Well, this was it.
Look guys, I am not blind to the controversy of the ending of this story.
Was it rushed? Yes.
Was it "contrived"? Maybe.
Did I take a shot every time I saw that word? Yes.
Did it leave me hammered? No, I'm not a lightweight.
The ending was planned for a long time. Was I aware that some won't like it? Yes, Yes I was.
But the thing is, It doesn't matter to me. I was going to see it through.
He failed. I know he did. He fought pointlessly, did he? Well, he was never meant to succeed. But that's besides the point.
For those complaining about how its the exact same as the canon, I won't address that anymore cause I already did.(See my "Vision" author's note)
This here is not about the ending, its about what I was going to talk about: Aerion and Daemon.
Aerion Targaryen:
- I have mentioned how Aerion's character was supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to be the character he is right now. He was not supposed to be the Honorable Aerion, The Red Dragon, The Mighty, The Warrior Incarnate.
- His character, would he stayed the same as initially conceptualized, would have been a very troubled and very flawed monster. If the decision of retconning Aerion didn't happen and Daemyra stayed as is, then Aerion would have been something much more different. He was going to be an angry man, a person who didn't give a shit about anything and anyone.
- Now, keep in mind this is before I thought "oh shit, Vermithor is the Bronze Fury." And made him his mount. So his character wasn't really concrete to me.
- Aerion was going to be a manipulative person who would've caused nothing but scandals like his father. Now, this prototype version of Aerion isn't fully fleshed out because I scrapped it and went with the Aerion we know.
But here are some things he would've done:
• Choked Criston Cole out at 12 years old due to jealosy of his initial relationship with Rhaenyra. (Not killed him)
• Blackmailed Alicent because he saw her and Cole doing the thing (You can guess what would've been done)
• Manipulated a young Helaena into falling in love with her and deflowered her because Alicent prevented their bethrotal.
• Manipulated some events to have Criston Cole be executed. (He laughed right after)
• Slept with Rhaenyra simply to piss his dad off.
•Cause Blood and Cheese, pin it on Daemon, and kidnapped Helaena to keep her to himself
Kinda fucked up, no?
I am glad I went with the Mighty.
Now, that version of Aerion was in no way going to be as formidable as the real Aerion. And, personally, I am glad that's the case.
"Why did you not go with this version?"
Because Aerion's story is not over. And I am going with a specific theme that I like to see in stories. And that's that.
I won't spoil anything.
Now. Let's go to Daemon.
Daemon Targaryen's Fate:
- Ever since Daemon killed Rhea in this story, there had been a lot of comments in reaction to that. And the most common comment on that chapter and every other chapter that involved them interacting was "Is he ever going to find out?"
And my answer had always been "Nobody but Daemon knows."
It was obvious that he was suspected but no concrete evidence was gathered. Also, "falsely" accusing a Prince would get anyone that isn't a dragonrider, a pretty hot death.
- Now, I've mentioned this already but Aerion knowing that Daemon beat Rhea and not doing anything about it wasn't him being a weak or pathetic mc.
- Aerion had carried anger and resentment for YEARS since finding out. He couldn't just attack his own Father, who is a Prince, btw.
- That said, Daemon was never going to make it out of the story alive. Everyone wanted Aerion to kill him. They were so excited for it, I could feel it through my screen.
-But originally, Daemon wasn't going to be killed by Aerion. In fact, Aerion wasn't going to find out the truth until AFTER his death. Through a letter. That was a bad plan.
- I've mentioned already that I had 3 Aerion vs Daemon showdowns planned for a resolution to their beef.
1. The Tourney- They met in the Finals and they squabbled, no lethal attacks or anything. (I remember writing the Tourney and everyone loved it.)
2. Duel- In the mini-arc that Daemon wanted to take Visenya and Aegon with him, Daemon would've challenged Aerion to a duel in front of everyone present. They would use their actual blades with no armor and THERE would Daemon get his scar. He would obviously lose because Aerion is Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
3. Bronze vs Blood- A Vermithor vs Caraxes showdown that would've left Daemon and Caraxes injured. Because Daemon was still with his bullshit and at this point Aerion, Blade of Rhaenya, was tired.
- Instead of that, we got the Tourney and the Scarring, which I wasn't that proud of honestly. And I am too tired to even think of rewriting.
- The meaning behind the scar is still there, I wanted it there. Daemon left a scar on Rhea's face and now that Aerion sees his father, he'll think of her.
Lets move on.
I think we are all satisfied how Daemon's ending went. I know I am.
Daemon didn't want his son to be "weak" like Viserys and was proud of what Aerion became. He wanted to usurp Rhaenyra and put Aerion on the throne because in his mind, the Targaryen Legacy won't be tarnished that way.
In the end, Daemon's wish sorta came true. Deep down, he didn't agree with Jace or Luke succeeding Rhaenyra, much less Joffrey. Not because they were bastards, but because they weren't Aerion's biological sons.
And Aegon III became king with Visenya as his Queen. So he sorta got what he wanted.
That and Aerion becoming something that was necessary for himself; Accursed.
Accursed; that will play a major part in Aerion's character.
I had different fates planned for Daemon:
- After the planned Dragon battle, Vhagar would've blindsided Caraxes and bit a chunk off him and killing Daemon. This would've prompted Aerion to act in anger and would have had him accidentally kill Aemond.
- I was going to have Daemon rescue Rhea, who was being transported by the Royce Knights after being attacked by Aegon. Daemon would've had Caraxes injured after being jumped by Greyfiend, Sheepstealer, and Vhagar. Aerion would've come in to intervene but only kept the dragons distracted while Daemon fought the enemy on ground. While Aerion defeats and kills Greyfiend and Sheepstealer, Aemond retreats. Daemon grabs the baby Rhea and proceeds to escape, not before being pierced by arrows and one of them instantly kills him by hitting him in the neck.
And those are two alternatives to what we got.
Now, was the one we got good for you?
I liked it, it plays a huge part in Aerion's character.
And guys, that is it. I would love to thank you all for the support and know that I read almost every comment.
So I know what the consensus is.
That being said, there 3 Stories planned in this continuity;
- For The Queen, Not The Prince
- The Black Lord
- The Long Night
We could add a direct sequel to this one but who knows.
"Why would you do a direct sequel?" Well, Aerion didn't die and idk, maybe we could see what he did with the Dark Order, idk.
Read The Black Lord for a super duper major Reveal, ;)
Speaking of, I plan on taking that story to 150 chapters as well. And said super Reveal will either happen at the end or just past chaptet 100.
Anyways, "Epilogue: Bonus II" will be dropped soon.