Castles Crumbling

Only Death May Pay for Life

I turn my head to see Drogon staring at me and try to lift my hand to his snout but he sees my struggle and brings himself to me. "Issa tresy. Avy jorrāelan se nyke sīr sorry syt bringing ao endia. īlon should emagon umptan isse essos. Nyke gaomagon daor emagon olvie tolī jēda. Nyke hope naejot ūndegon ao whatever afterlife konīr iksos skori ao issi ready naejot sagon rūsīr īlva." (My son. I love you and I am so sorry for brining you west. We should have stayed in Essos. I do not have much more time. I hop to see you in whatever afterlife there is when you are ready to be with us.) Drogon huffs at me and purrs as if telling me he will be with me soon and that he loves me too. And with my final ounce of strength I give my final wish for him. Dracarys. And all I feel is warmth. The warmth of Drogons love for me and his fire and the warmth of peace that I have no memory of having before this. I close my eyes to go to my final rest.

After Life

When I open my eyes I see Rhaegal and Viserion and I slowly get u p to give them my love whispering to them in High Valyrian while my hands are stroking their jaws and snouts. Viserion extends his leg out for me to sit upon while they soak up the attention I am giving them and when I turn to sit I see a figure moving in our direction and straighten up to prepare to fight. Again. My children sensing my emotions immediately snap their heads to where my attention is and growl at the newcomer.

As the person gets closer there are some traits that I can obviously see even from this distance; tall, silver blonde hair, sharp Valyrian features. Family then, not that I really have any true understanding of family, but they are of the blood of Old Valyria. As they get within 10 paces of me they stop and look me over, sadly. As if they know what has happened and pity me for it. Jon and Viserys are the only two of our family that I have ever known and this is not either of them. I lift my chin slightly to show no weakness and ask "Qilōni issi ao?" Who are you?

"Shrykos. The goddess of beginnings, endings, transitions, and doorways. You are the last scion of Valyria and though Westeros will not remember you fondly for what they believe happened in Kings Landing, your cities in Essos will continue to love you for helping free them."

"Why have you come to see me? What is it you would ask of me?"

The goddess (if she truly is a goddess and not some long lost family member playing with me) smiled slightly. Amused I would guess that I expect her to ask anything from me at all.

"I would ask you to fix what was broken. To pass beneath the shadow, and go back to when dragons still ruled the skies and fix the mistakes of your ancestors so what has happened to you will not come to pass. The Fourteen Flames are displeased with how the Long Night played out and even more upset about what has happened to you. To change the outcome we would like to send you back before the Dance of the Dragons so you may change the fate of the Targaryens."

Wonderful. The gods would like me to go back 200 years to fix things I have little knowledge of and will take away my peace after years of fighting.

"Why would I wish to do this? I have fought my wars. I have struggled my entire life. And now it has ended. I may finally have peace. No offense meant, but this seems like a terrible deal for me. I do not have a formal education, I have no real knowledge of the events of two centuries before I lived. My dragons are here except for Drogon who will be joining us here eventually. My family is most likely here. If I were to go back I may not be accepted as a Targaryen. And Westeros is not my home, it is my biggest mistake."

Shrykos stares at me for a moment contemplating what I have said. Viserion nudges me to inform me they wish for attention, absentmindedly I begin to stroke their neck.

"Yes, you have lived your life already. You have not had an easy one, it would be understandable for you to not wish to go through life a second time. On the other hand, you may find true family, those who love you for who you are not for what you may be able to give them. You may free the enslaved so that the friends you made will never have to go through what did. You changing the fate of House Targaryen may change what your mother had to endure, Roberts Rebellion, what you have faced, your brothers outcomes and your children's outcomes as well. As you once said I have been sold like a broodmare, I have been chained and betrayed, raped and defiled. Do you know what has kept me standing through all those years in exile? Faith. Not in any gods. Not in myths and legends. In myself. In Daenerys Targaryen. The world hadn't seen a dragon in centuries until my children were born. The Dothraki hadn't crossed a sea, any sea, they did for me. I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms and I will."