Scions of the Cruel King

The Year is Now 146 A.L. Valarr has ruled Westeros for Sixteen years by this point.

King Valarr Targaryen

King's Landing and Westeros were at peace, that was a nice feeling for Valarr Targaryen, first of his name King of the Seven Kingdoms. What should have been the start of his brother's reign had seen the Dance of Dragons, ending with the deaths of Lucerys and Aemon as well as most of the Targaryens of Oldstones, only Lady Heleana and Princess Jaehara and Prince Maelor remained of that line, the Lady Heleana wed to Ser Aelix Stonefyre heir to the Lordship of the Gates of the Moon. Prince Maelor was with his mother at the Gates of the Moon for Valarr had seen no reason to separate son from mother, not with the child having been so very young when the Dance had ended, now though Maelor had come to court, or rather he had come to court at the age of eight, to ward and foster and to learn the arts of rulership.

That had been a wise move as far as Valarr was concerned for it meant that the traitors Lords Corbray, Melcolm and Grafton had not been able to whisper in Valarr's cousin's ear about what should have been his by rights, or other such rubbish. Still those riverlords who had fought for Aegon the Usurper during the dance had risen up in rebellion some nine years ago now and had laid siege to Riverrun, it had taken the threat of Dragonfire to get the Riverlords to bend and surrender, even then it was only when said dragonfire was unleashed, and the Houses Smallwood, Goodbrook, Shawney and Frey were extinguished and House Bracken left to only women and children that the riverlords bent the knee once more.

Valarr had taken no joy from that, he did not wish for his reign to be a blood soaked one, and yet it seemed that for every time there was a chance for peace, some bloody fool would take it into his head to rebel. Lords Corbray, Melcolm and Grafton had come to court the year Balerion the Black Dread had passed on to bring forth evidence that Sylvia had committed treason by lying with a man not her husband. Valarr had not believed such rumours and had had the three lords fed to Vermithor for their trouble. This had however, drive Lord Corbray's idiot of a brother to rise in rebellion, and start a campaign with the mountain clans, which had forced Valarr to fly from King's Landing with help from Rhaenys Velaryon and his own wife Baela to put the rebel houses to rout. Houses Corbray and Melcolm were ended there and then on what many were now calling the Field of Dust, and House Grafton was left to ruin, its lord a mere babe of one.

After that Valarr had thought that there would finally be a long lasting peace for his reign, and that his children and family could live in peace, he was proven wrong. In the 144th year after Aegon's Landing, Edric Baratheon the boy Valarr had made Lord of Storm's End following the Dance died of a fever at the age of sixteen, he died without issue, thus making Valarr's wife Sylvia Lady of Storm's End, until their son Laenor came of age. This it seemed did not sit well with some of the Stormlords, and led by Lord Harrold Grandison, Houses Grandison, Fell, Cafferen, Boiling, Morrigen and Mertyns rebelled and tried to break away from the Iron Throne. This once again forced Valarr to fly forth from King's Landing atop Vermithor, accompanied by Rhaenys Velaryon and her she dragon Meleys the Red Queen and some 20,000 men from the Crownlands as the Battle of the Storm as the singers now called it took place. It lasted for a day and took place during one of the fiercest rains to have ever happened in Westeros, something that hampered the effectiveness of Vermithor and Meleys' flames, but still allowed for a rout of the rebel Stormlords forces. At the end of the battle, Valarr once more had to swing the blade that led to the deaths to the leaders of the rebellions, and the ending of Houses Fell, Boiling and Morrigen. Such things gave Valarr no pleasure and he found that increasingly he had to spend time in the godswood to cleanse himself of the evil of what he had done.

Thankfully it seemed that after this last rebellion, the lords of the realm decided against rebelling once more, for it seemed at least according to what Valarr's master of whispers Lord Larys Strong had to say, that the lords of the realm now lived in fear and awe of Valarr, for his ruthlessness and so no longer wished to test the dragon. Personally Valarr cared not, he had seen these rebellions as the fault of perhaps Targaryen complacency, he knew his history well Valarr did, he knew that during the reigns of his forefathers there had been many a rebellion, due to the presence of the Tarlings and the Faith, and though the Faith had lost complete influence over the mainstream populous of Westeros, the memories of what they had done during the rebellions still lingered on in those old enough to remember. As such Valarr, was striving not to so much as remove the Faith's existence from Westeros, but more completely cripple their power so that they could no longer bring men to arms from their cause, Valarr wanted men to take arms only when the king commanded it, or when their need was just.

After the last rebellion was crushed, Valarr was able to spend more time with his children, though they were growing so quickly. His heir Matarys had just turned sixteen and had wed Princess Jaehara as had been stated and anticipated for a long time, their wedding had taken place in the godswood of the Red Keep and a celebration feast had been held throughout King's Landing, with many lords and ladies attending, including the bride's mother and step father. Valarr hoped and prayed that the union would produce a child and quickly enough, Princess Jaehara was a sweet girl at twenty but a bit slow of mind, though Matarys more than made up for that with his glib tongue, and quick mind. He was not too bad with a sword either and it seemed that the commons loved him, at least that was what Valarr had been told. No matter that though, Valarr was proud of his eldest son, more so than he would ever be able to put into words. His son had proved just how much of a dragon he was by bonding with the oldest living dragon in Westeros, Crimson Fury, a she dragon who had hatched during the early days of Aegon the Dragon's reign, she was old and as big as Balerion had been during the conquest, a fierce and proud dragon, and one that Matarys had been able to bond with despite the many obstacles. How his son had done so, Valarr still knew not, but he was proud of his son nonetheless.

Rhaenrya and Helen, Valarr's two oldest children by Sylvia had been wed two moons after Matarys had, Rhaenrya to Ser Aegon Hightower heir to Oldtown and son of Valarr's cousin Lord Maegon Hightower. Helen to Ser Tyrion Lannister heir to Casterly Rock, both of his daughters had taken their dragons- Errol and Caudipholis- with them the two dragons being of the same size Arrax and Vermax had been during the Dance. Rhaenrya and Helen were both perfect ladies, calm and collected, just like their mother Sylvia, though occasionally Valarr saw hints of Baela in them, their fire was all Targaryen. He was proud of both of them, and he loved them dearly. He missed them fiercely as well, his little girls who had grown so quickly now, and would soon have children of their own if the letters from Oldtown and Casterly Rock were anything to go by.

The rest of his children were thankfully still young enough for Valarr to keep an eye on and protect and spoil as he saw fit. He had spent so long trying to make sure the kingdom was safe for them all to grow up and feel safe in, he had missed most of his three eldest children's childhoods and he deeply regretted it. Orys was already looking at knighthood, he was thirteen but was a capable swordsman, and would be competing the tourney that was going to be held soon enough. Laenor was the same as his brother, twelve years old and every inch a Baratheon with his raven black hair and fierce determination, Valarr knew his son would be a force to be reckon with when he was older, Alysanne, Daenys and Serenei were all perfect little ladies though Alysanne seemed to be like Baela at times with her tenacity. And then there was little Jacaerys who was still young enough that Valarr could coddle him and make sure he was safe from harm.

All of his children had dragons of their own, hatchlings from a clutch of eggs that Valarr's mother's dragon Syrax had laid before her death. Orgul ridden by Alysanne, Urrax ridden by Daenys, Mellario bonded with Jacaerys, Audipholis ridden by Laenor, and of course Hrurax ridden by Serenei. His children and their dragons shared a deep and intimate bond, something that Valarr was fascinated with, of course he had never had a hatchling of his own, having bonded with Vermithor when he was only sixteen, and that being the first time he had a dragon of his own. It had taken him sometime after the Dance to get used to Vermithor's actions and movements, same as it had taken Vermithor time to get accustomed to him, there was still somethings he did not understand about dragonriding, such as how Vermithor had been so accepting of him during the Dance. It was something he hoped to learn more about from observing his children with their dragons, and through reading up about the ancient Valyrians and their own dragons.

That of course was not the only thing that Valarr had to thing about now that there seemed to be some semblance of peace in Westeros, his uncle Baelon had set forth and conquered Volantis, but had also then conquered the Three Daughters, had won the allegiance of Asshai and the Shadow Lands, and had conquered Qohor and Norvos, it seemed his uncle was determined to establish a new Valyria, and with dragons as well, for Lord Larys had told him of the dragons that had hatched for his uncle's children. A sense of anticipation was running through the court and the kingdoms alike, as they all wondered what Valarr would make of this news now. Two kingdoms which had dragons in them, there could be only one situation as far as most were concerned eventually they thought it would come to all out war, Valarr was determined to avoid that, and it seemed so was his uncle. Hence why Valarr was now meeting with a representative from his uncle's court one Tycho Bravo.

Tycho Bravo was a tall man with long black hair and a pointy beard, his eyes shone with constant amusement, and he had a direct manner of speaking which Valarr found he liked. The throne room hummed with anticipation as Valarr sat down on the Iron Throne, Ser Ryam Redwyne and Ser Tom Costayne of the Kingsguard stood at the steps guarding him. The members of the small council sat on a table below the steps of the throne in front of the Kingsguard. "Lord Tycho, it is an honour to welcome you to Westeros and to court. We know why you have come and we would hear what you have to say. So speak now, and speak freely." Valarr said in a booming voice.

Bravo bowed low and then stood up and spoke, his voice having a musical lilt to it. "Your Grace, I thank you for accepting me into your court session today. As you know I have travelled from Volantis the capital of Valyria, under the orders of his grace king Baelon Volcarys, the first of his name, Dragon King of Valyria. His Grace King Baelon has sent me with a message and some gifts for Your Grace." At that twenty men moved forward laying chest painted black in front of the council table. "These chests contain gold and many treasures that King Baelon has found on his conquests of the free cities, as well as a form of repayment for the help that Your Grace gave him during the early days of his conquest."

Valarr nodded and then motioned to Ser Benfred Waters Lord Commander of the City watch to see the chests moved to a more acceptable place before he spoke. "I thank you for the gifts my lord. But I must ask you what message does my uncle bring?"

Tycho Bravo smiled at that and said. "His Grace knows that with news of his conquests having reached these shores, there will be some who are nervous as to what his intentions will be especially with dragons having hatched for him as well. King Baelon would like to clearly state that he has no intentions of conquering either the Stepstones or Dorne, nor does he plan on disrupting trade between Westeros or any of the Free Cities, he wishes for a peaceful coexistence between the two kingdoms."

Valarr nodded he had expected as much. His uncle was many things, proud, angry, determined, but stupid was not one of them, though he might have conquered much of Essos even if he had tried to engage in conflict in Westeros, he would not have stood a chance, his dragons were young barely hatchlings and Valarr's dragons were mostly fully grown and battle proven. However, it seemed as though Lord Simon Toyne his master of coin had questions that he wished answered. "That is all well and good Lord Bravo, but of course King Baelon will say that he has no designs on any of the places within King Valarr's sphere of influence, and that he will be more than happy to allow trade to continue with the Free Cities. He controls most if not all of the free cities we do trade with, what is there to say that he will not try and force up the trading prices to get a better deal for himself and his coffers?"

Lord Tycho smiled wanly and said. "Because my lord, King Baelon does not see the need to hike up prices for trade to benefit him. The continued trade between Westeros and Essos will benefit both parties, and as those gifts that my King has sent here for King Valarr, prove King Baelon is more than happy for both sides to co-exist peacefully."

Valarr spoke then before anymore could be said. "That is good Lord Bravo. Now I thank you for coming and reassuring those of us who were uncertain as to my uncle's motives. You are welcome to stay for the tourney that shall be held here in two days time. If not then please let my uncle know that we are always happy to help him should he ever consider removing Bravos as a threat to our relationship."

Lord Tycho smiled knowingly at the words Valarr, said and bowed once before saying. "Of course Your Grace. It would be my pleasure."