Prince Aegon the Dragon raised the banner of rebellion, and news of his defiance against the royal court spread like a storm, shattering the fragile peace that had only just returned to Westeros.
...
In the east, within the walls of Storm's End, Prince Jaehaerys—who had long waited in silence—sensed that the moment had come. He moved decisively.
He raised high the banner of human justice and, rallying the people of Storm's End, proclaimed to all of Westeros: under his rule, neither demons nor the Awakened would find refuge. These abominations were the enemies of all mankind and must be eradicated completely.
Maegor's madness in burning the Sept of the Seven had already sparked outrage across the realm. Many lords stood firmly opposed to this king—now consumed by lunacy—continuing to cling to the throne.
Amid the turmoil, Jaehaerys, with his charisma and his ideals, won the loyalty of many lesser houses. His doctrine of human supremacy struck a deep chord in the hearts of countless Westerosi.
For more than a decade, the crown's reckless experiments with demons had driven the realm into misery. Countless villages were swallowed by fear, their folk living in constant dread.
And yet, the terrifying strength of dragon kin drew the devotion of those who worshipped power.
Great houses such as the Boltons poured vast resources into dragon kin research at the New Citadel, hoping to seize this power for themselves. Their example spurred others, and soon the study of dragon kin became a frenzy among the nobility.
Though the feudal order of Westeros was built on justice and oaths, the sudden growth of such powers threatened to upend the stability of rule.
Across the Seven Duchies, every great lord secretly backed his own maesters in the New Citadel, striving to cultivate dragon kin bound to their houses.
In the wake of this mad pursuit, demons spread like wildfire across the land, leaving the common folk to suffer bitterly.
Against this backdrop, Jaehaerys's message of human supremacy was like a ray of dawn, igniting hope for peace and safety.
Knights and lesser nobles rallied eagerly to his cause.
Jaehaerys himself embodied the virtues they admired: skilled in both lance and bow, his talents in mounted combat were unmatched. Decisive and keen-minded, he had already won the respect of many great lords.
People began to believe this prince might be the one to lead them out of the shadow of monsters, and restore peace and prosperity to Westeros.
...
Yet at first, Jaehaerys faced the same dilemma as Aegon the Uncrowned.
On this continent, dragons remained the deciding factor in war. Maegor's court commanded a prime-aged Dragon whose strength alone made the eastern dukes hesitate to side with Jaehaerys.
For Jaehaerys commanded only two young dragons—clearly at a disadvantage.
But after the Battle of the Gods Eye, fate shifted.
In the brutal clash with Balerion, Maegor's Dragon, the Cannibal, had been left gravely wounded and unfit for battle.
This sudden change struck like a thunderclap, breaking the balance of power. Many Targaryen nobles abandoned Maegor and turned to Jaehaerys, swelling his ranks.
By contrast, Aegon the Dragon Prince, though of the king's own blood, won little support when he raised his rebellion. Few lords recognized his cause.
...
At the headwaters of the Mander, Aegon marched his host toward King's Landing—only to find himself face-to-face with Jaehaerys's uprising army.
In Jaehaerys's camp, tents stretched row upon row, the air heavy with tension.
Within the royal pavilion, brightly lit torches cast flickering shadows over gathered lords and commanders. A war council was underway.
"Another fortnight's march, and we shall reach King's Landing. Your Grace, my lord dukes, we must redouble our preparations. There must be no trace of complacency!"
The words came from an elderly man in gray robes, his copper chain marking him as a maester.
Lord Rogar Baratheon, grandson of Orys, the first Lord of Dorne, now served as Jaehaerys's field marshal.
"I have ordered all our warriors to stand ready," Rogar said in a deep voice. "But the Prince and the Queen must be ever vigilant. The cruel Maegor slew Prince Aegon the Uncrowned with ease. The power of an awakened dragonborn surpasses imagination. It is not a force one can resist lightly."
"I understand," Jaehaerys replied gravely. "Aly and I will stand together against our uncle."
His hand, clasping that of his sister-wife, had gone white from the force of his grip.
He understood well the deeper meaning in Rogar's warning.
What the duke feared was that, under Maegor's assault, Jaehaerys himself might awaken.
And should Jaehaerys—the champion of human justice—become a man-eating dragonborn, the realm would plunge into ruin beyond imagining.
Jaehaerys met Alysanne's gaze. Within their eyes burned the same unshakable resolve.
Alysanne sighed regretfully.
"It's a pity my niece Aerea cannot master Balerion. If she could, facing Maegor would be far easier for us."
"Prince, fresh intelligence has arrived."
At that moment, a voice called from outside the royal tent.
The gray-robed elder immediately rose, explaining to the others, "This is from the raven servants I trained. It must be news from King's Landing."
Jaehaerys gave a slight nod, his tone low and steady.
"Let them in."
The elder accepted the slip of parchment from the raven servant, carefully unrolling it. As he read, his brow grew tighter and tighter.
"Bennifer, what is it?" asked Jaehaerys's mother, Alyssa.
Bennifer shook his head slowly, his gaze fixed on the words as he read aloud in a grave tone.
"Maegor has seized the young noble sons from the Crownlands under the pretext of a commoner uprising. He then executed them with dragonfire to force their lords into sending troops in his support.
Under such brutality, all the lords near King's Landing have submitted. The city may soon gather an army of thirty thousand."
No sooner had he spoken than another voice announced from outside.
"Prince, the Dragon Prince Aegon and his Demon-Hunting Knights have arrived. They are waiting outside the camp," a guard reported as he entered.
The nobles in the tent exchanged glances, and then, almost in unison, their eyes turned to Jaehaerys at the head of the gathering.
Jaehaerys pondered for a moment, then lifted his gaze, calm and steady.
"Aegon was already my secret ally during his time in King's Landing. Like me, he is a staunch believer in human supremacy. Now that he has risen in rebellion against his father, he must share our ideals. He will surely be an ally we can fight beside."
"Prince, perhaps it would be wise to make clear the relationship between you and him," Lord Rogar cautioned. "Or at least discuss who will lead this great cause..."
Jaehaerys gave a slight nod, then rose, striding toward the exit with firm, measured steps.
"Whatever the case, let us meet him first."
Alysanne followed close behind her brother. In her eyes flickered a trace of unease. From past dealings with Aegon, she knew his ambition ran deep. A quiet fear stirred within her heart—that he might one day become Jaehaerys's rival.
...
Outside the camp, Aegon sat tall upon his warhorse. He had not waited long before he saw Jaehaerys approaching, surrounded by richly dressed nobles of noble bearing.
Aegon noticed the guarded looks in some of their eyes as they sized him up in silence.
In response, he swung down smoothly from his horse and strode directly toward Jaehaerys.
When they met, the two princes embraced warmly.
"How have you fared of late? I heard the Demon-Hunting Knights fought a fierce battle at Bitterbridge," Jaehaerys asked with clear concern.
Aegon gave a composed smile.
"All I have given for this land—including the sacrifices of the Demon-Hunting Knights—has been worth it."
Jaehaerys smiled in return, patting his shoulder lightly.
"Come. Let us speak in detail within the tent."
Lord Rogar studied the Targaryen prince closely. Aegon was a young man with a resolute face, clad in black leather, long silver hair falling to his shoulders, and the striking beauty of House Targaryen.
And, true to rumor, two distinct dragon horns jutted from his brow.
Alysanne tilted her head back and pointed toward the sky, where three dragons wheeled overhead.
"Ghidorah seems to have grown considerably—over five meters, at least. In barely half a year, its growth is astonishing, though it hatched only from a dragon egg found in the ruins of Valyria."
Following her gesture, Aegon lifted his gaze. High above, a dark-blue scaled dragon over ten meters long darted and played with Ghidorah, while a nimble silver hatchling circled nearby.
"It's a pity none are yet full-grown. Otherwise, settling the kingdom's chaos would be far easier," Aegon said with a sigh, his tone tinged with regret.
Jaehaerys caught the implication in his words and felt his heart lift. With renewed warmth, he invited Aegon into the royal pavilion.
The Demon-Hunting Knights who followed him had endured the bloody trial at Bitterbridge, battling hundreds of demon-awakened and surviving only as hardened elites. And Aegon himself had displayed terrifying strength during his trial by combat at the Red Keep.
Their arrival was nothing short of a powerful surge of confidence for Jaehaerys's cause.
...
Once Aegon was welcomed inside, the council resumed.
Lord Rogar could barely contain his excitement. Only moments before, he had steeled himself for a desperate fight to the death. Now, he suddenly felt as though victory was all but assured.
"In my view, we already hold the advantage," Rogar declared, standing beside the sand table. With a firm hand, he drew a straight line from Bitterbridge to King's Landing. "No need for complicated strategies—march directly and take the city!"
"I agree," the gray-robed elder said at once.
Jaehaerys gave a measured nod of approval.
"At last, the cruel reign of the Awakened will come to an end," Alysanne exclaimed, clapping her hands in relief.
Aegon, however, watched the lords in silence, his eyes thoughtful. After a moment, he spoke.
"You all seem to overlook one point. I am still Maegor's son. If we succeed in overthrowing him, what then of the throne? Who will sit upon it?"
Within the tent, unease rippled through the gathering. None dared meet Aegon's eyes. One by one, their gazes turned instead to Jaehaerys.
Jaehaerys thought for a moment before replying slowly.
"Aegon, your Demon-Hunting Knights bring unmatched strength, while my host forms the backbone of our armies. We are not bound by the ties of lord and bannerman.
If you lay claim to the throne, I will respect it. But until humanity's common enemy is destroyed, I hope we can stand united and fight as one."
Aegon gave a slight nod.
"You are right. All of us here share one goal—to restore the peace and security humans once knew more than a decade ago, and to see demons and the Awakened driven from our lands."
It was then that Lord Rogar offered a bold proposal.
"I have an idea. Prince Jaehaerys, Prince Aegon—why not settle this with a trial by combat? Whoever triumphs shall claim the throne. What say you?"
Inwardly, Rogar was confident. Aegon was but a dragonbound, and unawakened at that, while Jaehaerys was a true dragonborn.
Never in all the years since the rise of dragonborn and dragonbound had a dragonborn ever been bested by one bound to a dragon.
In Rogar's mind, Jaehaerys's victory was assured.
Alysanne's face showed a trace of hesitation.
Though Aegon's display at the trial by combat in the Red Keep had not yet reached the level of a true dragonborn, she couldn't shake an inexplicable sense that his strength was far beyond what ordinary dragon kin could measure.
Aegon gave a faint smile and said calmly,
"I have no objection, of course."
At the proposal, Jaehaerys felt a pang of unease at the thought of facing Aegon.
Almost by instinct, his eyes turned to his sister Alysanne. It was his habit: whenever uncertain, he would look to her for counsel—and she had never failed to offer sound advice.
Alysanne lifted her hand, her slender fingers lightly twining a lock of hair, twisting it twice to the left.
The gesture seemed casual, but it was a private signal between the two of them, carrying the meaning of refusal.
Jaehaerys caught her hint. His gaze swept over the lords who supported him, hesitation flickering across his face before he said slowly,
"I do not agree that the throne of House Targaryen should be decided by brute force alone. That was the very way Maegor and our father fought over the crown..."
Aegon looked at him in surprise.
He had not expected this cousin to show such quick wit—or such sharp instinct for looming danger. After all, with his body forged and hardened through the constant tempering of burning steel, Aegon's strength already far surpassed that of an ordinary dragonborn.
Had Jaehaerys awakened as dragonborn, the outcome of a duel might have been uncertain. But as he was now, unawakened, Aegon judged he would be hard-pressed to withstand even ten blows.