It was half a month after Aegon Targaryen's birth in the year 107 of the Conquest Era.
The High Septon of the Faith of the Seven had traveled all the way from the Starry Sept in Oldtown, and Aegon's grand name day ceremony was about to begin.
Inside the Red Keep's sept, crystal windows filtered the morning light into seven colors. The High Septon stood before the statues of the Seven, the holy oil in his hands gleaming gold in the light.
Wrapped in white swaddling embroidered with the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen, Aegon lay in his mother Alicent's arms before the altar.
His father, Viserys, stood on the other side, dressed in deep red and black, wearing the simple gold crown that marked him as king-
Not the heavy Conqueror's Crown, which was reserved for coronations and major ceremonies.
His gaze wandered between his son Aegon and his daughter Rhaenyra, who stood in the front row of the assembled guests.
Rhaenyra wore the traditional black and red of House Targaryen, her silver-gold hair arranged in intricate braids. Today, her ten-year-old face bore a gravity far beyond her years.
Beside her stood the members of the king's Small Council:
The Master of Laws, Earl Lyonel Strong; Grand Maester Runetell; the Master of Ships, Ser Tyland Lannister; and the Master of Coin, Earl Lyman Beesbury;
Along with Ser Harrold Westerling, who had succeeded Ser Ryam Redwyne as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard just two years earlier, and the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower.
Otto stood in the place reserved for the Hand, his gray hair immaculately combed.
His presence was only to be expected-after Prince Aegon's birth and the hatching of his dragon egg, the king had intended to hold a grand tournament to announce his eldest son's arrival to the Seven Kingdoms. He had only abandoned the idea out of consideration for Rhaenyra's feelings, and after being dissuaded by his friend Lyonel and Otto, who was also the boy's grandfather.
Even so, Viserys still needed an "experienced" hand to help him navigate an increasingly complicated situation.
And Otto, the Hand of the King, happened to have a daughter who had just given the king a healthy prince. He could quite legitimately "assist" his friend.
"In the name of the Warrior, I grant you courage."
The High Septon gently dabbed holy oil on Aegon's forehead. "In the name of the Mother, I grant you mercy. In the name of the Maiden, I grant you purity..."
Aegon wriggled in his swaddling. The ceremony was long and dull, while the adult soul within him assessed every expression in the room.
Alicent's tension, Viserys's contentment, Otto's inscrutability, Rhaenyra's conflicted feelings-
All those emotions wove together into a web, and he was the prey at its center, as well as its potential weaver.
"...In the name of the Father, I grant you justice." The High Septon applied the last of the oil. "Henceforth, you are blessed by the Seven and accepted by the realm. Aegon Targaryen, you are hereby baptized into the faith."
The assembled nobles murmured their assent. Aegon could hear their hushed remarks:
"Look at that hair. Pure silver-gold..."
"His eyes are purple too. Unmistakably pure Targaryen blood."
"I hear his dragon grew as large as a hound in just a few days?"
"Hatched in three days. There's never been anything like it in history..."
After the ceremony, the crowd moved toward the banquet hall. Alicent carried Aegon at Viserys's side, with Otto close behind. As they passed Rhaenyra, Viserys stopped.
"Come with us, Rhaenyra." The king held out his hand.
Rhaenyra hesitated for a moment, then took her father's arm. Every noble present witnessed the scene-
The king, the queen, the newborn prince, and the princess who was the king's heir, all walking toward the feast together.
A perfect portrait of a harmonious family.
But beneath that portrait, cracks had already formed.
Aegon's life was confined to the nursery in Maegor's Holdfast and the adjoining sunroom.
These were Otto's orders-
"The prince is young and frail. He must be sheltered from drafts and cold."
Protection, but also shackles...
Of course, for the newborn Aegon, it was perhaps more protection than restraint.
Alicent visited three times a day to nurse him, soothe him to sleep, or sometimes simply watch him in silence. Her gaze grew increasingly complicated.
During the first few days, it had held nothing but a mother's love. As time passed, however, Aegon could see the struggle in her eyes-
Was she looking at her son, or at a tool held firmly in her grasp?
"You might become king."
One afternoon, Alicent murmured those words through tears as she gently rocked the cradle.
Curled on a cushion beside it, Sunfyre raised his head and gave a soft hiss.
The young dragon grew astonishingly fast. Only two months after hatching, he was already the size of a medium-sized dog, his golden scales glittering in the sunlight.
Aegon pretended to sleep. He knew his mother was not speaking to her infant, but to herself. She was trying to convince herself that this choice was right.
"Your father... he loves you, but he loves his dreams more." Alicent's voice grew softer, almost a whisper, as she tried to "persuade" her swaddled child with the same arguments her father Otto had used to persuade her. "He dreams of a harmonious family. He dreams that Rhaenyra can inherit the throne without a ripple.
"But he doesn't understand. This world will never allow that to happen.
"The precedent established by the Great Council..."
She stopped abruptly. Footsteps sounded at the door.
Rhaenyra stood there, holding a leather-bound book.
She wore riding clothes, her silver hair slightly disheveled. Clearly, she had just returned from the Dragonpit.
"Your Grace." Rhaenyra froze for an instant at the sight of Alicent. Facing the woman who had once been her closest friend, she nonetheless curtsied respectfully and stated the purpose of her visit in a cold voice. "I've come to see my brother."
Alicent rose. She seemed to have expected Rhaenyra's growing distance, and a perfect smile instantly settled over her face.
"Rhaenyra? What a surprise. I thought you spent your afternoons with Syrax."
"Dragons need rest too." Rhaenyra entered the room, her gaze settling on Aegon before shifting to Sunfyre. "He's growing quickly."
"They're both very healthy," Alicent said, an unconscious trace of pride in her voice.
Rhaenyra crouched beside the cradle. Rather than touching Aegon, she studied him.
Aegon could clearly feel her gaze upon him: assessing, curious, and carrying another emotion he could not quite name-
Something like jealousy, yet also a desire to protect.
"Father asked me to read him stories."
Rhaenyra raised the book in her hand. "The Chronicles of the Conqueror."
Alicent's smile stiffened for an instant. "He's only two months old. He won't understand."
"Father says Targaryen blood understands stories of dragons and conquest."
As though carrying out a daily duty, Rhaenyra opened the book and began to read. "'Aegon Targaryen, First of His Name, was born on Dragonstone twenty-seven years before the Conquest. His father was Aenar Targaryen...'"
Her voice was clear and steady. Aegon listened with his eyes closed, his mind rapidly analyzing the situation.
Viserys had specifically asked Rhaenyra to do this. His intentions could hardly have been clearer:
He wanted the siblings to form a bond. He wanted Rhaenyra to accept her brother. He hoped to preserve his fragile vision of peace this way.
And Rhaenyra had come.
What did that mean? Obedience? Calculation? Or was she genuinely curious about this brother whose dragon had hatched in three days?
Sunfyre shuffled over to Rhaenyra's feet, sniffed her boots, then gave a contented rumble. Rhaenyra stopped reading and looked down at him.
"He likes you," Alicent said, a hint of wariness in her voice.
"Dragons can sense blood ties." Rhaenyra reached down to stroke Sunfyre's head, and the young dragon docilely accepted her touch. "Syrax reacted the same way when she first met Uncle Daemon."
At the mention of Daemon, the atmosphere in the room subtly changed.
Alicent's jaw tightened, while Rhaenyra resumed reading as though it had been no more than a passing remark.
But Aegon knew it was not.
Daemon Targaryen, their exiled uncle, was currently in the Stepstones, attempting to style himself "King of the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones."
His existence had once been a sword hanging over everyone's heads-
Especially Rhaenyra's, back then.
But now, that sword...
Seemed to have become someone else.
Late that night, when only the maid on night duty remained in the nursery, Aegon could finally focus on the system within him.
Over the past two months, the system interface, which had yet to unlock fully, had occasionally flickered and offered scraps of information. In its locked state, it was rudimentary, with only a few basic functions:
[Host: Aegon Targaryen] [Age: 2 months] [Bloodline purity: 27% / 34% (+3%) activated portion, legitimate Targaryen lineage] [Bonded dragon: Sunfyre (juvenile)] [Dragon resonance: Beginner (11%)] [Bloodline evolution: Unawakened (requirement: purity ≥50%)]
His bloodline purity had risen by 3%. Aegon was unsure why. It might have been a natural result of growing older, or it might have been connected to Sunfyre's growth.
For reasons he did not understand, the dragon resonance progress bar was also slowly advancing. Whenever he touched Sunfyre or communicated with him mentally, it rose a little.
The most mysterious feature was "bloodline evolution," which required 50% purity to activate.
The original story had never mentioned bloodline purity, but the system had quantified it.
Aegon suspected it might be related to House Targaryen's tradition of preserving pure blood through marriages between close relatives, a custom originating in the ancient Valyrian Freehold.
The Valyrian dragonlord families believed that pure blood strengthened their connection to dragons, and could even grant certain special abilities.
But what did an initial purity of 24% mean?
Even after rising to 27%, it was only about a quarter.
Did that mean Targaryen blood had been diluted through marriages with the nobles of Westeros? Or did the system use a different standard?
Sunfyre rolled over on his cushion, giving a sleepy hiss.
Through dragon resonance, Aegon could vaguely sense his dreams-
Fragments of flight, impressions of fire, and scattered memories of some immense presence: ancient memories inherited from deep within dragon blood.
[Deep dragon memory fragments detected... Analyzing...]
A new notification suddenly appeared. Aegon focused his attention.
[Fragment contents: Volcanoes, lava, hissing flights of dragons, towering black stone spires... Old Valyria? The Fourteen Flames?]
The images flashed past, but they were staggering enough. This was the Valyrian Freehold before the Doom, the homeland of dragons. Sunfyre's genetic memory seemed to retain traces of his ancestors' memories.
[Analysis complete. Dragon resonance +1%]
His progress rose to 12%. Apparently, connecting with Sunfyre did more than deepen their mutual understanding. Exploring dragon memories could also earn system rewards. This was one path to advancement.
Aegon considered it.
If I keep increasing dragon resonance, will I unlock more system functions?
And what comes after bloodline evolution?
More importantly, will this system turn out to be connected to contact with dragons, as I first imagined?
So far, the system had offered no related hints.
But the main quest explicitly required him to "ensure the continuation of House Targaryen's bloodline."
Does that imply the system's other functions will only unlock once I reach a certain age, or fulfill some condition?
If contact with dragons was the key, Sunfyre would surely not disappoint him. After all, this clever fellow had "taught himself" the Common Tongue of Westeros even with that "idiot" Aegon II from the original story.
Bells sounded outside the window. It was midnight. The maid on night duty was yawning. Aegon closed his eyes and let his infant body drift into sleep. But deep within his consciousness, a plan was taking shape.
He needed to pick up the pace.
According to the original timeline, the Dance of the Dragons was still twenty-two years away.
But the butterfly effect had already begun-
His arrival and Sunfyre's early hatching would both alter the course of history. He could not wait until adulthood to act.
First, he had to strengthen his relationship with Rhaenyra. She was crucial, not only as a potential core target of the system, but also as a pivotal political figure.
Viserys wanted harmony between his children, so Aegon would give him a show of harmony.
And he would take it further than Viserys could ever hope-
He would become the only person Rhaenyra truly trusted, so deeply that in the future struggle over succession, she would hesitate, question herself, and consider another possibility.
Second, he needed to influence Alicent.
His mother's love was real, but his grandfather's ambition had already tainted it.
He had to plant another possibility in Alicent's heart:
Perhaps her son did not need to win the throne through war. Perhaps there was a more peaceful path.
Finally, he had to prepare for the coming conflict.
Daemon's adventures in the Stepstones would not last forever. Sooner or later, he would return.
And when he did, he would surely turn his gaze toward the Iron Throne-
Whether for himself or for Rhaenyra.
Sunfyre twitched his wings in his sleep. A thin wisp of flame escaped his nostrils, flickering in the darkness before dying out.
The dragon had awakened.
The dance had begun.
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