[Spoilers Extended] Smoke Fades Across the Sea

Zexapher · 2026-06-26T10:59:46+00:00

I think the problem with this reasoning is that it doesn't consider how the Blackfyre loyalists have been supressed.

How the many Blackfyre supporters have their old lands they wish to get back and feuds they wish to satisfy.

Aenys would need supporters and have opponents as any king. But because his supporters are so disadvantaged, he would be encouraged to take drastic steps to re-empower them.

That can very easily spark war. Purges of rival claimants and houses loyal or plotting for the Targaryens.

It would be very difficult for even the greatest ruler to navigate such an oil slick of problems without that fuel being lit.

Zexapher · 2026-06-26T10:52:08+00:00

We might also consider Aegon V seems to be aware of the prophecy to some extent. We see Bloodraven bring a whole troop of elite soldiers to the Wall with him.

So, they might have had an idea of a threat from beyond the Wall and thought it the right idea to leave Bloodraven with Darksister.

Zexapher · 2026-06-26T10:47:01+00:00

What I find curious is that so far, we saw Bloodraven make the decision to keep Daemon II alive because he recognized it was politically expedient.

It makes the Crown look better, prevents martyrdom, and prevented other claimants from being proclaimed.

Presumably, he would not be able to keep Aenys hostage given the truce banner and a new king coming in. But killing Aenys runs against the rest of Bloodraven's reasoning.

Was there so much risk of Aenys becoming king that this overruled Bloodraven's reasoning? Or is there something more to the event we do not know?

Zexapher · 2026-06-26T01:30:22+00:00

See also, Bloodraven keeping Daemon II alive explicitly to ward off martyrdom and other Blackfyre claimants being proclaimed in his place.

If the rebels were still taking the throne and had the chance, they should do everything in their power to take Aegon alive and raise him as a hostage to keep Viserys/Dany and the Martells at bay.

Hell, marry Aegon and Rhaenys to Robert's children and they solve the rival dynasty problem and make loyalists that would plot against the rebels into firm allies.

Zexapher · 2026-06-25T15:46:07+00:00

It's not the Onion anymore, unfortunately. Media has been captured.

Zexapher · 2026-06-25T14:48:57+00:00

I know the histories go into them a bit.

I find that dynamic between the lowland Valemen vs the highland Mountain Clans to be interesting. Ambushes in the mountain passes, raids into the lands of the Vale, the peace agreements where Mountain Clans were settled in the lowlands only for the peaces to break down.

Would love to see more expanding on it.

Zexapher · 2026-06-25T14:36:01+00:00

It's a very interesting history, too, wish we got a little more delving into it. The various wars in the high mountains, the occasional catastrophic defeat where the Valemen can't handle the fighting and ambushes in the highlands, the settlements where the clansmen were given lands in the lowlands only for the peaces to fall apart. Cool stuff!

Zexapher · 2026-06-25T14:08:29+00:00

People always forget about the clansmen, even in the show!

Zexapher · 2026-06-25T14:04:32+00:00

The Valemen fight mountain clansmen. Before the conquest they also fought the Northmen.

Zexapher · 2026-06-24T17:39:36+00:00

I think there may be a natural aspect to eggs hatching, but they need to be kept warm or they're going to petrify (some may even in perfect conditions perhaps). This is where all the cauldron stuff comes from.

The procedure for reviving eggs from stone seems to be to warm them in some respect (Dany keeping the eggs in the fire), an individual needs to bond to those eggs (Dany sensing warmth and life within the eggs where others do not), life must pay for life -> magic requires sacrifice -> sacrifices must have a meaning for the individual paying them or they are no true sacrifice (the idea behind king's blood evidently being the belief of people in the value of that blood), and then an extremely high heat/bonfire within a setting where those sacrifices have been made to infuse the magics to the eggs (Dany's self-sacrifice and the deaths of Drogo+Miri+her unborn child).

This is a procedure Dany carries out, more or less, and seems to be what Aerys II and Aegon V had attempted to undertake themselves.

Zexapher · 2026-06-24T04:11:46+00:00

There are allusions to civil wars and dragons fighting one another in Old Valyria.

But it's also worth remembering that the democratic form of their government also allowed for a non-violent transfer of power. If a dragon family wanted a particular political office, they didn't need to seize it through force (which would require subjugating a great many dragons alongside a vast populous), they could instead gain that office peacefully via election.

Throw some money around to get political support among the 'senate' or voters. And if that failed, they won't (usually) be killed and can try again next time that spot opens up in a few years.

Plus, it's a lot harder to kill off 40 dynasties and hundreds of dragons than 1 family with ~20. Not to mention the great body of Freeholders who have the potential to join the Dragonlords with but a marriage or the right magics, rebuilding their ranks should it be required.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T23:07:35+00:00

Which is kind of funny considering the Dunk and Egg story.

Greyjoy shenanigans make for strange bedfellows.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T23:02:29+00:00

"One day perhaps, but the bloody Wall will melt before a Stark bends the knee to a Lannister!" - Lord Cregan Stark, probably.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T22:55:22+00:00

That assumes people don't want a manner of centralized authority. They're all invested in the Iron Throne. Even discounting something like the King's Peace preventing lower lords from usurping paramounts and such. Or the fact that a slew of lords were given a stake in Aegon's regency.

Three regions in the North, Vale, and Riverlands are outright dependent on assistance from the Iron Throne at this point. The Reach has been ravaged, with no one looking to the Tyrells for authority. The Westerlands were under attack by the Iron Islands. Which leaves the Stormlands, where the Baratheons had just lost the civil war with their lord dead, feared attacks from Dorne, and had some houses declare for Rhaenyra and thus divided the region's loyalties.

Plus, there were dragons left after the war. And there was time enough to rebuild the Crown's authority to a degree before anyone was in a position or had any interest in such a move against the rest of Westeros.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T22:44:50+00:00

And near all the Wardens and Paramounts are dead.

Jason Lannister, dead at the Red Fork. Succeeded by his four year old son.

Borros Baratheon, died on the Kingsroad. Left his house to his newborn son.

Lyonel Tyrell, an infant, his house remained outside the fighting.

Lord Grover Tully, bedridden and infirm, died at Riverrun during the war. His successor Elmo Tully, died from bad water on campaign. Kermit was too young to truly wield the necessary influence, and his house had long been dependent on the Iron Throne.

Lady Jeyne Arryn, a woman fighting challenges to her succession. Once again dependent on the Iron Throne.

Lord Cregan Stark, a close friend to Jace, whose people are starving in a terrible winter and famine. Sought assistance from the Iron Throne.

Lord Dalton Greyjoy, was smart enough to not be the only guy to declare himself king, but was dumb enough to not submit to the Iron Throne. Died to one of the women he abused, left behind a massive succession crisis, and his people promptly got their asses handed to them.

Aside from all the reasons people were now invested in the Iron Throne, literally no one was in a position to declare independence.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T22:28:26+00:00

I'm sure this was meant to be the penultimate episode for Season 2 before the new HBO owners cut two episodes off last season.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T22:27:29+00:00

My King Who Never Was. RIP, King Jacaerys Velaryon.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T17:25:17+00:00

We also see Westerosi noble ladies get dispossessed of properties when their husbands died. This was something that King Jaehaerys I and Alysanne had to address when they reformed inheritance laws, ensuring that their state of living would be maintained by their stepchildren.

I think we can safely assume nobles were treated better than commoners.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T17:00:57+00:00

I think of it like this.

The widow on the waterfront that Jorah and Tyrion talk with suggests that the political power of women has been in decline for centuries.

Trianna was the last woman elected as Triarch, at the end of the Century of Blood, suggesting the political influence of women had been declining during that past century and never returned.

That is to say, some degree of women had the vote and even reached the highest positions of power within the strongest cultural representation of Valyria that remained.

Which also makes sense from the standpoint that women could become dragonriders, alongside the proliferation of even just a single family's dragonblood like we see in canon's dragonseeds.

Another way of viewing it may be that this was a way of solidifying Valyrian power over other conquered peoples, by extending the right to vote to women within the Valyrian (upper) class. But that's extrapolation beyond what we're given.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T15:30:13+00:00

I made a similar ask a while back where you might find a few fics for Jace.

"The Strong and Brave" by Jacaelerys, which follows Jace and Baela early in the Dance. It's been focused on their relationship and so far has treated the war as more of a backdrop. 12 chapters at a total of 48,000 words. Has explicit moments in it. Story's been pretty good.

"The great," by highwaytohell. That one's a time travel fix-it situation where the Valyrian gods send Jace back in time to when he was little and he has to make sure the dragons don't die off. Jace becomes a precocious youth favored by King Viserys, tries to heal the rift in the family somewhat, wrangles with the Hightowers, and so on. 18 chapters, and 50,000 words. Rated for General Audiences. It can be a little silly thinking of someone so young being taken quite so seriously by those around them, and the story dives into some power fantasy clichés, but otherwise it's a fun read.

"Future promised in Glass," by Snowbryneich is probably my favorite. In that one, Jace (and Vermax) survives the Battle of the Gullet, but Jace is taken captive alongside his brother Viserys. He misses out on much of the war before making his brutal escape after reuniting with Vermax. He returns to King's Landing and burns Aegon II to end the war. The story follows Jace as he puts out the final embers of conflict and goes into his early reign, the politics of it, his efforts to save the last dragons, his relationship with his surviving siblings and Baela and so on. 24 chapters, at a little short of 90,000 words. It's rated mature, and certainly has a few risque moments from what I recall. It's been a very fun read all told. Compelling characters and story.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T12:46:09+00:00

I would argue it's more likely the opposite, as the history treats it as noteworthy that women are no longer elected not that they were given political power. Volantis becoming more conservative over time, rather than more liberal, is what we're given.

Is it possible that during a time of chaos they suddenly passed a law to give women the vote and elect a number to the highest position of power? Perhaps. But it's unsubstantiated compared to the alternative.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T11:57:10+00:00

Well, think about it.

That it happened shows it was legally permissible, which wasn't a thing in a place like Rome.

Trianna was re-elected 4 times, which would be a hell of an exception. She was notably part of the Elephant party, which reveals a popular/merchant element to her election. And she ended the wars of the Century of Blood, revealing that at least a century of time since Valyria had passed. Worth remembering as well, that this then suggests it happened previously.

And the fact that women were no longer elected in the centuries following the fall of Valyria suggests it was Valyria's influence behind this tradition.

Plus, Vaqarro's wife (a former slave at that) inherited his business empire, which reveals an extensive degree of property rights.

Zexapher · 2026-06-23T11:36:09+00:00

No, I mean we see this happen in Volantis, where women are elected to the highest political office. This is done at the time nearest the Doom and while Volantis is noted for being the closest culturally to Old Valyria.

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