3 Kings Landing

Kings Landing was the seat of House Targaryen, and it was here that Aegon the Conqueror had forged his great legend of uniting the Kingdoms of Westeros. Were it not for his actions, the Targaryens would still merely be dragonlords, but now they were Kings, first among men and rulers above all. Eighty-five years into the Targaryen rule, House Targaryen was at its zenith in terms of power and prestige, with no one coming close to their might and glory.

Kings Landing, the capital of Westeros, was magnificent from a distance, but as one continued to get closer, they would soon realise that it was riddled with dir, shit and fleas all around. The beauty was to be observed at a distance, for up close, it was nothing but a pile of shit given colour, yet the smell could never be gotten rid of.

Deep inside the Red Keep

A large and ornate room filled with luxurious valyrian furniture and cloaked in the finest of wares was a large table with three chairs on each side of the table, and at the head was an oversized chair the size of it greater than all the others present on the table and at its top were there rubies studded in the shape of the heads of the dragon. Seated on the six seats were men garbed in different clothing, all of them different colours detailing their descent from different noble houses of the continent.

Seated on the most prominent chair was a middle-aged man of nearly fifty-one, his hair growing white from its silver-gold tint, his face showing growth of wrinkles but his eyes violet and gleaming as if not a year had passed since he began his reign. The man's beard, which grew thick down to his chest, indicated wisdom that came not with age but with experience. This was King Jaehaerys I Targaryen the First of his name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.

"Let us begin the Small Council meeting, gentlemen", Jaehaerys stated as he placed his gorgon eye into the holder right before his seat.

The old man seated on the right of the King had chains linked together on his chest; his garbs were the most down-to-earth among all those present; this was the Hand of the King and also a Septon of the Faith of the Seven.

"Your Grace, the primary matter at hand currently is the maintenance work that needs to be done to the King's Road coupled with some infrastructure that needs be built in Kings Landing in order to facilitate the tourney being held in celebration of the birth of Prince Daemon."

"Is the treasury sufficient to bear the load of all this work, Master of Coin ?" the king questioned the man sitting at the left end of the table. The man was of similar age to the king and wore black clothing, symbolising his deep allegiance to the House of the Dragon.

"Your Grace, the treasury can easily uphold the necessary maintenance as well as the expense for the tourney."

"Very well then, Lyman, you and Barth get to work on this."

""At once, Your Grace"" came the swift and echoed response of both the men.

"Additionally, Your Grace, I must discuss the matter of the Stepstones that needs answering."

"And what matter might this be, Lord Redwyne ?"

The King was intrigued by the sudden topic as this had not come up recently in any of the council meetings.

"Lord Corwyn Velaryon has intimated to me of the pirate raiders that frequently pillage the lands on the eastern coast of the continent. He has found their base, which happens to be in the Stepstones, Your Grace. He, therefore, asks the navy to attack the Stepstones to root out these pirates. They have been a pest which continues to hinder our trade with the free cities. The Redwyne fleet is also ready to answer your calls, sire."

"Hmm...what is the opinion of the rest of the council on this ?" the king then looked across the table at everyone's faces. All the lords seated consented to launch the navy against these pestilent pirates.

"It is settled then; we should begin preparing for the mobilisation as soon as possible."

"I shall begin the preparations right now, Your Grace." Lord Redwyne responded.

"Well, let us proceed with the remaining affairs, Barth."

"Yes, Your Grace"

...

In another room within the Red Keep lay a small cradle in which lay a young baby with silver-gold hair and violet eyes; this was the young Prince Daemon Targaryen, only a week old. Around the cradle stood a tall man of similar valyrian features to the King but with broader shoulders and a much more young and refined face. Next to the man stood a short woman with silver-gold hair; it could be easily discerned that she, too, was of valyrian descent. They were the Prince and Princess Baelon and Alyssa Targaryen, the second son and daughter of King Jaehaerys I. At their foot stood a toddler no more than four in age as he bit his finger, trying to reach up and look into the cradle.

The child was noticed by his parents as Prince Baelon picked him up. "Calm down, Viserys your brother is asleep; you should let him rest for now; you will have plenty of time to play later."

"Bu..but father, why is he always sleeping? Why can't he play with me?"

"He is a baby Viserys; when he grows up, he will play plenty with you then. You must protect him, Viserys; he will be your strength when one day we won't be there to help you. Do you understand, son?", his mother slowly cupped his chin as she spoke to him in her soothing voice.

The toddler could only superficially understand their words, but he did understand that his brother was someone special to him, and that would be the case for all the years that they would be together. The boy merely nodded his head and continued to look at the sleeping figure of the baby in the cradle with great intrigue.

"Would you like to go to the dragon pits, son? We could go and see Vhagar and Caraxes together."

This instantly caught the boy's attention as he looked up at his father with a gleam in his eyes as he repeatedly nodded his head to showcase how excited he was to go there. They then began to move with a troop of guards led by a knight in a white cloak, a member of the Kingsguard.

As they travelled, all the people on the streets stared at their posse, continuously admiring them, with some even lowering their eyes as they passed by them. Viserys had rarely gone out of the palace, so for him, every instance was as enjoyable as the first.

As they finally arrived at a tremendous dome-shaped building covered in draconic design, and the number of people around it was far less than what Viserys had previously observed. This was the dragon pit, the source of Targaryen might. As Viserys stood in abject awe of the humongous construction, his father patted his back.

They proceeded to head inside, and it was at this instance that they heard an ear-shattering roar. After this, they were all covered in darkness as everyone began looking up above Viserys too, copying the people around him. There right above them, was a massive beast the size of a village at this distance; it seemed more prominent than the dome itself.

The beast had jet-black scales, and its teeth seemed to be as large as trees and as sharp as spikes. The wings of the beast could cover buildings in darkness. As it growled after its roar, the street animals began scampering away. After the surrounding populace saw this, they began running away in fear. Only one thing could produce so much dread among the people.

"Balaerion!!"

Viserys could only keep gawking as he remembered his first lesson and the first words he had learnt to write.

"Fire and Blood"