Chapter 375

The historic meeting between the "Prince That Was Promised" and the "Vice Prince" had its twists and turns, veering far from either side’s expectations. Fortunately, it didn’t descend into catastrophe. Late at night, Aegor received word from Melisandre—news that, while frustrating, forced him to accept reality. Her clandestine meeting with the red priest Moqorro had yielded remarkable results, proving that no amount of logic or reason could rival the whispered suggestions of a so-called holy man in the ear of someone in power.

Through this unofficial channel, Aegor finally got what he needed: a formal dismissal. He and his party would be permitted to leave Dragonstone at dawn, with the queen’s fleet ordered to allow the Night’s Watch ship, Blackbird, safe passage. As for his primary request—to spare the Night’s Watch industrial complex—there was no clear answer. However, Melisandre hinted that Moqorro would work to persuade the queen on his behalf.

The bait had been swallowed, and the initial results were promising. This brought Aegor a measure of relief. As long as the Targaryen queen remained curious about the second half of his heavily modified The Prince, she was unlikely to burn bridges—or his industrial compound. If he could lure her to the Gift, there might even be an opportunity to further influence her thoughts, ideologies, and decisions, paving the way for a much grander plan.

After a brief night’s rest, Aegor left Dragonstone at dawn, accompanied by Melisandre. Before departing, he entrusted Missandei with a letter thanking Daenerys for her audience, explaining the location of the complete version of 'Sovereign', and extending a formal invitation to visit the Gift. By sunrise, Aegor was back aboard the Blackbird, which slowly sailed out of Dragonstone’s harbor under the watchful eyes of the loyal Targaryen fleet. The ship’s course turned east, toward the already-blockaded King’s Landing, with the rising sun behind them.
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For his southern journey, Aegor had brought more than just Melisandre and a few trusted guards. His entourage included rowers and sailors from Eastwatch, men accustomed to bartering with foreign ships at the Night’s Watch docks. These men, skilled in multiple languages and exceptional at gathering information, had been instructed to socialize with the guards at Dragonstone’s harbor and the crew of the Targaryen fleet. While the meeting inside the castle had been tense and unsatisfying, Aegor’s men had succeeded in learning a great deal, which they reported in full during the short journey to King’s Landing.

Most of the information was irrelevant or already known to Aegor, thanks to his knowledge as a transmigrator. However, two pieces stood out.

First, the Greyjoy banner flying at Dragonstone’s harbor did not signify Euron Greyjoy’s forces but rather the remnants of the Iron Fleet under Victarion Greyjoy, who had long ago been sent to Slaver’s Bay. Victarion himself had perished under dragonfire, and this small, unaltered remnant of the Iron Fleet had since been conscripted into Daenerys’s navy, serving as a minor part of the Targaryen naval forces.

Second, a major deviation in the timeline had occurred: Daenerys had not brought the Dothraki to Westeros. Instead, her army included a disciplined, well-armed corps of over ten thousand freedmen.

These freedmen were not the wildlings beyond the Wall but former slaves from Meereen. After Meereen’s liberation, Daenerys had selected the strongest and most capable among them for military training modeled on the Unsullied’s regimen—though without the physical and psychological torment. The result was a force of elite infantry, weaker than the Unsullied but far superior to most other troops.

Aegor quickly pieced together the reason for this change. With Petyr Baelish as her advisor, Daenerys had maintained firm control over Meereen. The city’s minor nobles had either been exiled or subdued, and rebellions like the Sons of the Harpy had been swiftly snuffed out. Unlike Tyrion in the original timeline, Baelish’s cunning and ruthlessness ensured a stable internal environment. Without internal strife or the pressures of forced marriage alliances, Daenerys never faced the assassination attempt in the fighting pits or fled Meereen to the Dothraki Sea. As a result, she never united the Dothraki horde to bring them across the Narrow Sea.

Instead, the stable rule of Meereen allowed her to raise and arm a disciplined freedmen army. Though smaller in number than the Dothraki and less mobile, this infantry force was better equipped, more disciplined, and far less burdensome on logistics.

Daenerys now commanded three dragons, thousands of Unsullied, over ten thousand freedmen, and a scattered navy of a few thousand sailors and support personnel. With these forces, she had secured her foothold in Westeros by landing on the shores of Blackwater Bay, capturing the Crab Claw Peninsula, and advancing on Duskendale to establish a stable supply line. While her forces were more than enough to challenge Stannis in King’s Landing, they were far from sufficient to reunify the Seven Kingdoms as her ancestor Aegon the Conqueror had done. This, Aegor realized, was why Daenerys was so eager to seek alliances and recognition from third parties.
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As the sun climbed higher, spreading light and warmth across the land, the wind shifted to blow inland. Dragonstone was but a short distance from King’s Landing, and the Blackbird, propelled by both sail and oar, made excellent time. Before noon, it crossed into waters controlled by Stannis’s loyalist fleet, where it was intercepted by one of his warships.

Luck was on their side. The ship’s commander, a knight converted to the faith of R’hllor under Melisandre’s influence, immediately recognized the red priestess. What should have been a lengthy and cautious inspection was resolved quickly and without incident, allowing the Blackbird to pass through the blockade and into the Blackwater River.

The once-bustling trade docks outside the Mud Gate were now barren. To prevent Daenerys’s forces from using the area as a staging ground, Stannis had ordered the demolition of every wharf and structure along the riverbank. As Aegor surveyed the empty, desolate shoreline, he suddenly recalled something Nina had mentioned during her last report at the Gift: the Night’s Watch industrial complex now had its own dock on the Blackwater.

When his sailors suggested using rowboats to land, Aegor shook his head. “No need. Keep heading upriver. We’ll dock at our own pier.”

Obeying his orders, the oarsmen resumed their steady rhythm, propelling the Blackbird westward. They passed the ruins of the Mud Gate, the Fish Market, and the distant King’s Gate. Soon, a massive black structure came into view. Aegor blinked, rubbed his eyes, and pinched his thigh to confirm he wasn’t dreaming.

Where there had once been an open, barren field surrounded by a simple wooden fence, the Night’s Watch industrial complex now stood as a sprawling hub of activity. Factories and workshops filled the area, their numbers at least triple what he remembered. At the center of it all, where the dormitories and offices had once been, a massive black castle had risen. With its dark walls, black tiles, and banners flying atop its battlements, it couldn’t compare to King’s Landing from a distance—but it far surpassed most of the nineteen keeps along the Wall in size and grandeur.

For the first time in months, Aegor allowed himself a rare moment of satisfaction.