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The Hand's Tower, King's Landing.
The study was quiet in the afternoon, save for the scratching of a quill across parchment.
Otto Hightower was hunched over his desk, signing documents one by one.
When Queen Alicent pushed the door open and entered, Otto did not look up, merely raising a hand to signal for her to wait.
A moment later, Otto finished the last signature, pressed his seal into the hot wax, and finally looked up at his daughter.
"Aemond's name day... is it not in a few days?"
Alicent was slightly taken aback, then nodded.
"Three days from now. You remembered."
"Of course, I remember. It is his thirteenth. A man grown."
Otto set down his quill.
"However, next week I must meet with the envoys of the Triarchy at the Stepstones; I'm afraid I won't be back in time for the feast. Please convey my apologies."
He pointed to a small round table against the wall.
"I've prepared a gift for him, placed over there. Please deliver it for me."
Alicent nodded and walked toward the table.
Only one item sat on the polished wood: a dark gray box without ornamentation.
When Alicent opened the lid and saw the contents, she was surprised.
It was a ring.
The band was dull gray Valyrian steel, without jewels, its design rugged to the point of being crude.
But etched clearly and sharply onto the face of the ring in High Valyrian were the words: Blood like fire, son of the true dragon.
"This was a gift from Queen Dowager Visenya to Maegor I," Otto's voice came from behind her.
He had stood up and was walking slowly toward her.
"To be precise, it was a gift for Maegor's sixteenth name day. Visenya commissioned Qohorik smiths to forge it from Valyrian steel."
Alicent turned around, her green eyes fixed on her father.
"What is your intention with this? Why give Aemond something that belonged to Maegor the Cruel?"
Otto did not answer the question directly. Instead, he asked, "Alicent, tell me, who was Visenya Targaryen?"
Alicent thought for a moment.
"She was the older sister and wife of Aegon the Conqueror. She conquered the Crownlands and the Vale. She established the Kingsguard. After Queen Rhaenys died, she ruled the Seven Kingdoms alongside Aegon..."
Alicent trailed off, looking at Otto.
"True," Otto said softly.
"But in her later years, Visenya chose to support her only son, Maegor... even if it meant making enemies of the entire realm."
He walked past her to the window, looking out at the city.
"Without Visenya riding Vhagar to stand by Maegor... without her using her dark reputation to intimidate the wavering lords... Maegor could never have taken the throne from his nephew, Aegon the Uncrowned."
He turned back to his daughter.
"Visenya was the pillar. But Rhaenys gave birth to the first son, Aenys. Visenya had only Maegor. And Maegor's prestige... was entirely dependent on his mother's strength."
"Are you referring to Aemond?" Alicent asked softly.
Otto continued, ignoring the interruption.
"Visenya helped her son suppress the Faith Militant. Maegor's early supporters, the Crownlands and the Vale, were all nobles who had submitted to Visenya during the Conquest. Even when Maegor killed his own nephews and thousands of Faithful... as long as Visenya was alive, they remained loyal."
"Because loyalty to Maegor was loyalty to Visenya."
Alicent picked up the steel ring. It felt cold and heavy in her palm.
"But what happened after Visenya died?" Otto sighed.
"The support evaporated. Maegor was deserted by everyone. He had killed all possible competitors, but he had also killed all possible allies."
"The nobles paid lip service to his commands while secretly defying them. Until Jaehaerys raised his banners, and Maegor found himself alone."
The study fell silent.
"When Maegor summoned his banners, very few answered. Even Lord Hayford, once loyal, knelt before the Iron Throne and begged him to abdicate."
Otto walked up to his daughter, his gaze falling on the ring in her hand.
"Maegor beheaded him. And the next morning, the King was found dead on the Iron Throne, his wrists slashed by the blades."
"No one knows who did it. A guard? An assassin? Or perhaps the Throne itself rejected him."
He reached out, took the ring back from his daughter's hand, and held it up to the light.
The steel shimmered with a dangerous, oily sheen.
"Maegor possessed the strongest dragon, Balerion the Black Dread. He was the strongest warrior in the Seven Kingdoms. But in the end, he died alone."
Otto placed the ring back into the wooden box and closed the lid.
Click.
The sound was exceptionally clear in the silent room.
"Alicent, Targaryens are only like gods when they are on their dragons. Once they land, they are no different from mortals. They bleed. They can be betrayed. They die."
"Dragonfire can burn down castles, but it cannot burn out loyalty, and it certainly cannot create it."
Otto handed the box back to Alicent.
"After Maegor's death, Visenya's line was completely extinguished. Of Aegon's two wives, only Rhaenys's bloodline continues to this day."
"Do you know why?"
Alicent shook her head.
"Because the Targaryens are outsiders," Otto said seriously.
"They are few in number. Without the cooperation of the ancient Houses of Westeros, they cannot rule. Not even with dragons."
Alicent held the wooden box tightly. "Are you worried that Aemond will be like Maegor? That he will ignore the rules?"
"He has the potential," Otto admitted, sitting back in his chair and rubbing his brow.
"He is intelligent and calm, yes. But he is also arrogant, vindictive, and extreme."
He looked at Alicent with a weary smile.
"He has all the traits of a true dragon."
"Aemond doesn't trust me; I can feel it," Otto said.
"But you... and Helaena... you can influence him."
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Alicent asked.
"Guide him," Otto said softly.
"Remind him that a dragon alone is a monster to be slain. A dragon with riders... is a dynasty."
"Give him the ring. Let him know the history attached to it. Perhaps he will understand the warning."
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