The Age of Dancing Dragons? 1 (DA/ASOIAF Commission) (Patreon)

A Short Primer on the History of Westeros: From the Decades Before Aegon’s Landing to the Ten and Hundredth Year After Conquest

Penned by Senior Enchanter Dravor Sparr

A short primer, this book, not quite a history of Westeros itself but of its most important political actors and institutions. Still, a comprehensive one, including chapters on the Andal invasion, the Valyrian Freehold and the Doom, the origin and spread of the Faith of the Seven, the conquest by the Targaryens, the rise of the Iron Throne, and more.

To start, a basic understanding of the political climate at the time of Aegon’s Conquest should be provided. In addition to the seven distinct kingdoms, there were three organizations that could be loosely described as apolitical: the Night’s Watch, the Faith of the Seven, and the Circles of Maesters.

The Night’s Watch stands guard over The Wall, a massive structure constructed of enchanted ice that serves as the northernmost border of The North. Its members, most frequently referred to as Black Brothers, stand guard to keep the denizens of the Lands of Always Winter from attacking south of The Wall. Such denizens include a number of barbarian tribes, giants, shadowcats, brontos, and the elusive Frostback high dragon.

The Faith of the Seven, frequently shortened to just ‘the Faith’, has been in a state of flux this last century. Originally created and brought to Westeros by the Andals of Andalos, the Faith spread across the majority of Westeros, with only the worship of the Drowned God of the Iron Islands and the animistic faith of the Old Gods in the North remaining of the pre-Andal faiths. While for a time the Faith arguably possessed more political power than any single kingdom, the coming of the Targaryen Dynasty has seen a sharp curtail of their political power.

The Circles of Maesters, with the center of power being the Citadel Circle in Old Town, serves as both the center of learning within Westeros as well as the largest gathering of mages in the known world after the Doom of Valyria. While the Free Cities of Essos frequently have mage orders of their own, none possess a sphere of influence or pool of recruits on the scale of the Circles.

Of these three organizations, the Night’s Watch saw the least change with the arrival of the Targaryen Dynasty. The Faith Militant, the armed division of the Faith intended to rigorously enforce the Faith’s doctrines on both the use of magic and the behavior of its followers, was disbanded, their ability to quell and nullify the ability to cast spells of mages ineffective against the Targaryen’s dragonfire, while the Circles were restructured and made to accept any who showed the gift for magic instead of merely those of noble bloodlines.

The first of-

I closed the book, gently, with an annoyed grumble. I had hoped that it would have details on the rumored magics of the First Men that I’d heard about. Specifically the ability to take on the forms of beasts, it was something I’d been looking for ever since I first arrived at the Citadel Circle.

Thus far, despite my six years of rigorous study, absorbing any scrap of information and knowledge I can get my hands on, I have found nothing. The closest I’ve found to detailed descriptions of the magics of the First Men has been a reference to the Isle of Faces near Harrenhal.

With a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair as I considered what to do next. I’d gone through every tome and text I could find in the Citadel Circle on the magics of the First Men, maybe I should see about traveling to one of the other Circles, particularly the ones in the North.

I rose from my desk, taking my candle to light the rest of my room in the dormitory before picking up a fresh candle from my dresser to use instead of my current one, the end already shrunken down from use. Collecting some fresh parchment to write notes on, I snapped a finger and lit the fresh candle.

Alright, I needed to travel to another Circle, there were three ways I could go about it. The first was to sneak out and make my way on foot, without permission. Something I would like to avoid doing, if only because while the Templars of the Faith Militant weren’t around anymore, it was still frowned upon for a mage to be traveling alone and unwatched if they weren’t from one of the most important noble families.

The second method was to put in a formal request for a transfer. I had completed my Harrowing, so there were no restrictions to where I could or couldn’t go anymore. However, my personal project was such a low priority that I couldn’t even begin to imagine them giving me the permission to transfer. Especially since the majority of the Citadel Circle saw the rumors and tales of First Men magics as something to be scoffed at, delusions of superstitious commoners.

The final option was to take my project to a different Circle and get someone there to take me along with them when they requested a transfer, if only to provide an escort or because I was familiar with the topic of the project. It was by far the most likely option, as well as the one that had the best chance of working.

The trick would be to find someone who was already getting an accepted transfer to one of the Circles in the North. I knew of some people that had already applied and had the applications approved, but none were willing to go along with my project.

I shook my head. It wasn’t an immediate problem. If I had to I would just try and take it up with Grand Enchanter Jenifire. Most likely she would refuse, but the Citadel Circle would want to have something to show for its time, even if it was just an exhaustive cataloging of the knowledge regarding a topic that is considered fanciful.

Shaking my head, I sat down and picked up my quill pen. I needed to find a more immediate topic of interest to present to my superiors, and soon. If I presented them with what I actually wanted, I’d be laughed down to the basement archives.

I considered what I already had access to and knew about. It didn’t take long for a subject to stick out. I looked towards my notes from a history book. The War of Conquest was an important part of Westeros history. With the coming of the dragons, the Targaryens had unified all of the Seven Kingdoms into a single kingdom.

While I couldn’t research the dragons directly, as I wasn't part of the Targaryen bloodline. I could propose a research project comparing the Targaryen dragons with the high dragons native to the mountainous regions of Westeros.

Hopefully, it would be something that I could use to get what I actually wanted.

[hr][/hr]

A week later, and I was departing the Citadel Circle for the Moat Cailin Circle in the North. The approval to research the dragons and high dragons was far easier to get than I thought. Apparently the Citadel Circle wanted to take every chance it could to look into dragons, a fact they kept quiet because of the Targaryens.

With a pack filled with everything I needed slung over my shoulder and the letter of introduction to the Grand Enchanter of Moat Cailin in hand, I looked up at the looming spire that served as the Citadel Circle and waved to it as I left.

As much as I liked living at the Citadel Circle and being surrounded by books all day long, I wasn't too sad about leaving. It wasn't as if I would be away forever,if all went well, I'd be able to return after finding a teacher who could show me shapeshifting.

“Still excited to be going to the North?” my escort asked with a smile. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

Artur Hill was one of the guards in service to the Circles, and despite his claims to the contrary it was obvious to anyone with even a single functioning eye he had Lannister blood. With a strong chin, sharp nose, and long blonde hair, there wasn’t a chance that he wasn't related to the famous house.

“Of course,” I answered simply, earning a barked laugh.

"Good! You might be in need of a bit more fire if you're heading to the North!" Artur exclaimed with a boisterous laugh, clapping a hand down onto my back. I let out a sigh and continued to trudge forward, the guardsman staying just behind my shoulder as he led me along the Kingsroad.

The plan was to follow the Kingsroad until we reached Harrenhal, stay there for a time for me to check with the local Circle, before moving on northward. Depending on how things went, the stop could last from a week to several months.

The only thing I didn't like about the plan was the idea of visiting Harrenhal. The Veil was thin there, due to the sheer amount of death, both from when Aegon atop his dragon Belarion melted the walls and the carnage that Harren himself had reveled in.

With the Veil so thin, the Fade was so much closer. While the Fade was the source of a mage’s power, it was also home to demons that, if a mage wasn’t careful, would possess a mage, turning them into an Abomination. The thinner the Veil, the louder demons were.

It wasn't much of a stretch to consider that Harrenhal was cursed, even ignoring the fact that its sheer size made maintaining it a monetary and logistical nightmare. I suppose that it was one of the few reasons it wasn’t inhabited by any one of the lords of Westeros.

While Artur had little care about my unease, the Fade and Harrenhal included, I had been warned about his tendency to quip and joke at anything and everything. It was just my luck that my first trip outside the Citadel Circle would be with one of the most garrulous guards.

Shaking my head, I forced down my frustration as Artur started in on his newest tirade about how boring his patrols had been since the Targaryens started making an effort to enforce their new rules about the Circles. I knew it was pointless to try and make the man stop.

I’d learned from our time traveling that there was little that could deter Artur when he was in one of his moods. He either hated quiet or just liked the sound of his own voice that much, and there wasn't any way for me to muffle him with any sort of magic I possessed without outright casting a Silence spell.

Not that it was possible to “Silence” anyone, as it was a spell that only existed in stories, a spell that could actually force someone into absolute silence was, to the best of my knowledge, just something out of the realm of possibility. No matter how many acolytes and apprentices, myself included, had tried to find one to use on snoring bunkmates.

Thankfully, despite his need to fill the air with chatter, he didn’t let it get in the way of his duties or in the various tasks involved in establishing camp when nighttime came. Starting a campfire was a simple matter, I could think of three and ten different fire spells that would suffice off the top of my head, and Artur apparently was good enough with making makeshift snares that we broke our fast each morning with a brace of rabbits.

As we traveled, I slowly grew accustomed to Artur’s snark and need to talk. I had to admit, as annoying as he could be, he was growing on me. Like a mushroom. He’d laughed for a good five minutes when I’d made that comparison in response to him insisting that I was growing fond of him.

Then, after two weeks on the Kingsroad, we finally came to our first stop: Harrenhal. While Artur and the few others that we’d ended up joining with during the time on the road would be able to enjoy a chance to rest in beds, I could feel the thinness of the Veil. To say that it made me nervous was an understatement.

Even before I could ask about the possibility of visiting the Isle of Faces, I needed to speak with the Harrenhal Circle to find out how common maleficarum (blood mages), abominations, or revenants were in the area.