Chapter 109 edited

The years following the Taotei invasion forged an unbreakable bond between Lin Mae and Merlin. Their shared battles and whispered conversations beneath Yi Ti's moonlit skies deepened into something more. She became his second wife, though duty tethered her to her homeland. As the successor of General Shao, Lin Mae remained in Yi Ti, overseeing its armies and protecting its borders. Yet, time did not touch her as it did others—Merlin had given her the Elixir of Immortality, ensuring that while the world around her changed, she never would.

In Westeros, the rule of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen ushered in an era of peace and prosperity. The 60s and 70s AC were golden years for the realm and the royal family. Jaehaerys's marriage to his sister, Queen Alysanne, flourished with love and numerous heirs. Their children were the pillars of the dynasty—Aegon, Daenerys, Aemon, Baelon, Alyssa, Maegelle, Vaegon, Daella, Saera, Viserra, and finally, Gaemon. But as the years passed, Merlin, ever the observer of history, cautioned Jaehaerys.

"Too many heirs can sow discord," he warned.

Jaehaerys hesitated, then nodded. He knew the wisdom in the sorcerer's words, but fate had already begun spinning its web.

Tragedy struck with the death of Prince Aegon, lost in a Greyjoy raid on Lannisport. The news shattered the royal court, casting a long shadow over their golden age. Even the dragons seemed to keen in mourning. Meanwhile, Prince Baelon, the fourthborn, grew into a warrior of legend, claiming Vhagar as his mount. His sons—Viserys, Daemon, and Aegon—carried the future of House Targaryen upon their shoulders. His brother, Prince Aemon, rode the formidable Caraxes, his bond with the dragon as unyielding as his duty.

But not all the Targaryen children were destined for honor and greatness.

Saera Targaryen, ninthborn, was a tempest wrapped in silk. She burned with desires unfit for a princess, resenting the siblings who stood before her in the line of succession. She craved attention, power, and indulgence—and when they were denied to her, she took them by force or by cunning.

Saera set her sights on Merlin, mistaking his wisdom for weakness, believing she could seduce the enigmatic sorcerer. But Merlin, knowing the depth of her cruelty, dismissed her with little more than a glance. To him, she was an irritation, a storm with no purpose. She delighted in torment, playing cruel tricks on her gentler sisters—especially Daella, whose delicate mind made her an easy target. Saera filled Daella's chamberpot with bees, knowing her terror of them, and hid cats in her bed, reveling in her sister's screams.

Merlin, however, had no patience for such wickedness. With his magic, he healed Daella's troubled mind, bringing light into a world that had been clouded for so long. But Saera's jealousy knew no bounds. Seeing Daella happy only fueled her malice.

It was Cassandra, his wife, who uncovered the scandal first.

"She has five lovers," Cassandra whispered to Merlin, her voice laced with foreboding. "The king will not abide it."

And indeed, Jaehaerys's fury was swift and merciless. His wrath echoed through the halls of the Red Keep as he declared Saera no longer his daughter. Even Queen Alysanne, ever the voice of compassion, agreed that punishment was necessary. She pleaded with Jaehaerys to find forgiveness, to remember that he had made peace with his enemies—could he not do the same for his own flesh and blood?

But Saera was not one to be confined. That night, she attempted the unthinkable—she tried to steal a dragon. She crept into the Dragonpit under cover of darkness, her hands reaching for the reins of a beast that would never be hers. The Dragonkeepers caught her, dragging her before the king. Jaehaerys, humiliated beyond measure, had her locked in a tower cell, guarded day and night.

From her window, she was forced to watch as justice was delivered. One of her lovers, Ser Braxton Beesbury, demanded trial by combat. He faced no ordinary knight—he faced the king himself. Saera's screams pierced the air as her father cut down the man she had given her heart to.

The next morning, she was gone.

She fled across the Narrow Sea, disappearing into the shadowed streets of Essos. The daughter of the king became nothing more than a whisper, a name passed between lips in brothels and wine-soaked halls.

Yet Merlin, ever the keeper of the future, knew that her story was far from over.

Cassandra spoke, her voice distant, as if hearing echoes of what was yet to come.

"She will birth a dragonrider. One who will claim her father's beast."

Merlin closed his eyes, already seeing the vision in his mind. He knew the name well.

Hugh Hammer.

The bastard son of a runaway princess. The man who would one day ride Vermithor.

Soon Baelon Targaryen of a injury during a hunting trip. It worsened before he returned to King's Landing, and he eventually scummbed to his injuries.His funeral pyre was personally lit by his father, King Jaehaerys.