Rewriting Targaryen History

The first day of trials began beneath a silence King’s Landing had not known during the celebrations.

The bells remained quiet. The doors of the throne room opened at dawn, and those permitted to attend passed through three lines of gold cloaks before being directed towards raised benches constructed along the walls.

Lords occupied the foremost rows, while maesters, septons, merchants, landed knights, and representatives from the regions damaged during the war sat behind them. Scribes waited at narrow tables below the Iron Throne, surrounded by sealed records gathered from the Red Keep, Oldtown, Harrenhal, the Riverlands, and captured Green camps.

This would not be a single judgement delivered against everyone who had stood beneath Aegon’s banners. Vaeron had insisted that each prisoner face individual charges supported by written evidence and testimony. Men who planned the coronation could not be judged by the same measure as those who inherited commands after the fighting began. Military service, treason, conspiracy, murder, and deliberate deceit would remain separate offences, even when one accused man had committed several of them.

Rhaenyra entered after the court had settled. She wore the conqueror’s crown, though nothing else about her appearance suggested celebration. Her gown was black edged with deep crimson, without ornament beyond the dragon clasp at her throat.

Lorent Marbrand stood below the throne with the royal guard, while Vaeron took his place beside the table containing the formal charges. Grand Maester Orwyle sat among the witnesses rather than the council, prepared to answer questions concerning Viserys’s final illness and the days following his death.

I stood upon Rhaenyra’s right as Prince Consort and Master of War. Orphan-Maker rested at my side.

Five prisoners waited beyond the inner doors. Tyland Lannister, Lord Humfrey Lefford, Ser Curtis Crakehall, Jasper Wylde, and Larys Strong would be judged before the Hightowers were brought forward.

Their cases represented different parts of the rebellion, from inherited loyalty and military command to deliberate manipulation of law and rumour. The decisions made that day would show whether Rhaenyra intended to punish proven guilt or merely everyone unfortunate enough to have stood upon the losing side.

Vaeron stepped into the centre of the floor. "The court of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen is now convened. Each accused man will hear the charges against him and may answer them directly or through a representative approved by the crown. Testimony will be recorded, evidence examined, and judgement delivered according to the actions of the accused rather than solely the banners carried by his family."

His words were directed beyond the prisoners. The benches held men whose houses had changed allegiance, remained neutral, or declared for Rhaenyra only after her victory appeared likely. If family support alone became a capital offence, half the realm would leave the throne room believing reconciliation impossible.

Tyland Lannister was brought forward first. He had spent much of the war confined in King’s Landing. Captivity had made him thinner, but he entered with the dignity of a man who understood that open fear would invite others to decide his guilt before hearing the case. He wore plain crimson clothing without the golden lion upon his breast. His hands were not chained.

Vaeron read the accusation carefully. "Tyland Lannister stands accused of belonging to a house that declared for Aegon Targaryen, of providing political legitimacy to the rebellion through the name of House Lannister, and of failing to prevent his family from raising the strength of the Westerlands against the lawful queen."

Tyland listened without interruption. When Vaeron finished, he looked towards Rhaenyra.

"I will not deny that my house supported Aegon. My brother Jason marched an army into the Riverlands, and western men fought beneath his command. I did not command them, fund them, advise them, or send messages urging their campaign. I was already a prisoner when the western host began its march."

Vaeron opened a ledger recovered from the royal apartments after Rhaenyra secured the capital. "No letter written by you in support of Jason Lannister’s campaign has been found. There is also no evidence that you attempted to remove royal funds, hire foreign ships, conceal the treasury, or use your office to assist Aegon before your imprisonment."

A slight relief passed through Tyland’s expression. In the history I remembered, he had helped transfer the crown’s wealth and cripple Rhaenyra’s government before she ever entered the city. That had not happened here. He had been taken before the Greens could use his position, and the changed course of the war had denied him the opportunity to become the man the chronicles once condemned.

Rhaenyra rested one hand upon the arm of the throne. "Did you ever swear allegiance to Aegon after my father’s death?"

"No, Your Grace. I was urged to do so, but I refused while the capital remained uncertain. I will not pretend that refusal came from devotion to your cause. I believed declaring too early would endanger me without meaningfully helping my house. That caution may not be admirable, but it was not rebellion."

A murmur moved through the benches. Tyland had chosen honesty where a flattering lie might have protected his pride. Rhaenyra recognised it.

"Your brother’s army devastated parts of the Riverlands," she said. "Villages were burned, crops and livestock seized, and people killed during a campaign fought beneath your family’s banners."

"I know, Your Grace."

"House Lannister will therefore be required to pay reparations. Casterly Rock and the principal western houses that supported Jason’s march will provide coin, grain, livestock, timber, and labour to the damaged Riverlands. Representatives of Riverrun, the crown, and the Westerlands will assess the amount. Refusal will be treated as defiance of the peace."

Tyland inclined his head. "I will write to Casterly Rock and advise full compliance."

"The obligation belongs to your house. The guilt does not belong to you merely because you share its name." Rhaenyra allowed that distinction to settle before continuing. "No evidence has shown that Tyland Lannister committed treason, conspired in Aegon’s coronation, or directed the western campaign. He is pardoned and released from royal custody."

There was no cheering, but the reaction across the benches mattered more. Several lords leaned towards one another, speaking quietly. The queen had pardoned a Lannister in full view of river representatives whose lands had suffered beneath western soldiers.

Tyland bowed deeply. "I will remember that Your Grace judged what I did rather than what others expected me to have done."

"You should also remember that your innocence does not free your house from repairing what it destroyed."

"I understand."

He was escorted from the centre of the hall without chains.

Lord Humfrey Lefford followed. Unlike Tyland, Humfrey had commanded the western host. He had assumed authority after Jason’s death, continued the withdrawal towards the Golden Tooth, and remained beneath rebellious banners after Aegon fell at Honeyholt. Yet he had also prevented the defeated army from collapsing into a marauding ruin and surrendered once Aemond’s death removed the last possibility of meaningful resistance.

Vaeron read the charges without disguising their seriousness. "You commanded an army fighting against Queen Rhaenyra. You continued armed resistance after Jason Lannister’s death and withdrew towards the Westerlands while river settlements remained threatened by your soldiers. How do you answer these charges?"

Humfrey stood with his hands unbound. "I did not begin the western campaign, but I took command of it and accept responsibility for what happened while that command was mine. I continued the retreat because thousands of men depended upon someone bringing them home. When resistance no longer served any military or political purpose, I surrendered before another battle could kill them and the river host opposing us."

Lord Oscar Tully had sent testimony confirming the terms of surrender and Humfrey’s cooperation. Records from Stoney Sept showed that he provided lists of prisoners, identified missing companies, surrendered officers accused of crimes, and helped prevent western soldiers from resisting after their weapons were lowered.

Rhaenyra questioned him directly. "If Lord Jason had survived, would you have advised surrender?"

"Before Aegon and Aemond died, he would not have listened. After their deaths, I would have advised it even if the answer cost me my command or my life."

"You remained in arms after Aegon was killed."

"We did not receive reliable confirmation immediately. Once the news became certain, the army was already retreating through hostile country. Ordering thousands of men to drop their weapons without agreed terms would have exposed them to vengeance before the riverlords received instructions to restrain their forces."

Lord Oscar’s representative rose from the benches and confirmed that an uncontrolled surrender might have become a massacre. Many river soldiers had lost homes, friends, and relatives during the western advance. Without the Unsullied and Dread Legion separating both armies, anger could easily have overrun command.

Humfrey’s case was not one of innocence. It was responsibility complicated by restraint.

Rhaenyra sentenced him to remain as a royal hostage until the Westerlands renewed their oaths and began paying reparations. He would retain his titles and lands unless the western houses rejected the peace. No charge of murder or unlawful raiding had been proven against him personally.

"You will remain in comfortable confinement," Rhaenyra said. "When the western lords have submitted fully, and the first reparations reach the Riverlands, your release will be considered."

Humfrey bowed. "That judgement is fairer than many of my men expected."

"Your surrender saved lives. It does not erase the army you commanded, but it will be weighed beside it."

He left beneath guard, neither pardoned nor condemned as a traitor beyond redemption.

Ser Curtis Crakehall entered next in chains.

Unlike the men judged before him, Curtis had not commanded armies in the Riverlands or led a retreat beneath western banners. He had served in the Kingsguard during the reign of Viserys, wearing the white cloak while attaching his loyalty more closely to Otto and Alicent Hightower than to the king whose household he had sworn to protect. His case concerned an older betrayal, one committed before the crown was seized and before armies began marching.

Vaeron read the charges into the record.

"Ser Curtis Crakehall stands accused of violating his vows as a sworn brother of the Kingsguard, placing the private commands of Queen Alicent and Ser Otto Hightower above the authority of King Viserys, drawing steel against members of the royal family, and attempting to seize Prince Lucerys Targaryen so that his eye might be taken in retaliation for Prince Aemond’s injury. He is further accused of supporting Aegon’s coronation and continuing to serve the rebel court after the death of King Viserys."

A murmur passed through the throne room at the mention of Luke. My son was not present among the witnesses, but statements had been provided by men and women who saw the confrontation. They agreed upon the central facts. After Aemond lost his eye, Alicent demanded one of Lucerys’s eyes in return. Viserys refused to permit any retaliation, yet Curtis had still moved to seize the boy when Alicent’s anger overcame the king’s judgement.

He had been stopped before reaching Luke. Failure did not make the attempt harmless.

Curtis stood rigidly beneath the attention of the court. Captivity had taken the polish from his white armour, though he still carried himself like a man who believed the cloak protected the honour of everything done while wearing it.

"I obeyed the queen," he said. "Prince Aemond had been maimed, and those responsible were being protected from consequence. Queen Alicent commanded that justice be given when no one else would provide it."

Rhaenyra regarded him from the Iron Throne. "Alicent was queen consort. She possessed no authority to order the mutilation of my son, particularly after King Viserys had rejected her demand."

"She was the mother of the injured prince."

"She was also standing before the king. My father’s command should have ended the matter."

Curtis’s chains moved faintly as he drew himself straighter. "The king allowed affection to overcome justice. Prince Aemond lost an eye, while Prince Lucerys received no punishment equal to the harm done."

"You were not appointed to decide when the king’s judgement ceased to satisfy you," Vaeron said. "A Kingsguard knight protects the royal family. He does not seize a child so that an enraged mother may cut out his eye."

"I believed the queen’s children were in danger."

"Then you should have guarded them," Rhaenyra replied. "You chose instead to become the danger facing mine."

The statement settled heavily across the hall. Curtis attempted to frame the confrontation as obedience to Alicent rather than hostility towards Luke, but the distinction weakened his defence rather than strengthening it. A Kingsguard knight could not hide behind the order of a queen consort when that order directly contradicted the king and required violence against another prince of the blood.

Vaeron produced testimony concerning Curtis’s conduct after Viserys’s death. He had placed himself at Otto and Alicent’s disposal while Aegon’s supporters secured the Red Keep. He guarded chambers used by the conspirators, helped restrict movement through the royal apartments, and recognised Aegon after the unlawful coronation.

No evidence connected him to the planning of the coup, but he had enforced its results without questioning whether his vows belonged to the dead king’s named heir or to those who seized the capital first.

Curtis did not deny his loyalty. "I served the royal household as I understood it," he said. "Aegon was the true heir. My duty was to protect him against his enemies, and serve him once officially crowned."

"Your breach began before Aegon became a pretender," Rhaenyra said. "It began when you raised a hand against Lucerys despite my father’s command. The coronation merely gave you another master whose wishes suited the loyalties you had already chosen."

Curtis looked towards me briefly before returning his attention to the throne. "Prince Lucerys took Aemond’s eye. No one in this hall can deny it."

"No one is denying what happened," I said. "He was a frightened child in a struggle between children, and the king passed judgement upon the matter. You were a grown knight wearing a white cloak. You tried to drag a boy towards a woman openly demanding his mutilation. Do not place your choice beside his as though the responsibilities were equal."

The accusation concerning Luke was supported by enough witnesses that no uncertainty remained. The evidence of Curtis’s participation in Aegon’s escape was also clear. What required judgement was whether those acts demanded execution or whether the crown could offer a lesser sentence without diminishing the seriousness of his broken oath.

Rhaenyra allowed the silence to continue before speaking. "You swore to defend the king and every member of the royal household. Instead, you placed your sword at the service of Otto and Alicent Hightower whenever their wishes conflicted with my father’s authority. You attempted to seize my son for mutilation, then supported the seizure of the crown after Viserys died. A white cloak does not excuse those choices. It makes them worse."

Curtis’s expression remained controlled, though the certainty he carried into the hall had begun to weaken.

"The punishment for treason and the deliberate violation of your Kingsguard vows could be death," Rhaenyra continued. "I will offer you another path. You may surrender the white cloak, every title, inheritance, and honour attached to your name, then take the black and serve upon the Wall for the remainder of your life. If you refuse, you will be executed."

The throne room waited. Curtis looked towards the white cloak removed from him after his capture. It lay folded upon the evidence table beside the broken clasp bearing the Kingsguard sigil. Whatever pride he still possessed had been bound to that cloth for most of his adult life. Taking the black would mean admitting that the cloak had not made his actions lawful and that the order he obeyed at Driftmark had been a betrayal rather than service.

Death would preserve the argument. The Wall would leave him years to live without it.

At last, Curtis lowered his head. "I will take the black."

Rhaenyra’s voice remained steady. "Then you will depart beneath guard with the next group travelling north. You will never again wear the white cloak or claim the privileges of the Kingsguard. The oath you swear before the Wall will replace every allegiance that brought you before this court."

Ser Curtis Crakehall was led away in chains, leaving his folded cloak behind.

Jasper Wylde entered after him.

His offence differed from Curtis Crakehall’s. Curtis had broken the vows of the Kingsguard through open obedience to Alicent and Otto. Jasper had worked more carefully, using his position, legal knowledge, and access to the court to weaken Rhaenyra’s authority from within.

When Otto Hightower was imprisoned, Jasper became one of his most persistent agents. He questioned the legality of Otto’s confinement, encouraged sympathetic lords to demand his release, and carried messages between men who still regarded the former Hand as their true leader.

What began as an argument became conspiracy. Jasper sought ways to free Otto without the queen’s consent while spreading doubts about Rhaenyra’s right to command those who had served her father.

Vaeron read the charges into the record.

"Jasper Wylde stands accused of conspiring to secure the unlawful release of Otto Hightower from royal confinement, communicating with men acting against Queen Rhaenyra’s authority, spreading arguments intended to undermine her lawful succession, and continuing to assist the Hightower cause after Aegon and Aemond fled to Oldtown. He is further accused of recognising Ormund Hightower’s declaration of Aegon as king and encouraging resistance against the crown."

Jasper listened without visible discomfort. When Vaeron finished, he folded his hands before him. "Otto Hightower had served as Hand of the King for many years. His confinement occurred without a public trial, and questioning that imprisonment was not treason. It was concern for the lawful treatment of a great lord and former servant of the crown."

"You did more than question it," Vaeron replied. "You contacted men responsible for guarding him, sought support for his release, and discussed removing him from confinement regardless of the queen’s judgement."

"I believed his counsel was necessary to prevent the realm from descending into war."

"You attempted to free the man organising opposition to the queen in order to prevent opposition to the queen?"

A few quiet voices moved through the benches before the guards restored silence. Jasper remained composed. "Otto Hightower possessed influence over Alicent, Aegon, and Aemond. Had he been allowed to negotiate openly, the division within the royal family might have been resolved."

I had heard similar arguments throughout the war. Men claimed Otto alone could control the crisis while ignoring that he had spent years creating it.

Rhaenyra regarded Jasper from the throne. "Did Otto instruct you to seek his release?" Jasper hesitated. "That is not a difficult question," she continued. "Did you act upon his direction?"

"He made his wishes known."

"Through whom?"

"I cannot recall every servant who carried a message during those days."

"You remember the legal arguments contained within those messages but not the names of the people who brought them?"

"The Red Keep was confused after King Viserys’s death. Many conversations took place without formal record."

Vaeron opened a bundle of seized letters.

"Several records survived. One bears your seal and advises that Otto’s confinement had to be ended before the queen could force Aegon and Aemond to swear binding oaths. Another suggests that sympathetic guards might be persuaded to permit Otto access to the rookery. A third states that if lawful release proved impossible, other measures should be considered."

Jasper’s expression tightened. He had been too careful to write the word escape. He had not been careful enough to conceal what the sentence meant.

"I sought to restore communication," he said. "Keeping Otto isolated only strengthened the belief that the queen intended to rule through imprisonment."

"You were helping a captive organise against the crown," Vaeron replied. "You called it communication because conspiracy sounded less respectable."

Jasper turned his attention towards Rhaenyra. "Your Grace, Aegon had not yet been declared king when many of those letters were written. There was no rival court and no rebel army. Men were uncertain, frightened, and attempting to prevent the royal family from destroying itself. Applying treason to every effort at negotiation would make honest counsel impossible."

Rhaenyra did not answer immediately. That was Jasper’s strongest defence. The early days after Viserys’s death had been confused, and not every man who questioned an order had intended rebellion. Had Jasper merely argued for Otto to receive a hearing, his conduct might have remained within the bounds of lawful disagreement. He had crossed those bounds when he attempted to free him.

"You were permitted to question my decisions," Rhaenyra said. "You were permitted to argue that Otto should receive a hearing, offer terms, or even warn that his imprisonment might anger his supporters. You were not permitted to arrange his release behind my back."

"I never successfully released him."

"Failure does not make the conspiracy loyal."

Jasper drew a slow breath. "Otto remained imprisoned. Aegon and Aemond escaped without my assistance. Ormund’s declaration occurred in Oldtown, far beyond my power to command. I did not raise an army or carry a sword against you."

"No," Rhaenyra replied. "You attempted to weaken my authority from inside the capital so that the men who later raised those armies would possess greater freedom to act."

Vaeron presented testimony from clerks, guards, and lesser officials who had been approached by Jasper during Otto’s confinement. Some had been asked to carry messages. Others were encouraged to speak publicly against the queen’s treatment of the former Hand. One guard testified that Jasper promised protection if he allowed Otto access to visitors not approved by the crown.

After Aegon and Aemond reached Oldtown, Jasper continued defending their cause. He circulated the argument that Ormund possessed the right to proclaim Aegon king according to male inheritance and urged hesitant lords to delay recognising Rhaenyra until the dispute had been settled.

He had not created the Oldtown rebellion. He had tried to give it legitimacy before it achieved victory.

Jasper returned to the argument he trusted most. "Lord Ormund did not invent the question of succession. Many houses believed the male line possessed the stronger claim. Aegon was the eldest surviving son of King Viserys. Whatever declaration your father made, the customs of the realm remained uncertain."

"The realm’s customs did not prevent you from serving Viserys while he lived," Vaeron said. "You accepted his authority, his appointments, and the benefits of office. Only after his death did you decide his clearest command could be disregarded."

"A king cannot erase every tradition through preference."

"He did not need to erase every tradition. He named his heir, required the lords of the realm to recognise her, and maintained that decision until his death."

"Yet many lords followed Aegon."

"After he fled to Oldtown and was declared king by the lord protecting him," Rhaenyra said. "Ormund’s army gave the claim strength. Strength did not make it lawful."

Jasper’s gaze travelled across the assembled court. "History may judge that differently."

"History may do as it pleases. This court must judge what you did."

The distinction ended his effort to turn the trial into a debate over inheritance. Jasper had not been brought before the throne merely because he preferred male succession. He stood there because he used his royal office to assist Otto, attempted to undermine the queen from within her own government, and supported the rival court after Aegon’s flight to Oldtown.

Rhaenyra leaned slightly forward.

"You were trusted with authority under my father and allowed to retain your life and position after his death. You answered that restraint by working to free Otto Hightower, carrying his influence beyond his cell, and weakening the government you were bound to serve. When Aegon and Aemond fled, you did not withdraw from the conspiracy. You continued giving their cause the language of law."

Jasper remained silent.

"The punishment for treason is death," Rhaenyra continued. "However, you did not command soldiers, order killings, or take part in the escape of my brothers from the capital. I will therefore grant you the same choice given to Ser Curtis Crakehall. You may surrender every title, office, inheritance, and claim you possess and take the black. If you refuse, you will be executed."

Jasper glanced towards the doors through which Curtis had been taken. "The Wall is a distant place for a man of my years."

"The grave is nearer."

His mouth tightened at the answer. Whatever argument he might have offered next was defeated by the simplicity of the choice. At last, he lowered his head. "I will take the black."

"You will travel north under guard with Ser Curtis Crakehall," Rhaenyra said. "At the Wall, you may offer counsel to men whose duties leave less room for private conspiracy."

Jasper Wylde was led from the throne room in chains.

Larys Strong was brought forward last. He entered leaning upon his cane, dressed in dark clothing without the mockingbird badge he had once worn. His expression carried the same mild curiosity he displayed during council meetings, as though his trial were merely another conversation whose direction could be altered if he found the right secret.

The court understood him better now.

Larys had spent years turning rumour into influence. He placed suspicions between Alicent and Rhaenyra’s supporters, distributed fragments of truth without context, and ensured each faction feared what the other might be planning.

Testimony connected his informants to unlawful surveillance throughout the Red Keep, false reports concerning Rhaenyra’s intentions, and attempts to persuade uncertain lords that she planned to execute Alicent, Aegon, Aemond, Helaena, and their children once Viserys died.

Other accusations were darker.

Deaths and disappearances surrounded Larys’s rise, but the evidence remained incomplete. Witnesses who might have connected him directly to murder were dead, missing, or known only through secondhand accounts. Even in defeat, he had left the truth around him deliberately damaged.

Vaeron read only the charges that could be proven.

"You used your office to distribute false reports concerning the king and the royal family. You maintained informants within royal households without lawful authority. You passed information to Otto Hightower’s supporters during his confinement. Since your arrest, you have attempted to influence judgment by accusing others through claims you could not support."

Larys rested both hands upon his cane. "Information has no loyalty, my lord. It exists whether the crown approves of it or not."

"False information exists because someone creates it."

"Most rumours contain a truth that men find inconvenient."

Rhaenyra spoke before Vaeron could answer. "You have offered names since entering the Black Cells. Some belonged to men already dead. Others belonged to servants who possessed no influence over the war. Several of your accusations contradicted one another."

"Circumstances change, Your Grace. One man may confess differently depending upon who asks the question."

"You have mistaken contradiction for subtlety."

A faint smile touched Larys’s mouth. "The distinction often depends upon which account proves useful."

Watching him brought back every council meeting in which he offered just enough knowledge to destroy certainty without accepting responsibility for what followed. Execution would silence him, but it might also give his lies a final dignity. Men would spend years imagining what secrets died with him, allowing every unsupported claim to survive because it could no longer be questioned.

Rhaenyra chose a punishment that denied him that ending. "You have spent years placing poison into conversations while ensuring your own hands remained distant from the consequences," she said. "The court will not reward that distance with a swift death. You are sentenced to imprisonment for life in the Black Cells."

For the first time, Larys’s expression became uncertain. He had expected execution, exile, or another opportunity to bargain. Life beneath the Red Keep offered no audience, no influence, and no possibility of turning withheld knowledge into power.

"You will receive food, water, and necessary treatment," Rhaenyra continued. "You will hold no office, write no letters, and receive no visitors except the guards assigned to you. Your rumours will end because no one will remain to hear them."

Larys tightened his grip upon the cane. "A lifetime is a long sentence, Your Grace. Circumstances may change before it is completed."

"They will. You will hear very little about them."

The guards removed his cane before leading him away. The throne room remained silent after the doors closed.

Five cases had been heard. Tyland Lannister left pardoned, though his house would pay reparations for the destruction inflicted upon the Riverlands. Humfrey Lefford remained a royal hostage whose surrender had saved thousands of men.

Ser Curtis Crakehall and Jasper Wylde would travel north to exchange their broken loyalties for the black cloak. Larys Strong would spend the remainder of his life beneath the Red Keep, separated from the rumours through which he had once governed men more powerful than himself.

None had received the same judgement. That was the point.

Vaeron gathered the final parchments and turned towards the throne. "The court will adjourn until tomorrow morning. The next proceedings concern those accused of planning, directing, and sustaining the rebellion following the death of King Viserys."

The inner doors opened behind him. Gold cloaks entered first, preparing the route through which the next prisoners would be brought. The court shifted as every lord understood whose names remained.

Vaeron’s announcement carried through the hall. "At first light, Otto Hightower, Ormund Hightower, Hobert Hightower, and Ser Gwayne Hightower will stand trial before Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen."

The first judgements had shown that surrender, restraint, and individual innocence could earn mercy.

The Hightowers would now answer for creating the cause others had been punished for serving.