Character timeline

It’s been 16 years since the Targaryen-Stark victory. Jon and Dany are both just as good looking at 40 as they were at 24, some would argue their looks only got better. Eddard, Rhaenys, and Rhaegar were approaching their 16th birthday, Rhaella is 13 and Bharbo is 11. Sansa is now 36 and her husband Aegon is 40. Benjin, their eldest son is 16. Talisa Catelyn, their eldest daughter, is 15. Their youngest son, Loras, is 12, and their youngest daughter, Margaery is 10. Jaime is 56 years old and his wife Octavia is 48. Their daughter, Lelia is 13 and their son Lann is 12. Tyrion is 49 and is wife Alyssa is 45. Corlos, their son, is 14 and their daughter Joanna is 13. Gendry is 39 and Meera is 38. Their daughter Cella is 14 and their son Jojen is 12. Arya is 34 and Yara is 45. Ellaria is 55 years old, Pod is 36, and their twin daughters, Irogenia and Mysaria, are 14. Brienne is 56 and Tormund is 58. Their children are 15, 14, 13, 12, and Ygritte, the youngest, is 11.

Part 1

Six years ago, Drogon told Daenerys that Rhaenys was to bring Dreamfyre to the volcano in Old Valyria, as she was destined to be the first head of the dragon for her generation. Since then, Daenerys and Jon have been preparing Rhaenys to take the Iron Throne after they were ready to step down from their position. Rhaenys was ready to do her duty and did everything her parents asked her to do. She attended school like the rest of the high born children, but also had lessons with Sam twice a week about history or medicine. She had lessons with Daenerys a few times a week to learn Valyrian and Dothraki. Jon and Dany would take turns giving her combat lessons, and during busy parts of the year, Rhaenys would be allowed to fly to Highgarden with her sister Rhaella, and sometimes the other children, to attend Grey Worm’s lessons. Of course they all would go twice a year as a family for fun–they all enjoyed combat and learning about different types of weapons. She would sit in on all the council meetings and when Jon and Dany would let the public enter the Throne Room to express any concerns, Rhaenys would sit in the middle of their two thrones on a little steel throne that they made just for her. When she was younger, she’d just sit on her dads lap. Her small throne had dragons and direwolves engraved all over it. When she was 12, she gave names to all of them.

She was busy, but she loved it. She did have a good amount of free time to be a simple kid and play with her siblings, cousins, and friends. She loved her mother very much, and would often be seen chasing her around in the halls in the morning–sometimes on the shoulders of Jon. But as Rhaenys got older, she realized she was the most free running barefoot in the Kingswood or on the back of Shadow. She loved riding Dreamfyre along side her family members but she wasn’t allowed to fly anywhere alone. Her parents agreed when the triplets turned 16, they could explore as much as they wished.

Growing up, Rhaenys loved playing with Jamie and Octavia Lannister’s children almost every evening after dinner. She was thrilled when her cousins and Aunt Sansa and Uncle Aegon visited, but she especially loved visiting them on Dragonstone. She didn’t like going to Winterfell that much because she found it to be to cold, even when wearing her mother’s old winter coats. She also really liked when Uncle Gendry and Aunt Meera would visit with their children. Storms End and Kings Landing where fairly close together, so they saw each other all the time. All of Dany and Jon’s children referred to Gendry and Meera as Uncle and Aunt, and their children called Dany and Jon Aunt and Uncle. When Missandei and Greyworm’s family would come, they’d always have the best picnic’s and play the best games. Rhaenys wanted a best friend like Missandei. Sometimes she’d find her mother and Missandei sleeping on the big couch in one of the sitting rooms because they were up all night talking. When Tormund and Brienne’s family came, they’d go on hunting trips or adventures into the Kingswood. When Tyrion’s children came to visit, they all would go fishing and read magical stories to each other. Ellaria and Pod would visit sometimes and their children would show them how to use a whip in combat or teach them about potions.

All the children grew up knowing that they’ll all probably get married to someone in this elite group, but they were okay with it. All of them mostly got along and relationships were never forced on them, even after the oldest girls started bleeding. Dany, Meera, Brienne, Sansa, Missandei, and Ellaria agreed to not arrange any marriages until their daughters were at least 18 and approved of the match. Dany didn’t want her daughters to go through what she did at such a young age. While she got lucky with Khal Drogo, and she did love him, growing up knowing you’re going to be pawned off to some stranger was a feeling she didn’t want any of the young girls in her life to experience. After everything Sansa been through, she quickly agreed.

Rhaenys always felt a little different than her brothers Ned and Rhaegar though. She would always feel this strange desire to be somewhere else. When her brother Bharbo got a bit older, she saw it in him too. She would see it in her mother when they flew together and would visit the Free-Cities in Essos. Dany didn’t want to show them Dragon’s Bay yet or the Dothraki Sea until they were older. Rhaenys didn’t ever want to speak of this with her mother and father because she knew she was the first head of the dragon and she knew someday she had to be queen of the 7 kingdoms. She loved them very much and didn’t want to disappoint them.

All of the Targaryen-Stark children had “the sight” but Rhaenys and Bharbo’s were the strongest, even stronger than Daenerys’. Bharbo was more vocal about his visions but Rhaenys decided to keep her’s to herself. Daenerys and Jon wouldn’t realize how strong her visions were until later. Rhaenys would have dreams almost every night of diving deep into a volcano, standing on a balcony made of stone and marble overlooking a strange city, or riding on the back of Shadow in a wide open field that is all of green grass, or on the back of Dreamfyre riding above it. These dreams would make her so happy, sometimes she’d wake up crying.

——

Daenerys and Jon were planning a big name-day celebration for their three oldest children. They’d always do something for their name-day but nothing as big as this event. This was the day that marked them as adults and the day where Rhaenys will get to take Dreamfyre on a special trip with her parents, Drogon, and Rhaegal, and the day where they’ll figure out who the second and third head of the dragon will be. It is the day, the dragons believe, that they are ready to accept the responsibilities of being a head of the dragon. The three heads of the dragon are meant to rule the world together.

Everyone was so excited for this day to come. The greatest people from all over the Realm will be there in one city at the same time. Dany has everything set up in the courtyard and gardens. There were decorations, jester’s, bards, and dancers everywhere. She does a final walk around to ensure everything was perfect when Jon sneaks up behind her quietly and wraps his arms around her. Dany jumps and says “I hate when you sneak up behind me like that!” and playfully hits him on the shoulder. “I can’t help it! I haven’t seen you all day. I saw your silver hair walking through the gardens from our balcony and I had to come down here to say good morning to my Queen” Jon replied. Dany smiles up at him, grabs both of his hips, and steps closer to him. “I love how even after all this time you still make it a point to be romantic” says Dany. Jon leans down to kiss Dany and after a few seconds, they hear “yuck!” and “gross, Dad!” coming from their five kids. “I told you to not come into the gardens until it was time!” Dany said. Just then, they see two dragons fly ahead. Olenna and Valyria–Sansa and Aegon’s dragons. On the back, you were able to see long, flowing orange hair in the wind on the back of Olenna as well as two little girls waving their hands down at them. On the back of Valyria, you could see a muscular man with shiny silver hair and two little boys waving down at them. The Targaryen-Stark children giggled and Jon says “why don’t you go meet them at the Dragon Pit? Aunt Arya and Aunt Yara should be arriving any minute now too…” and sure enough, Syrio is spotted in the distance. All the kids run off towards the Dragon Pit. “Well that will buy us some time” Dany says looking back up at Jon. He smiles down at her and continues to kiss her for a few moments. “Ellaria, Pod and their daughters and the Giantsbane family should be arriving soon, we should get them settled into their rooms…” Dany began to say. “Tyrion, Sam, and Gilly are waiting for them, there’s no need to rush” said Jon. “Missandei, Greyworm, and their kids arrived last night. With everyone here, we shouldn’t be gone very long” says Dany. “They can wait for a little” smirked Jon. Dany smiles at him and loops her arm in his and they take a walk in the garden together.

Rhaenys was the first one to arrive at the Dragon Pit, shortly followed by Bharbo. They were the fastest of their siblings. Rhaenys pounced on Sansa and Bharbo pounced on Aegon. Sansa and Aegon laughed as they switched to exchange a hug with the other person. As they were greeting their cousins, the rest of Dany and Jon’s kids arrive. When they were done greeting each other, that’s when Syrio landed with Arya and Yara. Before they had the chance to climb down, all nine kids now where climbing up Syrio and jumping on Arya and Yara. All of the kids loved them very much, especially young Rhaella and Margaery, who rode on their backs the whole walk up to the castle. “Where is Jon and Daenerys?” Aegon asked the kids. “They’re taking a walk in the garden and being gross!” Bharbo said. “Yuck!” Rhaella chimes in. Aegon laughs and asks “What are they doing that’s gross?” “They’re just kissing, don’t pay attention to them” said Rhaenys as she shoved Bharbo’s face aside. “They will be back up soon,” said Rhaegar. Tyrion, Sam, and Gilly meet them in the entrance. Sam leads Arya and Yara to their quarters and of course, Rhaella follows. Gilly leads Sansa and Aegon to their quarters. When Sansa’s family grew, Gilly was in charge of fixing them their own quarters which would comfortably fit their whole family. She had to do it with the Giantsbane and Summer family quarters too. Each visiting family had their own tower in the Red Keep, after all, the castle was huge. The families got settled in, washed up, and took a rest, as they all agreed to stay in the Capitol for a few days. When Tyrion and Sam came back down, the Giantsbane family arrived and was escorted to their tower by Sam. An hour later, Tyrion escorted Ellaria and her family to their smaller tower.

The early morning passes and Dany and Jon are still having their morning together when Rhaenys comes to find them. “Mom, Dad…it’s almost time to eat breakfast with everyone!” Rhaenys said. “You’re right, come on Jon, time to see our friends” Dany said. Rhaenys walks in the middle of them and she locks her right arm with her mothers and her left arm with her fathers. When they get out of the gardens and are about to enter the castle, Rhaenys stops and looks worried. “What’s wrong?” Jon said. Dany turns to face her daughter. “I–I am just a little nervous for the next few days. It will be the longest flight I ever took… and going into the volcano with Dreamfyre, what if something happens when we are there? What if we get attacked like you did when you went with Drogon?” Rhaenys said in a panic. Dany locked eyes with Rhaenys and said “myself, your father, Drogon, and Rhaegal will be with you the entire time. We all went through the ceremony. We won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Rhaenys smiled and Dany gave her a hug while Jon rested his hand upon her shoulder. The three of them walk in to the dining hall to have breakfast with their family and friends, but Rhaenys still couldn’t shake the bad feeling.

When they enter, Dany and Missandei hug tightly. They were up all hours of the night yesterday talking, but they are always happy to see each other. Arya runs over to Jon and hugs him. He lifts her up into the air and squeezes. Dany then hugs Grey Worm who is right next to Missandei. Jon greets Tormund and Brienne. Dany greets Sansa who is also next to Missandei and then Aegon. Jamie and Octavia join with their children as well as Sam, Gilly, and their two kids. They all exchange pleasantries before seating. There are nearly three dozen children in the hall and Dany says hello to all of them and they all pile on top of her to give her a hug. This makes her laugh so hard, her cheeks hurt. Dany loves when all of them are together. She loves all of her dragons, but she especially loves all of the children.

Rhaenys, Ned, and Rhaegar were always in charge of the childrens group. They normally sat together at the head of the table but lately they started to separate. Rhaegar and Talisa Catelyn seemed to grow fond of each other and wouldn’t leave each other’s side. Ned sat by Cella, who he admitted to his brother Rhaegar, was the most beautiful girl he ever seen. A lot of the boys liked Rhaenys, and it wasn’t hard to see why. She was the smartest and bravest out of all of them, a great fighter, and a beauty. Her shiny silver hair reached her lower back and had the most beautiful waves in it. She usually had some intricate braid in it but sometimes she would have it all down. Her eyes were the brightest shade of purple like her mothers. She had full lips, a full chest, a small waist, and full hips. Her arms and shoulders were defined with strong muscle. She had a lot of suitors, even outside her elite group of friends.

She would sit by Michael, one of Missandei’s adoptive kids, and Lann, who she thought would be her best options for marriage. Michael was very adventurous like her and they enjoyed each other’s company for that reason. She liked Lann too, he was big and strong, who seemed to have a soft spot for Rhaenys. She wasn’t sure if she could ever love them, but she knew she wouldn’t mind being around them for long periods of time. Their whole table is very loud as they all catch up with each other and have many conversations going across the table.

Dany sits in between her best friends, Missandei and Sansa. Arya, Yara, and Ellaria sit across from them. They are all smiling having a great conversation. Jon sits in between Tormund and his brother Aegon with Gendry, Meera, and Pod on the other side. Tormund is of course sharing stories and they are all laughing. In the middle of breakfast, Daario walks in and his two kids run to join the rest of the group. Dany gets up to embrace and greet him. He still looks at her like she’s the greatest thing he’s ever seen. “Where’s your wife?” Dany asked. “She needed to stay back in Meereen for business. Which by the way I need to talk to you about” Daario said looking very worried. “What’s wrong?” Dany replied. Daario leads Dany out into the hallway. Jon and Rhaenys were the first to look, knowing something was wrong. Then Missandei and Sansa. Rhaenys closes her eyes for a moment and sees smoke and a group of five people dressed in odd clothing. They each wore strange hexagonal patterns on their clothing, but the oddest thing was that their hands were glowing, almost like they were doing magic. Rhaenys shutters and opens her eyes. Bharbo looks at her like he understands. He was having dreams of getting trapped in a smokey place, but he never saw people. Rhaenys gets up and makes her way to the hall. Jon didn’t want to cause suspicion so he remained seated, figuring Dany would tell him later. Missandei and Sansa question what it could be as they see Rhaenys leave.

Daario starts talking to Dany “we have been having some issues across seas and they’re beginning to cause some problems. Dragon’s Bay is fine but our neighboring cities of Mantarys and Tolos are being trouble. You know they never were behind you when fighting for Dragon’s Bay, but after your victory, they stayed quiet for some time. Recently though, they have been gaining strength…” Daario looks across Dany’s shoulder and sees Rhaenys. Dany follows Daario’s eyes and turns around. “Come on, you should probably hear this too” Dany says and gestures her to come over. “She’s always been your shadow” Daario says and smiles. He continued “like I was saying, Mantarys and Tolos have been gaining strength. They are enslaving twice the number of people than before and have been developing their own type of Unsullied. This has been nearly 20 years in the making as we recently found out. Their numbers are very high.” Rhaenys opens her mouth before Dany could, “What do you think they are planning to do?” Daario answers “I don’t know, but Essos is much larger than Westeros, they have the numbers and training that should cause us some alarm. I think they want to attack Dragon’s Bay and the Dothraki. They want to restore Dragon’s Bay into Slaver’s Bay and they’ve always hated the Dothraki, even though, I must say, they have been on good behavior these last two decades. They don’t raid and rape anymore thanks to their Khaleesi.” Dany says “do they not know I have an entire Khallesar, Unsullied Army, a massive fleet, the Second Sons, this entire country, more dragons than I can count, and with Arya, at least 50 direwolves? They really can’t believe they can take us on…” Rhaenys chimes in “how do we put a stop to their forces?” Dany says “I’m not sure. I know they don’t want to talk, it’s never been their way. I don’t want to burn their cities unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t want to just show up either without knowing exactly what they have planned. I think the best move for right now is to send spies in to gather numbers and information.”

“Iliana is on it. She’s going over strategy with the spies I hand picked myself and are sending them in. One of which is an Unsullied who is undoubtedly loyal to you. We are going to try to get him into their version of the Unsullied army.”

“Then all we can do is wait” Daenerys said. “Have you heard anything about….” Rhaenys started to say but paused because she was nervous to say. Dany turned to her and she had Daario’s full attention. She continued, “have you heard anything about a problem with sorcerers?” Dany looks at her confused and Daario answers with “No, I have not. Why do you ask?” Rhaenys says “I’ve been having these visions of 5 sorcerers walking in smoke and I think they’re trouble.” Dany says “since when do you have visions? I thought Bharbo and I were the only ones.” “I’ve always had them, but recently they’ve become more vivid and specific” Rhaenys responded. Dany said “I’ve been dreaming of bright flashes and melted rock and Bharbo has been seeing smoke. I wonder what that means.” Daario says “do you remember what they looked like?”

“They were wearing strange hexagonal patterns and their hands were glowing” said Rhaenys.

“That makes me think of the city of Asshai. They’re known for that sort of pattern and they practice magic. But we haven’t had any problems with them. They stick to themself for the most part” Daario said. “Our Targaryen ancestors predicted the Doom of Valyria hundreds of years in advance and that’s what caused them to flee to Dragonstone. Maybe these visions are trying to tell us of an event far into the future?” Dany said in response. “Yeah, maybe” says Rhaenys, not entirely sure. Dany finishes and says “alright, let’s go finish breakfast. Everyone will need to start getting ready for the party soon.” The three of them walk back to the dining hall and Daario stops Rhaenys. “Happy Birthday, Rhaen” Daario said and kissing her cheek. He pulls out a present from his satchel and hands it to her. “Thank you” she said grinning, “shouldn’t I wait until the party to open this?” “I won’t tell if you won’t,” said Daario. Rhaenys opens the gift and it was a beautiful new dress. Rhaenys loves the clothes from across the sea. They were so different than the ones made over here. It was a silver gown that almost matched the color of her hair. It would tie around her neck, leaving her arms exposed. There was a red band across the waist with a scaley pattern. It was so exotic looking and she loved it. She hugged Daario and told him she was going to wear it to the party this evening.

Breakfast ends and the adults dismiss their children. Dany asks for her table to stay behind. She fills them in on the situation in the East and it puts everyone on edge. Another war? After 16 years of peace, another potential war surprised all of them. They all agreed to let the spies gather intel before doing anything rash. “I could start sailing the Royal and Iron Fleet to Dragon’s Bay” Yara said to the table. “It will take months for you to get there by ship, even with the new contraptions Sam invented…what were they? Motors? Yes. Besides the attack could happen any day. If something were to happen, this would have to be something myself, Drogon, Jon, Rhaegal, Rhaenys, Dreamfyre, Missandei, Grey Worm, Visenya, Arya, yourself, Syrio, Sansa, Olenna, Aegon, and Valyria will have to handle ourselves with maybe a few more dragons. It’s the only way we could get there fast enough. There was a consensus around the table in agreement until Brienne said “I will go.” Tormund said “aye, if my big lady goes, I’m going too.” Gendry and Meera said “we’re going.” Octavia said “us too” and looked at Jamie. “Prepare to leave at a moments notice. And thank you. As always, Tyrion, you will be in charge in our absence and Red Roach will help prepare the Royal Army as a precaution, as they haven’t seen real combat in 16 years,” Dany thinking back to their visions, “Ellaria, see if you can make headway on any new poisons. Might come in handy.” Ellaria responses “of course, my Queen.” “Sansa, send a dragon to Sandor and fill him in. Tell him he’s to be in Winterfell in your absence. There will be a dragon flying near your tower to use.” Dany finished. Dany and her powerful friends didn’t use ravens anymore. Dany had so many dragons with different personalities. Some of them were elusive and free spirited and some of them wanted riders and to be flown for a purpose. It was more effective to send a dragon, in most cases, the letter could arrive in just 2-3 days. Jon sent a letter to Castle Black too. Castle Black was still used for a group of people who were mostly criminals. Only now their job was to monitor the people crossing the Wall and ensuring the peace between all the Wildling clans and the peace between them and everyone south of the Wall. When Viserion broke the wall by Eastwatch by the Sea, they left it open so people could easily cross through. Another one of Castle Black’s jobs was to create a road that connects to the King’s Road and goes behind the Wall. Some other roads were created beyond the Wall that went to Hardhome, Fists of the First Men, and a few other high travel spots. They were also in charge of the memorial for all the lives that were lost during the war against the Night King. It was a huge pyre that always stayed lit. Many people in the North would come to visit this memorial to pay their respects and tell stories to their children.

Dany was very thankful that all her friends and family were willing to travel overseas with her. It wasn’t their home, and hell, not even half of them have visited Dragon’s Bay. It was comforting to her knowing they still stood by her in tough times. They’d leave tonight. Dany goes to find Rhaenys to let her know the slight change in plans. She nods and immediately finds a satchel and throws a few things in it. Jon goes to find Ned and Rhaegar. “Your mom, myself, and Rhaenys are leaving tonight and will be gone for at least a fortnight now. There might be a problem out East. Our friends are coming with us too. I trust that you both will work well with Tyrion to keep the Capitol safe and running smoothly?” They both argued that they wanted to come too, while good fighters, Jon explained that a Targaryen-Stark must always be in the Capitol for strength and to reassure the common people. They weren’t happy, but they understood. Sansa asked Benjin and Margaery to fly to Winterfell in the morning to watch over the North with Sandor. Loras and Talisa Catelyn would handle Dragonstone, which gained 200,000 more people living within its walls in the last decade alone, and it’s area of rule in the nearby shore towns and other islands. They could also help in the Capitol if need be, since Dragonstone and King’s Landing were very close together, on the back of a dragon, the could be in Kings Landing in a blink of an eye. Missandei asked their eldest daughter, Helena, who was 17, to look after Highgarden. Torwynd, Tormund and Brienne’s oldest, asked if he could go to Highgarden with her. He had a really big crush on her. He was about a year and a half younger than her, but he didn’t care. He didn’t look it, he was already very muscular and was growing a nice beard. He was over 6 feet tall already. She rolled her eyes and Grey Worm glared at Torwynd, but agreed, knowing his eldest son Michael would keep a watchful eye on him. Arya asks Dany if Rhaella could fly to the Iron Islands and stand in their place until their return. Dany wasn’t sure, because she was only 13, but Dany realized what she was able to do at her age and agreed. Corlos begged to go too, and Tyrion agreed. Dany felt better knowing they’d travel together. Gendry and Meera of course spoke to their children about watching Storm’s End and they agreed.

After a hectic morning, everything was set in place and it was time for the triplets name day party.

Everyone was starting to arrive in the courtyard. The music was loud, children were giggling and running around, and entertainers were performing. Dany and Jon sit on a balcony overlooking the party and in deep conversation about what could happen these next few days.

The announcer says loudly “and now to present the three people to whom why we are here!” Ned walks out first. He had short black wavy hair, a scruffy face, a lean but muscular build, and had beaming violet eyes. He looked so much like Jon. He was wearing a light leather armor that was black, and of course had the combined Targaryen-Stark symbol on it in red. He had a red belt on that was encrusted in rubies. His dragon fly’s overhead and his direwolf howls. A few girls nearby swoon over him. Dany and Jon notice this and they smile to each other. Next, Rhaegar comes out. He is wearing the same armor, only with reversed colors. His armor was all red and had a black symbol on it. He wore a black belt that had obsidian on it. Rhaegar was slightly taller than Ned, and was a bit more muscular. A lot of people say he looks identical to Dany’s older brother, Rhaegar. He had silver wavy hair that came to his shoulders that he’d wear half-up in a topknot. He was unique because he had a single black streak in his hair. His face was almost identical to his brothers, only difference was Rhaegar had a more rugged nose, but he had the same bright violet eyes. The same group of girls swoon again but Dany notices his eyes are only on Talisa Catelyn. She had long orange hair like her mother and her eyes were mostly blue, but like her brother Loras, there was purple around the pupil. She had long legs and a slender body. Her skin was tanned from spending most of her time on Dragonstone, and she had rosy cheeks and lips. She was wearing a dark blue summer dress that had cutouts on each side of the waist and one on her upper back. She was wearing one of Sansa’s old jewelry pieces, a necklace that was a circle and had a chain going through it. She wore a pin with the Targaryen-Stark symbol by her right collar bone. She was absolutely stunning. Talisa was staring back at Rhaegar almost blushing. Dany wondered if they would choose each other to marry, just then, Rhaegar’s dragon fly’s overhead chased by Talisa Catelyn’s dragon and two direwolves were heard howling. Jon looks at Dany and says “well I think the animals chose who they want together” and Dany laughs.

Next comes Rhaenys. As soon as she steps through the door, everyone’s head turns. She’s wearing the silver exotic dress Daario gave her. Her Aunt Sansa found her as she was getting ready and gave her the gifts she got her to wear today. They were two arm cuffs. One was a dragon that curled three times around her upper arm and the other one was a direwolf that also curled around her arm three times. They were both black and she wore one on each arm. She had on red sandals that laced up her legs and tied just under her knees, and had earrings that were ruby and obsidian. Lastly, she had the top half of her hair done in beautiful braids. On top of her head, she was wearing her tiara. It was a thin band that was in the shape of flames. All the children had one. Ned, Rhaegar, and Bharbo had ones made of obsidian while Rhaenys and Rhaella had one of silver. They only wore them when they had official business, but Rhaenys always wore her’s in public since she was going to be Queen after her mother. She had so many eyes on her, and on that day, people named her the most beautiful woman in the world.

Rhaenys glances up to see Dreamfyre flying above and she hears Shadow howling. She always thought it was funny how the animals always knew what was going on. She then looks back to her mom and dad and they both smile softly and give a nod of approval. Ned, Rhaegar, and Rhaenys all take a seat under a heavily decorated tent and the activities resume. People casually approach their table offering them good wishes and gifts. Tyrion gave them each a barrel of Hear Me Roar wine that was made the year they were born. Ned tried it right away and said it was the best wine he ever had. Arya and Yara gave them each a brand new dagger. These daggers looked to be made from dragonglass but they were dyed red. The handle appeared to be a jawbone of some animal, and a picture of a direwolf was burned on one side and a dragon on the other. This was their favorite dagger until the end of their days and was something that was going to be handed down to their children. Rhaegar couldn’t stop looking at it. Brienne and Tormund gave Rhaenys what looked to be like a leather strap. Brienne said “you strap this around your thigh and right here it can hold your dagger. It can go under your dress when you want to be a lady or it can go over your pants when you’re out riding or if you ever go into battle.” Rhaenys smiled and thanked the both of them. She hiked up her dress under the table just enough so she could strap it to her leg and then she slide her dagger in its spot. It was very convenient she thought. Brienne and Tormund then move on and give Ned and Rhaegar a leather cover to hold their daggers. It looks like Arya, Yara, Brienne, and Tormund coordinated gifts. Daario gave the boys chainmail that they can wear over whatever they have on underneath. Sansa and Aegon got them new hunting bags and tools, and Sandor sent along new fishing hooks. Missandei and Grey Worm gave them each a book about Old Valyria that was filled with fascinating stories. Ellaria and Pod gave them an apothecary and some new mixing bowls to work on various potions. Gendry and Meera gave them each a shield. They were made out of wood but each had a strange thin silver-purple coating over it. “Is this Valyrian steel?” Ned said. Rhaegar examines it closely and Rhaenys runs her hands over it. Meera speaks “Valyrian steel is already lightweight, but even a whole shield made from the stuff would be too heavy, so we experimented and layered it on top of the wood.” Rhaenys is still admiring the pattern when Gendry asks her to stand up. She hesitates only for a moment but then stands with her shield. “Come over here, I want to show you something” Gendry said. He hands her a bow with some really strong steel arrows and takes the shield. “Okay shoot at me” he said to Rhaenys and everyone watches. “Are you sure?” Rhaenys said. “We tested it out. Go ahead” Meera said. Rhaenys takes an arrow and lines the bow up. She aims and hits right in the center. Doesn’t even make a dent. The arrow just bounced off and lands on the ground by Gendry’s foot. Arya steps forward to observe. She loves seeing different weapons and what they can do. She has an entire room in the castle at Pyke dedicated to her collection and even has one started in her quarters at Winterfell. She travels the world in search for the most unique. Rhaenys takes another arrow and aims for a different spot, to see if there are any weak points. She steps forward with each one and draws the bow back harder each time. After 6 arrows she is amazed. None of them made a dent. “Let me see” Arya said. She loads her bow with her handcrafted arrows. She only stands 10 feet from Gendry. He laughs and holds the shield up. As soon as Arya’s arrow hits the shield, the arrow breaks in half. So if standard arrows break in half and steel arrows simply bounce to the ground, these very well may be the strongest shields ever made. Rhaenys runs over to give Gendry and Meera a hug. Her and her brothers shields have flames carved carefully on the bottom. A simple design but very beautiful. Arya runs over to Gendry and says “excuse me, but I would like one.” Gendry laughs. “Don’t worry, I made one for you, myself, Meera, Dany, Jon, Grey Worm, Jamie, and Sansa. You and Sansa have small painted direwolves on the top and bottom.” Arya looks excited “well where is it?” “They’re in our quarters” says Gendry. All of a sudden Arya starts pushing Gendry to the castle to show her. Sansa and Aegon start laughing at the sight.

“So can someone tell us how this was possible? Did you melt something that was made of Valyrian steel already?” Rhaegar asked. That’s when Dany and Jon walk up with three new swords, and they all appeared to be Valyrian steel as well. “A year ago, Gendry, Drogon, and I went on a trip to the volcano in Valyria. When I first went there with Drogon, he told me that’s where Valyrian steel was made. Using the rock and lava from the volcano, he figured out how to forge Valyrian steel for the first time in 200 years. He made the shields and swords for me and saved them for this day. These swords were forged from the same fire, so in a way, they are connected. The blades are identical only Rhaenys is slightly smaller and more slender, to be built for a women.” At the center of their handle contains the amethysts Dany saved from her crown. Ned’s handle was black, Rhaegar’s handle was red, and Rhaenys handle was a deep purple. They each had a flame pommel painted to look like real flames. They couldn’t believe it. All at once, the three of them jump on their parents to give give them a hug. Rhaenys stands on her tiptoes and kisses Jon on the cheek and Rhaegar and Ned stand on either side of their mom and lean down to kiss her on the cheek.

For the rest of the afternoon into the early evening, everyone drinks, eats, sings, and dance. For a while, Rhaenys almost stopped thinking about her vision and what Daario told her. She has a feeling that she’s going to be putting her new weapons to use very soon.

After the sun has set, all the guests leave and everyone of importance heads inside to get ready. Dany and Jon head to their room to change into their riding gear and to check in with the dragons. They have three very long flights ahead of them so they have been sleeping and eating as much as they can. Dany says to Drogon “its time to wake up. Eat whatever else you can and stretch your wings. We will be making our way over to the Dragon Pit soon.” Jon says to Rhaegal “hey boy, wake up. We will be leaving soon. Get ready. The plans have changed a bit.” Then Drogon answered back in Dany’s head “Rhaegal is saying the plans have changed. What changed?” Dany then response to both Rhaegal and Drogon “there may be a problem in Dragon’s Bay. After Rhaenys ceremony, we will have to wait in the Dothraki Sea for a few days, maybe weeks, to ensure there isn’t any threats.” “We haven’t saw much action lately, this should be exciting” Drogon said. Rhaegal purred in agreement. “Just make sure Dreamfyre, Olenna, Valyria, Visenya, and Syrio are awake. See if there are three more dragons nearby who are up for a long trip.” Drogon acknowledged the message.

Meanwhile Rhaenys gets to her room and changes into her riding outfit. It was all back to match the rest of her family’s with the flames on the sleeves and dragon scales on the pants. She loved wearing these clothes because it meant adventure and importance. She was nervous for this trip though but shook the feeling, grabbed her satchel, all her new weapons, and made her way downstairs to the front sitting room where everyone was going to meet. Jamie and Octavia are the first ones there. They changed out of their metal armor and replaced it with leather and flexible chainmail. They each have a satchel with their items in it. “We almost forget, happy name day” said Octavia and handed her a bag of her favorite sweets and a pouch of gold. Rhaenys smiles and thanks the both of them very much. “This is going to come in handy on the flight” she said holding the candy up. She puts both items in her satchel. Arya, Yara, Gendry, and Meera all come down at once while being followed by a handful of kids including Rhaella who is bouncing behind Arya. Then Tormund, Brienne, all their kids and Bharbo who is chasing Ygritte. Missandei and Grey Worm followed by their 12 kids. Tyrion, Sam, Gilly, and their kids. Sansa, Aegon, and their kids next. Then Dany and Jon come down with Rhaegar and Ned behind them. The last to come in is Ellaria and her daughters. Sansa, Dany, and Missandei all line up in a row with Rhaenys and starts braiding each other’s hair while all the parents go over protocol one last time with their kids. Dany is braiding Rhaenys hair, Missandei is braiding Dany’s hair, and Sansa is braiding Missandei’s hair. They have done this many times throughout the years. It’s just something they automatically do when they are flying for a while. Talisa Catelyn goes behind Sansa and starts braiding her hair for her. Usually Dany would get done with Rhaenys first and then Rhaenys would jump behind Sansa, but since they need to get going soon, Talisa decided to help. They were fast at doing this by now, so in a matter of minutes, they were done. Rhaenys straps her dagger to her thigh and tries to look composed. Dany then announces that they need to go and she kisses each of her kids that are staying behind. All the parents say their goodbyes and Rhaenys goes up to her brothers. Without saying anything, Rhaegar says “you’re going to be okay. You have the best fighters in the world with you and dragons on your side.” Ned steps in “you’ll have to tell us about it when you get back. You’ll be great.” Rhaenys hugs both of her brothers. “Take care of the city, okay? Make sure you visit the Dragon Pit too, some of them get lonely when we don’t visit everyday. And can you let Shadow, Ghost, and Lyanna sleep in your rooms? They like being around people…” she said. Rhaegar says “no problem” and smiles. “Do you want help carrying all the stuff to the Pit?” Ned asks. “I got it. I think Shadow is outside to help” said Rhaenys. Rhaegar says a final “good luck” before they all walk out the door. Dany thanks Gilly, Sam, and Tyrion for keeping the castle together while they’re gone and she’s the last out the door.

Rhaenys was right, Shadow was outside ready to help. She climbs on her and walks next to everyone. Ghost is walking next to Jon and he is helping carry everyone else’s bags. About twenty minutes go by and they all arrived in the Dragon Pit. To Rhaenys and Dany’s surprise, Iris is fastening on saddle like objects to the dragons who are going. It fits around all their spikes perfectly. Towards the back of the saddle is a large pocket, large enough to sit three adults. “Good, you’re here. I want to show you these. I just finished making them. Each one was custom fitted to the dragon. It will allow you to ride more comfortably. I added the pocket to hold items, to stay warm up in the clouds, or to safely secure you if you needed to fall asleep on a long flight. It’s also large enough to hold a direwolf. I know Arya made a harness for hers so her dragon can carry Nymeria by his claws, but this is probably less stressful for the animals and much safer. There are reigns on top to hold on easier, and since the saddle fits around their spikes, it doesn’t need to be buckled into place. It will stay secure” Iris said. Dany chimed into Rhaegal and Drogon for a moment to make sure they were comfortable and they told her they didn’t even feel it, and if anyone hated it, it would be known. They are dragons after all. Rhaenys spoke and said “thank you Iris! This is really useful, especially for this trip.” She walks over to Dreamfyre and starts to climb on her. Dany went to Drogon, who is the biggest dragon in history, and Jon went to Rhaegal who is the size of Balerion I, the former largest dragon in history. Both their scales were indestructible. Dany yells down to Iris who is now standing by Red Roach “thank you!” Arya and Yara mount Syrio, Sansa mounts Olenna, Aegon mounts Valyria, and Missandei and Grey Worm mount Visenya. Jon yells down now, “Okay Jamie and Octavia, you will take the dragon that is dark red and gold. Brienne and Tormund, you will take the brown one with white wings. Gendry and Meera, you have the dark green and copper one.”

“But I thought we were riding with one of you?” Tormund said. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything but ride. Dany and I will tell them were to fly. Seeing all of us on the back of 10 dragons will threaten anyone into standing down. Hopefully” said Jon.

They reluctantly climb on and throw all their belongings in the saddle. All 10 dragons walk out of the Pit into an open area. Dany takes off first to lead and Rhaenys follows right behind her mother on her beautiful light blue and silver dragon. Missandei and Grey Worm are next, mostly because Drogon and Visenya imprinted on each other and prefer to fly close to one another. Then follow the red, green, and brown dragon, followed by Olenna and Valyria, with Jon flanking in the back. Since Dany can speak to Drogon and Rhaegal directly, and with Jon being able to speak with Rhaegal, traveling in this pattern makes the most sense. They all fly low near the castle seeing all of their kids waving and cheering them on.

The group of them fly to The Golden Fields, a patch of land that sits on the southwest corner of Essos. It’s east of Myr and north of Volantis. They get to work and begin setting up camp. Rhaegal helps start a fire in the center and each person rolls out their sleeping bags to get ready for the evening. Arya, Meera, and Sansa quickly shot 5 rabbits with their bows. Gendry, Aegon, and Octavia caught some fish in the Lhorulu river. Brienne, Tormund, and Jamie are skinning all the animals, while Dany and Jon take two dragons out at a time so they could find some food. They didn’t want to risk the dragons flying or be out alone because they are just north of The Sorrows, a ruined city full of stone men, and south of Dagger Lake, where many pirates like to hide. A few of them just layed in the river with their mouth opened so they could catch a lot of fish, which was a very funny sight to see, and a few of them where able to burn a lot of goats, as the mountains were nearby. Missandei and Grey Worm are scouting the perimeter to ensure it’s safe. Rhaenys is standing in front of Dreamfyre and caressing her face. “I can’t wait to be able to speak with you” Rhaenys said softly to her dragon. Dreamfyre purred and nudged her gently. It was Dreamfyre’s turn to go eat and Dany takes her away.

Rhaenys fetches a pot and hangs it over the fire and begins making rabbit soup and cooking the fish on a pan. After all the dragons were fed, they rested in a layered circle around the camp for protection, with Drogon and Rhaegal on the outermost circle since they were the largest and had indestructible scales. They all sit on their sleeping bags and ate their dinner. They talk amongst themselves for a while before people start to doze off. Dany is laying on Jon’s chest and he has his arm around her. Sansa is asleep and is laying on her side. Aegon finally lays down, wrapping her up in his arms. Rhaenys is sleeping in between her mom and her Aunt Sansa. She hears Arya making fun of Gendry, and she is sure everyone else has fallen asleep, but she is too tired to get up to observe. Before she knows it, she drifts off to sleep.

Rhaenys begins to dream. There is fog everywhere. It’s so thick she can barely see her hands. In the distance, she can see 8 glowing orbs getting closer to her. Soon, she can see outlines of figures wearing the same hexagonal patterned clothing she saw before, and the glowing orbs are their hands. This time though, there are only 4 people. In her last vision, there was 5. One of them, a women, said “Rhaenys Targaryen-Stark. You have powers you don’t even realize” in a very ominous tone. Rhaenys looks down at her hands and they too are now glowing. A man now speaks “Beware of the fog. Wake up! Wake up now!” Rhaenys shudders awake. Her hands are ice cold. There is heavy fog hanging in the air, so heavy, the fire went out and her hair is damp. She crawls over to her mom and dad and wakes them up. “What. What’s wrong?” Jon said in a daze with his eyes still closed. Dany opens her eyes and senses Rhaenys fear. “Something isn’t right” they both said in unison. The sun is barely starting to rise. Dany wakes up Missandei and Grey Worm and they both quickly get to their feet. Grey Worm clutches Blackfyre and Missandei grabs her spear. Dany starts climbing over dragons to reach Drogon and Rhaegal, who are carefully scanning the horizon. “Do you see anything?” Dany asked. “Not yet, but there is something out there” Drogon said. Dany then heard Rhaegal yelling at Jon to wake up. Grey Worm and Missandei wake everyone else up. They climb on Visenya, Sansa climbs on Olenna, Aegon climbs on Valyria, and Jon finally climbs on Rhaegal–all to get a better look out in the field, or try to. Rhaenys is standing next to her mom at this point, clutching her new Valyrian sword and shield. Rhaenys was terrified. She new she was a great fighter, but she’s never been in a real battle before. Then she sees it. A figure walking towards them slowly, but still very far away. Not sure if there will be more, everyone rushes to quickly throw their items on their dragon and mount. They all stand in a line now, waiting to see who the figure is. It’s a man who looks very sick. Has bright red eyes and there’s something wrong with his skin. Jamie is the first to say it “that’s a stone man.” Dany says “dracarys” and not only does Drogon breathe fire upon the stone man, but all 10 dragons do. The stone men melts and turns into lava. The lava slowly creeps towards them and then feet start to appear. Then legs, then a torso, then arms, then a neck, then a head. He didn’t die, only melted, but then came back to life? Arya released an arrow that was made of dragonglass, and it hit the stone men with a loud thud. It made a very large crack in him, but within a few seconds, it closed back up. Dany yells “valahd!” and all of them shoot up into the sky, not wanting to risk being touched by it. Once they get high enough in the air, Sansa jumps off Olenna to be caught in her claws. Olenna flys above Drogon and Sansa is dropped. Curious, Rhaenys does the same thing. “Have you ever heard of the Shrouded Lord? He also goes by His Grey Grace and the Prince of Sorrows” Sansa asked. “Not really” said Rhaenys. “I have only heard it once in passing when I was married to Khal Drogo. One of his blood riders was telling us a story about a time when he served a different Khal that lived closer to Dagger Lake. You don’t think…” Dany says. “Yeah I think it was him” said Sansa. “Who is the Shrouded Lord?” Rhaenys asked. “Some say he’s not real, but the ones who do say he rules the mists of the Sorrow lands. He typically spreads greyscale through a grey kiss” Sansa replied. Rhaenys shudders at the thought. “Why didn’t he die when the fire went on him? I thought stone men could be killed easily?” Rhaenys said. “I am not sure. I’ve heard of people being able to kill them with anything” Sansa said. “Let’s just hope he is the only exception. Right now, let us focus on getting to the volcano” said Dany. Daenarys was worried. If all the stone men were like him, all her dragons would be useless, and her army wouldn’t be able to touch them without getting infected. She didn’t want to show her concern though. She told herself that the stone men would stay in their ruined cities. The three of them stay on the back on Drogon for about an hour talking to each other. When they got back to their dragons, Rhaenys decided to fall asleep for a while. Dany went over to Jon and sat near him on Rhaegal. She wanted to fill him in on what Sansa told her. When Sansa looked over, she could tell he looked worried.

A few more hours pass, and the smoke from Old Valyria becomes invisible. Dany yells for everyone to wake up. Rhaenys rubs her eyes and sees the volcano and ruined city for the first time and her heart begins pounding. Dreamfyre purrs, not to only comfort Rhaenys, but because she is excited about what is going to happen. The rest of the crew gasp in amazement, as no one besides Dany, Jon, and Gendry have ever visited Old Valyria. As they fly in closer, Arya, Tormund, and Brienne, take a rein to hang off the side of their dragon to get a better look. Arya takes notice of all the buildings with open roofs and smiles. Missandei’s smiles too, as this is where all their favorite stories came from–the original dragonriders. Valyria was the greatest city in the world until the Doom. Some say the residents practicing black magic caused its destruction. Gendry admires the dragon roads. Dany and Jon both notice very small, glowing specs in various buildings and even in the water. Dany figured it was more ancient artifacts from noble houses, but they are too dangerous to get. Perhaps one day they’ll be able to recover them.

All of a sudden, one by one, the dragons start diving down into the volcano. It’s pitch black until the sight of a lava pool appears. It gets larger every second of their descent.

They finally land on a large, flat ledge. Dany, Jon, and Rhaenys feel the magic of the volcano. The rest of them stood back and observed quietly, as Gendry was the only one to have been there before. Drogon and Rhaegal walk deeper into the volcano and Rhaenys sides off Dreamfyre. “Where are they going?” Missandei asked. “Dragons like laying their eggs in warm places like this. They’re going to search for eggs” said Dany. Jon and Dany walk over to Dreamfyre and begin to pet her head. “It’ll be over before you know it” Jon said to Dreamfyre, but to also reassure his daughter. Rhaenys kisses her dragon near her shoulder and Dreamfyre takes a few steps forward to the edge of the lava pool. Dreamfyre paused for a second, and then flew upwards a couple feet and then dived straight down. They all heard a thick splash several stories below them. Dreamfyre was down in the lava for about thirty seconds when she shoots out of the pool and lands back on the edge. Her scales are glowing as the last bit of lava falls off of her. There was a unison “wow” coming from the corner where the rest of their friends were standing. Even Dany and Jon said it. Not only have they not seen this done in about a decade, but they were shocked about how much Dreamfyre grew. Female dragons are naturally smaller than male dragons, so Dreamfyre was just a few feet smaller than what Rhaegal was before his ceremony, and what Viserion was. But now, Dreamfyre was as large as Drogon. “She’s massive” Rhaenys said with a smile. “It must have something to do with being the first head of the dragon” said Daenarys. Shortly after she said that, Drogon popped in her head and said “indeed.” Rhaenys walks up to her dragon and tries to talk to her. “Can you hear me?” she said in her head. “I can” a low female voice said back. Rhaenys jumps up and down, so excited. “I wonder, can you try talking to Drogon and Rhaegal too?” Dany asked. Rhaenys concentrated on the thought of her parents dragons. “Hello? Rhaegal? Drogon?” “Only I can hear you, my child” said in a voice so low and deep, it was almost a vibration. It was Drogon. Before anyone said anything, Jon confirmed by saying “Rhaegal can only hear myself and Daenerys.” All of a sudden, Arya’s eyes go completely white and she starts talking. “Old Valyria still is full of all kinds of magic. Bad and good. House Targaryen wasn’t a house of great power in Valyria before the doom, but they held a powerful source of energy, greater than the houses that ruled. Before they fled to Dragonstone many years prior to the Doom that their sight predicted, the Targaryens flew their dragons down to this very volcano and spent several days casting spells. It is because of them, this lava is special to the dragons and it is because of them you’re able to speak with them. Daenerys Targaryen, you are the Mother of Dragons, which is why you are the only one who can birth the eggs and can speak to every dragon that undergoes this process. When you feel the time is right to pass on your duties, Rhaenys will become the new Mother. Jon is an exception. The ancient Targaryens only wanted the first head of the dragon to be able to do this process and to be able to communicate with their dragon–to prevent family rivalry. The magic overtime began to trust Jon and saw him for who he is and where his heart truly stands. My niece Rhaenys is the first head of the dragon for her generation as you already know. She is going to be able to communicate with her second and third head dragons, as they will come here too. Since she is the first head, she will also be able to communicate with each generation’s first head as well. The magic is changing with the new Targaryen-Stark dynasty because your ancestors trust each of your souls and motives. You have proved to them that you are worthy of the magic. In a few months my nephew Rhaegar will come to this volcano to do the same ceremony, for reasons you’ll understand soon.” Jon talks directly to Arya, “If Rhaenys is the first, Rhaegar is the second, does this mean Ned is the third? It would make sense, they are triplets.” Arya speaks again “No, Ned is destined to follow a different path. He will adopt the name ‘Father of Direwolves’ once Arya is ready to pass that on. The third will be revealed by Rhaegar’s dragon after his ceremony.” Arya’s eyes go back to normal and she stumbles backwards with Yara catching her. “I hate when Bran does that. I hope it was necessary.” Jon says, “it was, it made this whole process a lot clearer I think. Your ancestors were complicated, Dany” and he winks at her, knowing they were partly his ancestors too. They never revealed to their children about who Jon actually was, they never thought it was important.

Drogon and Rhaegal come walking back to where the rest of them were. Drogon is holding 5 eggs in his mouth and Rhaegal is holding 3. “Look at all of these!” Dany said with excitement. No matter how many times she spent hours sitting in fire hatching the dragons, she was always thrilled to do it. She grabbed the ones out from Rhaegal’s mouth first and gently wrapped each of them with a thick cloth and put them in the pocket of Drogon’s saddle. She did the same for the eggs Drogon found, but this time she had the help of Rhaenys who couldn’t wait for the day where she got to hatch them.

“Where to next?” Aegon said. “We’re going to stay in Vaes Dothrak until further notice” Dany responded. They all fly out of the volcano and see a dragon flying far ahead in the distance. “Must be Daario returning to Meereen!” Rhaenys yelled to Dany who nodded because she was the one who sent the dragon to take him back home.

They fly for a long time until Dany sees the large horse statues known as the Horse Gate and a huge mountain as the backdrop. Feeling nostalgic, she yells “we’re here!” to everyone to wake them up.

Part II will be here soon.