The Heir of the Dragon: A Rhaenyra Targaryen Quest

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Despite spending most of the past year half buried in books and tomes, you had very little in the way of formal teaching since you were named heir. It had honestly entirely slipped your mind as of late. With you and Alicent back on speaking terms, at least she was quick to remind you and your father about this error. While you were nearly an adult and heir to the Iron Throne, your education was not finished and that needed to be fixed.

For the last few months, most days saw you spending a few hours in lessons, taught by Septas and Maesters, on all matter of subjects. There was a change to these lessons. Subtle at first, but you soon noticed no one was pressuring you to pick up needlework, and there were few lessons anymore on how to run your household for example. Those were the tasks of consorts, not rulers. Your hours were spent being taught all kinds of more important things. From lessons in matters of coin; to Maester having you pour over lists of various minor vassals, learning their symbols and their history; along with overly serious Septas teaching you how once should behave in a royal court and the importance of it all.

Some lessons proved quite interesting, while others had you fantasizing about stabbing the person lecturing you and unleashing Syrax on the Citadel just out of spite.

All subjects were given some amount of attention over the weeks, but one subject in particular drew your attention

What Subject Did You Focus On?

[] The Histories of the Houses of Westeros, both Great and Minor
You were all but assaulted by the Maesters with the names of every house of any note in the Seven Kingdoms, along with their symbols, the phrases and their history. There were just so many of them. You studied how the Tyrells started as simple stewards and rose to become one of the greatest lords in the Seven Kingdoms, you memorized the names of every lordship in the Westerlands, and read about the complex history of the feud between the Brackens and the Blackwoods and their many, many battles. (Improves Strategy)

[] Matters of Law and Coin
Your days are spend studying the laws written by Queen Rhaenys and Visenya and later refined by King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. Going over everything, from the abolishment of First Night to various legal disputes, such as the ever present challenges over the exact border between House Bracken and House Blackwood. You also covered matters of coin, which led you to realize just how shockingly expensive feeding a dragon can be. (Improves Stewardship)

[] Diplomacy and Etiquette
You are taught the art of persuasion, how to convince people to do what you once without having to remind them of their oaths or fill their pockets with coin. You are also taught far more drab lessons on proper Etiquette, things like what spoon goes where at dinner and how to arrange a feast and other trivial stuff like that. (Improves Diplomacy)

[] The Seven Pointed Star
You are not a person of strong faith. You are Targaryen, more Dragon than mortal man. The Old Gods and New alike mean little to you. But somehow Alicent convinced you to come with her to the sept for a few days in a row, which somehow led to the two of you studying the Faith of the Seven and it's most holy text under the tutelage of a particularly dour Septa. You know a lot more about the Seven-in-One God of the Andals then you did before, tough you don't know if that changes anything. But Alicent seemed quite happy to have you there and many have remarked positively on your seemingly new found piety. (Improves Relationship with Alicent)

[] Music
Growing up, your tutors always encouraged you to take an interest in music, saying it was a "proper" interest for a Princess of your standing. Normally, you ignore them, but recently you've found yourself drawn to the harp and decided to take a few lessons. A few lessons turned into weeks of study and practice and you found the experience quite relaxing, if nothing else. (Decreases Stress, Unlocks new option for Relaxing)

---

You realized quickly you couldn't just send Ravens asking which houses had women available for marriage. That would just give leave for every noble house in the Seven Kingdoms to throw their daughters at your father and the rookery would drown in parchment. Instead, you spend weeks laboriously looking through archives looking for various messages about births and weddings, asking Alicent and others about the latest rumors surrounding various nobles, and ever so careful questions to various visiting nobles. After a few months of this, you had something of a good idea for various alternative prospects for your father besides Laena, even if the idea of him marrying again at all did poor things to your stomach.

Finding a woman close to your father's age who was unmarried proved to be nearly impossible, which meant, regretfully, most of the prospects you found were close to your age. Which was disturbing enough already, but a good deal less so than an actual child like Laena.

Your cousin Jeyne seemed a great prospect at first brush. As a female ruler in her own right, she understood the situation you found yourself in better than most, with her male relatives trying to remove her on more than one occasion. Any children she had could just be heirs to the Vale instead of the Iron Throne. It would never work though. Jeyne was an Arryn, same as your late mother. You couldn't imagine your father bringing himself to marry one of your mother's family. Lady Arryn had also shown a distinct disinterest in ever getting married.

The first actual viable prospect you found was a lady named Johanna Westerling, cousin to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. You could find out little about the woman herself, but her father Roland was a well respected figure within the Westerlands and the Westerlings themselves were generally held in high regard. Though apparently this didn't translate into material strength. Their castle, the Crag was starting to fall apart from lack of funds. The Westerlings wouldn't be strong allies, but they wouldn't be strong enemies either.

Another prospect that caught your attention was a woman your age named Sabitha Vypren. Her, you could get a decent understanding of as various lords in the Riverlands had remarked on her behavior, such as showing up at a wedding in riding attire, later getting into a fight at said wedding that lead to her emerging unscathed, but three squires ended up with broken noses. She sounded fun. The issue was that Vypren was a fairly minor house in the Riverlands. They were lords still, but their power and influence was minimal. Perhaps too minimal for your father to consider such a match.

The Tyrells had a lady by the name of Victaria, distant cousin of the Lord of Highgarden. From what you could tell she was loud, friendly, and liked to party. Quite a bit from what her cousin writes. The Tyrells hold over the Reach had never been strong and Victaria's only a cousin several times removed, but the thought of your father marrying into the family of a Lord Paramount terrified you.

Looking outside of the Seven Kingdoms, Dorne of all places presented a possibility. The current ruler of Dorne was an aging Princess in poor health and her heir was a man of your age, but the ruling princess did have an umarried sister named Deria. The Martells and Dorne in general had a long tradition of women having equal inheritance with men. Deria Martell could give your father a dozen sons and it would be unlikely their family would dare press those claims over yours. And while you were certain a marriage to a younger sister would not bring Dorne into the fold at long last, you were also certain your father could work out a deal with Dorne to use the marriage as foundation for a pact against the Tirarchy. With Dornish support, the Stepstones would fall to your father quickly. Of course Dorne was far from popular in the Seven Kingdoms. Marrying someone from the defiant Princedom would not go over smoothly with many lords. The Reach and the Stormlands would be outraged at the King's actions and many others would likely join them. A Dornish queen might be great for your own succession, but it would not do wonders for the stability of the Realm.

You suppose your father could marry a woman from Braavos or Pentos or another city in Essos, though that carried many of the same complications as marrying a Martell.

Horrifyingly, you realized in studying that Alicent would make an ideal choice for your father. Young but not a child and the daughter of a powerful figure. Would Otto be ambitious enough to try? Surely your father would realize what him marrying your best friend would do to you, right? It was an admittedly an entirely baseless fear. You had no evidence your father was considering such an engagement and no evidence Otto was even pushing for such a thing, but the thought disturbed you greatly still.

Despite that one particularly unsettling thought, you found yourself quite enjoying your latest dig through the Red Keep's archives. While the subject matter itself may have been so distasteful for you that at times you tasted bile in your mouth, you couldn't deny you had come to enjoy your studies in and of themselves. Indeed, after nearly a year of having your head buried in books, particularly these last few months where most of your time had been divided between your lessons or digging through old letters, you've found your views changing. Whereas once the libraries of this castle were an all but foreign place to you, they have now all but become a second home for you, with you often striking up casual conversations with the various Maesters who frequented the archives. You were beginning to understand just why your father was so passionate about studying Valyrian history and uncovering the past.

Not only were you enjoying your studies, you were also developing a talent for them. Finding obscure texts, being able to figure out where an author's bias laid, figuring out what was true and what was just an author presenting smut as history, just to name a few examples.

New Actions Unlocked

Gain Trait: Studious
While not a natural scholar you have developed both a talent and passion for your studies. What some would dismiss as the tedious work of maesters, you have come to find quite enjoyable and even relaxing at times. Hours spent by candlelight almost buried by various texts and ancient tomes is a fine way to send an evening in your opinion. You have a kind of diligence in your studies, able to carefully sift through piles of seemingly useless or half ruined texts to find the information you need. What would take the average lord, those who can read at least, months to uncover you can uncover in greater detail in a matter of weeks.

---

Your meeting with Otto Hightower happened by luck this time. You were taking a brief rest one day in the Godswood when you happened across the man walking by the Heart tree. Quite the unusual place for him, but useful for your purposes.

"Lord Hand, I'm surprised to see you here," you said to catch his attention.

"Ahh, Princess, how good to see you again," Otto nodded in return. "I was just getting some fresh air."

The air around you two was quiet, with no sign of anyone nearby. The Godswood could be wonderfully private most of the time. It as why you and Alicent chose to study there so often.

"Have you heard word of my father's recent conversation with Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys?"

"So you know as well," Otto nodded again as he spoke. "Yes, the King informed me of Lord Corlys' proposal last night."

Good. No need to waste time explaining things to him.

Carefully, you lay out your thoughts. "I must I admit I find myself surprised by the Sea Snake's boldness. And I was hoping you could offer advice on how I should handle this."

Otto raised an eyebrow in response. "You want my advice now?" he said with faint amusement. "I must confess princess, with your actions as of late I did not think you would ask for anyone's advice, let alone mine."

"Are you criticizing my actions on Dragonstone?" The disbelief was thick in your voice.

"Your behavior was extremely reckless. You cannot deny that, Princess," Otto stated simply.

"Considering our recent conversations on my uncle and your own words to my father, do you really think you had things in hand?" You questioned pointedly. "Do you honestly think my uncle is the type of man to threaten someone he hates with a dragon and not make good on it? Have you ever known my uncle to shy from violence?"

For a fleeting moment, you saw Otto's calm break and a look of horror appear on his face.

"I suppose things worked out for the best, regardless of the cirumstances," he answers dismissively. "Now, what do you wish to discuss about Lord Corlys' proposal? I can't imagine you're pleased with the idea of your father marrying again."

"I understand my father has a duty to the realm," your press out strained and weary, "but it's only been six months, and Laena Velaryon is a child."

"The girl is young, I agree. I've seen younger brought to the altar before but it is never the less distasteful," he muses thoughtfully. "And I must confess I could not imagine marrying again so quickly. The pain of my own loss still haunts me to this day."

With a brief nod, you continue. "People expect us to move on so quickly, as if we were the same people we were before. As if a fundamental part of our lives hadn't just been ripped out, never to be made whole again."

Otto seemed taken aback by your words, his eyes wide as he looked at you.

"I understand how you feel, I remember how outraged I was when my brother suggested I remarry, and that was a full year after my own wife's death. How could he just expect me to replace someone I had known for decades?" Surprisingly, his voice was warm with sympathy. "I was allowed to say no. Your father does not have that same luxury."

"I understand that," you replied, "but I am not sure if it is the best choice. For either my father or the realm."

"Marrying Laena would go a long way towards healing the realm," Otto countered.

"And possibly make the Sea Snake the most powerful voice on the Small Council," you stated as a matter of fact. An obvious ploy on your part, but the truth. Part of the reasons Targaryens were so fond of marrying brother to sister was so they could avoid having to deal with the influence of a wife's family.

He made a thoughtful noise in return, his distaste clear in the sound and his frown. The Lord Hightower didn't like the idea of this match one bit, likely mostly for political reasons but that could work for you. If the two of you pushed your father to consider another option, or even delay any decisions on marriage, he would probably listen.

Though if that worked, you found yourself wondering what bride Otto would prefer for your father. He wouldn't dare put Alicent in that position, would he?

Part of your mind wondered if trying to stop your father from marrying Laena was a good idea at all. Perhaps the better solution right now would be to work on building your own power. You had a dragon, but so did Laena's family. Allies could help a lot if the worst happened.

The Hightowers would make good allies. Otto was hand of the king and had been for decades, while House Hightowers as a whole was one of the most powerful vassals in the Reach.

Convincing Otto to be your ally was all but impossible though. There was only thing you could do to truly win his allegiance. A marriage pact. Marry his son Gwayne Hightower and you'd be certain you had a firm ally in the Hand of the King. You hated the idea though. Hated, hated, hated, hated it with every fiber of your being. The very thought of binding yourself in a loveless marriage before you had any chance to live and love was repulsive.

Perhaps you needed not say anything at all. Otto as an ally would be useful but part of you couldn't help but wonder if he could prove just as dangerous as the Sea Snake.

Relationship with Otto Hightower Improved.

What do you say to Otto?

[] Try to convince him to help delay your father's decision on who he should marry.

[] Try to convince him to help convince your father to choose another bride

[] Purpose an alliance with Otto, offering to marry his son Gwayne (Will increase Stress if Otto accepts)

[] Say something non-commital and take your leave

[] Write-in (Subject to QM Approval)

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You watched from a distance as your father and Laena Velaryon walked through the castle gardens. On the surface, things seemed fine. Laena was talking about the dragon Vhagar with a level of energy and enthusiasm that would be adorable were she not talking about the most dangerous living thing in the known world.

The longer you watched though, the more issues became clear. Your father was stiff and awkward in how he walked. The brief glances you saw of his face made it look like he was in absolute misery, yet saw no escape. Even Laena did not seem to enjoy this, her expression losing all joy the moment conversation shifted to the topic of marriage. You found yourself twisting the rings on your fingers as you watched, unable to focus on the horror unfolding before you.

Your eyes turned to the two reponsible for this gross scene, Corlys Velaryon and your cousin Rhaenys Targaryen. The Sea Snake's expression was unreadable but his gaze was fixed on your father. Rhaenys seemed less interested, catching sight of you as you approached.

"It's good to see someone who can share in Laena's passion for Vhagar, I must say," Rhaenys voice came out forced and every word sounding insincere.

"Vhagar is the only living being to remember the Conquest," you said evenly. "Father has always been passionate about histories, before and after the Doom."

"Princess Rhaenyra, it is good to see you," Corlys acknowledged you as he forced his gaze away for a moment. "Your father is doing quite well, I must say."

'He looks like he wants to throw himself into the nearest moat,' you quietly thought.

"Your daughter seems to be handling herself well. No doubt you prepared her throughly for this." The words carried more of a bite than you wished, your distaste for the matter seeping through.

"I understand your hesitation," Corlys replied with little emotion, "but this marriage is what's best for both our houses."

"Laena is a child." The words came out as barbs and you could see Rhaenys flinch for a small moment in response.

Corlys appeared unaffected though. "If I could wait five years I would," he spoke evenly, "but we both know your father would be drowning in marriage offers by then."

He wasn't wrong. You wanted to delay any marriage your father might have as long as possible, but you knew the longer he waited, the more people would pressure him like Corlys was now.

"By making you heir, your father has broken over a century of precedent," the Sea Snake began to lecture. "Between that and your uncle's exile, the crown is more vulnerable than it has been in generations. With marriage, your father would not only strengthen the crown's position but would help mend the rift between our two families that has existed since the Great Council."

Rhaenys stiffened at the mention of the Council, biting her lip as if to silence herself.

Few other families would dare say the Crown's position was weak. Fewer still would directly say it to one of your family, but being the only other family in control of dragons came with numerous advantages.

You found yourself unable to bite back your venom. "And your grandson will be my father's firstborn son. You stand to gain a great deal from this marriage."

"Your father has already made clear who his heir is," Corlys smirked at your anger.

"Such things are years away," Rhaenys stepped into the conversation. "Cousin, you have need of allies now to support your claim and you would be hard pressed to find a better one than us."

Would they support you? Rhaenys knew what it was like to be denied her rightful inhertiance, but would sympathy count for anything when it came to ambition or would they forget any promises the moment they had a grandson bearing the Targaryen name? Perhaps, if you supported them. You hated the very idea of this marriage, passionately, but if they had your support they might not see you as a rival, and perhaps you could exchange your support for favors. If Laena was queen, Corlys would be very powerful indeed. He could lend your voice some actual weight, perhaps even help raise you to a seat on the Small Council in time, among other things.

Then again, if it was an alliance they wanted, Lord Corlys did have a son your age. If they were truly just interested in an alliance and strengthening your two houses, surely they would be willing to consider you marrying Laenor instead. You hated the idea as much as you hated the thought of marrying Gwayne Hightower, but the thought of sparing your father from having to marry a child made it almost bearable. Almost.

There was every chance they could just refuse your offer, but at least then you would know where you stood with the Sea Snake.

And, of course, a not so small part of you wanted to scream at them, decry them for using a child as a political pawn and trying to force her to marry a man several times her age. It wouldn't help you, but it would feel so good right now.

What is your offer for Lord Corlys and Rhaenys?

[] [Defiant] None, instead decry both of them for using their daughter in such an abhorrent manner. They are her parents, they should not be selling her like a piece of meat.

[] Make no firm offers but remain civil

[] Agree to support their efforts in exchange for favors (Select as many as you want but they will likely refuse if too much is demanded)
-[] They agree to swear another oath acknowledging you as Viserys' heir.
-[] Lord Corlys agrees to support you on the Small Council
-[] Lord Corlys agrees to support your efforts to attain a seat on the Small Council
-[] They agree to pressure your father to allow you to take part in the fighting in the Stepstones.
-[] They promise to deny your uncle any and all aid while in Exile
-[] Write-in (Subject to QM approval)

[] Try and convince them to drop offer with Laena and have Laenor marry you instead (Will increase Stress if they accept)

[] Write-in (Subject to QM approval)

Please Vote by Plan

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QM's Note: So, just to be clear, you can absolutely promise both Otto and Corlys to marry their sons. Do not expect it to end well. Part of the reason this has to be a plan vote is I only want that to happen if you guys intentionally do it. Also note that it's entirely possible for one or both to refuse the marriage offer. Also, Sabitha Vypren (and thus Lord Frey as well) are probably one of the few changes I'm making to the show since the woman in her place is like twice Rhaenyra's age but that was one of the few changes the show made compared to Fire and Blood that I think were less interesting.