Alright guys, since I don't want this author's note to take a good chunk of the next chapter, I might as well do it here. First of all, I appreciate the support, as always. I can't believe this story is that well received, we just passed 900k reads, it's awesome. Then again, I'm the one pumping out chapters like crazy lol.
Okay, to business; As you are aware, this Story will eventually lead to the Dance of Dragons, that much is obvious. And the story is currently a few years from the inevitable fate. Now, I wanted to do around 3 or 4 Major arcs before that happens. We're about to go into the first of said arcs and I don't think it'll last that long, just a couple of chapters; 5 at most, I think.
Before we start the Dance, several things have to happen, of course. The first and obvious one is the birth of Aegon III and Viserys II. As mentioned in the Black Lord, those two are actually Kings and nothing much has changed about that part of history (Well, some things are...not gonna spoil ;) ) Which means that Aegon III and his sons are Kings and Viserys II and his son, Aegon IV are Kings as well. Now, of course, there will be changes when it comes to these two characters, slightly major if anything. The clear change is that while they are related to Daemon Targaryen, they are not his sons, but rather Grandsons. Of course, we'll tackle them when we get to them, but Aegon and Viserys will have to be born before the Dance.
Another major aspect I want to conclude, without spoiling too much, is Aerion and Daemon's relationship. I want to get you guys excited for this; something will go down. But I want to say something about the biggest Elephant in The Room; Daemon killing Rhea Royce. Nobody and I mean nobody in the story knows that Daemon did it, only Daemon himself. You, the Readers, and myself, the author, we obviously know. And many want Aerion to "Crash Out" and get his get-back in Fire and Blood. But I want you guys to trust me on this, just trust me. Not gonna say anything, but cross your fingers and Trust The Process.
Regarding the misunderstanding from a few chapters back, I have to say this again; Aerion will not turn into another Daemon. Aerion Targaryen's inner struggle is that he does NOT want to end up like his Father and Daemon Targaryen's whole logic is that whether he likes it or not, Aerion is his blood, so he'll end up like him regardless of what he tells himself. But the reason Daemon thinks this is because Daemon not only hurt his mother, he abandoned and neglected them for all of his life (All that Aerion knows, obviously). And because of that, Daemon is 100% sure that he will either turn out like him or worse. But Aerion will not, because he is better.
Aerion has shown Daemon-like characteristics, like losing his temper back when Qarl Correy was brought before him; he decapitated that man. He backtalked the Queen, almost nobody can do that without getting away with it. (Then again, Aerion, like Rhaegon, has special Royal Privileges because they like him.) and him being extremely petty towards Daemon himself.
Of course, there's that moment when he goes "overboard" with Criston Cole in the Tourney. Daemon thinks that only someone like himself would do such a thing without fear of getting punished.
Yes, Aerion shows characteristics of his Father, he is Daemon's son after all. Why wouldn't he?
But Aerion's fate is not to turn out like Daemon Targaryen. Aerion Targaryen was loved and respected by all, enemies and allies alike. In The Black Lord, Prince Oberyn and Doran Martell straight up state that Aerion is held in such high regard even more than a century after Aerion fought the Martells in Bloodstone. Everyone who came after the Dance treats Aerion with respect, he is the figure that Aemon the Dragonknight looks up to, and he is someone that Daemon Blackfyre wishes to be like; A Powerful Warrior who does what needs to be done in the name of Duty, Honor, and Family. Much like the Tully's motto.
Just wanted to clarify that so I don't get disappointed comments about Aerion. I know he's Daemon's replacement. I mean, I thought it would be fitting. I never liked the idea of an Uncle marrying his Niece, especially since Daemon is significantly older than Rhaenyra. And I know Rhaenyra being significantly older than Aerion doesn't make it better, but at least Rhaenyra isn't stuck with Daemon Targaryen as a husband, but as a Father-in-Law.
Now, the reason I jump ahead of time is so I can get as close to the Dance as possible. There is the Aerion/Daemon Arc I wanna tackle, then a couple of moments that I rewrote from the show that I just wanna write because why the hell not?
I saw a couple of comments claiming that they're tired of little to no changes on the plot, for example: The "Incident" chapter in which the whole Aemond incident happens in Driftmark. I know that "MC was useless" but you have to understand one thing; Aerion was suddenly frozen in a difficult position. He cares about his Hightower Cousins, he really does. And he also cares about Rhae's kids. And then he was suddenly thrown into a marriage and since he's an honorable man who will do his duty, he had to take Rhae's side. Also, why would Aerion kill Criston Cole without provocation? Like yea, I get that Criston was going to move onto Luke but Aerion warned him not to and hey, Criston did not. So that whole thing about not changing the plot.....well, excuse me for trying to go along with the actual story in order to not confuse anyone.
(That was a bit of a tangent, I apologize.)
Anyways, I think that is it. I might upload another chapter tonight. Big emphasis on "might" but it's mostly leaned on a "No". So yea, I really do appreciate all the support on this story. I would like to point you guys to "The Black Lord" if interested. When I hit around 100 or so chapters, I'll resume my work on that story.
Have a good night.