Chapter 13: The Reign of Maegor II – A Fast-Pass Chronicle
King's Landing, 91 AC – 120 AC
Maegor II Targaryen ruled for nearly thirty years after Aenys's peaceful passing. His era was not one of grand innovation like his father's, but of iron consolidation, relentless expansion, and unyielding enforcement of the dragon's divine order. The realm grew richer, stronger, and more fanatically loyal—yet the cost was paid in blood whenever any dared question the god-king's will.
91–93 AC: The Iron Consolidation
Maegor wasted no time. He doubled the Bloody Dragons to 200,000, turning them into a professional standing army with barracks in every major city. Academy graduates replaced all remaining "soft" officials; dissenters vanished in the night. The Dragon Bank became the realm's central nervous system—loans to lords carried clauses requiring military service in times of war. Trade with Essos exploded: pure glass lit Braavosi manors, soap scented Lysene pleasure houses, printing presses churned Targaryen propaganda in a dozen languages. Smallfolk lived cleaner, healthier lives; plagues became rare. Maegor toured the Seven Kingdoms on Vhagar's Shadow, axe across his back, reminding every lord: "The dragon feeds you. The dragon judges you."
94–98 AC: The Essosi Wars and the Stepstones Campaign
Piracy in the Narrow Sea threatened trade. Maegor declared the Stepstones a royal protectorate. He led personally: Vhagar's Shadow strafed pirate fleets while Maegor stormed ashore with Bloody Dragons, axe cleaving through sellsword captains. Rhaegar negotiated surrender terms with surviving lords; Visenya the Younger burned holdouts from dragonback. By 96 AC the Stepstones flew the three-headed dragon banner. Braavos paid tribute rather than fight; Pentos and Myr signed vassal-like trade pacts. The Dragon Bank opened branches in every Free City, gold flowing west in tribute ships guarded by Targaryen privateers (former Ironborn reavers now sworn to the crown).
99–105 AC: The Northern Wall Wars and the Gift Expansion
Wildling raids resumed under new kings-beyond-the-Wall. Maegor flew north twice. In 100 AC he shattered a 20,000-strong host at Hardhome—Vhagar's Shadow's black flame turning snow red. In 103 AC he led a winter campaign beyond the Wall, Bloody Dragons marching through blizzards with heated armor (Academy-forged). Giants fell to Maegor's axe in single combat; mammoths burned under dragonfire. Thousands of wildlings surrendered, resettled in the expanded New Gift (doubled in size). The Night's Watch became a ceremonial order; real defense came from dragon patrols and Bloody Dragon garrisons at Eastwatch and Castle Black. The North prospered—southern grain, glass greenhouses, soap for sanitation. Lord Stark (Eddard, now ruling with violet-flecked eyes hidden under Stark dark hair) knelt deeper each year.
106–110 AC: The Dornish Renaissance and Internal Purges
Dorne, long simmering, saw a final uprising in 107 AC—old houses rejecting "dragon tithes." Maegor crushed it in months: Emberwing and Vhagar's Shadow burned rebel keeps; Bloody Dragons executed ringleaders in Sunspear's square. Afterward, he showed mercy—low taxes, Academy schools in every town, Dornish spices flooding southern markets. Prince Mors's heir married a Targaryen cousin; Dorne became the most loyal southern kingdom. At home, Maegor purged lingering Faith sympathizers—septons who whispered against incestuous unions vanished. The Faith Militant's memory was erased from texts; septs now displayed dragon icons beside seven-pointed stars.
111–115 AC: The Family Peak and Heir Ascensions
The Targaryen line reached its zenith. Maegor and Alyssa welcomed five more children (total twelve); Rhaegar and Visenya the Younger had eight. Aegon (Maegor's eldest son) claimed a massive black dragon, Stormrend, and led Bloody Dragon legions. Jaehaerys and Aemon (Rhaegar's twins) became prodigies—Jaehaerys a harpist and diplomat, Aemon a dragon-rider and tactician. Rhaenys (Rhaegar's daughter) wed a Velaryon lord, binding the fleets tighter. Maegor hosted the "Great Moot" in 114 AC—every lord swearing renewed fealty while dragons circled overhead. The realm's population swelled; cities grew; literacy reached 60% thanks to printing presses.
116–119 AC: The Final Campaigns and the Iron Peace
A coalition of Yi Ti warlords and Qartheen slavers attempted to seize the Summer Isles. Maegor sent Rhaegar and Aegon with a fleet of 200 ships and five dragons. The Summer Islanders bent the knee after one dragon strafing; Yi Ti paid indemnity. At home, Maegor crushed a minor Reach rebellion (lords chafing at bank interest rates)—Vhagar's Shadow burned their castles; survivors were sent to the Wall. The Iron Peace held: no major war in twenty years, only police actions and border patrols.
120 AC: The Twilight
Maegor, now seventy-nine, grew slower. Alyssa died peacefully in 118 AC, milk dried, body laid beside Aenys's ashes. Visenya the Younger ruled as regent beside him, sword still sharp. In 120 AC, Maegor flew one last time on Vhagar's Shadow—old dragon and old king circling the city at dawn. He landed on the High Tower, dismissed his guards, and sat beside the eternal flame. That night he passed quietly in his bed, axe across his chest, surrounded by children and grandchildren. Rhaegar—now sixty—succeeded as Rhaegar I, crown placed by Aegon and Jaehaerys.
The realm mourned for months. Pyre flames rose higher than ever—Vhagar's Shadow, Stormrend, Emberwing, and every dragon breathing fire in unison. Printed broadsheets proclaimed: "Maegor II, the Iron King, forged the peace that endures."
The dragon line—now numbering over fifty living members—carried forward. The Seven Kingdoms, richer, cleaner, more educated, and more fanatically loyal than ever before, entered the next age under Rhaegar I's gentler hand.
But the iron fist Maegor forged remained beneath the velvet glove—ready, always ready, to remind the world: fire and blood.
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