Chapter 39: The Council's Verdict and the Shadow King's Summation (Great Council of 101 AC: Part 2)
The great, soot-stained halls of Harrenhal, which had once echoed with the defiant curses of Harren the Black and then the roar of Balerion's consuming flames, now hummed with a different kind of tension – the subtle, silken rustle of political maneuvering, the weighty pronouncements of great lords, and the desperate hopes of a kingdom teetering on the precipice of a succession crisis. The Great Council of 101 AC had entered its decisive phase. The initial presentations of claims were done, the lesser hopefuls dismissed with varying degrees of courtesy or curtness. Now, the true contest lay between the two main contenders: Prince Viserys Targaryen, son of the late Prince Baelon, and young Laenor Velaryon, son of Princess Rhaenys and Lord Corlys Velaryon.
Aelyx Velaryon, from his timeless sanctuary beneath Mount Skatus, experienced the unfolding drama with an immediacy that belied the hundreds of leagues separating him from Harrenhal. Through the senses of his great-great-great-grandson, Lord Rickard Volmark, and the network of glamoured house-elves led by the ancient Tibbit (appearing as Rickard's stoic advisor, 'Master Alaric'), every whispered rumor, every clandestine meeting, every shift in allegiance was relayed to him. Lyra and Daenys, their greensight focused with a shared, exhausting intensity, sought to pierce the veils of the immediate future, their visions often a confusing tapestry of silver and black dragons, of crowns offered and crowns withheld.
The lobbying within Harrenhal reached a fever pitch. Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, was a relentless advocate for his son Laenor. His vast wealth, earned from daring voyages to the farthest corners of the known world, was employed with strategic acumen. He hosted lavish suppers for undecided lords, his arguments emphasizing Laenor's direct descent from King Jaehaerys's eldest son, Prince Aemon, and the undeniable strength of Laenor's own Valyrian blood, further validated by his status as a dragonrider upon the magnificent Seasmoke. Princess Rhaenys, his wife, "The Queen Who Never Was," lent her regal presence and sharp intellect to their cause, her quiet dignity reminding many of the injustice she herself had faced when Jaehaerys chose Baelon as heir over her. Supporters like Lord Boremund Baratheon spoke eloquently of tradition and the rights of the elder line, regardless of gender.
Opposing them, the faction supporting Prince Viserys Targaryen coalesced around the powerful figures of the realm who prioritized stability and the established precedent of male primogeniture. Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, though officially neutral, was widely believed to favor Viserys, seeing in him a more malleable and less ambitious ruler than the one the Sea Snake might try to forge through his son. The arguments for Viserys were less fiery, more grounded in the perceived need for a smooth, uncontested transition, preserving the peace Jaehaerys had so painstakingly built. Viserys himself, a man of amiable disposition, projected an image of dutiful continuity.
Lord Rickard Volmark, acting under Aelyx's precise and continuous guidance, navigated this treacherous landscape with quiet Northern dignity. He attended the great councils, listened intently, and spoke only when necessary, always aligning his views with those of his liege, Lord Ellard Stark. The Northern lords, after much internal deliberation, had largely decided to back Prince Viserys. Their reasoning, as articulated by Lord Stark and echoed by Rickard Volmark, was pragmatic: Jaehaerys had named Baelon, Viserys's father, as his heir, setting a clear precedent. To overturn that now in favor of Aemon's line through a female claimant, however strong Rhaenys's personal claim might have been, risked opening a Pandora's box of contested successions down the line, something the fiercely independent but war-weary North wished to avoid. Furthermore, Viserys seemed the less likely candidate to involve the North in distant southern intrigues.
Aelyx, from Skagos, approved of this stance. "Viserys represents the path of least immediate disruption," he communicated to Rickard through their hidden link. "His reign is unlikely to be marked by radical departures from his grandfather's policies. This will allow us to continue our work undisturbed. However, observe carefully the Velaryon reaction. Lord Corlys's ambition is a powerful current; it will not simply dissipate with this council's decision."
The process of determining the "will of the realm" was not a simple vote. Rather, it was a grand, elaborate weighing of allegiances. Lord by lord, from the greatest paramounts to the landed knights with but a few acres to their name, declared their preference before the King's representatives. The scribes of the Citadel tallied these declarations, their quills scratching endlessly. Days blurred into a monotonous recitation of names and allegiances, punctuated by fiery speeches from partisans of either side.
Aelyx, sifting through the mountains of intelligence, saw the tide turning decisively in Viserys's favor. The great houses of the Westerlands, the Reach (those who had survived the Field of Fire and been re-established), and many in the Crownlands and Riverlands, swayed by the argument of stability and male preference, declared for Baelon's son. The North's unified declaration, representing a significant martial bloc, added considerable weight.
The moment of decision finally arrived in Harrenhal's vast, shadowy Hall of a Hundred Hearths, packed to overflowing with the assembled nobility of Westeros. Ser Otto Hightower, his face an impassive mask, stood before them. Old King Jaehaerys, too frail to attend the entire proceedings, was brought in on a litter, his eyes, though clouded with age and grief, still holding a spark of their former wisdom. He wished to hear the final consensus himself.
"My lords," Ser Otto's voice rang out, "after many days of deliberation, after hearing the claims and weighing the wisdom of this Great Council, a clear sentiment has emerged. By the grace of the Seven, and with the considered counsel of the lords and knights of this realm, it is the judgment of this assembly that the succession to the Iron Throne shall pass according to the precedent of male primogeniture, through the line of His Grace's late son, Baelon Targaryen."
A great roar went up from Viserys's supporters. Prince Viserys himself, standing beside the King's litter, bowed his head, a look of solemn responsibility on his face.
Ser Otto raised a hand for silence. "Therefore, this Great Council affirms Prince Viserys Targaryen as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, to be Prince of Dragonstone, and to succeed his grandfather, our noble King Jaehaerys, upon his passing."
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen's face was pale, her lips a thin line, but she bore the pronouncement with queenly dignity. Lord Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, his dark Valyrian features set like stone, offered a stiff, formal bow of acquiescence. Aelyx, watching through Rickard's eyes, noted the fire still banked deep within the Sea Snake's gaze. This was a defeat, not a surrender of ambition. House Velaryon would remain a power to watch. Young Laenor Velaryon, standing beside his parents, looked disappointed but offered no protest. His dragon, Seasmoke, was a potent asset, but for now, it would not carry him to the Iron Throne.
King Jaehaerys, his voice weak but clear, rasped his approval. "So be it. May the gods grant my grandson Viserys wisdom and strength. And may this council ensure peace for my realm." A single tear traced a path down his wrinkled cheek. He had sought to avoid war, and in this, at least for now, he had succeeded.
The Great Council of 101 AC was concluded. The lords began to disperse, Harrenhal slowly emptying, the great political storm having passed, leaving behind a new, if perhaps fragile, order of succession.
Lord Rickard Volmark and the Skagosi delegation returned north, their journey swift and uneventful. Upon reaching Skagos, Rickard immediately descended into the sanctuary for a full debriefing with Aelyx and the immortal council.
"The decision was as we anticipated, Father of my Fathers," Rickard reported, kneeling respectfully before Aelyx, who sat upon his simple, unadorned obsidian throne. "Viserys is the heir. The North's voice, supporting stability, was well received. Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys accepted the verdict, but their pride is wounded. The Sea Snake is not a man to forget such a slight."
Tibbit and the other house-elf agents provided their own detailed reports: transcripts of private conversations, assessments of key personalities, maps of shifting alliances, lists of bribes offered and accepted. It was a comprehensive intelligence haul that would feed Aelyx's strategic calculations for years to come.
Aelyx listened to it all, his expression unreadable. "Viserys I Targaryen," he mused, when all reports were concluded. "Amiable, it is said. Fond of feasts and tourneys. Not a warrior like his father Baelon, nor a scholar like his grandfather Jaehaerys in his prime. He will likely be a king who desires peace, but perhaps lacks the strength to enforce it when challenged." He turned to Lyra and Daenys. "Your visions of a future 'Dance of Dragons'… do they sharpen with this outcome?"
Lyra nodded, her eyes clouded. "The seeds are sown more deeply now, Greatfather. The precedent of male over female, even a female with a stronger claim by primogeniture… it will be challenged again. Viserys will have children. If his firstborn is a daughter, and he later has sons… the realm will divide. The dragons will dance, and the fire will be terrible."
Daenys, ever quieter, added, "I saw a Queen in black and a King in green, their standards torn, their dragons rending each other in the sky above King's Landing. The Velaryon sea serpent was coiled amongst the flames."
Aelyx absorbed this with grim satisfaction. His own dynasty, built on absolute loyalty to his immortal leadership and a clear, magically reinforced line of succession within the sanctuary, was designed to avoid precisely such mortal frailties. "Then our course remains clear," he declared. "We continue to build our strength in secret. We observe the reign of Viserys I. We prepare for the inevitable instabilities his rule, and the precedents of this Great Council, may bring. The North, under Lord Stark, and with House Volmark as its unshakeable pillar, must remain a bastion of stability, aloof from southern squabbles as much as possible."
He issued new directives. Tibbit's network was to maintain a close watch on House Velaryon and the factions that had supported Laenor's claim. Research within the sanctuary was to continue on countermeasures against dragonfire and on strengthening their own dragon bloodlines. The education of his younger descendants would now include detailed analyses of the Great Council, its politics, and its long-term implications for Targaryen rule.
The Great Council of 101 AC had, on the surface, settled a dangerous crisis and ensured a peaceful succession. But Aelyx Velaryon, with his centuries of perspective and the chilling clarity of his daughters' greensight, saw beyond the immediate relief. He saw the hairline fractures in the foundation of Targaryen power, the unresolved grievances, the dangerous precedents that would, in time, lead to a cataclysm. He was content. The mortal world continued its dance of ambition and folly, while his immortal kingdom in the shadows grew ever stronger, ever more patient, awaiting the distant day when the ashes of other empires would provide fertile ground for its own silent, eternal bloom. The Old King Jaehaerys would soon find his peace in death. Aelyx Velaryon, the Shadow King, had centuries yet to watch, to learn, and to prepare.