Under Aegon's firm rule, the winds of change swept across Westeros.
The nobles came to realize that only true strength could preserve their houses' honor and resist the growing might of the crown. Thus, the pursuit of power became their most urgent desire.
The battle energy cultivation methods developed by the New Citadel appeared like a dawn breaking through darkness, a lifeline upon which they pinned their hopes.
It had now been conclusively proven that battle energy could be strengthened through deliberate training. The foundational breathing method, meticulously designed by the Dragon Tower, drew immediate and fervent interest from the nobility once it was released.
Though the breathing method was costly—over a hundred gold dragons for a single copy—and strictly forbidden from being shared outside its purchaser, noble knights eager to grow stronger could not resist. They spent heavily to see their children trained in it.
The great houses of the Starks in the North and the Lannisters in the West showed even greater resolve. They sponsored the development of custom breathing techniques, tailored to suit their bloodlines.
House Stark's [Frostwolf Breathing Method] and House Lannister's [Lion's Fury Breathing Method] were both in development, nearing completion thanks to lavish investment.
It was clear that once released, these methods would raise the overall strength of Westeros to a new level.
The royal house would not be left behind. The Targaryens likewise funded their own projects, including the [Fire Dragon Breathing Method] and the [Bloodline Breathing Method]. Nearly every noble house poured its resources into strengthening its warriors.
Thus, a silent competition in power had begun across the realm.
Aegon welcomed it. In his eyes, a stronger warrior class would provide a firmer foundation for the wars against the gods yet to come.
He himself had tried cultivating with breathing methods. With the divinity within his body, he could convert magical energy into battle energy. Yet the current system was crude and incomplete. He resolved to wait patiently for it to mature.
...
Time passed, and young Jaehaerys turned four.
After careful thought, Aegon decided to send his eldest son to the New Citadel, where he would study and grow alongside the children of the great lords.
Even amidst the burdens of building his system of local officials, Aegon still made time for Queen Alysanne and Princess Aerea. By now, Aerea had become his openly acknowledged lover.
This made Aegon consider the need to establish a formal court system. Given his station, he thought it more fitting to adopt a model of one queen and several consorts. Otherwise, Aerea's future children would bear only the status of bastards—a slight he could not abide for his sister.
The emperor's reforms would take decades to yield their full fruit. But the birth of new life required only nine months.
At the start of the year, joyful news arrived: Queen Alysanne was pregnant again. The announcement delighted not only Aegon but also the people of Westeros.
Princess Daenerys was overjoyed.
She insisted to her mother that she wanted a little sister for company.
"You're like a little queen already, giving out commands," Alysanne laughed, her eyes full of affection.
...
In Westeros, marriage had always been a crucial bond for forging alliances among houses. Through such unions, powerful coalitions could be formed, easing rivalries and preventing conflict.
Alysanne Targaryen, much like the Conqueror's two wives before her, devoted herself to arranging marriages.
In the fifty-seventh year of the Conquest, she secured two notable unions.
Both brides were women of sharp wit who had followed her since the Demon Wars.
Lady Jennis Templeton was wed to Lord Mullendore of Uplands, and Lady Prunella Celtigar was married to Ser Robert Redwyne, lord of the Arbor and the Iron Islands.
Since both grooms held rank above their brides, these marriages were hailed as triumphs of the queen's diplomacy.
...
That same year, Lord Redwyne's long-proposed tournament—celebrating the restoration of the Dragonpit—was held at last.
The lists were built on open ground west of the city walls, between Lion Gate and King's Gate, transforming the space into a stage for valor and glory.
The event was spectacular, drawing vast crowds.
Ser Robert Redwyne, the earl's eldest son, displayed extraordinary skill with the lance, placing himself among the kingdom's finest champions. His younger brother, Ser Rickard, won the squires' joust and was knighted on the spot by Aegon himself.
The ultimate champion was the gallant Ser Simon Dondarrion of Blackhaven.
At the close of the tournament, he crowned Princess Daenerys with the queen's garland of love and beauty. The romantic gesture won cheers from the crowd and praise from the queen herself, becoming one of the great stories of the tourney.
...
Meanwhile, in the outer districts of King's Landing, Aegon oversaw the construction of a great dueling arena, modeled after Valyria's dragon fighting pits.
Though still unfinished, the grand arena could already hold thousands of spectators, a sign of the spectacles yet to come.
This magnificent dueling ground became the stage for a grand melee unlike anything King's Landing had ever seen.
Seventy-seven knights, clad in gleaming armor, divided into eleven teams, hurled themselves into the bloody fray. They charged on horseback, and once unseated, continued the fight on foot with longswords, axes, warhammers, and flails.
When only one team remained standing, its surviving members turned their weapons on each other until a single victor emerged. Though the weapons were blunted, the combat was fierce and brutal, leaving the crowd exhilarated.
Two men died in the melee, and over forty more were wounded.
Queen Alysanne had wisely forbidden her favorites, Jonquil Darke and "Strummer" Tom, from taking part. But the restless old "Big Bucket" could not resist the roar of the crowd and entered once more, to their delight.
After his fall, the people quickly found a new hero in Ser Harys Hogg—a knight dubbed "Ham Harry" for his family name and the boar-helm he wore.
Other standouts in the melee included Ser Elin Broc, who had once served on Dragonstone; Ser Borys, Ser Garon, and Ser Ronnal, the brothers of Lord Rogar Baratheon; the infamous sellsword Ser Guyle the Cunning; and Ser Alastor Reyne, master-at-arms of Casterly Rock.
Yet after hours of grueling combat, the last man standing was a young knight of the Riverlands: Ser Lucamore Strong.
Broad-shouldered and golden-haired, built like an ox, he embodied the might of his house. The Strongs now held Oldstones, a stronghold commanding the mouth of the Blue Fork where it entered Ironman's Bay, making them both wealthy and powerful. Their current lord even governed the New Citadel in the emperor's name, a position of immense influence.
...
Not long after the tournament, Queen Alysanne made an important decision. She mounted her dragon and left the bustling capital, flying to Dragonstone to await her child's birth.
The frailty of young Jaehaerys at birth still weighed heavily on her mind. She knew her husband could not give their next son the left Divine Eye as he had the right, and she longed for peace. Worn from travel and courtly burdens, she chose instead the quiet halls of her ancestral fortress, hoping to ease both body and spirit until the time came.
She was attended by Sisters Edyth and Lyra, as well as twelve maidens chosen from a hundred who vied for the honor. Among them were two nieces of Lord Rogar Baratheon, as well as girls of Houses Arryn, Vance, Rowan, Royce, and Dondarrion. Even the North was represented, by Mara Manderly, daughter of Lord Theomore of White Harbor.
To amuse herself at night, the queen also brought her favored fool, "Wifey," along with his puppets.
Some courtiers worried over her choice, reminding her that Dragonstone was damp and gloomy even in summer, with autumn storms lashing its shores. Recent tragedies still haunted the castle, and some even whispered that the ghost of Quentyn the Faceless might prowl its halls.
Alysanne only scoffed.
"The dragons of Dragonstone will scatter any wraiths or phantoms," she told them. "There is no better place to welcome the birth of a dragon's child."
...
In the fifty-seventh year of the Conquest, a royal progress was arranged to the Westerlands.
As when she carried Princess Daenerys, the queen would not ask her husband to delay or cancel the journey. Instead, she bade him go alone.
Aegon flew Ghidorah across the breadth of Westeros, meeting his retinue at Golden Tooth before visiting Ashemark, the Crag, Kayce, Castamere, Tarbeck Hall, Lannisport, Casterly Rock, and Crakehall.
He inspected each city, reviewed the work of his resident tax collectors, and soothed the unrest of lords still uneasy at the crown's new officials.
With a month left until Alysanne's due date, he returned from the west to be at her side.
...
The boy was born on the maesters' predicted day, strong of limb and healthy of body. His eyes were pale violet, his hair as white and lustrous as platinum—so rare even in Old Valyria.
Aegon named him Aemon.
"Daenerys will scold me for this," Alysanne laughed softly, holding the boy against her breast. "She wanted a sister so dearly."
"Next time," Aegon replied with a booming laugh.
That night, at her urging, he placed a dragon's egg in the newborn prince's cradle.
By dawn, a blood-red wyrmling had clawed its way from the shell, writhing in the swaddling cloth. It was a sure sign that Prince Aemon's dragonblood ran deep.
Aegon himself named the hatchling—Caraxes.
...
The birth of Prince Aemon filled the realm with joy.
A month later, when the emperor and queen returned to King's Landing, thousands thronged the streets outside the Red Keep, desperate for a glimpse of the new prince.
The roar of their cheers moved Aegon deeply. Mounting the battlements of the castle gate, he lifted his son high above his head for all to see.
The thunder of the crowd's acclaim rolled across the city, so loud it seemed even the Narrow Sea might carry the sound to distant shores.