(280 AC)
Years had passed since the event that had come to be known as the 'Destruction of Duskendale' something that had deeply affected Daemon, he saw men, women and children all turned to ash and sludge while the King laughed.
After the destruction of Duskendale, Daemon was told to kneel and was knighted by the King he was also given the lands of the Darklyn family including the recently destroyed Duskendale. Daemon felt dirty and disgusted, to be knighted for such an event made him feel like less a knight and more a common bandit which was made worse by the fact he had received the family's lands in return. In one knight he had gone from a bastard squire to a Lord something people dream of and yet he couldn't help but feel disgusted.
However, he was not stupid enough to refuse a knighthood by the King himself after he just finished massacring a whole city full of people. He had been given the name Silver and formed his own House. Though he didn't plan to use this forever as he wasn't a bastard, using the Blackfyre name would be a death sentence no matter if he coveted the throne or not.
One solace he had found was in the company of the Queen, she had held him as he wept when he returned to Kings Landing. The Queen was the reason that he had not left Kings Landing as of yet, at 17 years of age he was more than old enough to get married but he chose not to. He didn't want to leave Rhaella, his love for the woman had only increased through the years and he refused to leave her behind to the machinations of a mad man.
The King had grown much worse since Duskendale if he was ill-tempered and prone to violence before, now was on a completely different level, if a man was accused of a crime then whether he committed it or not didn't matter a large majority of the time he would be killed regardless of the evidence, the King would use his flames to execute them, something Daemon had grown accustomed to over the years. He had kept protecting Rhaella by shifting the King's attention onto himself in subtle ways, and more often than not he was burned by the King, at one point his entire arms' skin had been burnt off. Had it not been for his aura, it would've left scarring and wouldn't have healed fully.
Speaking of his aura, through years of meditation it had changed, the quality of his aura was on another level to those around him having a rich golden tint to it, not only did it make his aura thicker and more robust but it increased the healing abilities when he used 'Suppression' it had allowed him to take the King's punishments over the years without any permanent repercussions.
Another reason he chose to stay for the moment was the friends he had made in Kings Landing, he had come to be very close with Arthur and Rhaegar with people even starting to call him 'Rhaegar's left hand' as they knew Arthur Dayne was his right. He was an interesting man who believed that a resurgence in magic was coming soon, he delved deep into prophecies and spent many sleepless nights along with Arthur and Daemon researching the Long Night. Daemon thought it to be doubtful, the terror of a second Long Night wasn't something he liked to think about, it is said that it is impossible to use aura around an Other, though for what reason no one knows, perhaps it is just myth.
Rhaegar had even invited him to stand by his side as he had gotten married, the beautiful Dornish Princess Elia Martell was his bride, and she was most certainly beautiful, with long curly dark hair that fell just above her waist and tanned skin with light brown eyes, she was an exotic beauty. However much to Daemon's confusion Rhaegar didn't seem to see it, though now that he thought about it Rhaegar didn't seem to see women the same way that he did. At first, he thought perhaps Rhaegar enjoyed the company of his own sex, but he didn't seem interested in that either. That had been proven by Jon Connington
In the end, he just had to accept that mayhaps the only love Rhaegar would have is his books and prophecies, though this made Daemon feel bad for Elia as she seemed to have joy at the fact she'd be marrying the Crown Prince. Disappointment and reality seemed to go hand in hand when you lived in Kings Landing, but Daemon would change that.
All these years he had not sat idle, he had trained and he had gotten stronger, though he had mostly tried to keep this a secret at first. But when he found that he needed help he went to Ser Barristan, he was glad to help him and even agreed to keep such things a secret. Though even then Daemon couldn't trust the old knight and eventually he started training alone though he had a much better idea of how to do it. He had gotten strong, very strong, he hadn't seen the man fight but he believed he could beat Ser Barristan and if he pushed himself to the limit he could beat the King.
But the King wasn't the only enemy he'd encounter if he fought, and he knew he couldn't fight both the King and any of his Kingsguard, or the Prince or even some of the lesser guards. The King stood at the top and Daemon now had the ability to cast him down, though he needed allies to do so. Rhaegar had confided in him that he had plans to take down his father, he was in the process of funding the biggest tourney that had ever taken place in Westeros. The Whents of Harrenhal would be hosting it and all the lords of the realm would be invited.
This is what gave Daemon pause, if Rhaegar planned to lead his rebellion then mayhaps he didn't need to do his own, Rhaegar would be a good king and Daemon wouldn't need to take a risk as he wasn't sure he could kill the King.
But given a few more years he would become the strongest.
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Daemon walked down the streets of Kings landing heading for the docks, it was the day Elia would return from Dorne and he was going to meet her, he initially wanted Rhaegar to come as well but the man refused as he had work to do. He didn't want Elia to return to no greeting so he decided he'd go regardless, Elia was a kind woman, someone who reminded him greatly of Rhaella, very few people are kind without expecting something in return and Daemon felt she deserved to be happy in her marriage, something that he struggled helping with.
As Daemon walked he was called out by the small folk whom he'd become acquainted with over the years, they all called him the 'Silver Knight' if they loved him, though it was mostly the women who called him that. The people who didn't like him called him the king bastard, which Daemon couldn't blame them for as he had grown he looked even more Targaryen than before. He was now over 6ft and heavily muscled from training his body, his silver-gold hair reached to his shoulders and he usually had it swept behind his ears, had they never met him before they'd assume he was a Targaryen prince.
Though Blackfyres and Targaryens aren't too distantly related, he hoped that once he told Rhaella and Rhaegar the truth they would accept him as family and not as an enemy. He smiled at the women who greeted him causing more than a few to blush profusely as their husbands or fathers looked angered by their reactions.
Daemon stopped at a stall in the street of flour, he looked over a selection of pastries "Give me the platter of lemon cakes, though cover them and put them in this basket" he asked politely as he handed the owner a basket he had been carrying, though he did it carefully as there was already a pitcher inside of it "Of course Ser knight, it's a pleasure to see you again" the owner said as he packed the food into the basket.
Daemon smiled and gave him a gold dragon, something way over what the cost would've been but he liked to help those who lived in the city, he received the income from the lands surrounding Duskendale, so needless to say he was quite rich as he didn't have any lavish tastes and mostly let the money sit there unused. He often visited the orphanages of Kings Landing to make sure they were well maintained and had enough supplies, though the biggest source of his reputation was with the whores of Kings Landing, not that he was a frequent visitor but he had once met a young girl when he was 15 name days, she was a few years younger than he was and her parents had died so she was forced to become a woman of the night to care for her younger brother.
Daemon felt that stroke a chord in his heart, she was in rough shape when he met her, she had numerous infections from men she had slept with to injuries she injured from men being too rough. One benefit of Daemon's aura quality increasing was it allowed his ability 'Poppy's embrace' to evolve. He could now heal through it though it would take a while and it couldn't be done on grievous injuries. Though Daemon wasn't naive enough to believe that he could save everyone from such a fate he still believed he could do his part and so at least once a week he would go around to those women and heal them of their injuries and infections through this eventually got bigger as the small folk learned of what he could do, so he healed those who asked and did so from dusk til dawn.
He walked down the streets of Kings Landing with a basket in hand, he smiled politely at the people he passed by, the guards however either scowled at him or looked at him fearfully. He wasn't surprised as he had run into the Gold cloaks quite often. He couldn't say that he cared too much about how they viewed him, most were corrupt and only interested in lining their own pockets with gold. His thoughts quickly turned away from such things and to the letter he had received from Lyanna. He had kept in contact with the girls constantly and she sent the letter to let him know how strong she had gotten and that she might even be able to give her brother Brandon a good fight.
Lysa had not slacked off either, though she trained herself completely differently than Lyanna or he did. She focused on her natural talent to go unnoticed and turned it into a very real ability though the specifics were never mentioned.
Daemon finally found himself on the docks and the smell of piss and shit from the city was washed away slightly by the salty sea air. Daemon believed he could see Elia's boat in the distance though he wasn't quite sure, Daemon had made it here before the formal escort had arrived with the wheelhouse so he took a seat on a barrel on one of the docks. He started playing around with his aura, activating it around his hand. One aspect of Aura he had trained diligently was the 'Alchemist Type' aura, though being a 'King Type' he wasn't that effective in that category. Though he didn't need to be the best he just needed to master what he could, and he did. His aura starts to shimmer as if the sun is reflecting off its surface, it then starts to turn blue and grows thicker, eventually his aura looks entirely like the water that was near him and his hand was engulfed in the transparent liquid.
He then lets the water pool into the centre of his fist before he shot it into the water next to him, by now he had mastered all of the other aura categories to the level he could, he tried to go further beyond at times but found himself hitting a ceiling. However he is once again drawn out of his thoughts when he sees the ship is now close by and the Princesses escort had just arrived, it seemed they had tried to speak to him but he ignored them.
He stands up and waits for the ship to dock ignoring the chattering of the guards and the servants who wait as well. Eventually, it docks and the ramp is laid down, he can't help but smile as the beautiful Princess of Dorne steps down onto the dock, she has tanned skin and long curly hair, and while she is quite skinny, her heavily pregnant belly makes her look a bit larger. Helping her down is her equally beautiful if not more so lady in waiting for Ashara Dayne, she was someone that Daemon liked, she was interesting and fiercely loyal to the princess.
Daemon steps towards them "I hope your trip went well Princess" he said in a clear voice. Elia looked up and smiled realising who it was, she hobbled over and hugged Daemon, though he was careful not to put any pressure on her belly.
(AN: So Princess Elia Martell has joined the story. I can already smell the comments coming, but tbh I don't really care. It is how it is. Anyway hope you enjoyed.)
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