Chapter 32: The Dragon King's Peace and the Shadow King's Vigil (Aegon's Conquest: Part 5)
The fires of Aegon's Conquest, which had blazed across six of the Seven Kingdoms, finally began to cool, leaving in their wake a realm irrevocably altered. The First Dornish War, a protracted and bloody thorn in Aegon Targaryen's side, sputtered to an uneasy, inconclusive end. Dorne, through its cunning resistance, its refusal to meet dragonfire with conventional armies, and a stroke of devastating luck at the Hellholt that claimed Queen Rhaenys and her dragon Meraxes, remained stubbornly unbowed, a land of sun-scorched defiance. Aegon, for all his might, was forced to accept this bitter reality, his ambition for a wholly unified continent checked by Dornish spears and scorpion bolts.
From his silent, ice-veiled throne on Skagos, Aelyx Velaryon, the Shadow King, observed these final chapters of the Conquest with keen, analytical detachment. The survival of an independent Dorne was, to him, one of the most significant lessons of the era. It proved that even the overwhelming power of dragons could be stymied by strategic depth, unconventional tactics, and an unyielding will to resist. It reinforced his own core philosophy: that true, lasting power lay not always in overt domination, but often in patient resilience, strategic adaptation, and the inviolable secrecy that protected one's true strengths.
As Aegon I Targaryen settled onto the Iron Throne, his reign over the newly forged Six Kingdoms (for Dorne remained apart) began in earnest. King's Landing, once a muddy hillfort, started its transformation into a bustling, if somewhat chaotic, capital. The King's Road, that ambitious artery designed to bind his disparate realm together, began to snake its way across the continent. Laws were codified, a Small Council administered the nascent bureaucracy, and the white cloaks of the Kingsguard became a symbol of Targaryen authority. Aelyx's agents, seamlessly integrated into the growing city's fabric, provided him with a constant stream of information on the new king's methods of governance, his appointments, his temperament, and the burgeoning intrigues of his court.
"He rules with a heavy hand, but a surprisingly pragmatic one," Aelyx noted to Lyanna, as they reviewed reports detailing Aegon's early decrees. "He understands the need for infrastructure, for a unified legal code, for the appearance of justice. He is building an empire, not just a personal fiefdom. This dynasty, if it can avoid tearing itself apart, may endure for a time."
Publicly, Skagos, under the capable stewardship of Lord Torrhen Volmark, Aelyx's eldest son, navigated this new Westeros with consummate skill. House Volmark was a paragon of loyalty to their liege lords, the Starks of Winterfell, and through them, to the Iron Throne. The tribute demanded by King's Landing – a portion of the North's overall tax burden – was met promptly and fully by Winterfell, significantly aided by the "contributions" from Skagos's seemingly inexhaustible "Heir's Hoard" gold mine. Lord Torrhen Volmark made occasional, dutiful journeys to Winterfell to attend councils with the Warden of the North (King Torrhen Stark's son, and then grandson, as the years passed), his wisdom and the continued prosperity of Skagos earning him immense respect. Skagosi merchant ships, well-armed and efficiently run, became increasingly common sights in Northern ports, their trade enriching both Skagos and its mainland partners. The North, buffered by Volmark wealth and the island's formidable (public) defenses, remained a largely peaceful, stable, and self-sufficient corner of Aegon's realm.
The Volmark name was spoken with awe and a touch of mystery throughout the North. Tales of their legendary wealth, their victory over the Ironborn, and the miraculous storm that had aided them were woven into Northern folklore. Lord Torrhen Volmark, and later his own son, Cregan Volmark (Aelyx's grandson), who succeeded him after Torrhen's appropriately timed "death" from a swift illness in his sixtieth year (a death as meticulously staged as Aelyx's and Lyanna's own had been decades prior), were seen as wise, just, and incredibly fortunate rulers. The public face of House Volmark maintained its illusion of mortal succession, each generation seamlessly taking the reins, their Valyrian features attributed to their distant ancestry, their longevity to the healthy Skagosi air and good breeding.
Within the hidden sanctuary of Mount Skatus, however, the true, immortal heart of the Volmark dynasty beat stronger than ever. Aelyx and Lyanna, eternally youthful, presided over a burgeoning magical society. Their own eight children – Torrhen (before his public "death"), Visenya, Lyra, Maegor, Aenar, Rhaenys, Aegon, and Daenys – were now all powerful sorcerers and accomplished dragonriders, each contributing their unique talents to the sanctuary's growth and security. They, in turn, had raised their own children – Aelyx's grandchildren, now numbering over forty – within this hidden world. This third generation of Volmarks, their blood a potent cocktail of Valyrian magic, Stark resilience, and the diverse strengths of their Northern mothers and fathers, were now young adults themselves, their magical education nearing completion, their loyalty to their Shadow Grandfather absolute. Many were already bonding with the newer generations of Skagosi-born dragons, sleek, powerful beasts perfectly adapted to the island's unique environment.
The dragon population within Mount Skatus had swelled to nearly one hundred, a terrifying hidden armada. Aelyx, drawing on his recovered Valyrian lore and his own formidable magical intellect, had implemented a sophisticated breeding program, focusing not just on size and strength, but also on unique traits: dragons with scales that could shimmer and blend with the sky, dragons with unnaturally hot or strangely colored fire, dragons with enhanced intelligence or speed. The dragon caverns were now a vast, multi-leveled ecosystem, a testament to house-elf engineering and Aelyx's command over elemental magic.
The house-elf community, now numbering several hundred across many generations, formed the backbone of the sanctuary's operations. They were not mere servants, but integral members of Aelyx's hidden society, their lives extended by diluted Elixir, their magical skills honed and specialized. They managed the vast libraries, the alchemical laboratories, the enchanted forges, the dragon nurseries, the phoenix aviaries (where the flock of now nearly two dozen fiery birds filled the air with their healing songs), and the intricate network of wards and illusions that kept Mount Skatus utterly inviolable.
Aelyx's personal research had delved into the most esoteric realms of magic. With Aenar, whose talent for enchanting and ward-craft was now truly prodigious, he had perfected defenses capable of absorbing or redirecting dragonfire, and illusions so potent they could deceive even a dragon's keen senses. He explored the furthest potentials of the Philosopher's Stone, not just for gold or the Elixir, but for transmuting unique materials, for creating magical constructs, even for subtly influencing the very life-force of the flora and fauna within the sanctuary, making it a self-sustaining paradise of hidden power. The Elder Wand, its true nature known only to him, remained his ultimate tool, its conceptual power channeled through his will to amplify his spells, to reinforce his control, and to peer deeper into the currents of fate than any mortal could imagine. The Resurrection Stone remained locked away, a temptation he had long mastered, its purpose held in reserve for a dire need that had not yet arisen.
The early years of Aegon I's reign were a period of relative peace for most of Westeros, a time of rebuilding and adjustment to the new Targaryen order. For Aelyx, these were the "Quiet Years," a golden age for his hidden kingdom. He focused on education, on consolidating his family's power, on ensuring the seamless transfer of knowledge and loyalty through the generations. His grandchildren were now taking their places in the sanctuary's hierarchy: some as dragon squadron leaders under Visenya and Maegor, some as researchers alongside Aenar and Aegon Volmark, some as healers and seers under Lyra and Daenys. Each was being groomed for a specific role in the long, eternal future of their dynasty.
Aelyx often reflected on the Targaryen conquest. Aegon had achieved in a few short years what Aelyx was building over centuries. But Aegon's empire was built on overt power, on the conspicuous might of three dragons, on the loyalty of newly made lords whose ambitions might one day turn. It was an empire of mortals, subject to the whims of succession, to the frailties of human nature, to the eventual decline that befell all such endeavors. Valyria itself had crumbled from within, its own dragonlords consumed by hubris and infighting.
Aelyx's empire was different. It was an empire of shadows, built on secrecy, on immortal leadership, on a steadily growing, self-sustaining magical population, and on a legion of dragons hidden from the world. His dynasty was not subject to the vagaries of mortal succession; he and Lyanna would guide it for eternity, their children and grandchildren inheriting not just power, but longevity and arcane knowledge. He was not interested in the Iron Throne, in the public adulation of fickle lords. His ambition was far grander: to create an unshakeable, undetectable sanctuary of ultimate power, a hidden civilization that would outlast every kingdom, every empire, every age of man.
Lyra and Daenys occasionally brought him disturbing, fleeting visions of the Targaryen future: of dragons fighting dragons, of kinslaying and civil war, of a dance of fire that would tear the ruling house apart. These glimpses – perhaps the first faint stirrings of the prophecies that would haunt House Targaryen for generations – only reinforced Aelyx's conviction in his chosen path of secrecy and self-sufficiency. Let the southern dragons consume themselves in their fiery arrogance. The dragons of Skagos would remain a hidden, patient strength, their time yet to come, perhaps in a world where the Targaryen fires had long since burned themselves out.
As Aegon the Conqueror aged on his Iron Throne, his black hair turning to silver, his great dragon Balerion growing ever larger and more ponderous, Aelyx Velaryon, forever youthful in his hidden mountain hall, watched and waited. He was the silent, eternal counterpoint to the Targaryen king. Aegon had conquered a continent. Aelyx was conquering time itself. The first part of his grand game – surviving Valyria's Doom and establishing his hidden sanctuary – was complete. The second part – navigating the rise of another dragonlord dynasty and consolidating his own power in its shadow – was well underway. The future stretched before him, an endless expanse of centuries, and he, the Shadow King of Skagos, lord of a hundred dragons, master of forgotten magic, and patriarch of an immortal line, was supremely, terrifyingly patient. The world would turn, empires would fall, but his hidden kingdom, he vowed, would endure.