-grandchildren of Aelyx and Lyanna were now dragonriders, their own children – Aelyx's fifth generation of magically potent descendants beyond his own immortal offspring – now beginning their arcane studies. The dragon population in Mount Skatus, carefully managed and selectively bred, now numbered over five hundred, a force of unimaginable power, their Valyrian, Targaryen, and unique Skagosi bloodlines intermingling to produce beasts of breathtaking beauty, intelligence, and diverse abilities. Some were bred for immense size and firepower, reminiscent of Balerion or Vhagar. Others for speed and agility, perfect for reconnaissance or surgical strikes. Some even showed nascent abilities to manipulate not just fire, but other elements – localized gusts of wind, flashes of ball lightning – a result of Aelyx's careful magical infusion into their bloodlines over centuries.
The sanctuary itself was a subterranean marvel that would have beggared the imagination of any Valyrian architect. Its libraries contained the accumulated knowledge of worlds and ages. Its laboratories produced alchemical wonders and magical artifacts of unparalleled potency. Its training grounds honed generations of sorcerers and warriors to a razor's edge of skill and discipline. The Emissary program was now fully mature, with dozens of Volmark descendants, their true identities perfectly concealed, occupying positions of subtle influence across Westeros and the Free Cities – scholars, merchants, diplomats, healers, even respected members of minor noble houses through carefully arranged marriages generations prior. They were Aelyx's unseen network, his long-term investment in shaping the world from the shadows.
Aegon V "Egg" began his reign with noble intentions, seeking reforms to benefit the smallfolk, a desire born from his youthful travels. Aelyx watched him with a certain detached curiosity. A king who cared for the common people was a novelty in Westeros. But Aelyx knew that good intentions often paved the road to ruin, especially when they clashed with the entrenched power of the great lords. The Blackfyre threat, though temporarily quelled after the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion in 236 AC (where Daemon III Blackfyre was slain by Ser Duncan the Tall, and Bittersteel once again escaped), remained a festering wound.
The reigns of the Young Dragon and the Pious King had been object lessons in royal folly. Maekar's reign had been one of grim, embattled order. Bloodraven's shadow had been long and chilling. Now, a new king, Aegon the Unlikely, sat the Iron Throne, his path uncertain. Aelyx Velaryon, the Shadow King, with his immortal family, his legion of dragons, and his infinitely patient ambition, continued his vigil. The Targaryen dynasty, with its cycle of flawed kings and bloody successions, seemed destined to stumble towards an eventual, perhaps distant, decline. And when that day came, or when the even greater, colder darkness of the true Long Night finally returned, the hidden sun of Skagos would be ready to cast its own enduring light, or its own consuming fire, upon the world. The game of centuries continued, and Aelyx had all the time in the world to play it.