House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

What followed was pure debate, fighting, and threats. The commoners, who thought of the nobles as educated and gracious beings, now saw them showing themselves to be completely the opposite of what they expected. They shouted at each other as if at any common fair.

Threats and shouts, as well as the sound of swords being drawn, rang out many times.

Originally, since Maekar was a legitimized bastard, he should have been denied his claim, but, since there were many votes and no one dared call Maekar a bastard before the king, his claim was approved quickly.

After all, no one was foolish enough to call Maekar unworthy before the king. It was the same as asking for his tongue to be cut. Seen this way, Jaehaerys’s unexpected arrival at Harrenhal was something good for Maekar, sparing him a lot of debate.

The discussions did not end on the first day; they extended over many others. The fights became more constant; there was even blood spilled. In the end, the council met for thirteen days and discussed fifteen claims. Ten lesser claims were quickly dismissed.

In subsequent deliberations, Archmaester Vaegon was passed over because of his vows, and Princess Rhaenys and her daughter Laena were passed over because of their sex. The assembled lords then focused on three main candidates: Prince Viserys Targaryen, Prince Maekar and Rhaenys’s son, Laenor Velaryon.

Primogeniture favored Laenor, since his mother, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, was the daughter of Prince Aemon Targaryen, who had been King Jaehaerys’s eldest living son.

However, the closeness of being Baelon’s son favored Viserys, who, in addition, had been the last Targaryen prince to ride the dragon Balerion before the dragon’s death in 94 AC. On the other hand, Laenor had recently claimed his own dragon, Seasmoke.

The ages of the claimants were also mentioned during the discussions.

Prince Viserys was a man of twenty-four who already had a daughter who could succeed him on the throne, while Laenor was a boy of seven.

However, Laenor’s great advantage over Viserys was being the son of Lord Corlys Velaryon, the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms. Corlys’s fame, reputation, and wealth contributed greatly to supporting Laenor’s claim.

In the end, the lords of the realm considered it more important that the male line take precedence over the female line.

Rhaenys and Alysanne were completely indifferent. It was an outcome both had expected for a long time. Because of this, neither of them was particularly surprised, although Rhaenys was upset by the betrayal that happened to her.

The Stormlands’ betrayal was a blow to Rhaenys, who thought she had at least their support, even if minimal. In the end, her son was chosen to stand in her place.

Sometimes, while growing up, Rhaenys wondered if having a penis was really something so amazing that it made men feel like owners of the world.

Corlys held his wife’s hand firmly, but, unlike Rhaenys’s indifference, he appeared to be happy. Although his wife’s claim had been denied, their son had succeeded! This was already an extraordinary gain, especially since his son was seven years old and would need a regency.

Seeing the chance of his blood sitting on the Iron Throne made his blood boil like never before. Every part of his body screamed with excitement.

Rhaenys noticed this and let out a sigh. The conversation she had with Daemon in Maidenpool had already shown that her son and daughter would never sit on the Iron Throne. This was because their surname was Velaryon. Only a Targaryen should sit on the Iron Throne.

While Corlys was in ecstasy over the news, two pairs of eyes stared at Corlys with sarcasm and contempt; these were Jaehaerys and Maekar himself.

Jaehaerys would never accept a Velaryon sitting on the Iron Throne; he would rather give the throne to Maekar than to Laenor. Maekar, at least, was a Targaryen in blood and in heart. A proud dragon, not a sea serpent disguised as a dragon.

If Laenor truly won, Jaehaerys would not care about the damage to his own reputation and would cancel the Great Council without thinking twice. At the same time, the news that Laenor had just claimed a dragon made the king’s gaze grow ever colder and more dangerous.

If Rhaenys had dared to give a dragon egg to her son, she would probably give one to her daughter too; this had already crossed a dangerous line in Jaehaerys’s mind. His gaze toward his granddaughter, daughter of the son he had loved most, became increasingly indifferent and dangerous.

Jaehaerys only wanted to pass on the throne peacefully, without any turmoil in the change of rule, just as had happened with Aenys I Targaryen, his father, but no one seemed to want peace.

Maekar, on the other hand, looked at Corlys with disdain. The greater the height, the greater the fall. He was eager to see the sea snake fall. Would he be furious or would he cry like a child who lost his toy?

"He looks like a peacock showing off his feathers." Maekar remarked with a smile. "Little does he know that Jaehaerys would rather burn this castle again than pass the throne to someone with the name Velaryon."

"He wouldn’t burn Harrenhal; he would burn Driftmark." Gael gently corrected Maekar. She did not think her father would burn Harrenhal; this castle was essential for controlling the flow of the war since it was almost at the center of the continent.

"Maybe for Corlys, burning Driftmark would be worse than the king refusing Laenor as heir." Maekar said with a laugh. Corlys was the proudest man anyone could meet; perhaps someone might even mistake him for a king with such arrogance.

"He would definitely hate it." Mara spoke at this exact moment; her smile could not have been bigger at this moment. "I heard the Sea Snake loves that castle more than his own wife. Imagine being less attractive than a castle of cold, damp stones."

"However, instead of wanting to kill Corlys, he seems to want to kill Rhaenys." Maekar remarked, seeing the king’s gaze fixed on Rhaenys. Even he had to admit, that look was damn frightening.

"Laenor claimed a dragon named Seasmoke, which hatched from an egg laid by Meleys." Gael said in a worried tone.

The reason she was worried was not about Rhaenys or Laenor; it was about her own not-yet-born sons and daughters. If Jaehaerys did not accept Laenor, he would not accept her children having dragons either.

Was a Targaryen truly a Targaryen without a dragon?

Fortunately, Maekar had received Harrenhal and had not changed his surname, or he would truly be in the same situation as Rhaenys and Laenor.

House Targaryen of Harrenhal was a cadet branch of House Targaryen of King’s Landing. Essentially they were the same thing, especially in this generation, in which Gael was Jaehaerys’s daughter and Maekar was Jaehaerys’s grandson. So there was no strong separatism. Although in the future it might not be so.

Maekar showed a calm look and looked at Corlys with a smile. If Jaehaerys had not been incapacitated from ruling as in the original history, Laenor would probably have died in a mysterious accident, and his dragon would have gone wild.

He himself shared Jaehaerys’s caution. Dragons should belong only to the Targaryens and no one else.

Of course, if there were a way to control other riders’ dragons, Maekar would not mind letting the Targaryen line claim dragons. He even thought about creating an organization similar to the one in the Eragon universe.

Unfortunately, Maekar could not control other people’s dragons or even sever the bond between Rider and Dragon. Without that weapon of coercion, it was a joke to try to control other Dragonriders.

This is why Jaehaerys and Maekar did not want other branches of House Targaryen to have dragons. They had no way to guarantee the loyalty of other riders, even within House Targaryen itself, much less of strangers.

"Do you think he will kill the boy?" Mara asked with a cold smile. After getting to know Jaehaerys, she did not doubt at all that the old king was capable of it. That old man was frightening; he would be capable of killing, even if it were his own great grandson.

"Probably not right now," Maekar said in an uncertain tone. Chronologically, Jaehaerys would start to fall ill this year and would get even worse in the following years and would finally die in 103. However, since his arrival had changed some things, perhaps Jaehaerys would kill Laenor.

"Let’s not talk about killing a child." Perhaps because she was pregnant, Gael said in a sad tone.

Maekar nodded and looked at the man in purple robes beside Daemon. It was Viserys. He had arrived a week earlier along with the entire Kingsguard and members of the Small Council.

He looked more nervous and sweaty, which was not really a surprise. It was a stressful occasion.

’Viserys, you should just be a carefree lord throwing your parties. You are a good man, but I want the throne and you want it too.’ Maekar thought with a calm look.

In the end, everyone had their own goals.

------------

Read the advanced Chapters on my Patreon!

/GOTSW

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard