269 years after the Conquest.
Lord Denys stood on the battlements of Maidenpool, hearing with his own ears the death knell of House Darklyn.
In the distant past, the mighty House Darklyn had boasted seven White Knights; now, it would be destroyed by his hand. He was too young, and too hungry for glory.
A wave of clamor swept over Lord Denys. Outside the walls, he had witnessed his good-father and Master-at-Arms, Ser Symond, cleaved in two by Rhaegar; inside the castle, Crown Prince Aerys had been smuggled out of the dungeons by Ser Barristan.
Rhaegar gazed at the Darklyn banner hanging above the gates; the defenders' footsteps faltered amidst the growing noise.
After Ser Symond departed, Barristan had swept through the enemy like bamboo splitting before a blade—first stealing horses inside the castle, then storming the Maidenpool walls. Amidst blaring horns and the desperate gazes of soldiers, Barristan brought Crown Prince Aerys out safely.
Longbowmen rallied to Rhaegar. The Dragonbone Longbow he drew never missed its mark; its arrows flew farther and struck with greater power, clearing a path for Ser Barristan. Powerful, but prohibitively expensive—few armies could afford such firepower.
Under banners unfurled in anger, the Royal Army of King's Landing marched on Maidenpool, eager to vent their fury.
"Your Grace, the mission is accomplished!" Ser Barristan announced. With several arrows sticking out of his back, he escorted Crown Prince Aerys to Rhaegar—a display of bravery that commanded awe.
"Rhaegar, is that you?" Crown Prince Aerys rubbed his eyes, half-believing this was all a dream. He saw his son bathed in blood, holding a massive bow—a reaper harvesting human lives.
"Father, I am deeply sorry for the suffering you endured!" Rhaegar said, bowing to the Crown Prince.
"It matters not. You came just in time—I owe you one. They only stripped me of my royal robes; they dared not touch me otherwise. A few more days, and I would have been sleeping with rats." Aerys flushed, joking, but inwardly he wondered: When did Rhaegar become so formidable? Has this Prince finally provoked the dragon?
Rhaegar exhaled; Aerys sounded calm and clear-headed, merely thinned by hunger. House Darklyn had tried to intimidate the Prince and killed many guards, but that was all.
Speed is the soul of war; Rhaegar's army had breached the city in just a few days, avoiding a long siege. Had the siege dragged on, the Darklyns might have turned truly vicious.
"Once the city falls, let the woman from Myr and the Hollards pay for touching my coat and mocking my beard!" Crown Prince Aerys roared.
Rhaegar agreed. He escorted his father and Ser Barristan to the camp to rest, while the assault continued.
The Iron Throne had summoned the Eagle Guard, the Red Keep garrison, House Lannister, House Baratheon, and soldiers from Rosby; Lord Denys's schemes and tricks would make Maidenpool flow with rivers of blood.
However, the war ended with an anticlimax. Seeing his Master-at-Arms dead and the Crown Prince rescued, Lord Denys surrendered immediately—a result that left everyone stunned.
When the masters entered the city, Rhaegar walked at the forefront with Lord Ormund and Lord Tywin.
Maidenpool was once a beautiful town with cobblestone streets by the harbor, but now it reeked of blood and fear.
Rhaegar saw Lord Denys, stripped of his cloak and ornaments, kneeling on the ground.
"Cuff him!" Lord Ormund ordered. Seeing Denys's trembling pale face, he understood the destruction House Darklyn had brought upon itself—plain and simple treason.
"Shackle every Darklyn and Hollard and bring them to the square," Rhaegar added; Lord Ormund agreed.
In front of the brownstone castle of House Darklyn, four lords presided over the trial of House Darklyn and their in-laws, House Hollard.
"By order of Jaehaerys II of House Targaryen, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm: These treacherous traitors violated their sacred oaths of fealty, conspired to deceive and imprison Crown Prince Aerys, slaughtered noble White Knights and loyal guards, and defiled the Iron Throne and House Targaryen. Therefore, I announce the King's holy judgment: All traitors are guilty of high treason, sentenced to death, stripped of all titles and honors, and their lands and castles confiscated." Rhaegar's voice was cold as steel, every word striking Lord Denys's heart like a heavy hammer.
Lord Ormund had chosen Rhaegar to pronounce the doom, letting the majesty of the Iron Throne shine clearly.
House Darklyn and their kin huddled together; their wails and cries were useless.
They had poked the dragon, and now they were consumed by it.
The crowd watched Prince Rhaegar standing in the square, holding the scroll that summoned the Stranger.
Silver-haired and handsome, so young, yet this Prince declared the end of House Darklyn. He seemed like the Executioner of Maidenpool: he had killed three knights with his own hands and now coldly read the death list. The soldiers both worshipped and feared him, as if returning to the days of armies that made blood flow like rivers.
Finishing the scroll, Rhaegar stood on the makeshift platform, looking over the execution ground. Blood was part of this era; only by becoming stronger and standing above others could one survive.
Lord Rosby and Lord Stokeworth witnessed this bloody scene; Lord Denys's fate was a painful lesson for them all.
The execution was overseen by four lords: Hand of the King Lord Ormund Baratheon of Storm's End; Prince of Dragonstone and Crown Prince Aerys; Master of Coin Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock; and the future of the realm, the Spear-Breaker, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen.
The executioners stepped forward, dispatching the condemned one by one. Everyone involved in the Darklyn rebellion, without exception, lost their lives.
The most tragic fate befell Lord Denys's mistress, Serala of Myr, the Lace Serpent. The Crown Prince hated her; he ordered her tongue and ears cut off, then had her burned alive.
The residents of Maidenpool watched as the pool of blood expanded. Perhaps they still loved Lord Denys, or at least cherished the glory of House Darklyn, but they also understood that his pride and vanity had dragged them all into a desperate situation. So, they threw stones at the Lace Serpent, pouring their hatred upon her.
Only one boy was spared: Dontos Hollard, who would become a fool in King's Landing, saved by the pleas of Ser Barristan. Crown Prince Aerys could not refuse his savior; Rhaegar suggested sending the boy to Harvest Hall, the seat of House Selmy, for letting him stay in King's Landing would be throwing him into a vortex.
The knights split into two groups: one to occupy Maidenpool, the other to march on the Hollard lands—seizing the territory, razing the castles, and burning every village.
Rhaegar gazed at the ruins of the Hollard castle. The people were dead, but the land remained.
He envisioned building a high tower here for dragons to rest and soar.
The Crownlands north of King's Landing had few mountains, and dragons languished in the city.
Rosby, Stokeworth, and Maidenpool were all close to King's Landing, vassal towns of the capital.
In the days of Old Valyria, dragons nested in volcanic craters or towering black towers, not underground pits.
Alas, the black walls and magnificent boulevards—miracles of Valyrian craftsmanship—were long gone. If these Dragon Towers could be rebuilt, they would become new lairs for the dragons.
Rhaegar needed to acquire the secret of the black walls, then slowly build Dragon Towers in King's Landing, Maidenpool, or wherever conquest might reach.
In Volantis, remnants of the majestic Black Wall still stood.
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