Chapter 2: A New Era

Daemon

Sixth Moon, 62 AC

"What is this?" Daemon asked, looking at the chequered black and white board. 16 black pieces occupied the first two rows in front of Daemon and 16 white pieces occupied the two in front of Corlys.

"I call it chess. It is a game," his grandson said, his tone implying he thought the answer to be obvious.

Daemon sighed. "I am a busy man Corlys. I do not have time to be playing games with you. I know you're at the age where you like playing games, but you will one day be too old to play silly games like this."

Corlys raised an eyebrow. "You can never be too old to play games. After all, what are tourneys but green boys and summer knights playing at war?"

It was Daemon's turn to raise his eyebrow now. The boy had a point there. It was times like this that Corlys confused him even further. He had the appearance and sometimes the mannerisms of a child, yet the moment he opened his mouth and spoke, one could not help but be amazed by his eloquence. His words were more reasoned and logical than half the so called 'men' Daemon had met, and his eyes... Corlys's eyes belied a wisdom far older than his nine namedays.

"Very well then. Enlighten me as to what this game of yours is all about."

Corlys's eyes filled with childlike delight, once more starkly reminding Daemon that his grandson, for all of his brilliance and genius, was a boy of nine.

"Trust me Grandfather. This is no mere 'game'. This board is divided into 64 squares arranged in eight vertical rows called files and eight horizontal rows called ranks. There are six types of pieces on this board and each piece can only move in a specific way."

And so his grandson explained to him the role and function of each piece. According to his grandson there were two factions in chess, black and white. Each had sixteen pieces in total, made up of eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two septons, one queen, and one king. The objective of the game was to kill the opponent's king piece.

"First is the king. He is the most important piece on the board, but he is also simultaneously the weakest because of his importance. To ensure the players understand the king's vulnerability, he can only move a single step in any direction once a turn."

"But why is that so? The King is the most important piece. Why should he not also be the most powerful? He is the leader after all," Daemon asked, curious.

Corlys frowned in thought before answering. "Not necessarily. Take for example, our king, His Grace, King Jaehaerys, long may he live. Without his dragon, his Kingsguard, and his vassals, what is he? Just a man, and any man can die."

"What about the queen then? Why is she the most powerful piece on the board in the place of the king? Should it not be the knight or perhaps rook?"

Corlys shook his head. "Again, take the example of our king. You are our king's uncle Grandfather. Tell me, who do you believe is the one person he trusts most in this world?"

Daemon did not even need to think to answer. "His wife."

Corlys grinned. "Precisely. The king's wife must be above suspicion, if they cannot be so, then they are useless as a queen. The gods fashioned us for love, to have partners. If you trust someone enough to be intimate with them, you should be able to trust them in all other matters.

"The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board because she is the most trusted and the most valued by her king. A good queen can protect her husband from the foes he never sees. The courtesies of court and the intrigue and skulduggery that lurks behind them, she can navigate it all to ensure her husband need never fear a dagger in the dark."

Daemon remained silent, listening intently as his grandson explained the function of the remaining pieces. The knights represented knights in service of kings. The septons represented how each faction in any conflict would claim the gods to be on their side. The rooks or castles- Corlys used both terms interchangeably- represented the fiefs of a ruler.

Daemon however interrupted again when Corlys explained the function, moves, and abilities of the last and weakest piece. "Why can the pawns be promoted to the strongest piece? They are meant to represent smallfolk and levies are they not?"

Corlys smirked. "A reminder to all players that even their weakest followers can become their strongest if they are allowed."

With the explanation concluded, Daemon began his first ever chess match with his grandson. As according to Corlys's explanation, white moved first. Corlys opened the match by moving his left knight in front. Daemon countered by moving his third pawn from his right of the board. And so their match continued. Perhaps it was the senility of old age or his inexperience in the game but Daemon found himself on the defensive for almost the entire game.

As he struggled to avoid his grandson's cleverly placed traps, he marvelled at his ingenuity. Corlys had created a game that appeared simple on the surface, but when one looked closer, they could see the intricacy in the game. The game was not only simulation of wars and the strategies and tactics required to win them, but also a reference to the ever ongoing Game of Thrones. The game perfectly demonstrated the risks taken by all when they played the great game. Death was always a possibility when one took a risk too great.

"Checkmate."

Daemon looked at the board after Corlys's proclamation. He was right. There was absolutely no move he could make to save the king. He had lost. Perhaps it was expected, but Daemon's pride bristled slightly at having lost at anything to his ten-year old grandson. You win or you die indeed.

"Again?" Corlys asked, hopeful. "I'll let you play white this time."

"I accept your challenge."

Daemon found the second game far easier than the first, but it was still an uphill battle. Nevertheless, he was heartened. With enough practice he could hone his skills and perhaps even beat his precocious grandson. Never once did Daemon wonder why exactly he had become so obsessed with the game, he was too immersed in his match.

Halfway through their second match, Corlys began the conversation anew. "You told Maester Desmond to downplay my role in the development of the compass in his report"

"I did. What of it?"

"May I ask why?"

"I am sorry to have taken away your rightful achievement, but it is dangerous. You are a bright child Corlys, almost dangerously so. Use that smart head of yours and tell me why," Daemon answered as he moved his queen to take Corlys's knight.

"It would bring too much attention and scrutiny. If word spread of my unusual brightness, many would begin to take notice, they would fear me, and either seek to use me for their own ends or eliminate me. House Velaryon and myself would both be endangered," Corlys replied, moving his rook to avenge his knight.

Daemon looked down on the board. He had made a costly mistake, and now he had lost his queen. "Correct. It is not a very good reputation to develop as lord. It is rarely the place of lords to experiment and invent."

"But the prestige of the house would be increased as well because we sponsored the experiments?"

"Yes."

"Then it matters not to me if little credit is given me. Personal glory and fame, though desirable, are short-lived. There will be other opportunities for me to accrue glory and renown, what is most important is that our legacy, our house benefited, though might I ask something?"

"Go ahead."

"Would it be possible to convince Maester Desmond… to not make the report at all? It would be prudent I believe, to try and hold on to the advantage as long as possible," Corlys said.

Daemon watched as Corlys took his knight with his septon and inwardly cursed his lack of focus before he answered his grandson, "Perhaps for a little while. His loyalty and oaths are to Driftmark after all, and before he swore his vows, Desmond was a lesser member of our own house. He would protest however that such knowledge should be safeguarded and taught to many so it is not lost, and the best way to do that would be to report his findings to the Citadel for them to test it themselves and introduce it into their curriculum."

"Mayhaps for now, but surely Grandfather, you do not think it strange that an organisation headquartered in Oldtown has the sole control of knowledge and science in the kingdoms?"

"Perhaps. There are other lesser orders, and many indeed existed before the Conquest in the other kingdoms, but when the Conqueror favoured the Citadel and took them into his confidence, all the others orders faded away in importance and I believe only the Alchemist Guild still keeps any kind of relevance and even they too are losing ground."

"Yet a monopoly on information by one order is dangerous do you not think? Especially since it is all too easy for monopolisation to turn into stagnation. Why did the Conqueror not take the Citadel under his control, and make them relocate to King's Landing? For that matter, the Faith could be relocated as well, to be closer to the new centre of power, a powerful symbol of the union of the kingdoms into one."

"Interesting ideas," Daemon said. They were also dangerous ideas to be spoken in public and he was thankful Corlys was wise enough not to ponder such ideas aloud near suspicious ears. "It is of course, easier said than done. Putting aside the political capital required to take control of both organisations, what of the logistical difficulty of transporting all the books or copying them? The Citadel is the oldest and largest repository of knowledge in the world, any successor in another location would find itself a pale shadow of the original."

"We come then to another idea of mine, and part of the reason why I think we might convince him to join us. I have heard some merchants tell me that in Yi Ti, they carve letters and symbols into blocks of wood and use them almost like large seals, allowing them to copy many papers at once. And then I thought, what if we mount these blocks, or seals with individual letters, onto a device like a wine press? We could copy books much faster that way it might seem. It would be tedious perhaps to make the seals and rearrange the letters for each page, but certainly no more tedious than for a scribe to copy a book by hand. We could almost print pages like we would with a seal, and be doing it with a press. Mere parchment would not do for these 'printing presses' I think. It is too thick and too difficult to produce in the numbers that would be required for this. I think paper, like the kind used by the Yi Tish would be best."

Daemon's mind was racing. "A plausible device," he said.

Corlys smiled. "Indeed. Of course this is purely hypothetical as of now, but I do think that with sufficient time and experimentation, Desmond and I could develop this press and the kind of paper we would need for its activities, assuming of course he could be taken wholly into our confidence."

He understood then, what Corlys wanted. Corlys wanted to ensure his inventions and ideas benefitted House Velaryon as much as possible and wanted him to make sure Maester Desmond kept their secrets.

"I will see what I can do, but unless you are planning on building your own citadel, it would be difficult to research and develop all these inventions and ideas of yours without the aid and support of the Citadel in Oldtown."

"An excellent idea Grandfather," Corlys said with a beam. "Think about it, with a printing press, we could produce enough books to fill up our own repository of knowledge. And House Velaryon is not poor or miserly, there would be no shortage of scholars, halfmaesters, and other learned men to invite to join our new 'citadel', from both Essos and Westeros. You mentioned the Alchemists are struggling? We could sponsor them in exchange for them relocating to Driftmark and agreeing to join our new 'citadel'. I could be Peremore the Twisted come again, and build a second centre of learning and knowledge in Westeros. Though I think perhaps the term university, like they have in Braavos, would fit more aptly for the organisation and school I envision. I have no intention of reducing the number of potential students and scholars by requiring celibacy."

Daemon shook his head with a smile. "You truly are bright grandson of mine. I'm proud to have someone like you of my blood."

Corlys blushed slightly and Daemon laughed at being able to embarrass his precocious grandson for once. "Your ideas have many merits, but I think we should at least finish our game before speeding off on wild new ideas? One thing at a time."

With an almost blissful silence they continued playing. Daemon loved his grandson very much and enjoyed talking with him but it really was sometimes hard to get him to shut up, and for as brilliant as his ideas and words were, sometimes one just needed to relax for a good game of chess. It was their third game already and he was intent on finally beating his grandson.

"Checkmate," Daemon proclaimed as he locked Corlys's king between his queen and rook. 'That was easy,' Daemon thought. Almost too easy for the level of skill his grandson had displayed in the first two games. He looked up from the board to his grandson and found him fidgeting, as if he was nervous to bring up something, and with how eagerly he always spoke of his new and wild ideas, that was not like him at all.

"What is it Corlys?" he asked, almost worried he had done something wrong or misbehaved somehow. He was always a well-behaved child, but child he still was, and all children got into some kind of trouble.

"I… I thought of another way to secure the legacy of our house Grandfather."

"Oh? Do elaborate." Daemon would never admit it out loud, but he was always rather giddy to hear of another of his grandson's world changing inventions or schemes. He did wonder as to his strange nervousness though, so unlike his natural confidence otherwise.

Despite his coaxing, Corlys remained slightly uncertain. "Do you recall Grandfather, the outbreak of the Shivers on Driftmark and the rest of the Realm four years ago?"

Daemon's giddiness faded. A gloomy atmosphere filled the room.

"How could I forget? Half our family died. I lost three of your aunts. I lost your grandmother. I lost your mother, and your father."

I almost lost you as well.

Corlys's face was grave, yet also full of hope as he continued. "What if I told you that there was a way we could try and stop that from ever happening again?"

Daemon could not stop the gasp that escaped. "There is? How?"

""A device that could prove the existence of something, something that causes disease. Please understand, it wouldn't necessarily prevent disease itself, but it could help us…" Corlys dithered, trying to make sure he understood all the details but Daemon would have none of it.

"What do you need?" he said. Any device or method, anything at all that could prevent the tragedy that happened two years ago from ever happening again would have his wholehearted support.

Corlys looked straight into his eyes. "Grandfather, I need you to get me a Myrish lenscrafter."

_____________________________________________

Ninth Moon, 62 AC

"I do hope you know what you're doing Corlys. Buying this man's debt was not an insignificant expenditure. To say nothing of the clear glass and custom lenses you ordered," Daemon said. It had been three months or so since their conversation and Daemon had rather reluctantly spared no expense for the latest of his grandson's schemes.

Work on the new printing press as well as further refinements of the compass and caravel designs had been done in that time, but Daemon had been unable to focus on them as eagerly as he had previously, his thoughts brooding on what his grandson had said about potentially preventing more deadly plagues. If this new device could really do that, then in Daemon's opinion, it would be worth more than every other idea his grandson had come up with simply for that alone. Driftmark would not lose a quarter of its people again, not if he could do anything about it.

"Relax Grandfather. It will work. And if not, well, my new caravels and compass should pay the money back in time. Is it done Orros?" Corlys said, addressing the lenscrafter the Velaryons had saved from indentured servitude for gambling debts.

"Indeed it is my lord. And to think that all it really needed was a readjustment of the Far-Eye's optic lenses. It is truly magnificent, you must see! The specimens that I can see with this are strange indeed, and they are many."

Corlys took a glance through the new device's eyepiece, with a light shining through it, and Daemon could see him smirk. The Maester took a turn after that and Daemon could see his excitement as well. Finally, with his turn having come, Daemon looked through the device, and saw strange structures, almost like prison cells, and smaller even than them were thousands of tiny black shapes. Spheres, spirals, and rods, they moved around and acted almost as if they were animals of some kind. Tiny animals.

"This gentlemen, is a ground-breaking invention of ours. This small-eye, or microscope as I'd prefer to call it, is easy enough to make, requiring only a reapplication of the principles used to make the normal far-eye. Greater than even that however, is what the microscope shows us," Corlys

"Indeed, the small-eye shows us so much, and to think that we only needed to redesign a far-eye," Desmond said. Corlys frowned at his preferred name for the device being ignored. "Lord Corlys, when I write my thesis and report on this, I beg you allow me to submit my findings to the Citadel. More than simply an advantage at sea or knowledge, this device could potentially change much of how we understand the world, and perhaps allow us to understand the causes of disease. Lives could be at stake here!"

"Worry not Maester Desmond, I will work with you to develop our thesis. I already have my own ideas on what those 'cells' and dots are. We have only scratched the surface of the microscopic world, and indeed the future of science and knowledge as a whole.

"All I ask of you Maester, is that you join us in building a new centre of learning here on Driftmark and swear your permanent loyalty to House Velaryon, not just to Driftmark."

The Maester was nervous Daemon could see, but somehow he had a feeling he would accept the offer. It would not take much to appeal to his familial loyalty to the Velaryons as a former member of their house and lust for knowledge to convince him.

"Lord Corlys, I swore oaths never to pledge fealty to a house directly. But the Velaryons are Driftmark, always have been, and always will be. Know that my oath and my loyalty will always be to Driftmark first, not the Citadel. We swear no oath to the Citadel.

"As for creating our own place of learning, I admit to being doubtful, but with that you have done and revealed, I think that we can do it, and we can advance our knowledge of the world. It would be a pleasure and honour to work with you in this Lord Corlys. All your secrets, will be my secrets. I will reveal only what you have me reveal."

"Excellent Desmond, come let us start our examinations and prepare our paper," Corlys said, excited to start work on their new discovery.

Daemon could not help but overhear as Corlys, Orros, and Maester Desmond began working on their new invention and theory. Words like microscope, telescope, cells, germ theory, and pasteurisation used and thrown about. He shook his head in amusement, all of the science and technical terms beyond him.

It was somewhat disheartening to learn that diseases and sicknesses that took so many seemed to be caused by so small a thing. Yet it was truly wondrous that now they could take steps to minimise the severity of these diseases with the work and experiments of their team.

Corlys had already begun gathering scholars, engineers, and other learned men to him. This was but the beginning of his plans and Daemon couldn't wait to see what he came up with next.