Chapter 40: The Amiable King's Ascent and the Seeds of Strife (Reign of Viserys I: Part 1)
The passing of Old King Jaehaerys I Targaryen in 103 AC, though long anticipated, cast a somber shadow over the Six Kingdoms. His fifty-five-year reign had been an era of unparalleled peace and judicious governance, a golden age that many feared would tarnish under his successor. The Great Council of 101 AC had chosen his grandson, Viserys, son of Baelon the Spring Prince, as the new Prince of Dragonstone and heir apparent, a decision intended to ensure stability and avert a war of succession. Now, that choice was put to the test as Viserys I Targaryen ascended the Iron Throne.
From his eternal seat within the obsidian heart of Mount Skatus, Aelyx Velaryon observed the transition of power in King's Landing with the keen, dispassionate interest of a scholar studying the life cycle of a fascinating, if ultimately ephemeral, species. Through the eyes of his great-great-great-grandson, Lord Beron Volmark (who now publicly ruled Skagos, his own father Rickard having received a stately, public "Viking-style" funeral pyre befitting a great Northern lord years prior), and the ceaseless flow of intelligence from Tibbit's continent-spanning network, Aelyx had a clearer view of the southern court than most lords who graced its perfumed halls.
Viserys I was, by all accounts, an amiable and generous man, well-loved for his cheerful disposition and his desire to please. His coronation was a lavish affair, a spectacle of Targaryen grandeur designed to usher in his reign with joy and optimism. He was not a warrior like Aegon the Conqueror, nor a profound legislator like Jaehaerys. His passions lay in feasts, tourneys, and the patronage of the arts. His court quickly became a vibrant, opulent hub of celebration, a stark contrast to the more sober, work-focused atmosphere of his grandfather's later years.
"He is a king who wishes to be loved, not feared," Aelyx commented during a council with Lyanna and their elder children within the sanctuary. Generations of their descendants listened, their faces illuminated by the magical starlight of the enchanted ceiling. "Such kings often find themselves unready when love proves insufficient to hold a realm together. His desire to avoid conflict may, paradoxically, breed greater conflict in time."
The early years of Viserys's reign were indeed peaceful, a continuation of the Long Peace established by Jaehaerys. The realm prospered, trade flourished, and the horrors of the Conquest and Maegor's tyranny began to fade into memory for many. But Aelyx, with his immortal perspective and the chilling clarity of his daughters' greensight, looked beneath the glittering surface.
Key figures began to dominate Viserys's court, and Aelyx's agents meticulously profiled each one. Ser Otto Hightower, the ambitious and cunning Hand of the King who had served Jaehaerys, continued in his role, his influence considerable. Then there was the King's younger brother, Prince Daemon Targaryen – the Rogue Prince. Daemon was everything Viserys was not: a renowned warrior, a skilled dragonrider upon the fierce Caraxes, charismatic, impulsive, and utterly unpredictable. He was a source of constant fascination and concern for Aelyx.
"Daemon Targaryen," Aelyx dictated for the sanctuary's archives, "is a Valyrian firebrand in the mold of our more volatile ancestors. He possesses immense martial prowess, a dragon of significant power, and a dangerous, charismatic ambition. He chafes under his brother's more placid rule. He will be a catalyst for chaos or a wielder of terrible power, perhaps both. Monitor his every move, his alliances, his enmities."
And monitor him they did. They tracked Daemon's controversial tenure as Commander of the City Watch of King's Landing, where his gold cloaks brought a brutal order to the city's streets. They noted his bitter rivalry with Otto Hightower, his scandalous affairs, his eventual self-exile to Dragonstone with his paramour Mysaria, and later, his alliance with Lord Corlys Velaryon (the still-ambitious Sea Snake, whose son Laenor had been Viserys's rival claimant at the Great Council) to wage a private war for the Stepstones against the Triarchy. Daemon was a rogue element, a dragon unbound, and Aelyx saw in him the potential to significantly destabilize his brother's reign.
The most critical issue, however, and the one that Aelyx knew would define Viserys's legacy, was succession. Viserys's beloved wife, Queen Aemma Arryn, struggled to provide him with a male heir. Several sons were born, only to die in infancy, leaving their daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, as the King's only child for many years. Rhaenyra, born in 97 AC, was a bright, spirited girl, doted upon by her father, who named her the "Realm's Delight."
After Queen Aemma died in childbirth in 105 AC, along with her newborn son Baelon (named for Viserys's father), the King was left utterly bereft and facing an acute succession crisis. Prince Daemon, ever opportunistic, clearly saw himself as heir presumptive. The Small Council, led by Otto Hightower (who deeply distrusted Daemon), pressured Viserys to remarry and secure the line.
Then, in a move that sent ripples of astonishment throughout the Seven Kingdoms and caused a surge of intense interest within Mount Skatus, King Viserys I officially named his young daughter, Rhaenyra, as Princess of Dragonstone and his chosen heir. He summoned the lords of the realm to King's Landing and made them swear solemn oaths to uphold her claim and defend her right of succession.
"A profound error," Aelyx declared, upon receiving this news. The obsidian council chamber was silent, his immortal children and grandchildren absorbing the implications. "He seeks to emulate the progressive stance of his grandfather towards Queen Alysanne, perhaps, or he is blinded by affection for his daughter. But he ignores the clear precedent set by the Great Council of 101 AC, the very council that placed him upon the throne by favoring the male line over Rhaenys. He has sown dragon's teeth, and they will sprout into armed men and warring factions."
Lyra and Daenys exchanged grim, knowing glances. Their visions of a future "Dance of the Dragons," a devastating Targaryen civil war fought with dragonfire, had always centered around a disputed female claimant. This was the genesis.
"The oaths will be sworn, of course," Aelyx continued. "Lords will pledge their loyalty with their hands upon their hearts, while their minds calculate the advantages of supporting or eventually betraying her. This single act has laid the foundation for a catastrophic schism within House Targaryen itself. We must observe closely who supports Rhaenyra most fervently, who demurs, who offers only token allegiance."
Publicly, Lord Beron Volmark of Skagos, acting on Aelyx's instructions relayed through his father (the previous "deceased" Lord Volmark), sent word to Winterfell affirming his house's unwavering loyalty to the decrees of their liege lord, the Warden of the North, regarding the succession. When Lord Stark inevitably swore his oath to Rhaenyra on behalf of the North, House Volmark's pledge was included, a model of dutiful vassalage. Skagos remained aloof from the southern court's intrigues, its immense wealth continuing to flow from the "Heir's Hoard," its public image one of steadfast Northern strength and loyalty. Lavish gifts were sent from Skagos to King's Landing to mark Rhaenyra's investiture as Princess of Dragonstone – rare white furs, intricate carvings of weirwood and jet, and a chest of gold so heavy it required six men to carry it – further cementing House Volmark's reputation for boundless generosity and respect for the Crown.
Within the hidden sanctuary, however, the naming of Rhaenyra as heir became a central topic of study and strategic planning. Aelyx tasked his children and grandchildren with analyzing the potential factions that would emerge. Visenya, with her keen understanding of power dynamics, predicted that many traditionalist lords would never truly accept a ruling queen if a viable male Targaryen claimant existed. Maegor scoffed at the notion of lords willingly following a woman into battle when a Targaryen prince was available. Aenar and Aegon Volmark began to subtly adjust the long-range defensive strategies for Skagos, considering scenarios where a divided Westeros might become more dangerous or, conversely, more vulnerable to subtle external influence.
The dragon breeding programs within Mount Skatus continued apace. The Skagosi dragons, now numbering well over two hundred, were a vibrant, diverse population, their bloodlines carefully managed by Aelyx and his most trusted beast masters among the house-elves. New hatchlings were regularly bonded with the growing generations of Volmark children, their training incorporating the hard-won lessons of Aegon's Conquest and the ongoing, if distant, observation of Targaryen dragon husbandry (or lack thereof, as Aelyx often saw it, with their dragons increasingly confined to the Dragonpit in King's Landing).
"The Targaryens build a prison for their fire," Aelyx once remarked to Lyanna, as they observed their own dragons soaring freely within a colossal cavern enchanted to mimic the open sky. "They seek to control, to chain, what is by its nature wild and magnificent. It is a path that will diminish their strength, generation by generation. Our dragons, Lyanna, thrive in secrecy, yes, but also in a semblance of their natural freedom, their spirits unbroken. That will be a crucial difference, in the fullness of time."
Aelyx also watched with interest as King Viserys I eventually remarried, choosing Alicent Hightower, the beautiful and ambitious daughter of his Hand, Otto Hightower. This marriage, Aelyx knew, would further complicate the succession. Alicent soon bore Viserys sons – Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron – creating a clear male alternative to Rhaenyra, despite the oaths sworn to the princess. The court began to divide into factions, the "greens" supporting Queen Alicent and her sons, and the "blacks" loyal to Princess Rhaenyra.
"The stage is being set," Aelyx observed, his violet eyes glinting with cold prescience. "Otto Hightower is an ambitious man; he will not see his grandsons bypassed lightly. Rhaenyra, doted upon and named heir, will not relinquish her claim without a fight. And Daemon… Daemon will revel in the chaos, and seek to profit from it. The visions of Lyra and Daenys grow clearer with each passing year."
The "Quiet Years" of Viserys's early reign were, for Aelyx, anything but quiet. They were years of intense observation, of meticulous preparation, of educating his immortal dynasty on the unfolding follies of mortal ambition. He saw the Targaryen peace as a fragile façade, a beautiful tapestry woven with threads that were already beginning to fray. His own hidden kingdom, by contrast, was a fortress of enduring strength, its foundations sunk deep in magic, secrecy, and the unwavering loyalty of a bloodline designed to outlast empires. He was content to let the southern lords play their dangerous games, to let the Targaryen dragons dance their intricate, ultimately self-destructive, ballets. Skagos would watch, Skagos would wait, and Skagos would endure. The Shadow King was playing for stakes far higher than the Iron Throne. He was playing for eternity.