Chapter 39: The New Generation

-Excerpt from 'The Sea Snake', the biography of Corlys Velaryon, Abridged Edition.

The very first meeting of King Jaehaerys the Conciliator and Lord Corlys the Sea Snake happened at the funeral of Lord Corlys' grandfather, Lord Daemon Velaryon. As aforementioned, Lord Daemon was none other than the uncle of Jaehaerys himself, and so the presence of Jaehaerys, his sister-wife Alysanne, and their three eldest children, Princes Aemon and Baelon, and Princess Alyssa, at the funeral, should not have been a surprise, and yet it was. Why?

Historical writings from the journal of Ser Aurane Velaryon, the youngest brother of Lord Corlys, indicate that the Velaryons had become estranged from their Targaryen kin ever since Lord Daemon resigned as Hand of the King in the year 54 AC. The reasons for this are complicated and manifold.

Lord Daemon was reported to have developed a fierce rivalry with Lord Manfryd Redwyne, who replaced him as Master of Ships. Supposedly King Jaehaerys overruled his motion to dismiss Lord Manfryd and replace him with Daemon's own son, Ser Corwyn. Furthermore, in 54 AC, Daemon's younger sister, the Dowager Queen Alyssa, perished in childbirth with the Lady Jocelyn Baratheon, cut open, so the histories say, so that her last child might be born. This is said to have also greatly troubled Lord Daemon, who had been very close to his sister once.

Perhaps it was both reasons, or it was for neither, but regardless, Lord Daemon tendered his resignation to King Jaehaerys, and rumour has it that King Jaehaerys was not all that sad to see his uncle go. According to the family records and histories of House Velaryon, apart from an invitation to court in 58 AC for the tourney celebrating the ten-year anniversary of Jaehaerys' coronation, there was little if any interaction between Houses Targaryen and Velaryon in the years between Daemon's resignation and his funeral, a far cry from the privileged place as 'the second house of the realm' that House Velaryon had previously enjoyed.

Ser Aurane's journals indicate that he and his two older brothers, Lord Corlys and Ser Rhaekar, as well as their uncles Jorgen and Victor, had all grown to greatly resent the Targaryens for this estrangement and lack of attention from their kin. Reportedly, it was expected by the Velaryons that Jaehaerys and Alysanne would give their personal condolences for the losses the family faced in the Shivers, being among them Lord Daemon's eldest son and heir, Ser Corwyn, and his three eldest daughters, and a whole host of cousins and other relatives. The Velaryons themselves had forwarded their deeply felt personal condolences for the death of Princess Daenerys, and yet their cousins King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne never actually sent anything in return. It was the Hand of the King that did.

For his part, it is claimed by the Targaryens that King Jaehaerys had his reasons. Lord Daemon's support during the years of Maegor the Cruel's rule over the Seven Kingdoms is well known to history, and some argue that Jaehaerys could never fully trust his uncle because of this.

Furthermore, during the Shivers, he and his queen were deeply in grief over the death of their eldest daughter and who is to say that some correspondence with their uncle giving their regards was not lost to history? Furthermore, they cite evidence, such as the later entrusting of one of the illicit wives and families of Ser Lucamore the Lusty to Lord Daemon in 73 AC, as proof that Jaehaerys and Alysanne did not ignore their Velaryon kin.

Of course, the Velaryons also dispute these points. They argue that every house in the Seven Kingdoms at least nominally recognized the Cruel during his rule, for to do otherwise was to burn in the Black Dread's fury. Lord Daemon's proximity to Maegor the Cruel later allowed him to betray him when the time was right and prove a leal and loyal supporter of his nephew Jaehaerys. Furthermore, if any regular correspondence did indeed exist between House Targaryen and House Velaryon during those years, why were Lord Daemon's sons and grandsons unaware of it? Why was House Velaryon given not even the most minor of positions in court for decades?

It is important to understand this context, because this historian believes that it will prove crucial in understanding the conflicts that will soon follow. We return now to 86 AC, some thirty-two years after Daemon's resignation as Hand of the King.

As aforementioned, the Targaryens' presence at the funeral greatly surprised the Velaryons, though they hid it. Aurane's journals indicate that the Targaryens commented on the recent acquisition of the Valyrian steel sword that would later be reworked and renamed Riptide, from the pirate lord Syrio Vunatis. Allegedly, Queen Alysanne suggested the name for the blade, remarking that it was the name her own Velaryon mother, Alyssa, had hoped her family would name a new blade should they ever acquire one. Honouring the Dowager Queen, his late great aunt's wishes, Lord Corlys agreed to name the blade as the Queen had suggested.

It is also suggested by Aurane, that during this very conversation, King Jaehaerys informally offered the position of Master of Ships to Lord Corlys, a position that he graciously thanked the King for and accepted, being open the possibility. Perhaps giving credence to Aurane's words, it was only a few months later in the Tenth Moon of 86 AC, that the formal offer arrived at Driftmark and was accepted.

Within a month, Lord Corlys and his brother Aurane, and their retinue had arrived in King's Landing. After presenting lavish gifts to the Targaryens and being feasted by them that night, the Velaryon brothers got to work, reforming and reorganizing the Royal Fleet into an organization worthy of its status and name. They also furthered their connections at court, building friendships and alliances with families such as the Tyrells, and also with members of House Targaryen, notably Lord Corlys personally befriended two individuals that are sure to be very well remembered in history. The eventual King Aemon, then Prince of Dragonstone, and the woman that would later become his wife, Princess Viserra Targaryen.

Viserra Velaryon nee' Targaryen, is perhaps one of the most famous women in history, and would eventually accumulate a list of accomplishments that leave her remembered with more fame and clarity than both of Aegon the Conqueror's sister-wives. One would not have thought this however, with how her story began.

Princess Viserra was born the fifth living daughter of King Jaehaerys, and was later regarded as the most beautiful of her sisters, who numbered six including her. Considering that House Targaryen was the last scion of the inhumanly and ethereally beautiful Forty Families of Old Valyria, there is considerable grounds to label Viserra as the most beautiful woman in the world as a result, or as a real life 'Helen of Troy' as some who might have read the Iliad would say.

Unfortunately, this immense beauty had also given the princess an ego to accompany it. She was noted to be extremely vain, to the point that she once simply agreed with a squire who called her a goddess. She was also deceitful and sly, and known to wrap boys around her finger, egging them on to do stupid things for her favour. Such actions did little for her esteem in her parents' eyes, who saw in her perhaps, the shadow of her elder sister Saera, who had been disgraced for similar behaviour.

It might shock some that Lord Corlys formed a connection with Princess Viserra then, given his pride and her personality, one might have thought them to be prickly with each other. The singers say that Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra were enamoured of each other from the moment they first set eyes on the other, Princess Viserra's journals indicate that this was not fully the case.

She was indeed impressed by his looks, but furthermore by his wealth, his accomplishments and daring, his reputation. Lord Corlys was the epitome of a dashing adventurous rogue, and made many a maiden swoon. For her part, Viserra's beauty is well known, so first impressions were already excellent for both.

Aurane's journals shine more light here however, for the image of the vain and sly princess that Viserra projected to court, was later discovered by his brother Corlys to be only a superficial mask hiding a deeply insecure young princess neglected by her parents and by the court until she had turned to her beauty to draw any kind of attention and thus had inevitably become vain. Over the course of the next six months, the two would build a connection, bonding over a number of shared interests, such as Viserra's great interest in Driftmark and stories about it, and a number of discussions on philosophy, siblings, and more.

During this time, Lord Corlys would also continue his stalwart service on the Small Council, and his brother Aurane attributes a number of key historical events to suggestions Corlys made at the meetings of the Council. Including the proposal to conquer the Stepstones for the Iron Throne, and to resolve the succession after Prince Aemon by wedding his daughter and only child, to Prince Baelon's eldest son, Prince Viserys. Both proposals would eventually be accepted by the Targaryens, though in later years, Aurane recalls that his brother regretted ever making them at all.

The burgeoning friendship of Corlys and Viserra did not go unnoticed, and eventually in the Fifth Moon of 87 AC they were formally betrothed following a private meeting between Lord Corlys and King Jaehaerys. Ser Aurane testifies that it was during that meeting that King Jaehaerys offered the Lord Paramountship of the Stepstones to Lord Corlys along with the marriage, and both were eagerly accepted.

Unbeknownst to either party however, was that very same day, Princess Viserra had snuck away from her niece Princess Rhaenys on a joint outing to the Dragonpit, and claimed the dragon Dreamfyre, the mount of the late Rhaena Targaryen, Viserra's aunt.

According to Ser Aurane, Lord Corlys did have any involvement in Princess Viserra's decision to claim Dreamfyre. The reason has never been clear to history, though perhaps we might guess that Viserra was tired of being neglected by her family and claimed a dragon to make them take her seriously. She got her wish and perhaps that was both fortunate and unfortunate. After a confrontation with her family, the details of which are murky and partly lost to history, Viserra was ultimately allowed to keep her dragon and her betrothal to Corlys, which was announced a week later, making many in the realm look askance at King Jaehaerys' seeming decision to effectively give House Velaryon dragons.

Over the coming months, Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra would deepen their connection, including a trip in which Viserra visited Driftmark for the same time. A visit that reportedly left the young princess astounded and amazed.

Finally, in the Second Moon of 88 AC, the pair wed. Lord Corlys was thirty-four, going on thirty-five. His bride was six and ten years his younger, having been born in 69 AC, Princess Viserra was eighteen going on nineteen at the wedding. Despite their not insignificant age difference, it was the opinion of near every guest at their wedding that the pair were exceedingly well matched for each other, in their demeanor and appearance.

After the wedding, Princess Viserra would settle into her role as the new Lady of the Tides, finding that Driftmark was so very different to rule than she had expected. In time however, she blossomed into this responsibility and became exceedingly capable under the tutelage of her husband, and her goodsiblings and close friends, Ser Rhaekar, and his wife, Lady Irina of Tarth.

Viserra and her husband would have a happy married life, by all accounts, and within a year of their marriage in fact, their first two children would be born. In the dawn of the eighty-ninth year since Aegon's Conquest, was born Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon, identical twin brothers and sons of Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra. Named for famed Velaryon lords from the Century of Blood, Jacaerys and Lucerys were known as Jace and Luke to close friends and family.

On the very same day that they were born, their parents placed two eggs in their shared cradle, two eggs that would later hatch within that very week, this was noted to be an unprecedentedly fast hatching of cradle eggs, even among the Targaryens, a sign perhaps of the destiny awaiting the Velaryon twins. In any case, the young brothers would eventually name their dragons Tessarion and Morghul, and the role that they and their dragons play in history is no doubt familiar to the readers of this volume, but for the sake of expediency it shall be recounted later on.

In any case, many including Princess Viserra herself, a belief she passed down to all her children and grandchildren, attribute the hatching of these first two eggs to be the cause of trouble down the line.

Within a few months of the birth of Jacaerys and Lucerys, the Iron Throne seized and annexed the Stepstones archipelago, through which the most important trade routes in the world flowed. Ever since Lord Corlys' initial proposal, the Iron Throne had established a presence in the island chain based on Bloodstone and had been clearing pirates. With their foothold fully established, the time had come to seize the archipelago in full.

A key reason this was judged to be the correct time, was because the Free Cities of Tyrosh and Lys, which also had claims on the archipelago, had recently gone to war against Volantis alongside Myr in the alliance known as the Triarchy, and were thus greatly distracted. Nonetheless, there was opposition to the Iron Throne's annexation, in the form of a fleet led by Prince Morion Martell of Dorne, who challenged the Targaryens and Velaryons' claim to the islands and instead claimed them for Dorne.

Princess Viserra accompanied her husband Lord Corlys on the campaign that would later become known as the War for the Stepstones, otherwise known as the Fourth Dornish War. By happenstance, the Dornish encountered the Velaryon fleet some miles off the island of Bloodstone. Princess Viserra was the sole dragonrider accompanying her husband's fleet at the time, having elected to follow them over to Bloodstone while her father and brothers rested with their dragons at nearby Estermont.

Nonetheless, Princess Viserra soon proved that one dragon was more than enough to deal with the enemy fleet. It was the very first time that she saw combat, but perhaps as a testimonial to the power of a dragon, within a mere hour she had reduced the entire Dornish fleet to ashes and cinders, with their wreckages burning for days like candles in the night. Prince Morion and an entire generation of Dorne's young men died that day, along with all the wealth that had been used to build the fleet, for Morion had brooked no expense constructing the fleet he had foolishly sailed against dragonfire. For this victory, Viserra would forever be cursed in Dorne as the Butcher of Bloodstone, to House Velaryon and the rest of Westeros however, she would be remembered instead, as the Sea Dragon, and her mount Dreamfyre would be hailed as the Blue Queen.

Once Morion's fleet was at the bottom of the sea, it was a simple matter for the Targaryens and Velaryons to clear out the remaining pirates and Dornish from the entire archipelago and station their soldiers on the islands, the annexation was formalized, and within two months, King Jaehaerys, Princes Aemon and Baelon, and Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra returned to King's Landing triumphant.

The cheers they received when they returned were incredible, for not even Aegon the Conqueror could boast of winning a war with such few losses. Victory was made bitter however when King Jaehaerys betrayed the Velaryons. In open court before all his rivals and allies, King Jaehaerys made Corlys swear that he recognized that he would not be the Lord Paramount of the Stepstones, as he had been promised, and would instead be a non-hereditary governor. Bloodstone was given to him as hereditary fief, a paltry pittance to what had been promised.

Jaehaerys defended his decision, saying that he had never explicitly promised lordship, using the word governance in his agreement with Lord Corlys, which he had fulfilled. This wordplay infuriated the Velaryons who soon departed for a private meeting on Driftmark. Though they left King's Landing with the support of Prince Aemon, Prince Baelon, Princess Alyssa, and Queen Alysanne, their trust in House Targaryen had been broken. Few realized it at the time, but this betrayal would define the history of Westeros forever.

Aurane's journal entries noting what happened next were written only decades later. On Driftmark, Corlys called a meeting of his closest circle and advisors. His brothers, his goodsister Lady Irina, and his beloved wife Viserra. They met ominously in Castle Driftmark instead of High Tide, a symbol of what was to come for in the years since the Velaryons had moved to High Tide, their own original seat had become a fortress where their army and navy was headquartered.

There in that room, House Velaryon came to the decision that they could not trust in Targaryen promises anymore, or wait for them to strangle them. On a whim the Iron Throne could take away the Stepstones from them and give them to a rival, such as House Hightower or Redwyne, and they could choke Driftmark to death. Corlys rejected this future, this possibility, and he convinced all his kin to do the same. He decided that the only course of action left to them was to conquer the Free City of Tyrosh, securing an alternative trade route bypassing the Stepstones if need be, and leveraging Tyrosh's economic might to dominate the Stepstones. Much later in life, Corlys would admit that this had been a hasty decision but at the time it seemed perfectly logical.

Thus it was that over a year later in the Eighth Moon of 90 AC, after House Velaryon had gotten justification for war from an incident involving their ships and the Tyroshi fleet in the Stepstones, they moved to conquer the city. Dreamfyre and a Velaryon fleet suddenly appeared in the horizon of Tyrosh one day as the Velaryons suddenly joined Volantis in its war against the Triarchy.

Within a month, the world order had been forever changed. At dragonpoint, Lord Corlys was voted by the noble Conclave of Tyrosh as the Archon of Tyrosh, with the office made hereditary and granted absolute power like it once held when Valyria of old appointed the Archon. Immediately Corlys abolished the Conclave and purged all of the elite noble families who resisted his rule openly, seizing their wealth, lands, and assets.

He then signed the Treaty of Tyrosh with his predecessor as Archon, the Triarchs of Volantis, the Prince of Pentos, and the leading magisters of Lys and Myr as the other signatories. In that treaty, House Velaryon and Corlys were recognized as the rulers of Tyrosh, as were their claims to the lands Tyrosh had held actual control over in the Disputed Lands prior to the formation of the Triarchy. 

Other than House Velaryon, Volantis annexed Lys and the remainder of the Disputed Lands, including all Myrish claims south of the River Myrllu. They also annexed the Golden Fields northeast of the Lhorulu River which Myr had claimed, though its control had been tenuous at best. From Myr, Pentos annexed the northern half of its territory, and Myr was made in practice, an economic and political vassal of Pentos and Volantis both due to the sheer number of concessions it was forced to give them. Discontent in Myr over the treaty would later result in the brutal civil war known as the Myrish Bloodbath.

In Westeros, House Targaryen was infuriated by the Velaryon conquest of Tyrosh, though no laws forbade it, wordplay in the decrees might once again allow Jaehaerys to punish the Velaryons, though he thankfully balked at that, knowing it might require him to kill his daughter. However, Jaehaerys would not let it pass lying down. He refused to recognize Corlys as the Archon of Tyrosh and enacted a series of punishing sanctions on House Velaryon and Driftmark as well as revoking the Governorship of the Stepstones and the Mastery of Ships from Corlys, and banishing House Velaryon from his court unless they were to return on their knees, humbled and begging for his mercy.

In the following months Jaehaerys would summon many great lords and work with them to coordinate his sanctions. He reconciled with his disgraced daughter Saera, the Lady of Maidenpool and he chartered the South Sea Company under Houses Lannister, Hightower, and Redwyne. On the Small Council he appointed Rodrik Arryn as Master of Laws once again, and named the son of Lord Manfyrd Redwyne, his former Master of Ships in the place of his deceased father, replacing Lord Corlys. He furthermore distributed the Stepstones islands out to the second sons of many of his vassal houses, chosen for his trust in them but also for their economic might.

Chief among these second sons was Otto Hightower, who was ennobled as the Lord of Highwatch, Felstrong, and Tor, and appointed Governor of the Stepstones in Corlys' place. Under his authority was Lord Rickard Redwyne of Redwater and Larazor's Rock, brother of Robert, the new Master of Ships; Lord Wylis Manderly of Serpentholm, Lord Jonos Swann of Scarwood, Lord Maegon Mooton of Grey Gallows, Lord Steffon Darklyn of Dustspear and Lord Tyland Lannister of Guardian and Golden Haven. In theory, Lord Boremund Baratheon of Veil, and of course, Lord Corlys Velaryon of Bloodstone were under Otto's authority as well, but in truth due to their great power and extensive lands beyond the Stepstones, being the Lord of Storm's End and Archon of Tyrosh respectively, Otto had no true authority over either of them. This would later cause problems.

Back in Tyrosh, the year 91 AC was a hard one for House Velaryon. They had miscalculated the difficulty of ruling the city and transitioning it away from slavery, and they had severely underestimated the extent of Jaehaerys' reprisal for their questionably legal conquest of the city. House Velaryon was struggling to deal with the sanctions and competing factions within the city threatened to tear it apart.

The Seahorses were those Driftmarkers, soldiers and servants alike, who had come directly from Driftmark and were fiercely loyal to House Velaryon. The Stars were radical converts to the Faith of the Seven among the local populace, in theory loyal to House Velaryon, or rather to Viserra whom they called Dragon Princess or Zaldilaros, but their fanaticism troubled Lord Corlys.

Ostensibly loyal were the Dyes, led by Lysos Eranyr, made up of the collaborationists among the local elites and nobles. In addition to this was the Towers, led by Ario Orlyr, Warden of the Bleeding Tower and a captain in the Buzantys slave soldier corps of Tyrosh. The Towers claimed to champion the cause of the slaves and the local religions.

Matters came to a head in Second Moon, 91 AC. News came from the east that Velos had fallen to a coalition of slaver cities, Meereen, Yunkai, Astapor, and New Ghis. Thousands of Velaryon men had died and their trade routes to the east and the incomes from them were cut off.

Furthermore, on the very same day that news arrived, Ser Rhaekar was poisoned with the Strangler. The loss of their friend and brother greatly troubled Princess Viserra and Lord Corlys, and his stewardship skills would prove sorely missed over the coming year as House Velaryon struggled to consolidate and stabilize the ailing city even as Driftmark continued to falter under the weight of Jaehaerys' sanctions.

Evidence initially pointed that Lysos Eranyr and the Dyes were behind the death of Ser Rhaekar, in addition to corruption and many other treasonous activities and so they were purged. It was however eventually discovered in Second Moon 92 AC, a year later, that the true culprit were the Towers led by Ario Orlyr. Though the Dyes were indeed guilty of treason and everything else, they had been framed for the murder of Rhaekar by their rivals the Towers, who in the months since the Dyes' purge, had grown very powerful indeed, having absorbed the Dye remnants.

Though the Velaryon purge of the upper echelons of the Towers was successful, with Ario Orlyr and his inner circle all fed to Dreamfyre, the purge greatly upset the already unstable situation in the city and resulted in the Morghon riots, wherein a mob of Tower supporters called for the death of the Velaryons, the usurpers, tyrants, heretics, and infidels.

As it so happened, Princess Viserra was pregnant with her third child at the time, and entered labor even as the riot progressed. Consequently, House Velaryon would have no support from Dreamfyre during the riots. Instead, a combined force of Seahorses and Stars would be led by Lord Corlys and Ser Aurane to victory, crushing the riots over the span of a week. By the end of the carnage, half the city had burned to the ground and thirty thousand people had died.

Yet amidst such destruction and death, new life could be found as well, for Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra's first and only daughter Laena would be born amidst the shadow of battle. Their third child would consequently bear the epithet of 'Battleborn' though it would eventually be just one of many she held.

Laena was not the only one that would gain an epithet, for only a few weeks later at a feast celebrating their victory over the rioters, Lord Corlys called his wife the Star of the Sea, praising her beauty and personality profusely, and likening her to a radiant star shining light to guide his way, and the way of House Velaryon, like a star leading them home. Ever since then, Viserra would be called the Seastar by many. The name also symbolized the union of the last two factions of Seahorses and Stars in Tyrosh in their shared loyalty to her and her house.

In the years to come, her two main epithets would contrast and complement each other. When men spoke of Princess Viserra's terrifying skills and many accomplishments at war and as a dragonrider or of her anger and force of personality, they called her the Sea Dragon. When men praised her beauty and kindness, they would call her the Seastar.

Lord Corlys would say both epithets were well earned by his wife, who had been crucial in the success of his house in the Stepstones and Tyrosh, crediting her always encouraging him and giving him the strength to fight for their victory over the Morghon revolt.

Victory over the Morghon riots gave the Velaryons absolute control over Tyrosh. In the following years, the Velaryons would slowly begin to recover from the sanctions, and with each passing year, their rise became faster. It did not go unnoticed. In 94 AC, when Princess Viserra was pregnant again, a crisis arose in the Stepstones.

When Jaehaerys had given the Stepstones lords their lands, many of them had been granted territorial waters that were actually in practice held by Tyrosh and the Velaryons. Encouraged by the King, Otto Hightower sought to finally press his governorate's claims to these waters and to authority over Velaryon-owned Bloodstone. Having seen that Dreamfyre had been grounded in Tyrosh during the Morghon riots as a result of Viserra's pregnancy, Otto timed his escalation exceedingly well, Viserra was eight moons pregnant with her fourth when he pressed his claims and sent his fleets to intrude into the territorial waters of Tyrosh and Bloodstone.

This was an affront to their authority and sovereignty the Velaryons could not brook, especially because the Tyroshi Corridor was a large part of why they had conquered Tyrosh to begin with, if they allowed Otto to enforce his claims, their trade route independent of his control would be under threat. However, with Viserra pregnant, they could not deter him with Dreamfyre.

Therefore, Lord Corlys and Ser Aurane would lead the Velaryon fleet near the disputed waters with Highwatch and treat with Otto Hightower on an empty islet. Just when it seemed that negotiations would fail and battle and maybe even war would be had, Dreamfyre appeared in the sky with a roar. Though she was heavily pregnant, the Sea Dragon had come and Hightower had no choice but to relent.

History does not record what words the furious and concerned Lord Corlys said to his wife in private after, but we do know that both husband and wife emerged from their conversation and men said that there was something different about them, like a load lifted off of their shoulders. Two months later, in the tenth month of 94 AC, their last child was born, a son they named Daeron. Corlys and Viserra's family was complete, for this generation at least.

The full details of Tyrosh's growth and recovery in this time period are too great to be done justice in this abridged edition, but for the sake of continuity, we shall cover them briefly.

In the years following the Stepstones Crisis, Corlys and Viserra would throw themselves into building up Tyrosh, the former with the same passion he had first built Driftmark. Many other Velaryon institutions and ventures moved their headquarters or main base of operations to Tyrosh, including their trade companies and the Guild of Venturers. The Velaryon Bank moved its headquarters to the Black Fortress in Tyrosh and took ownership of all the assets and liabilities of the various Tyroshi banks, becoming the main and central bank of Tyrosh.

In collaboration with the Tyroshi treasury and the mints, which were operated alongside the Velaryon bank, new coinage was minted in honor of the new rulers of Tyrosh. Archon Corlys and Princess Viserra had little interest in continuing to mint the old square coins that had proudly featured the Bleeding Tower or other Tyroshi landmarks and cultural symbols after those same symbols had rallied resistance against them. Instead three new denominations of coin were minted. All of them had Corlys' image as the reigning Archon and it was a move that indicated that Tyrosh had truly become a sovereign monarchy even if they did not have a traditional monarchical title.

The first and lowest denomination was the Copper Sail, which had a stylized image of the sails of ships on one side. This was meant to represent and boast of the naval power of House Velaryon and Tyrosh and serve as a reminder that their wealth came from their ships and their trade. The second denomination was the Silver Star, which had a seven-pointed star representing the Tyroshi Faith of the Seven and its strong influence in the city. As that same faith was zealously devoted to the Velaryons, it also strengthened their legitimacy and rule over Tyrohs.

The last but certainly not least denomination was the Golden Banner. On one face, the coin had the Velaryon sigil and on the other was the image of the reigning Archon of course. The coin was initially supposed to be called the Gold Seahorse but a fierce debate soon raged on what exactly the Velaryon sigil was. Older iterations that had been preserved looked notably much more like a seahorse compared to the current version which had distinctly more draconic features. Some argued that the coin and sigil by extension should be known as the Gold Sea Dragon to strengthen House Velaryon's prestige against the Targaryens and serve as a reminder that they also had dragons.

Eventually Corlys himself intervened and quelled the debate, declaring the name of the denomination to be the Golden Banner. Regardless of what the sigil was, be it sea dragon or seahorse, it was undoubtedly the Velaryon banner. The symbolism of this of course, represented House Velaryon's rule over Tyrosh and a reminder that under their banner, all of Tyrosh's wealth and prosperity was made possible. Every time a man paid for his goods with a gold banner, he was paying with a token representing House Velaryon's guarantee of the currency of Tyrosh and the protection and prosperity of the state as a whole.

The three denominations were also decimalized per Corlys' design. 100 copper pennies were equal in value to a silver star and in turn 100 silver stars would be equal to a golden banner. The Velaryon Bank and the Treasury and Mints of Tyrosh would later become influential and trusted enough that these conversions were maintained at the same coin weightages despite fluctuations in the value of gold, silver, and copper.

The old coinage of Tyrosh remained legal tender for several years until they were phased out or collected by the Treasury for melting and reminting. The coinage of the Seven Kingdoms was also easily tradeable and could be used to pay for goods within Tyrosh in order to ease transactions and trade with Westeros, especially with Driftmark still bound to the Iron Throne. In order to aid in this, the golden banner was pegged to be equal to the value of the Iron Throne's gold dragon, even if their subdivisions and lower denominations were not equal.

Due to the difficulties of carrying large sums of money between Driftmark and Tyrosh, and later Velos and Viserria, the Velaryon Bank and its subsidiaries in Tyrosh began issuing promissory notes which were redeemable for a certain sum of bullion specified on the note, usually a specific number of gold banners, silver stars, or copper sails. These 'banknotes' as they came to be called, eventually evolved into a form of legal tender in their own right within the Velaryon State. Paper money of course had a long history in Yi Ti but Velaryon banknotes were the first of their kind west of the Bone Mountains. With the gradual emergence of paper money, also came the rise of fractional reserve banking, greatly increasing the size and potential of the Tyroshi economy.

A new university campus was built in Tyrosh and was made the new headquarters, with Spicetown being reduced to a branch campus. This ushered in a new era of innovation and progress, ambitious plans and research efforts for new metallurgy processes and blast furnaces, textile looming and weaving, shipbuilding, and many more were made.

A new Arsenal was also built in Tyrosh in this time as well, greatly increasing the naval strength of House Velaryon. In tandem with the University, Velaryon engineers and shipwrights at the Tyroshi Arsenal pioneered and researched new methods of building ships such as diagonal bracing, the introduction of iron elements, and improvements to the designs of the bow and stern, as well as a new method and device to repair ships in dry docks easily known as Velaryon Blocks.

With these new methods, new classes of ships such as galleons, xebecs, and fluyts would be designed and constructed and would prove exceedingly useful in cementing the dominance of the Velaryon Navy and Merchant Marine. Indeed, some have even claimed that by 109 AC, the Velaryon Navy was five hundred purpose-built warships strong and the Velaryons' merchant fleet was larger than the rest of Westeros combined. Whether these claims are simply hyperbole or not, the extent to which House Velaryon came to dominate the world's oceans and trade routes is undeniable and in later years some would say that 'Velaryon rules the waves', with an entire song even being composed in honor of this famous saying.

With these new methods, new classes of ships such as galleons, xebecs, and fluyts would be designed and constructed and would prove exceedingly useful in cementing the dominance of the Velaryon Navy and Merchant Marine. Indeed, some have even claimed that by 109 AC, the Velaryon Navy was five hundred purpose-built warships strong and the Velaryons' merchant fleet was larger than the rest of Westeros combined. Whether these claims are simply hyperbole or not, the extent to which House Velaryon came to dominate the world's oceans and trade routes is undeniable and in later years some would say that 'Velaryon rules the waves', with an entire song even being composed in honor of this famous saying.

The Myrish Bloodbath allowed Tyrosh to benefit greatly as Myrish artisans fled to Tyrosh, which when combined with Driftmark's previous expertise, made Tyrosh's glass now the foremost in the world for its strength and clearness. Advancements in glassmaking also allowed the Velaryons to pioneer the long-term preservation of food in glass jars, a process known as canning.

Progress was also made to try and create a marine chronometer, advanced clocks that would not be disturbed by the motion of the sea on ships, thus greatly benefitting navigation if it could be made. A large fortune was offered to the first who created a working marine chronometer, though none had yet succeeded by 109 AC. Mechanical clocks had been made before, in Braavos and Driftmark, but none were able to tell time as precisely at sea as the chronometer the University of Tyrosh was attempting to develop, not even the previously famed pendulum clocks of the Clockmaker's Guild of Myr before the Myrish Bloodbath.

The movement of the university, banks, and other institutions to Tyrosh made the city bloom. As a Free City, Tyrosh had already previously had enormous potential, a much greater foundation so to speak to build on, and with the Velaryons rebuilding the city and upgrading its infrastructure and institutions to Driftmark standards, it thrived. With this economic prosperity, the arts and cultures flourished.

Among many institutions moved to Tyrosh, was the Spicetown Museum, now known as the Tyroshi Museum. Its relocation sparked a cultural awakening in Tyrosh that saw arts, music, writings, plays, opera and many other arts and cultures flourish alongside the sciences in the university. Furthermore, the movement of perhaps the most famous artwork previously displayed in the Spicetown Museum, 'The Crowning of Hugor', did much to energize the Tyroshi Faith of the Seven.

First originating in the Star movement, the Faith of the Seven grew incredibly fast after the Morghon Riots, with adherents making up seventy percent of the city's population by 109 AC as a result of Driftmark immigration and conversion from the natives. This eventually led to the construction of the Zaldilaros Sept as the headquarters of the Tyroshi Faith, named in honor of Zaldilaros, Princess Viserra.

Though still paying nominal deference to the High Septon in Westeros, now located in the King's Landing Great Sept of Jaehaerys, the Tyroshi Faith had become very autonomous, its day to day running was handled by a Holy Synod and an Archsepton of Tyrosh, though Zaldilaros, Princess Viserra, and Lord Corlys, the Defender of the Faith, were considered the true heads.

Doctrinally as well, the Tyroshi Faith practiced the Zaldilaros Creed, an even more developed version of Targaryen Exceptionalism that all but worshipped the Velaryon House as the champions of the Seven, liberators of the slaves given divine right to rule and free Essos. The only reason excommunication by the High Septon in Westeros did not happen was due to the interference of Prince Aemon.

Overall, the progress in rebuilding Tyrosh was fast enough that within eight years of the Morghon Riot, Tyrosh was well on its way to recovery, with most of everything that had made Driftmark special eventually being moved to Tyrosh. Unfortunately, with Tyrosh's prosperity, came Driftmark's decline.

Never fully recovering from the sanctions and with Tyrosh free from the Iron Throne's interference and far better placed for trade and with a much larger foundation, it was perhaps inevitable that Tyrosh would overshadow Driftmark. The population of Driftmark was cut in half by 100 AC as its people migrated with the opportunities to Tyrosh, which was also attracting immigration from across Essos. The loss of thirty thousand people to the Morghon riots was more than made up for in this time eventually.

This also presented a unique problem, as Westerosi immigrants spoke in Westerosi Common, while the locals spoke in Tyroshi Low Valyrian. High Valyrian was chosen as the common language between the two groups, with schools founded to help teach it. As the international language of trade and diplomacy and one favoured by the elites of Essos and both House Targaryen and House Velaryon, it was an ideal choice, especially considering that many Tyroshi and Driftmarkers already knew it for these reasons.

Tyrosh was thriving, so much so that in 98 AC, Corlys and Viserra would feel that it was safe enough for them to lead an expedition to avenge the Sack of Velos six years prior. Much work had been done in expanding and reforming the Velaryon Army and Navy for this war and any wars to come, work that would continue for decades. New units, organization methods, pike square tactics, armaments, and ships, would make the Velaryon military a force to behold and their wrath was just as terrible.

Rather ironically, even as Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra set off on their eastern expedition, House Targaryen threw a grand tourney celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of King Jaehaerys's coronation in King's Landing. It was an exceedingly grand event with great pomp and pageantry that was meant to showcase the power of House Targaryen and its newly born children, and yet with the absence of Queen Alysanne and the Velaryons in the east, and the tourney happening after years of political and economic uncertainty, some considered it an empty display of splendour with no meaning.

Back with the Velaryons, by Third Moon, 99 AC, the cities of Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor had been sacked utterly. The Velaryons took everything that was not secured, and some which was. All the wealth of the three cities and their closest hinterlands was seized by House Velaryon. All the slaves were freed, and most though not all, accepted the Velaryon offer to settle on the Isle of Cedars.

Notably, Meereen was not just sacked, but also torn down and razed to the ground by Princess Viserra and Dreamfyre after the former took offense to the atrocities committed by the Meereenese masters to taunt the Velaryons as they marched on Meereen from Yunkai. The masters had foolishly nailed slave children of Lyseni stock to every milepost, as if threatening to do the same to Viserra's own children, who had similar appearances to the mutilated slave corpses. Infuriated and disgusted, Princess Viserra loudly declared that she would do as her ancestors did to Old Ghis and burn and salt Meereen. She kept her promise.

A few weeks later, the Velaryons sailed for New Ghis in the Straits of Ghiscar, though unlike the previous three cities, it was not so brutally sacked. The Velaryons desired to annex New Ghis, due to its strategic position along their Jade Sea trade route. Every freeborn New Ghiscari individual was either purged or expelled to the mainland, replaced by slaves from Ghiscar or Slaver's Bay who settled in the islands of Ghaen, Ghilos, and New Ghis. The city and island of New Ghis was renamed Viserria by Lord Corlys in his wife's honor.

Within a few months of this victory, Corlys and Viserra would take ship with the majority of their fleet back to Tyrosh, leaving behind their trusted and appointed governors. One of whom, Lucerys Velaryon, was the cousin of Lord Corlys and had actually been the original Governor of Velos and had been believed dead after the Sack. Miraculously he and a hundred others from the original outpost were discovered alive and Lucerys gladly resumed his post.

The treasure that the Velaryons gained from this campaign in Slaver's Bay is often said to have been enough that it tripled their wealth. They acquired enormous quantities of gold, silver, precious stones and jewels, silks, spices, ivory, exquisite tapestries and carpets, fine velvets and satins, delicately carved and inlaid furniture, ornaments of all shapes, sizes, and value, and so much more. They even seized enough foodstuffs from the sacks to support the former slaves in Velos and Viserria until they could feed themselves with the farmlands on Ghaen and the Isle of Cedars.

The most wondrous windfall of all however, was Valyrian steel. Two longswords, a dozen daggers, a spear, and over two hundred pieces of jewelry, décor, and other miscellaneous objects were taken from the ruin of Slaver's Bay and New Ghis. Upon their return to Tyrosh, Corlys and Viserra gifted each of their four children one of the twelve daggers. The remainder of the priceless collection was sent to the vaults to be kept safe, though Lord Corlys took a liking to the spear and trained with it often in his spare time.

The spear, renamed Aeglos by Lord Corlys, was cast entirely in one solid piece of Valyrian steel from shaft end to spearhead and had previously been a ceremonial weapon wielded by the commander of the Iron Legions of New Ghis. Though he never truly mastered the spear, Princess Viserra was once overheard saying that her husband simply enjoyed the novelty of wielding it in the yard.

In the coming years, Velos and Viserria would develop into great colonies and outposts of the Velaryon State, bolstered by the immigration of hundreds of thousands of slaves, and later even the innocent freeborn, from the mainland, more of whom came every year fleeing the Ghiscari who wished to enslave them once again or the raids of the Dothraki who now tormented a Slaver's Bay unable to pay them tribute. Astapor and Yunkai would be sacked again by the Dothraki, but there was no wealth to take, and the angered Dothraki would raid far into the hinterlands, destroying what the Velaryons had not.

Volantis would attempt to conquer Mantarys, Tolos, and Elyria in the aftermath of the Velaryon campaign against the other Slaver Cities, seeking to take more territories populated by Valyrians and also secure control over the remainder of the slave trade. However, Braavos, Lorath, Pentos, Norvos, Qohor, and Essaria would form a massive coalition and move against Volantis in 99 AC, while Lys and Myr had riots against Volantene rule and influence. After a five-year war ended in a stalemate, the borders of Essos were largely unchanged. Mantarys, Tolos, and Elyria's independence had been preserved but their hinterlands were ravaged by the Volantene invasion and Volantis was not truly defeated, merely rebuffed temporarily and waiting for its next chance.

Meanwhile, the Velaryons finally returned home to Driftmark in 100 AC to find a Westeros greatly changed by their ten years of absence. Driftmark, as aforementioned, had fallen sharply into decline, and though the Velaryons maintained the island's infrastructure exquisitely, it was empty and deserted with so many people having departed. Over the coming years, the Velaryons would work to restore Driftmark as best as they could, but without the removal of the sanctions, their efforts could not truly heal the island, only slow its death.

Yet while Driftmark had declined, its rulers had risen to new heights. After their expedition in Slaver's Bay, House Velaryon's wealth formally eclipsed what it had been before their conquest of Tyrosh, and by no small amount, even if much of the wealth was kept in the east to build their outposts in Velos and Viserria.

Furthermore, the Velaryons strengthened and rebuilt ties with their allies, such as Houses Grafton, Tarth, and Celtigar. They built new alliances as well. Begrudgingly, they began to trade and work with old fair-weather friends such as House Tyrell once again.

They also invested greatly into building a lasting trade alliance with the North, constructing ports and other infrastructure along its eastern coasts to facilitate this trade. Most prominent of these new ports was Tuppents near Ramsgate, Tearport on the Weeping Water, Enttinsmoor on the Last River, and Wrensgrace at the mouth of Karlon's River.

Ice, wood, lumber, furs, amber, wool, metal ores and minerals, and much more would flow out from the North's rivers and eastern coasts, while the Velaryons exported their technologies, methods, and products such as glass for glass gardens and canning glass jars and agricultural methods from Tyrosh as well as the luxuries and goods of the rest of Essos. Velaryon ships were allowed to use Northern ports to fish and whale in the Shivering Sea, prospering greatly. In their turn, Houses Bolton, Umber, Flint, Manderly, Locke, Hornwood, Stark, and many more would prosper greatly from the trade alliance and the North was greatly enriched.

The alliance was further sealed by the marriage of Lord Corlys' niece Vaella, by his dearly departed brother Rhaekar, to Rickon Stark, the grandson of Lord Ellard Stark of Winterfell. The wedding took place near the end of 100 AC, and by 109 AC, Lady Vaella would have four children with her husband. Cregan, Corwyn, Irina, and Sara Stark. It was the talk of the realm that House Velaryon had secured a fruitful match with a Great House, with some seeing it as a clear sign of House Velaryon's return to power and prominence.

Among other signs was their growth in influence in the Vale. In 102 AC, Ser Aegor Mooton, son of Saera Targaryen and grandson of Jaehaerys married his cousin, Lady Aemma Arryn, herself a granddaughter of Jaehaerys through her mother Daella. Aemma was four years Aegor's senior, with the pair wedding when he came of age. Their marriage was ostensibly for the union of the prestige and economic might of both houses though some postulate that it was also to preserve the ratio of Targaryen blood in both houses, in hopes that they may claim dragons in the future with the precedent House Velaryon set.

History has proven that House Mooton did indeed work and trade with House Velaryon extensively during the sanctions of King Jaehaerys despite their supposed reconciliation with the King. Many have called Saera Mooton, the matriarch of the family, the 'Whore of Maidenpool' for this. In any case, this cooperation was greatly cut back on, if not halted entirely after Aegor's marriage to Aemma.

In their stead, House Velaryon accrued influence over House Royce. As if to contest or protest the marriage of the heir to the Eyrie to a Mooton, the very same year that Aegor and Aemma married, Aemma's cousin and the heir of the male line, Ser Arnold Arryn, married Lady Rhea Royce, the heiress of Runestone.

Lady Rhea's father, Lord Yorbert, was believed to have arranged this marriage so as to secure the claim and prestige of the male line of House Arryn for his descendants, and indeed the children of Arnold and Rhea would claim to be of the House of Royce-Arryn and quarter or halve both families' traditional sigils for their own heraldry, never forgetting what they considered to be their rightful claim to the Eyrie.

In pursuit of that claim, House Royce-Arryn began to trade and work extensively with House Grafton and House Velaryon. Ser Vaemond Velaryon would marry Lord Yorbert's younger daughter, Lady Ryella, and by 109 AC, the couple would have two sons, Daemion and Alyn. With this match, Runestone fully joined the Velaryon bloc and with the addition of the Royce ports to that alliance, cutting off the rest of the Vale near entirely from trade with the outside world, and as a result, accruing significant influence among the other houses of the Vale. Internal politics in the Vale would play an adjacent role to the greater political events further south.

The Targaryens were not idle in the midst of all of these happenings either. Shortly after Ser Rhaekar's death, Queen Alysanne and Princess Alyssa visited Viserra in Tyrosh and comforted her, though they would soon leave due to an argument they had with Lord Corlys. Despite that, Viserra remained in correspondence with them and her eldest two brothers, Aemon and Baelon, building a rapport with them.

Indeed, according to Otto Hightower's testimonial in the Citadel, Prince Aemon had commanded him to stand down following the Stepstones Crisis, indicating that even then, elements inside House Targaryen were supportive of the Velaryons.

Nonetheless, House Velaryon's rise despite House Targaryen's official position in attempting to crush them was greatly humiliating and a loss of prestige for the latter house. King Jaehaerys was reputedly greatly concerned about this turn of events, and happenings such as the Stepstones Crisis have been attributed to his attempts to mitigate or correct it.

To make matters worse, Lord Boremund Baratheon and his wife and son perished when their fleet was sunk off the coast of Tarth as 94 AC died. This tragedy was a great personal loss to House Targaryen, for Boremund had been Jaehaerys' own brother. Furthermore, they had subsidized the construction of the fleet which had sunk, further humiliating them on top of the financial loss they incurred.

Yet many argue that although the manner in which House Baratheon had perished was in the short term, yet another humiliation for House Targaryen, in the long term, it was greatly to their benefit. The next in line to Storm's End was Boremund's sister Jocelyn, the Princess-consort of Dragonstone. Her daughter Rhaenys would stand to inherit both the Iron Throne and the Stormlands, greatly increasing the power of House Targaryen. It is no surprise then that despite their divisions with regards to House Velaryon, the Targaryens moved immediately to secure the Stormlands for Jocelyn. Years of work would then begin preparing the region for its eventual incorporation into the Crownlands.

Not to mention, in 96 AC, years of Targaryen planning finally bore fruit with the relocation of the Faith and the Order of Maesters to King's Landing. Though the Great Sept of Jaehaerys had finished construction by 94 AC, it was only in 96 AC that the High Septon and the Most Devout agreed to relocate the seat of the Faith from the Starry Sept in Oldtown to the Great Sept in King's Landing. Maegelle, once a princess of House Targaryen, had governed the Great Sept as its Most Devout during those intermediate two years and had been crucial in convincing her fellow clergy and religious of the move. Similarly, Vaegon Targaryen, Jaehaerys' third son, used his authority as the chosen Seneschal of the Maesters in 96 AC, to authorize the move of the order's headquarters to the Citadel in King's Landing, called the King's Citadel, by some.

The move of the two great institutions to King's Landing sent shockwaves throughout much of Westeros, especially in House Hightower, which had been abandoned by its long-time associates. It is a testament to Jaehaerys' skills as the Conciliator that this perhaps ruffled less feathers than it should have, and certainly both the Faith and the Maesters enjoyed the royal patronage they now received greatly.

Furthermore, House Targaryen was fortunate that, Jaehaerys, though undoubtedly foolish with regards to his handling of the Velaryons, still managed to prove why he was called the Wise in regards to the marriages of his Targaryen grandchildren. By his arrangement, Princess Rhaenys, the only child of his eldest son was wed to Prince Viserys, the elder son of Jaehaerys' second son, Prince Baelon. The two married in 93 AC and would have two children together.

Aegon, the elder, born in 94 AC, was the undisputed heir to the Iron Throne by every law, custom, and precedent in Westeros. He united the claims of his parents, and the lines of Prince Aemon and Prince Baelon would forever be mingled in his person. Furthermore, he was also the heir of the Stormlands after his mother. The future looked bright with Aegon II in line for the throne with such pedigree and inheritance and he had an exceedingly kingly dragon for his reign. Sunfyre the Golden, an egg laid in his cradle that had hatched for the young prince.

Rhaenys and Viserys' younger child was their daughter Rhaenyra, born in 97 AC. Rhaenyra was an exceptionally beautiful child and grew into an even more beautiful woman, some even dared to compare her to her infamous great aunt Viserra. By the time she was seven, the girl was hailed as the Realm's Delight. As the only daughter of the future Queen and King consort however, she was rather spoilt and tempestuous. Like her elder brother, Rhaenyra too was a dragonrider, having been given the egg that would become the dragon Seasmoke in her cradle.

Rhaenys and Viserys were not the only Targaryen pair to wed in the tenth decade after Aegon's Conquest. Viserys' younger brother Daemon, who was considered quite the rogue by many, married his aunt Gael, the youngest of Jaehaerys' daughters. Shortly after the marriage, Princess Gael claimed the dragon Syrax from Dragonstone.

Though custom dictated that only the male line grandchildren of the monarch should have princely titles, Jaehaerys elected to extend princely titles to his grandchildren by Gael, since their father was his direct male descendant. Daemon and Gael had four children together, Baela and Rhaena, identical twin daughters born in 97 AC and of age with Rhaenyra, Helaena, born in 99 AC, and finally their son Jaehaerys, called the Younger by some, born in 101 AC.

While Jaehaerys the Elder forbade that any of Gael's daughters be given dragons until their marriages were decided, his namesake was given an egg in the cradle that would later hatch and be named Tyraxes. In the Dragonpit however, the eggs that some said could have gone to his older sisters hatched and were named Morning, Moondancer, and Stormcloud.

Any student of history can tell you why it is important that these six young Targaryens are studied in such great detail, but to the uneducated, it is primarily because of the role these six played in the events to come, especially in their interactions with the four children of Corlys and Viserra Velaryon.

Shortly after the Velaryons' return to Driftmark in 100 AC, members of House Targaryen and House Velaryon would meet face to face for the first time in over nine years at a dinner on Dragonstone. Present at that meeting were Queen Alysanne, Princes Baelon and Viserys, Princesses Alyssa and Rhaenys, and the young Prince Aegon and Princess Rhaenyra. Corlys, Viserra, and their four children were all in attendance.

The purpose of the meeting was to the sow the seeds such that an attempt at reconciling the two houses might be made in the future. The estranged family members built up their rapport further, making amends, and working to heal old wounds, while trying to ensure that the feuds of the older generations were not passed down to the younger children, who mingled uncaring of such matters.

In the nine years following that first meeting, Corlys and Viserra worked extensively on a number of important matters. They continued rebuilding Driftmark and their alliances and trade in Westeros as far as possible, they also strengthened their rapport with Queen Alysanne, Princess Alyssa, and Princes Aemon and Baelon. Furthermore, they built a working relationship with Princess Rhaenys and Prince Viserys, and their children befriended each other over the course of many meetings and experiences together during those nine years.

Much like the six Targaryen children, the four Velaryon children would play a significant role in events to come, with each of Corlys and Viserra's children having a notable personality and key role in history.

Daeron, the youngest, was at first the baby of the family, but perhaps seeking to disprove that, he grew up to be bold, adventurous, and daring. After one reckless adventure too many, his father jested that he should be called Daeron the 'Daring', and the epithet soon spread to the people of Driftmark, and then beyond to Tyrosh and Westeros.

Unlike his elder brothers, who primarily favoured the sword and axe, Daeron was a most excellent jouster and came to favour the spear even when on foot, though he trained with the sword nonetheless as his secondary weapon. He dedicated himself to his training, hoping to impress his father enough to be granted Aeglos, the Valyrian steel spear his parents had taken from New Ghis years ago, once he was knighted.

Close in age to Prince Aegon, with their namedays being but a few months apart, Daeron and Aegon became fast friends from the moment they first met at the age of six. Soon they were as close as brothers, with some even wondering if Daeron was closer to Aegon, his best friend, than to his elder twin brothers five years his senior. They often raced together on their dragons or had adventures exploring Driftmark and Dragonstone as children. They also took to challenging each other in the training yard, pitting sword against spear, and strengthening both their skills and their brotherly bond.

Laena was close to Aegon as well, much to the pleasure of her parents who hoped for a betrothal between the two. Only two years the senior of her younger brother and cousin, the three would form a trio of adventurous friends in their childhood, one which history tells us would eventually blossom into something more for Laena and Aegon.

Laena was exceptionally dear to her father, who lavished great gifts and affection on her, but she was very much her mother's daughter. Like her mother Viserra, there are often said to be two sides to Laena Velaryon.

As her mother was the Sea Dragon, Laena was Battleborn. By the time she was seven and ten in 109 AC, Laena Velaryon was known to be perseverant, fierce, adventurous, and strong-willed, befitting her first epithet. Though she was not trained formally in swordsmanship, the young Laena always carried the Valyrian steel dagger that she had been gifted and was trained in its use.

She was also an avid falconer, loving to raise and train birds of prey, and called her dragon Shrykos, whom she loved dearly, to be the largest and dearest of her 'birds'. She enjoyed riding greatly, and would spend many a morning or evening riding her horse in the woods of Driftmark or racing in the skies above on her dragon alongside her siblings and Prince Aegon.

Laena was also said to have inherited her mother's great beauty, kindness, and at least some of her vainness. She was said to be the Seastar's spitting image, and was exceptionally ladylike when she wished to be. She enjoyed wearing all manners of expensive and complex dresses and jewelry, and very much reaped the fruits of her family's wealth. Ever since she was a girl, her exceptional beauty had seen her be called the Pearl of Tyrosh, and the people of Driftmark, proud and defiant of the Targaryens to the end, called her Driftmark's Delight, in opposition to Rhaenyra. Last but not least, her kindness and general light-hearted and charming demeanor had seen her named Laena the Lovely by many.

Jacaerys and Lucerys were rarely far from each other's company. In their boyhood, they were thick as thieves, insisting on wearing the same clothes and styling their hair the same way. They would often mischievously exploit their identical appearances to prank and confuse others by pretending to be their twin and they were on occasion said to finish each other's sentences.

This boyhood mischief would eventually fade away however. By 109 AC, the twins were twenty years old, men grown with all the expectations that manhood came with. They took to dressing and styling themselves differently in order to be distinguished from the other. Both were knighted at the age of seven and ten and their father gifted them the two Valyrian steel swords taken from New Ghis years earlier.

The younger, Lucerys, was often called the Loyal, for he was fiercely dedicated to his parents and siblings and devoted to his house. As a token of his fidelity and faithfulness, he named the sword bequeathed to him by his father, Allegiance.

Jacaerys on the other hand, named his sword Seafang. The eldest of the Velaryon siblings has quite the interesting tale. Unlike Daring Daeron, or Lovely Laena, and Loyal Lucerys, Jacaerys had not acquired any common name or epithet by 109 AC. He was known primarily as the heir of the Sea Snake and the Sea Dragon, and the expectations of that position weighed heavily on him, expectations from his parents, his siblings, and everyone else, but most importantly his own expectations of himself.

If we would, rather inappropriately, reduce the siblings' complex and multifaceted personalities to a single defining trait, then Lucerys would be loyal, Laena would be a fierce beauty, and Daeron would be daring. Yet for Jacaerys? His single most defining trait was his ambition. Deep in his heart, Jacaerys longed to prove that he was worthy to succeed his parents as the Lord of the Tides and Archon of Tyrosh, worthy to carry and continue the legacy of House Velaryon. Jacaerys, who had grown up in the shadow of his parents and been compared to them all his life, sought to not only match their accomplishments, but surpass them.

Perhaps the road to some of those ambitions being fulfilled truly began in 109 AC. Many things of note happened that year. As it dawned, Balerion the Black Dread finally died of old age. The bold whispered to each other that the era of Targaryen dominance had symbolically ended now that the largest dragon had died and House Velaryon now possessed five dragons. Of those five, Dreamfyre was almost the size of the next largest dragon, Vhagar, and her four offspring, Tessarion, Morghul, Shrykos, and Terrax, were each at least a third the size of Vhagar in 109 AC.

Only a few months after Balerion died, a letter arrived on Driftmark from the Red Keep. It was sent by Prince Aemon of Dragonstone, Hand of the King, Heir and now Regent of the Iron Throne. The letter was a royal summons undoing the decree that had banished the Velaryons from court. King Jaehaerys had been sickening and deteriorating for almost a year and now that he was on his deathbed he had summoned his whole family to meet with him, one last time. The game of thrones would soon change forever.