The Targaryen Freehold
From the Fires of the Doom that brought Old Valyria low, Aegon Targaryen and his sister-wives built their own Freehold from the ruins of its children. The first of Valyria's daughters to allow the dominion of their new ruler were Myr, Lys and Tyrosh. Easily accepting the man that had come to aid them in their time of need against the Volantene expansion.
Visenya Targaryen, the first of Aegon's bride took upon her dragon and flew north to Lorath and gained their submission with nary a fight for their freedom. Some tried to defy the dragon rider but her beast Vhagar made short work of them, bathing them all in dragon fire. The smart ones though, they bowed and accepted their new rulers of the last of the dragonlords and Lorath's feeble might was added to the growing strength of the Targaryens.
Rhaenys Targaryen though took flight to Pentos and with sweet words and honeyed wine, she won over the Pentoshi without blood being spilt.
With their forces assembled, they marched for Volantis for the oldest of Valyria's daughters had defied them in accepting the Targaryens as their new lords despite having offered the Targaryens a crown of their own in the past. It was said that Volantis refused to accept Aegon as their lord for the losses he had inflicted on them, yet that reason alone would make one wonder why they decided to fight in the first place if they saw what Aegon and his Black Dread could do.
Volantis fought for a while, then Aegon and Rhaenys fell upon them and that was the end of it. With the last of the party that came to be called the tigers defeated and dead, bathed in dragon fire on the field, the elephants hold on Volantis was more secure than ever. Their defiance a politcal ploy by the elephants to rid themselves of their hated rivals? Perhaps and most likely, but the deed had been done and once again, dragon fire had been washed upon the sons of Volantis.
Something that Aegon most likely new the Volantenes would remember.
With Volantis brought to heel, Aegon turned his sights towards Qohor and Norvos. Orys Baratheon, his rumoured half-brother marched north to capture the two cities, Rhaenys providing support upon her own dragon, Meraxes. The two cities, seeing what had happened to proud, old Volantis were quick to capitulate with little resistance.
With that, the Daughters of Valyria had all been brought to heel. Then Aegon tasked Orys Baratheon to take a host and capture the settlements of Valyria that had never been true to carry out their own affairs. With a host of forty thousand men on his back, Orys marched east. Despite the threat posed by the barbarian Dothraki, Tolos, Mantarys and Elyria fell to Orys' army nonetheless.
Back in western Essos, Aegon with his sisters and assembled men of influence and repute in Volantis, debated on the need to invade the bastard daughter of Valyria. The fogs of its hills made it impossible for the dragons to fall upon the city like they had done with great success. The Titan protected the only path into the lagoon that Braavos lay in. The hills of its territory too treacherous to be fought and taken by land.
And there was the greatest threat of them all, the Faceless Men.
Above all else, the Targaryens feared the famed assassins of the House of Black and White. Upon their dragons, they were invincible, even on land, they were protected by able men, Aegon and Visenya themselves able warriors of great skill and note. But all the protection in the world would not be able to protect them from a blade in the night with the face of a friend, a lover or a supporter.
So Braavos was spared from the predations of the dragons.
With his Conquest done, Aegon was crowned Aegon, the First of His Name, Emperor of the Targaryen Freehold and his wives, co-empresses. In the span of a year, an empire had been born, that some said was only rivalled by the far-off land that was known only as Yi Ti.
Aegon's first act, was to declare the Volantis the capital of his new found Freehold. What better way to keep an eye on his enemies in the elder daughter than rule in their city, interacting with them personally?
Though Aegon had now a crown and an empire, he soon came to learn that the conquest was the easy part. It was the ruling that would come to demand of him the most for still he had many enemies and many of them balked at the thought of bowing down to an emperor after being free for so long.