"One king has already knelt before , the first of many." - Aenar I Targaryen, God-Emperor of Planetos.
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Under the eyes of all the Night's Watch, Mance Rayder, King Beyond the Wall, knelt and placed a crown of ivory bones at Aenar's feet.
"I, Mance Rayder, abdicate my titles and beco your vassal. My sword and shields are yours. I will defend your laws as if they were my own and I will fight by your side, as will my sons and their sons after him."
Mance spoke with a serious voice full of majesty. He was kneeling before Aenar, looking straight into the purple eyes of the boy who had saved his son's life.
"I, King Aenar I Targaryen, First of His Na, Knight of Caraxes, King of the Andals, the Roinars and the First n, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, Father of Dragons, Son of the Light of Volantis, the Promised King, Destroyer of the Greatest Khalasar of His Ti."
Aenar pronounced his long list of titles, looking at the man kneeling before him. His voice was regal but gentle at that mont, which made the atmosphere less tense and more grandiose.
"I accept your oath. Rise, Mance, Lord of House Rayder, Lord of Sea Dragon Point and Stony Shore."
Aenar finished, declaring Mance Rayder's titles in front of everyone.
As for what his uncle would think about him granting Mance these fiefs, Aenar didn't really care. Westeros belonged to House Targaryen; all the lands on that continent were theirs. In the future, the nobles would only have the right to administer the fiefs on his behalf.
They could only own the castles and the surrounding lands. Other than that, everything belonged to him and House Targaryen.
Of course, this would only work until the Great Crusade. In the future, the fiefdoms would be greatly expanded, and the Noble Houses would control planets; so, like the Great Houses, would dominate entire solar systems. The Noble Houses of Planetos would spread across the galaxy, while Planetos would beco the center of the Imperium.
But that was for the future. In the present, Aenar was about to begin his reconquest.
At Aenar's words, Mance stood up and greeted him like a vassal.
"Your Grace."
"Lord Mance."
The two exchanged greetings. Aenar didn't treat Mance with contempt or as soone less important. After all, the man had once been a king, and the status of king was not to be despised, as it was the source of his political power.
"The heir to Winterfell, Robb of House Stark, will arrive at Castle Black in a few days. He will act as representative of House Stark, and you will bow to him again. Only after that will you be recognized as a Lord of the North."
Aenar comnted with a smile and, despite the pain of losing loved ones, the leaders of the Free Folk seed more relaxed and even smiled.
They had a ho and could finally live as they should.
Val, holding her nephew, looked at her sister's son and couldn't help but hug the child a little tighter. She never imagined that the last ti she saw Dela would actually be the last ti she would see her sister's sweet smile and gentle gaze.
"Val, I want you to take the na of my house as your own and, if I ever fall in the coming war, I want you to act as regent until Sanguinius can rule."
Mance approached Val and spoke directly about his purpose. He knew that his chances of dying were incredibly high, as were those of all the n who would take part in the war.
Val was the best choice he had should he die. Others might kill his son to take over his titles and fiefdoms. I was sure that so tribal leaders were unhappy with his decision to kneel, but no one dared to say anything to Aenar present. Everyone still rembered how the dragon had saved their lives.
Val looked at her sister's husband and nodded silently as she gently held her nephew, trying to get him to sleep - which proved futile. The baby seed to have infinite energy.
She swore she had never seen Sanguinius close his eyes and go to sleep, but she knew it was impossible.
Val had seen a few babies in her life, and they all had one thing in common: constant sleep. Every baby slept most of the day. So she assud that Sanguinius slept when she wasn't looking.
What Val didn't know, however, was that she was incredibly wrong. Sanguinius had actually never slept since his premature birth. His special bond with the Warp Dinsion nullified any need for sleep. This wasn't a problem at the mont, but as the little Primarch grew up, he would beco more and more distanced from humanity until he finally reached his peak.
"Hello, beautiful lady."
Near Aenar, Tormund greeted Leda with a big smile on his face, without hiding the flirtation in his words.
Leda suppressed the irritation that was growing in her heart and stopped herself from cutting off the head of that savage who couldn't recognize the word "no". She had never t such an irritating man in her entire life. And she was born in Dorne, the ho of the most lustful n in the Seven Kingdoms.
Even the most inconvenient Dornish man wouldn't co close to the level of irritation that Tormund caused him. The idiot constantly talked about the giant babies they would have and the endless nights of passion.
Just imagining it made Leda feel a wave of revulsion.
She was a bloody sword, not a woman!
Aenar watched the spectacle between Leda and Tormund with great interest. Of course, he knew that Tormund would never have a chance with Leda. Not because the woman was too proud, but because she valued the oaths of the Royal Guard above her own life.
In Leda's mind, she was a sword and nothing more. Only protecting and serving Aenar for all eternity could bring a smile to the lips of House Dayne's Sword of the Morning. Apart from that, Aenar really doubted that Tormund could even get her to look at him with the slightest bit of kindness.
However, it was very interesting to see Tormund try, and Aenar had to admit: the red-haired man certainly had guts. Few n were interested in soone stronger than themselves.
Fixing his eyes on his great-uncle, Aemon, Aenar knew that the old man wanted to ask what was next.
"What are we going to do, Your Grace?"
Because they were in a place full of strangers, Aemon addressed Aenar formally, not as a family mber.
"I'm staying at Castle Black until the Lords of the North arrive at Winterfell. While I'm here, I'll order all the checkpoints, as well as Castle Black, to be refurbished for the war to co."
Aenar comnted in a calm tone, while observing the deplorable state of the fortress.
Although the Wall was a great help, he knew that the gigantic ice wall's days were numbered.
It was inevitable: the Wall would fall and, with it, humanity's first line of defense. It wasn't that the Wall wasn't strong, but the power of mortals couldn't compare to that of the gods. On a normal Long Night, the gods wouldn't intervene, but this was no normal Long Night. All the Evil Gods were personally involved in this war.
No one wanted to see humanity grow, as this would allow the birth of the Chaos Gods - sothing completely unacceptable to the Evil Gods, who did not wish for the existence of beings stronger than themselves.
So the Wall would fall one way or another. Nothing could stop the war that was to co.
That's why Castle Black and the other Night's Watch checkpoints, such as the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, needed to be reinforced and refurbished for when the Wall collapsed.
"I'll send a raven to commanders Ser Denys Mallister and Cotter Pyke."
Aemon nodded and walked away with his aging body. The man wanted to help as much as he could, without any rest.
Aenar wanted him to rest, but he knew that Aemon wanted to give his all before what was to co. Perhaps that was the only thing he could do, since he was no longer fit to hold a blade.
Honestly, Aenar wanted Aemon to go through the Blood Ritual, but he was uncertain about the old man's survival. Aemon was so fragile that even a small amount of energy could cause irreparable damage.
Nevertheless, Aenar decided to try. He would talk to Aemon and, if the man wanted to, he would do anything to help him.
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