Maesters, septas and septons would teach the history of the Dance of the Dragons to their charges for centuries following the events, but each tutor's version of events would differ slightly.
How did the Dance start?
Did it start with the maiming of Aemond's eye by his nephew Lucerys? Did it start with Viserys refusing to disown Rhaenyra as his heir and install his son Aegon in her place? Perhaps it began when Rhaenyra and her children fled King's Landing to avoid loud speculation of her sons' parentage. Or was it when Viserys's health began to decline rapidly and the Hightower grip on power increased? Maybe it started when Aegon was installed as King of the realm, or when Lucerys was thrown from his dragon by Aemond and Vhagar.
Or was the Dance of the Dragons just a culmination of lifetimes of family resentment of power dynamics?
Whatever the cause, the ending was the same. Two lines of the same family imploding into unspeakable violence and destruction.
There was one septa in the North, however, who would teach her pupils that the Dance of the Dragons was a lesson in parenting. If Viserys had been a better father to all of his children, maybe the resentment that had built up over the years would have been replaced by a feeling of love. If Otto Hightower had raised his daughter with care and affection, rather than commodifying her as a tool for power, perhaps the matriarchs of the two Targaryen factions would have raised their offspring to be friends rather than fear one another.
If Daemon Targaryen had not left his oldest daughter in the care of his brother to pursue a marriage with Laena Valeryon, leaving her in the grasp of the Hightowers he so despised, then perhaps she would not have grown up with resentment in her heart.
All what-ifs, but the truth of the matter is that the Dance of the Dragons did happen, and many fell victim to the violence: Targaryens, nobles and smallfolk alike. This is my version of the story, one to add to the collection already written by septons who have come before me.
This is A Dance of Hearts and Dragons.
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A Dance of Hearts and Dragons | Aegon II Targaryen
FanficIn the turbulent world of Westeros, where alliances are as fragile as the peace they strive to uphold, the young Alysanne finds herself caught between two mighty factions. Born of fire and lion's pride, she is the daughter of Daemon Targaryen and My...
