Shadows of the Realm: Rhaegar's Resolve (ASOIAF) (Completed)

The Targaryen Resurrection

The term Targaryen resurrection was coined by Grand Maester Marwin the Mage, a period of twenty years from the Battle of the Trident to the Battle of the Nightfort to symbolize the reign of one of the most impressive men to ever rule Westeros. A man who unified Westeros politically, economically, and culturally. A man who is known as the Ruthless, the Restorer, the Last Dragon, the Great, and the Last Hero. A man named Rhaegar I Targaryen (r: 283 - 303).

Worshipped by some as the greatest Dragonlord to ever rule Westeros, eclipsing his illustrious ancestors such as Aegon the Conqueror, Jaehaerys the Wise, and Daeron the Good. Though his reign wasn't as long as those of his predecessors, even a year shorter than that of his infamous father, Rhaegar Targaryen managed to transform the spirit and identity of Westeros and its people and shape it in the image of the House of the Dragon. A contemporary chronicler has written, 'There was none like him before or after, from Asshai to Lannisport, Hardome to Sothorys. There was only one Rhaegar,' It was said that after the reigns of Aegon VI and Maekar II, there was no difference between an Old Crownlander, a Stormlander, and a Riverlander for they were all Dragon's men.

Rhaegar I was fiercely intelligent, focused, a brilliant military commander, frighteningly dynamic, and energetic. Upon his death, the Westeros that he inherited from his father was not the Westeros that he left to his son Aegon VI. His only fault was to die earlier than most people would have wanted him to, that and being so horrifically ruthless and cold that many Maesters chronicling his reign have stated that he was conclusive proof that a man may be a hero and yet a monster.

By the end of his reign, serfdom had been abolished, the commoners were given more economic and political rights and freedoms than ever before while the power of the nobles was severely curtailed as a new middle class emerged as the economy of Westeros grew immensely to compass nearly a quarter of the world's economy. For an unprecedented two hundred years after the Battle of the Trident, Westeros was in a period of unseen peace and great economic prosperity, an era known as the Targaryen Renaissance.

The technological innovations that came about during the twenty years of Rhaegar's reign outclassed everything from the eight thousand years of Westerosi History. Westeros was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic than at any time since the beginning of recorded history One of the main drivers of his economic growth would be the stabilization of the once unpredictable weather cycle of Westeros, with each season taking around three months each in a year instead of the previous years-long weather occurring thanks to the defeat of the White Walkers.

The scientific, cultural, artistic, and architectural innovations during his reign were unseen since the Doom of Valyria. It was said that in Old Valyria and the early Targaryen rule of Westeros, dragons were the centerpiece of their dominance and power, yet under Rhaegar, dragons were no more than any other cog in the wheel of the Iron Throne. It was the Royal Army, the Royal Navy, the Royal Constabulary, the Royal Civil Services, the Royal Foreign Service, the Royal Intelligence Service, and all the related bureaucracy that helped cement Targaryen rule over Westeros with dragons being used as more as a deterrent and a last option instead of being the speartip of the Targaryen spear.

Despite these achievements, Rhaegar is still decried by some historians, especially in the North, the West, and in the Citadel as the man who established an autocracy, a man who ruled with an iron fist, his occasional cruel temperament, his habit of handing out his brutal justice on the spot, his tendency to resorting to extrajudicial murders, his arrest of many nobles without evidence and sentencing without trials or through rigged courts, his political assassinations, and suppression of free speech and censorship laws. Acts that to this day still have left an indelible mark on Westeros and in many parts of Western Essos.

Westeros was seen as a backward land by those in the East, yet after Rhaegar, it was seen as the new superpower of the world. A power that could go toe to toe with the Old Ghiscari Empire and a true successor of Old Valyria, towering over Volantis and Braavos and subjugating and vassalizing the Free Cities of Pentos, Myr, Tyrosh, and Lyr while occupying the Stepstones and the Lands beyond the Wall.

An excerpt from 'The Targaryen Renaissance - From Rhaegar I to Maekar III' by Professor Dwayne Smith, Head of the History Department of the Royal Academy

310 AC

Dragonhall (Previously known as Harrenhal)

Rhaenys looked on with a fond smile on her face as her children, Rhaegar and Elia played in the pools alongside her husband and brother Maekar. As they played in the water laughing. Spring was in the air and ever since her father defeated the White Walkers at the cost of his own life, the weather was much more predictable, less harsh, and far better than the way it was while she was growing up.

Her daughter Elia at nine namedays was the spitting image of Maekar, though her behavior was more like hers, while her son Rhaegar of six namedays was just like his Grandsire and namesake, both in looks and behavior, though less somber. While they played in the water, Rhaenys lounged in the sun on the pool deck.

Upon receiving Harrenhal after her marriage to Maekar, Rhaenys resolved to build a new Water Gardens in the dreary Harrenhal before anything else. The ruined Harrenhal was no more and in its place was Dragonhall, a palace, a fortress, and a city inside the massive and repaired walls. Parts of the Old Harrenhal were repaired and brought back to grandeur while the parts were demolished and replaced.

After a while, Maekar extracted himself from the pool while the children were taken by the servants to be dried off with towels, Maekar walked towards her wrapped in a towel, and sat down next to her on one of the lounge chairs on the pool deck before asking "What's bothering you love? I know something is,"

"You will be flying off to another war, and you expect me not to be bothered," Rhaenys turning a critical eye on him.

Maekar waved it off, "Eh, this new Triarchy needs to be taught a lesson. Those fools think that because Father is no more, they can play around with Westeros and get away with it. And Father knew about this and we already have premade plans for this, we will capture the Stepstones, conquer each of those three cities, and make them our vassals and we free the slaves."

"I am well aware Maekar, I helped Father make such contingency plans," Rhaenys lazily drawled.

"Then you must know how important it is to bring the Triarchy to heel else anyone else decides to try their luck in pulling the dragon's tail," Maekar replied.

"And at the same time you will end up antagonizing the Braavosi and the Volantenes, not to mention how expensive the occupation will be, it would be better if we occupy the Stepstones, break the Triarchy, and impose harsh treaties on them instead of outright annexing them," She answered.

Had her father been alive, the Triarchy would have never dared to occupy the Stepstones. Hells, even the pirates were careful not to attack any ship that flew the standard of the Targaryen-backed - Westerosi Trading Company. Something these Triarchy admirals conveniently forgot.

Maekar thought for a while "Ok then, how about this, we occupy the Stepstones and we break the Triarchy, and while we make them our client states we will still settle garrisons in the Disputed Lands and in the cities to maintain protections for the freed slaves while we let the magisters of the cities to rule themselves. And after a decade or so once we are satisfied that the slaves have integrated into the new society as freedmen, we will withdraw the garrisons all the while taxes from the Free Cities will help maintain the garrisons."

Rhaenys nodded, "Yes, but then you will have to plunder Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys to make up the cost of the war."

Maekar smirked, "I know that."

It was a pity that the Cannibal died alongside her father, the presence of the Cannibal was more than enough to deter the Free Cities from daring to annoy her father who intimidated the Prince of Pentos into executing Illyrio Mopatis and cowed the Myrish from daring to protest the expedition to wipe out the Golden Company.

"But that's not the only thing that is troubling me," Rhaenys got up and turned to Maekar who nodded knowingly, "I know, you are worried about the succession."

Alysanne and Maegelle were the only children that Egg and Dany had in over ten years of marriage, and Maegelle's birth was a difficult one that nearly broke Dany's womb. Qyburn warned that another child could kill her just like it happened to her mother. So Egg and Dany stopped on the children, though having only daughters meant that Maekar was due to succeed Egg despite Dany wishing for Alysanne to be named as heir.

"We will deal with that later, for now, we enjoy this period of sweet peace that our Father left us," Maekar said with a sigh, "I am sure we can get a betrothal between Alysanne and Rhaegar."

"Viserys wants Alysanne to marry his son Daeron, and Dany seems to agree with him," Rhaenys pointed out.

Viserys now has a dragon, and so does his son Daeron. Rhaenys too had her dragon as did her children and Egg's daughters. After Euron Greyjoy's death, the magical outburst caused seven of the incubating dragon eggs to hatch, one of them was her dragon Sundancer, a slender she-dragon with platinum-white scales, golden horns, and golden spinal crests.

Rhaegar and Elia bonded with the remaining dragons on their fifth namedays, the bronze dragon Ghiscar for Rhaegar and the dark blue and silver dragon Starfyre for Elia.

Maekar waved it off, "We will cross that bridge when we come to it, Father didn't make you the Director of the Royal Intelligence Service for no reason, I am sure that you will figure something out. After all, nobody wants to be on the bad side of the Princess of Poison."

"Of course, I will," Rhaenys snorted, ever since her father put her in charge of the Royal spy network, people began calling her the Princess of Poison after a spate of murders of nobles who were opposed to her father. Those accusations weren't without merit.

Rhaenys thought back to the day, nearly a decade ago when her father first brought her to the meeting of all the main spy handlers of the Royal Intelligence Service with Qyburn.

Flashback:

In an inconspicuous manse located near the Iron Gate, under the guise of being a manse owned by a merchant from Lys, the intelligence officers of the Royal Intelligence Service were seated in the long hall as her father introduced her to the Intelligence apparatus under Qyburn. Some were the little birds of Varys who were turned, and others were loyal, trustworthy, and discreet people from all over Westeros.

"Alright then, let us begin," Her father announced as he sat down at the end of the long table with Rhaenys by his right hand.

Qyburn got up and began to speak, "As of the last reports that we received last night, there have been a few attempts at sabotaging the shipments to the Wall, all the while even now, under the threat of the dead who are marching onto the Wall, there are more than a few major Lords of the North who wish to use the chaos of the upcoming war to declare independence. It is believed that after the war when all of the Royal Forces have been exhausted, they might strike. And finally, there are the usual reports of fanatics preaching against the dragons and the Royal family, mostly in the Tyrell-dominated parts of the Reach and in the West. The Citadel is quiet for now with most of them hoping to survive the coming storm."

For a while nobody said anything but looked to the King in expectation of a response before he turned to her and raised an eyebrow, Rhaenys immediately understood and turned to Qyburn and said, "Explain more about these sabotages on the shipments meant to the Wall?"

Qyburn turned to another officer who got up, "Lieutenant Blevin, in charge of the Eastern sector."

Rhaenys nodded, "Proceed."

"Ever since the revelation of the dead and that of the White Walkers, while outwardly the Free Cities have pledged to support us, there are many elements in the Free Cities who wish to see Westeros weakened, in the past decade, a great number of people have seen Westeros' rise in power as an alarming sign and as such, they wish to ensure that after this fight, Westeros remains crippled forever, just like before. And one of their methods is to ensure that the Wall remains weak to ensure that the dead break through and ravage throughout Westeros before they are brought down."

"A few saboteurs were captured before any particular damage could be brought about in the stores of Duskendale. They were placed on the flaying cross, I oversaw their interrogations, and they confessed to be working for a list of magisters from nearly all of the Free Cities."

"And what is being done to counter this act of subtle aggression?" Qyburn asked.

Lieutenant Blevin answered, "Currently, the only thing recommended is to increase security and ensure that the guards remain vigilant but as to deal with the main orchestrators, it will have to be dealt with at a later date. Starting a diplomatic incident with any of the Free Cities at this point would be unwise, it would be best to deal with them once the war with the dead has been won."

Rhaenys felt her blood boil but then she looked at her father who was looking at it with nonchalance before he turned to a female officer and asked, "And what about the North? Lieutenant Deborah."

Lieutenant Deborah got up and reported, "Lords Manderly, Umber, Glover, and Karstark are plotting for independence, they hope that your grace, the princes, and the dragons die during the war, to help them declare independence. Lady Catelyn Stark, heir of Winterfell Robb Stark, and Sansa Stark have also been involved in this conspiracy to convince Eddard Stark who is still unconvinced. Manderly is the ring leader and we have already laid out the memorandum of recommendations regarding this problem."

"Summarize them," Her father commanded.

"The Crown has tolerated Lord Manderly's plotting for too long, he is to be dealt with just as how Olenna Tyrell was dealt with by the Kingswood Brotherhood and Tywin Lannister was taken care of, by your actions, Your Grace. Lord Manderly will be traveling up the White Knife in a barge, we have readied plans to sink it. All that is needed is your final permission, Your Grace."

Qyburn brought forth a fine vellum roll before her father, with an order to execute Lord Manderly already drawn up, her father gave a quick read before nodding and signed the order before affixing his seal to it.

"What about the rest? The Stark bitch and her whelps as well as the Umber, Glover, and Karstark," Rhaenys then asked feeling her fury boil over into her words.

Deborah promptly answered, "Arnolf Karstark, the uncle of Rickard Karstark, and his son Cregan Karstark have been turned. They shall deal with Karstark and his sons, in recognition for his son Cregan to marry Alys Karstark and gain Karhold."

Her father nodded, "Very well then, as for Umber, Glover, Stark, and his son, I will take care of them during the war, after all, accidents happen. I need you to get rid of the Stark bitch and her daughter in the meantime."

"As you wish, Your Grace," Deborah bowed her head, then Rhaenys spoke, "Is there any house in the North, that is loyal to us."

Qyburn answered, "House Bolton, Dustin, and Ryswell are wholeheartedly on the side of the Crown, they hold no love for the Starks and a great fear for the Dragon. We have informants in nearly all the main suspect houses. They pose as traders, huntsmen, servants, stable boys, and the like. A good number of them are Northmen themselves, being turned after being bribed or having their families threatened. Everyone knows the story of Harrenhal and Pyke and they fear that should their Lords rebel against the Crown, they fear that their families will perish should the king turn his dragon upon the castle destroying everyone."

"Ever since the rebels lost the War of the Pretender, the myth of Northern invincibility that was propagated from the days of the Dance, under Roddy the Ruin and Cregan Stark has been shattered. Nearly everyone in White Harbor and every major Lord has seen the dragon, Cannibal, as such they fear the king, and that fear has permeated down to the people."

"And finally now, the fanatics in the West. What is to be done about them?" Her father then asked.

"We have prepared death squads to hunt down those mad septons and put an end to such talk," Qyburn answered to which her father nodded.

"Good, if that is all, we shall reconvene next month, you are dismissed."

"Tell me Rhaenys, what is the purpose of the Royal Intelligence Service?" Her father asked her as they sat down.

"Collect intelligence, provide analysis, and conduct covert operations for the security of the Crown," Rhaenys answered.

He laughed before saying, "Very good, Rhaenys, that is verbatim from the RIS guidebook and incorrect."

"Security is an illusion, if you want security then call the Army, the Navy, the Constabulary, they will put down the revolts. The Intelligence Service is a health care provider, they treat sickness, identify the symptoms, locate the point of pain, and treat the disease. Whether they arise from within or they come from the outside. Do you get my meaning?" Rhaenys nodded.

"You have a mind for subterfuge that your brothers lack, and I expect you to deal with that shortcoming of theirs. While Aegon and Maekar know that such an organization exists, they only know the superficial matters, you on the other hand will be in the belly of the beast."

She then asked a question that had been nagging her the whole time, "In the event of a civil war, who will the Royal Intelligence Service side with? And the same goes for the Royal Army and the Royal Navy."

Her father sighed and nodded before saying, "I thought of that happening, I don't doubt that the Army, Navy, and the Constabulary will be split depending on how the politics for their allegiance goes. The garrisons and bases located near Prince who claims the throne will naturally side with him, especially if he has a dragon. All we can hope for is that our descendants will be smart enough to spare their dragons the trouble of fighting and dying and leave most of it to their men instead."

"And the Intelligence Service?" Rhaenys questioned.

"The Intelligence Service will side with whoever the Director of the Service sides with which coincidently happens to be a locked spot for a Targaryen, no matter what happens Rhaenys, the person who succeeds you has to be a Targaryen."

Rhaenys nodded before she blurted out another long-held thought in her chest, "Why did you run away with Lyanna Stark?" Growing up in the apple of her father's eye, she never doubted anything her father ever did, she would support it to the end, but the one thing that she couldn't understand was why her father ran off with Maekar's mother and left her with her mother and brother under the Mad King's tender mercies.

Her father sighed and ran his hand over his face before pouring wine for them he answered, "The same reason why my great-grandfather killed nearly everyone at Summerhall, the same reason why Aerion Brightflame drank wildfire, and the same reason why my grandfather forced my parents to get married, all of it in an obsession for the Prince who was Promised and the promise for the return of dragons."

"I was blinded by my desire to fulfill that prophecy, to bring my dreams to fruition that I thought nothing of my duty as a Crown Prince, I thought for certain that all my problems would be solved should I take the path which I now deeply regret. Nothing I ever do will make up for what I did that day and I know it, all I can hope for now is to do right by you and your brothers for the sake of your mother."

"These prophecies, these dreams, they are a curse unto our family, not a gift," Her father took her hand and his indigo eyes bored into hers, "Which is why Rhaenys, I want you to promise me that you will never allow your brothers, your sons, nephews, nieces, and anyone else in our family to ever fall prey to this curse, and if they, give them the help they need to remove the hold that these wretched dreams can have upon our heads. Promise me."

"I promise," She softly muttered.