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Published:2020-04-25Updated:2026-04-06Words:409,591Chapters:71/?Comments:5,538Kudos:6,020Bookmarks:1,659Hits:467,056
The Stormborn and the Stormbringer
SkilledWarriorKiwi
Chapter 40: The decision
Notes:
✨ Merry xmas! ✨
Chapter Text
Old Valyria.
It was an accused place, all could agree.
Was it coincidence that I had a conversation with Barristan just past about this place? My ancestral homeland, brought down by a cataclysm while my House only survived due to the dreams of a maiden.
Daenerys could still remember Barristan's words, about that young Targaryen girl who had returned from Old Valyria and was infested with creatures that were eating her alive. And of some great beast that managed to harm the Black Dread, a dragon of such monstrous size his shadow threw whole towns in the dark.
"Valyria is a place of ancient magic, of seers and dragons and prophesy and magiks long since extinct," Kinvara said slowly. "If the Lord of Light showed you such a place, then perhaps there is an answer to fight the Others. Or to their lore, their history, that may be used against them or to understand them better."
Quaithe agreed, "Regardless of how dangerous it is, the relics are still long sought after. The blades are beyond keen and the horn was of Valyrian stock. Indeed there could be a weapon to face the Others in the Long Night, at the least information."
"Provided I do not die on the journey," Daenerys said, still shaken by the notion. In contrast Ghidorah was greatly intrigued, having been raised on stories of Old Valyria. He would not mind the journey, the chance of investigating his ancestral home where dragons ruled. But Daenerys knew just how much twisted and dark mytho came from that place. The wild monstrous beasts and strange happenings. Of whole fleets vanishing.
Kinvara nodded, folding her hands into her voluminous dress sleeves, "Valyria is indeed a perilous place, my queen. It is not just filled with ghosts, many twisted beings dwell there. Remnants of the age of dragonlords but also creatures created from the Doom. It would be a dangerous task to step foot upon it."
"What of the Smoking Sea?" she asked. "It swallows all ships and never fades, even after centuries. I could be lost before ever reaching the city itself."
"Ships, not dragons," Kinvara said. "Your dragon would be able to fly you over the smoke until you reach the peninsula. If you do not linger long within the smog you should reach the isle itself."
"Few dragonlords escaped the Doom. Those that did died in the Century of Blood that followed, all except House Targaryen," Quaithe said. "Some survivors such as the dragonlord Aurion, declared himself the Emperor of Valyria after the Doom and he and his host of thirty thousand were never seen again when they were swallowed by the Smoking Sea. Dragons are not exempt from the smoke."
"Aerea Targaryen survived for over a year on Valyria even if she died shortly after returning to Westeros," Kinvara countered. "Conquerors or those who wish to settle die upon Valyria. Yet visits may be regarded more kindly, if the visitor does not act as an owner."
The two women argued further at that while Daenerys fell deep in thought. Old Valyria was always known to everyone. The death of the dragonlords, the destruction of the greatest civilization in the world. Artifacts from the destroyed land were highly prized. Blackfyre was Valyrian steel, sharper and lighter than any other normally forged blades. And that Dragonbinder used upon her, it had been covered in strange glyphs of Valyria. Could there be something akin to that on the isle? Or even something about the Others? As Daenys the Dreamer was trueblooded Valyrian then perhaps others had visions, visions they didn't understand but left behind scrolls or books or carvings about what they had seen. Things spared by the Doom?
Of course that meant she would put stock in what she did not really see in the fire. Would she bet her life on it?
But we know nothing about the Others. All we have are stories told to scare children or tales centuries old that could be beyond twisted of fact, Daenerys thought in frustration.
Even with Missandei acquiring many books and tomes, both from Westeros and the likes far east of Yi Ti and beyond, most were fables. They were treated as stories, tales and gossip. There seemed to be no real fact over the first Long Night during the Age of Heroes. Some truth they had wrangled forth, or what Daenerys thought was truth as it was a common theme over each source. That the first Long Night lasted an entire generation, a great and terrible winter. In Westeros it was said the First Men and the Children of the Forest fought together, forcing the Others back until they could create the Wall with the aid of the last hero. When the Night's Watch was a place for heroes and valiant warriors, not thieves and rapers and murderers. And the stories from the East, they also spoke of heroes. Azor Ahai, Hyrkoon the Hero, Yin Tar, Neferion, and Eldric Shadowchaser. All shifted and merged together, different from one another but with some consistency across them all.
Missandei had been diligent in her note taking, near smothered in her chambers with ever-growing stacks of scrolls and tomes and books and parchment. Her remarkable linguists helping her wrangle forth truth from obscure texts, the scribe steadfast in finding anything that may aid them in the coming Long Night.
But Daenerys also knew her friend was frustrated even if the Naathi hid it well. She was frustrated as Daenerys was over the lack of fact, that time had rendered the first Long Night into myth and stories. Again Daenerys wished Aemon had lived longer, had been able to tell her more. Perhaps she could have Missandei send a message directly to Castle Black, asking for any information Aemon may have left? The man had lost his eyes due to age but he had repeatedly mentioned his love of books. He must have written down his findings in his decades at the Wall.
She shifted in place, the belt of chains around her waist clicking slightly. Through their link she could sense Ghidorah's own thoughts and his interest in Old Valyria was plain. He cared less about finding information on their enemies and more about exploring the Doom, and perhaps even encountering the warped creatures left behind. Firewyrms and their ilk perhaps, for they were said to grow to monstrous sizes. Perhaps that was what she could search for, information on the strange beasts the Others may have? Tarly mentioned the Others rode horses. Could the great spiders and fabled ice dragons be a reality?
"Have either of you witnessed Old Valyria?" Daenerys spoke aloud.
Both maegi looked over to her, one clad in crimson and one clad in shadow.
"Even us of Asshai do not tread near such a place, not even in the dark or in dreams. It is perilous," Quaithe said solemnly.
Kinvara agreed, a twist to her darkly painted lips as she spoke, "Volantis has lost fleets in the Smoking Sea. Even with R'hllor showing you the way you must be wary. Listen to every instinct you possess if you chose to go to Old Valyria. If you feel the urge to flee then do so immediately. If you feel you are being watched, then you are being watched. Do not eat or drink anything from the isle, regardless of how delicious or sweet smelling it seems."
"I have not said I am going," Daenerys said stiffly.
For a long moment Kinvara simply regarded her before she spoke, words careful and slow, "If R'hllor showed you such a thing, then it must be important, my queen. I would not tread lightly with your life nor that of your dragon. If the Lord of Light showed you Valyria then it must be for a profound reason. He would not use you on a whim."
He is a god, everything is his whim, Daenerys thought. Aloud she said, "What of you, Quaithe? Do you encourage me there as well?"
The shadowbinder's words were just as careful, "While I...disagree, with such fiery gods at the best of times, you have power in your blood. Blood of dragons and seers. If you saw Old Valyria then I do agree there must be something there. If it is simply scrolls to detail more of our enemies or a weapon to use against them. Perhaps something to slew the Others or a weapon of sorts to cast the Long Night shorter than the last which rendered so much of the world in freezing darkness."
"What say your dragon, my queen?" Kinvara asked.
"Why would you ask?"
"You are tied through blood and mind," Quaithe added. "I will not claim to understand the bond between dragon and rider, mother and son, but any know a dragon is not a horse. And they are certainly smarter than one. Does he ever dream of Valyria, Daenerys Stormborn?"
"...No. He dreams of other things," Daenerys said with a slight frown. Ghidorah was never concerned with his dreams while Daenerys fretted over her own. Her child was not one to fuss over prophecy. Even now he was interest in Old Valyria simply due to the mystery rather than finding something to strike against the Others.
Quaithe made a considering noise, the shadows of her cloak bending like reeds in the wind. "He is beyond the keen of any other dragon. But you have been arming yourself with more and more against the white shadows. Meeting with Aemon and reclaiming Blackfyre. Perhaps Old Valyria will offer you more of your ancestors. Perhaps Daenys the Dreamer left something. Or even another seer of dragonblood."
"I must think upon this further," Daenerys said, nails biting into her skin.
It would be different from a flight to Braavos as Old Valyria was lost to all for centuries. But still, they were adrift with little knowledge and Daenerys knew sooner or later she would go west. Even now Meereen was relaxing, healing. It would be sooner indeed.
"Very well, I must speak with someone but..." Daenerys paused before taking a breath, "But if you know any ways to ward off the ill humours of Old Valyria then I would ask you bring them to me as soon as possible."
"Of course, my queen," Kinvara nodded, satin dark hair shining slightly. "I know of some blessings and items I can summon."
"As will myself, any who go to Old Valyria must be well protected. I will gather some supplies. When you return so shall I."
Daenerys nodded, raising from her seat. She still felt oddly tired, but made herself walk stiff-backed from the room at the murmured words of the maegi. It seemed that regardless of their differences they were united upon helping her. Dangerous friends indeed.
But she could not deny the allure of Old Valyria. Ghidorah was certainly interested but Daenerys felt interest and fear in equal measure. What if she did reach it and got infested as that girl had? What if the beast that attack Balerion still existed and tried to harm Ghidorah? Her child was no where near the Black Dread's monstrous size. Not yet at least, she did not know how large he would become over the coming decades if they both lived that long. Vhagar had been near Balerion's size during the Dance after all, centuries after the Conquest.
She rubbed at her forearm, where the puncture scar would forever remain. Both herself and Ghidorah came out of the battle of Meereen with relatively few injuries; hers was from Dragonbinder. Ghidorah's were from his later destruction of the cities and with his accelerated healing he recovered quickly. Most had been exhaustion from his relentless flying.
Old Valyria would be something entirely different than a trip to Braavos. Even the bloody confrontation with the Golden Company in Pentos. Pentos was not a city shrouded in a smoke which swallowed entire fleets, that housed the remains of the greatest civilization ever know.
It carried a far bigger risk of her dying. Or simply disappearing. Would it be worth it? Should she trust some not-vision of salt and smoke and dragon wings?
But, when it came to it, did she have much of a choice? They knew next to nothing about the Others. Vague generalities, myths and tales. Nothing about the creatures as they are. Could all the stories be true? Or none of them? The Tarly had said the Others disliked fire but that was a universal fear, across every living being. Even dragons could be harmed by the flames of another. Obsidian daggers for their puppet corpses. But beyond that, no one seemed to know. Even Aemon could not tell her, at least not while his mind and will remained.
She brooded over it as she walked through the Great Pyramid, only stopping to briefly greet the Unsullied guard as she made her way up the winding stairs until she was at the zenith, to the chambers opposite her own queen quarters.
She rapped once upon the ancient dark wood door before entering, the bells in her hair chiming softly with the movement. Inside the room was covered in an assortment of books, scrolls, tables, great maps the size of tapestries and numerous other items in a strange phenomena of disordered order. There was also a large amount of falcons and hawks out upon the balcony, their squawks and chirping echoing through the room.
"Missandei?" Daenerys called out.
"Here," the Naathi called from the other side of a mountain of books.
Carefully Daenerys' navigated through the room to avoid being caught in an avalanche of literature. Many of the books held titles in languages she could not read but she also saw many books in the common tongue of Westeros, including some with sigils of Westerosi Houses.
Missandei was seated at a desk, reading through a tome with parchment yellowed and torn from age and reeking of dust. The scribe made to rise when she caught sight of Daenerys but she quickly waved the Naathi off and seated herself in the chair opposite Missandei.
"Any more luck?" Daenerys asked, already knowing the answer.
"None yet," Missandei said, lips curling into a frown. "Simply more myths and legends. Save of the slight generalities there is little luck in wrangling truth from stories. And I fear there will be many more simply traveled through word of mouth, not of pen and ink. Though it is difficult to find any information so far to the east and south, from the likes of Ulthos, Asshai and Sothoryos. Nonetheless I shall persist."
"I have come to ask for your input," Daenerys said.
Missandei glanced up, her golden eyes as watchful as the hawks upon the balcony. She straightened up, hands folded primly upon the tome as she focused her attention entirely upon Daenerys.
Daenerys spoke, "I mean to travel to Mantarys, Tolos and Elyria. And also across to New Ghis and then northward so I can look upon Yunkai and Astapor."
Missandei nodded, her bushy curls bouncing. The scribe had indeed confirmed the destruction of the first three cities yet New Ghis was still oddly silent.
"It would do well to know if our enemies are attempting to consolidate again, Dany, even with my butterflies slowing growing wings," Missandei said. "New Ghis prides itself upon its slavery and harpy history. To tear it from the roots if it indeed still lives will benefit all the lives of those freed. New growth cannot florish in the rot."
"I may also mean to travel to Old Valyria."
All movement seemed to cease in Missandei's body; even her breathing stilled. However she did not reject Daenerys' words out of hand. She did not tell her it was such a ridiculous thing.
Instead she asked, with complete calmness and no hint of judgement within her eyes, "Do you think to find anything there?"
Daenerys shifted uncomfortably, "I spoke to Kinvara earlier. And she...believes that there was a vision in the fire I cast my blood and that of my child into. That it bade me to travel to Old Valyria."
"Do you believe it?"
"I don't believe that I'm the focus of a god but I do believe there are strange things in this world," Daenerys admitted. "And I know that the Valyrians were well known for their magics and spells and city which none other have mimicked since. And I know Daenys the Dreamer was born there."
"Do you think that if you go to Old Valyria you may have a vision about the coming Long Night?" Missandei asked.
"I don't know what to expect," she said. "It's said to be a place of demons and death."
"Yet also of treasures and relics long since gone. Did you not say that horn was from Valyria? Which made that hideous noise and gave you that fevered dream."
"It is one of the reasons Kinvara is encouraging me south. She believes I could find an answer to that dream."
"I don't quite know," Missandei frowned. "It is a perilous place yet our campaign against slavery is also perilous. We could die at any moment, either through a dagger or through poison. We have many enemies. The siege proved that well and even before that we faced battle and bloodshed. And if it is true another Long Night is following the Others will descend upon us, then it is accurate to say we are wildly without information. If...If there could be something, some lore upon the isle...Would it be worth the risk?" she finished, sounding almost like she was talking to herself.
"If worse does come to pass and I and my child die upon Old Valyria, you and the rest of my children should be well protected in Meereen," Daenerys said. "After we killed so many during the siege. Yet still, the stories coming from there both frighten and intrigue me. It is not just men, no matter how savage like the slavers, but demons and monsters that lie within the Smoking Sea. But perhaps that is what is needed as these Others seem much the same yet they hide within frozen fog. But at the same time, there is nothing to say that I even saw anything. I could have just inhaled smoke and will I bet my life upon it? Yet stranger things have happened than visions in flame. I don't know."
"We are in a strange age," Missandei agreed. "Slavery was considered an unbreakable pillar in Essos for centuries until you appeared and smashed the masters off their gilded thrones. You have a dragon with three heads that breathes lightning and I know Old Valyria is not the only place of ancient and worrisome magic. Change is neither good nor bad, it is simply part of living. How we live it is the difference. If these slavers of ice are coming for us, then I think that perhaps we should look more deeply into unknown sources. As my hunting through the lore of men have left very little fact."
"So you agree for me to go to Old Valyria?"
"It is up to you, Dany, for you shall be the one to take the journey," Missandei said plainly. "I will support whatever decision you make."
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