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daratheuncrowned · 4 years

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What if Rhaenyra’s “Velaryon” sons looked like her?

No one will assume that Jace, Luke, and Joffrey are bastards. The Greens knew that Laenor was gay, but no one questioned the paternity of Rhaenyra’s sons until they looked so different. She and her husband both had silver hair and purple eyes; her sons had brown hair, brown eyes, and pug noses; at least Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella could claim to take after their mother. As Aegon II said, “Everyone knows [that they are bastards]. Just look at them.” The cost of laying with a married princess is so high that Alicent and co. will assume that Rhaenyra coerced Laenor into closing his eyes and thinking of Westeros.

Rhaenyra's "Velaryon" sons looking stereotypically Targaryen with silver hair and purple eyes will SIGNIFICANTLY help her in the Dance.

1. Jace, Luke, and Joffrey ride fierce, adult dragons.

King Viserys I made a royal decree that dragon eggs be placed in the cradles of Rhaenyra’s sons in a futile attempt to prove that they were trueborn. The tradition of cradle-eggs started with Rhaena putting eggs in Jaehaerys' and Alysanne's cradles, but it wasn't revived until Viserys desperately wanted to prove that Rhaenyra's sons were trueborn Targaryens by the logic "Only Targaryens ride dragons!" Which... doesn't make much sense because half-Targaryens can ride dragons: See Rhaenys Targaryen (daughter of Jocelyn Baratheon), Laenor Velaryon, Laena Velaryon, Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, Daeron....

In this TL, neither Viserys not Rhaenyra would feel pressured to have Jace, Luke, and Joffrey claim dragons immediately, because no one thinks that they are bastards. They will wait until their early teens 12~13 to claim dragons in the Dragonpit or Dragonstone.

In 120, Aemond will still claim Vhagar. As a 10-year-old, he wouldn’t have visited the Dragonpit or Dragonstone in order to claim a dragon of his own. The temptation of seeing Vhagar at Driftmark would be too great. Jace, Luke, and Joffrey wouldn’t try and claim their beloved aunt’s dragon within months of her death.

After her younger half-brother claimed the greatest dragon, Rhaenyra would hasten to have her sons claim the next-greatest dragons. Like a nuclear arms race, the Blacks and the Greens will try to claim the biggest available dragons in the all-but-inevitable fight over the succession after Viserys' death. In the OTL, the "Velaryon" boys were all bonded to their respective cradle-egg dragons; no rider can bond with more than one dragon. Currently, Jace is 6, Luke is 5, and Joffrey is 3, so they haven’t claimed any dragons yet.

When he is ~12, Jace claim Vermithor (the 2nd-greatest dragon after Vhagar) and Luke will claim Silverwing (the 3rd-greatest). The two brothers are only one year apart, so they would probably claim their dragons on the same day. If only Jace claims Vermithor, the Greens could have Daeron claim Silverwing immediately. They'd be so angry after seeing their half-uncle claim their beloved aunt’s dragon that they’d be eager to claim their own fierce dragons in order to counter her “stolen” one.

Tessarion, Vermax, Arrax, Tyraxes, and Moondancer would hatch on Dragonstone, not in cradles. Since the tradition of eggs in the cradle isn’t established, the Velaryon girls will head to Dragonstone when they are 10 to claim their own dragons.

The Greens would hasten to have Daeron claim Tessarion. Once Vermithor and Silverwing are off the market, Tessarion would be the largest unbonded dragon.

When he is ~12, Joffrey will claim Seasmoke, the dragon of his “father.” Joff was 3 when Laenor died, so he can claim the handsome grey dragon.

Baela will claim Vermax, and Rhaena will claim Arrax.

Aegon will claim Tyraxes; Viserys will claim Moondancer.

Stormdancer and Morning will hatch on Dragonstone and be eventually claimed by the next generation.

There are three wild dragons— Cannibal, Sheepstealer, Grey Ghost— but Rhaenyra would never let any of her children claim them. Other dragonriders seem likely to live for a few decades, so it’s not worth waiting for them to die in order to claim Vhagar, Sunfyre, Dreamfyre, Tessarion, Meleys, Syrax, or Caraxes.

This also means that Rhaenyra doesn't need to hold the dragonseed auditions and entrust her dragons to deeply untrustworthy people, such as Ulf and Hugh.

In this case, Syrax, Caraxes, Meleys, Vermithor, Silverwing, Seasmoke, Vermax, Arrax, Tyraxes, and Stormcloud are commanded by people Rhaenyra can implicitly trust. Aegon II only has Sunfyre, Vhagar, Dreamfyre, and Tessarion; Vhagar is the biggest dragon, but even she cannot withstand 2 or 3 adult dragons at once.

2. Rhaenyra’s half-brothers will have a less acrimonious relationship with her sons.

Aegon II, Aemond, Daeron would still hate Jace, Luke, Joffrey for stealing their “birthright,” the Iron Throne. However, they would not be as willing for J/L/J to die.

I sincerely believe that Alicent's sons truly hated Rhaenyra's "Velaryon" sons much more than her Targaryen sons. They were angry that a mere half-sister would inherit the throne before them, but they were outraged that she would plop her obvious bastards, the proof of her immorality, onto the throne after her.

When Blood and Cheese killed Jaehaerys, Aegon II vowed to descend on Dragonstone in order to kill his half-sister and her “bastard sons,” Jace and Joffrey (Luke was already dead at this point). Interestingly, Aegon II did not want to kill Aegon the Younger or Viserys, who were also on Dragonstone at the time; they were still Rhaenyra’s sons, but they were legitimate and looked Targaryen, so Aegon II was more reluctant to kill them. When he first offered the peace terms, Aegon II offered to take Aegon the Younger as his squire and Viserys as his cupbearer, but he refused to let Joffrey near him. Joffrey was 11, and he didn't participate in his mother's war any more than the 9-year-old Aegon or the 7-year-old Viserys. The Green princes hated Daemon, so being Daemon's sons wouldn't soften the Green princes towards Aegon and Viserys. Of course, by the end of the war, Aegon II was so warped by bitterness and vengeance that he was willing to chop up Aegon the Younger, similar to how Rhaenyra was willing to kill Jaehaera and Maelor by the end.

3. Luke doesn’t stab out Aemond’s eye.

Joffrey does not have catch Aemond riding Vhagar. Aemond got up at the crack of dawn to claim Vhagar before anyone could notice and stop him. Joffrey had a habit of waking up early so that he could watch his hatchling, Tyraxes. In this scenario, Joffrey wouldn’t have a dragon yet and wouldn’t wake up so early. More likely, the guards would be awakened by Vhagar’s roars and rush to find Aemond on the great dragon.

Let’s say the "Velaryon" boys still find Aemond before others do, and they still get into a physical tussle. In the real timeline, Aemond beat the three younger boys. They backed away, and the fight would have ended then. However, Aemond called them Strongs; Jace, who is normally level-headed and responsible, snapped and punched his half-uncle; Aemond started bashing Jace’s head with a wooden sword; Luke slashed across Aemond’s face with a dagger, trying to defend his older brother. In this scenario, the fight would stop, or it would be much less violent and a guard would eventually break them up.

4. Otto Hightower isn’t Hand when King Viserys I dies.

Lyonel Strong, Lord of Harrenhal, was Viserys’ leal Hand. However, he died in the fire at Harrenhal, and Viserys recalled Otto Hightower to be Hand.

In this TL, the Strongs won't die. I've narrowed down the murderer to Viserys OR Larys Strong and the Greens.

It was not Corlys. Mushroom thought that Corlys wanted to punish the man who had cuckolded his son. However, he knew from Day 1 that Laenor was gay and Rhaenyra had a stud to father her sons. He seemed to like his three “grandsons,” and he knew that his real grandchild (Baela) would become queen by marrying his “grandchild” (Jace).

It was not Daemon. Daemon would have liked to father Rhaenyra’s oldest son and heir, but his daughter with Laena was set to marry Jace and become queen. When he returned to Westeros in 117, he and Rhaenyra engaged in a physical relationship and Rhaenyra did not have any more “Strong” children; this suggests that she was so busy with her handsome uncle that she neglected her sworn shield.

Despite his denials, Viserys knew that Rhaenyra's sons were bastards. The incident with Aemond and Luke proved that the secret of his grandsons' paternity could unleash devastating consequences. If Harwin revealed her secret, Viserys would have to send his favorite child to the Silent Sisters, his grandsons to the Wall, and make an eternal enemy of the Velaryons. He didn’t count on his capable and strong Hand dying in the fire.

Larys had everything to gain from his father and brother dying. In one stroke, he would become the Lord of Harrenhal, and he had plenty of friends inside the castle to engineer an "accident." The Greens feared that Lyonel would secretly want his grandson Jace to become king and support Rhaenyra when Viserys died. As the Dance showed, a Hand is very powerful in between kings. They made a deal: Larys became a master of whisperers on the Small Council in exchange for his services.

In either case, neither party is motivated to kill the Strongs. Viserys has no proof that his grandsons are bastards, and there are no ugly incidents like Aemond losing his eye. Larys still wants to kill his father and brother, but the Greens have no real reason to off Larys. He might be pro-Black because his son is Rhaenyra's sworn shield, but he is law-abiding and capable; he could just as easily support Aegon II, because a brother comes before a sister in all inheritance systems and the Great Council of 101.

Lyonel could support either Aegon II or Rhaenyra, but he'd probably prefer Rhaenyra because he secretly knows that Jace is his grandson. He will definitely be more amenable to Rhaenyra’s claim than Otto Hightower, the Hand when Viserys I died. Otto was willing to die in order to make his grandson king (and he did).

In the real timeline, only one person on the Small Council supported Rhaenyra— Lord Beesbury— who was promptly killed; the Hand is the most powerful member of the Council and he can speak with the King’s voice in the interim between the monarch’s passing and the new one’s coronation. Lyonel’s support could make all the difference for Rhaenyra.

Let's say Lyonel still dies-- he gets a stroke, falls off his horse, or eats bad seafood. In this TL, RHAENYRA would probably become Hand. After Lyonel died in the OTL, Viserys "briefly... considered sending for Princess Rhaenyra. Who better to rule with him than the daughter he meant to succeed him on the Iron Throne?" However, he decided not to because "more conflict with the queen and her own brood would have been inevitable." In this case, there aren't the big, violent squabbles between the Green and Black princes, and the peace-loving Viserys dismisses smaller incidents as "horseplay." If Rhaenyra is the Hand AND heir when her dad dies, she

5. King Viserys I doesn’t die so soon.

Viserys became ill after cutting his hand on the Iron Throne. He contracted an infection and had to remove several of his fingers; he was greatly weakened and died in two years.

When Corlys named Luke the heir to Driftmark, his nephew Vaemond protested the decision; Luke was a bastard. Rhaenyra fed Vaemond to her dragon, and his cousins pled for justice from the king. Viserys received these Velaryons with fury, and he ordered that their tongues be ripped out. As he was descending from the throne, he cut his hand to the bone.

In this scenario, no one knows Rhaenyra’s sons are bastards → Vaemond doesn’t petition Corlys for Driftmark → Rhaenyra doesn’t kill Vaemond → Velaryon cousins don’t petition Viserys for justice → Viserys does not cut his hand → Viserys does not contract a deadly infection that permanently weakens him → Viserys doesn't die in just two years.

6. Visenya lives

Viserys died in early 129. At the time, Rhaenyra was heavily pregnant and located on Dragonstone; this gave the Greens the opportunity to seize the capital and crown Aegon II king. Her rage at Aegon II’s treachery induced early labor, and Visenya was born dead. Rhaenyra gave birth to five healthy children; she seemed likely to deliver a healthy daughter. Rhaenyra already has five healthy sons, but I’m sure she’d love and cherish her only daughter.

7. Rhaenyra could have relocated to the capital when her father was ailing.

In the real timeline, the fight between the "Velaryon" princes and Aemond in 120 was the inciting factor that led Viserys to order Rhaenyra and her sons to contain themselves to Dragonstone and Alicent and her sons to the Red Keep. Even though she attended the court for special occasions like feasts and to provide Maester Gyldayn for Viserys, Rhaenyra was largely absent from the capital since.

Rhaenyra would probably still spend the majority of her time on Dragonstone because of her hatred for Alicent and her half-brothers. However, when Viserys I becomes ill (he won’t cut his hand, but he’d still have gout and chest pain and wheeze), she could request that she and her sons relocate to the capital so that they can spend time with Viserys. This wasn’t an option available to her in the real timeline because of Viserys’ decision in 120 to separate the Greens from the Blacks.

8. Rhaenyra can go to the capital immediately after Viserys’ death.

If Viserys dies later on, Rhaenyra would have safely given birth to Visenya. She could launch onto Syrax and fly to the capital to claim her crown as soon as Viserys dies. She had 5 sons within 8 years, and then there was a 7 year interim between her last son, Viserys, and Visenya. She was now in her mid-30s, so she was unlikely to have more children; Visenya seemed like a happy surprise.

9. Aemond won’t kill Luke.

If the Dance still breaks out in the same way, Jace and Luke might not be sent as envoys. Since Rhaenyra isn’t ill after giving birth to Visenya, she herself could be one of the envoys. Also, a part of Jace’s reasoning was his desire to prove his uncles wrong and show that he was a true dragon-riding Targaryen; this insecurity does not exist because no one accuses him of bastardry, so he mightn't volunteer himself and Luke.

Assuming Luke still goes to Storm’s End: Aemond doesn’t have an especial grudge against Luke. In the real timeline, Aemond hated Luke more than any of his other half-nephews for stabbing out his eye; if Jace or Joffrey had been sent to treat with Lord Borros, Aemond would not have been so eager for revenge. Maris definitely couldn’t taunt him about Luke taking his balls and his eye, which snapped his already-fragile ego.

Luke has a dragon that could potentially beat Vhagar. Silverwing is not as old, fierce, or large as Vhagar, but she is the third-greatest dragon. Arrax, the OTL Luke’s dragon, was 1/5 of the size of Vhagar and was killed immediately. Aemond might not try and kill Luke if he knows that Silverwing could potentially kill his Vhagar. Aemond wasn’t brave, and he never engaged unless he was sure of victory; when Daemon and Nettles looked for him, Aemond hid in the Riverlands despite having a greater dragon; even when Daemon challenged him alone, Aemond waffled for 13 days until meeting his challenge, even though Daemon’s Caraxes was half of Vhagar’s size. Silverwing is bigger than both Caraxes and Sheepstealer. If Aemond does decide to attack Luke anyways, Luke could at least rip off one of Vhagar’s wings or fatally pierce her stomach while dying; Luke is a much less experienced fighter than his stepfather, but Silverwing is a prodigious dragon.

#dance of the dragons #rhaenyra targaryen #the strong bastards #velaryon #jacaerys velaryon #lucerys velaryon #joffrey velaryon #dragons

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