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Rating:
Explicit
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Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsGraphic Depictions Of Violence
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Daemon Targaryen/Laena Velaryon (Daughter of Corlys)Alicent Hightower & Rhaenyra TargaryenRhaenys Targaryen/Corlys "the Sea Snake" VelaryonAlys Rivers/Edric Stark
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Published:2022-11-20Updated:2024-09-01Words:328,865Chapters:61/?Comments:5,091Kudos:6,170Bookmarks:2,718Hits:367,800
(Restricted) A Stranger in a Strange Land
A_Strange_Twist_of_Fate
Chapter 3: A Question, and an Answer
Notes:
Hello everyone! I just wanted to make a quick announcement, in case anyone was wondering about the pairing for this story. I will tag when I figure it out, but for now I'm kind of just winging it with a very, very, very lose outline (and by that I mean plotpoints I want to address, things I want to happen) but no real plan. I don't know what the pairing will be, but I will be letting it just organically happen -- try to see who she has more chemistry with :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Corlys #1
They agreed to have supper together, after an hour of speaking. Corlys hoped that breaking bread with this woman, this stranger, would bring them closer to returning home.
It was not necessarily that he longed for his home -- he was used to being away, his legs were far more accustomed to sea than to land and sometimes being at Driftmark felt more like he was away from home than anything else. Yet, even though this woman had lived in the Doom and survived he did not want to tempt fate. Aerea Targaryan's death had not been a gentle one, and in the end her passing had been a mercy to the agony she had been said to have suffered.
The stories the woman, Hariel, told of the creatures that still lingered in the Doom did not ease this fear. Firewyrms, some larger than the dragon Artemis, that seemed to attack them at all hours of the day. Corlys was amazed that they had managed to survive the few months that they had been in the Doom. Much of the information on Firewyrms had been lost to the Doom, and to time, but one thing was known above all else when it came to the creatures: they despised humans.
She talked of being able to protect an area of the land from the Firewyrms so that her and her dragon could sleep. How it was managed was what Corlys wanted to know almost more than he wanted to get away from the Doom. If there was a way that one could safely live on the land of Old Valyria -- at least somewhat safely -- there might be a way to restore it, to make the land liveable and to restore the former glory of their blood. It would take time, men, coin, and blood, even if the Bloodwyrms were the only enemy to be taken out, root and stem, although Corlys doubted that was all that they would find.
Yet, if it could be done….a feat that no one thought possible. A feat that would bring honor to his house, his name, his blood beyond that of even his marriage to Rhaenys Targaryan and the introduction of dragonriders to his House.
She did not divulge this information, though, when she informed them that she would return to her camp to retrieve some food and new clothes. Corlys was not worried about that. There was much to learn, much to talk about, and plenty of time. Much like his wife had used diplomacy instead of threats and power to get the woman to bend the knee to their desire, he would do the same with the information he wanted to learn.
Then there were the dragon hatchlings. Hairel had not specified how many she had on her, but it was more than one at least. New dragons, hatching here, to a dragon the likes that Corlys had never seen before. It was splendid, it was mystifying -- it was well worth the trip.
Hariel did not make them wait long. She returned on dragonback, and Corlys could not help but notice that the woman looked much cleaner than she had the first time they had seen her. Before, her black hair had been messy, tucked behind her neck and strewn about her face and she had worn strangely soft looking clothing that was far too big for her. There had been some dirt on her face, hands, and clothing as well.
Now her face was clean, her thick dark hair neatly combed and pulled onto a tight tail at the top of her head and it made the thin scar on her forehead stand out a bit more. A strange scar it was -- a lightning bolt, thin and ragged. She still wore the silver-framed metal over her eyes but now that they were closer Corlys could see that they were a bright green that reminded him of sea glass. Her clothing was still strange, though. She wore coarse looking breeches that were a very pale blue, a long sleeve red and gold striped shirt with a lion atop of red field, with a gold banner, and a thick black cloak.
The sigil troubled Corlys, though. It was reminiscent of the sigil of House Lannister -- although distinct enough that it was not exactly the same. She had green eyes, though she lacked the golden hair of a Lannister. He did recognize the name of the House of Potter, although he was positive that Hariel was not a part of it. House Potter was small, unimpressive, its sigil so boring that even Corlys did not recall it. House Potter, he was positive, had never traveled outside of Highgarden to sire a bastard dragonrider though. Of that he was positive.
Hariel held up a jackalope in one hand as she arrived, although she seemed uncertain as she did. "I did not have much food to bring. It is my hope that this is appropriate."
Corlys tilted his head and thanked and accepted the jackalope. It would roast well over the fire, with some spices and herbs -- and it was also a welcome sign of life returned to the lands of Valyria.
It was also a sign of good manners. The woman had obviously never held audience with a Lord or a Princess. It would be something they would need to correct when they arrived back to Driftmark, but for now it was not a concern. Corlys was more interested in learning about this woman's strange dragon and how she wound up on Valyria, and survived, or about how she managed to get dragon eggs to hatch far more than he cared to find out why she did not know when or how to curtsey.
She sat at their fire, and accepted the food Rhaenys offered with a smile and an enthusiastic thank you.
"That symbol you wear, where is it from?" Rhaenys asked as they settled in to eat.
Hariel glanced up at Rhaenys at the question, a little shyly it would seem, and then back down at the sigil before she answered.
"This is the symbol of my school, of the," she paused, and her eyebrows furrowed again as she thought. High Valyrian was not her mother tongue, it would seem, although she spoke it well enough to be understood. "My school has…had houses. We are split into them, and each house has, ugh, sigil as you say. To compete with each other. Who has better skills, who wins the…ugh, the word does not translate I think? It is a game. This one is mine. It is the House Gryffindor."
There was obvious pride as she said this, although Corlys found that the answer sparked more questions that it answered.
"You went to school then?" Rhaenys seemed interested at this answer, and Corlys wanted to ask her why that was what she pulled out of Hariel's statement first.
"Yes. It was my last year, but I missed it as there was ugh…a war, yes war. It was meant to be my last year before I decide if I get a Masters or if I take apprenticeship, or if I stop with school."
"You would become a Maester then?" Rhaenys prompted.
Hariel nodded. "Yes. I do not like school much, but I very much enjoy Defense Against the Dark Arts. There is Mastery for that, and I think also I would learn…ugh, Enchantment better as it was the specialty of my mother. That would not be Masters, though, that would just be extra school work." She did not seem especially excited about the idea of more schooling even as she talked of attending it.
"I do not think I understand. What do you mean by defense against the dark arts and enhancement?" Corlys asked as he lowered his fork back down to his plate.
Rhaenys glanced at him as well, a small crease in her eyebrow giving away her confusion -- at least to Corlys.
Hariel paused, her gaze moving up to glance at her dragon, Artemis, that lay curled close by her. One of the she-dragon's blood red eyes opened and they stared at one another for a moment before Hariel nodded, and then turned back to them.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is protection against Dark Creatures and Dark Magic, and Enhancement is, ugh, it is taking one object and giving it…properties that it does not normally have," her dark eyebrows seemed to furrow the more she spoke, and she glanced between them almost shy as she added. "I will just show you. It will be more…understood with demonstration."
She put her bowl down on the ground and stood. Out of her pocket she retrieved a wooden stick that she pointed at herself, and with a quick word that Corlys did not catch she tapped the wood to the front of her shirt. In an instant the red rippled away from red to a bright blue, then to a tawny yellow, and then a bright purple.
Before Corlys could register what had happened, Hariel pointed the stick in front of her and said "To protect" and a bright blue shield materialized out of nowhere in front of her. It shot out into five points in front of her, a shimmery blue that was almost translucent and yet looked sturdy, strong.
Rhaenys' bowl lay, forgotten on the grass in front of her, and she stood with open amazement replacing the calm indifference she had previously worn. Corlys did not know when he, himself, had stood and yet he did now.
Magic.
This woman, this Hariel Potter, a commoner with a dragon, had the magic of Old Valyria in her. Corlys had never struggled so much to find words, and yet now he did. Hariel's eyes flitted between the two of them as it was their turn to struggle with words.
"That is…" Rhaenys started, slowly, her gaze turned back towards Corlys for a moment before she smoothed out her expression, squared her shoulders, and resumed her queenly posture. "We thank you for this show of trust. It now makes sense that you have returned to Valyria, to the land of our home. Mayhaps it is not your home, exactly, but we seem to be like cousins, then, although I must mourn as I say we have lost our magic."
Hariel had explained to them that she was from a land far, far away that she was unable to return to. Corlys had thought she was exaggerating, or perhaps misunderstanding their ability to travel. This knowledge of her magic changed everything, though. This mysterious, untouchable land of her possessed magic as did Old Valyria -- was there, then, a connection between the two? There had to be.
This seemed to confuse Hariel ever more though. "You think us cousins? You have lost your magic?" She seemed even more concerned at that idea.
"Not you and I, perchance, but our people. This, this land," Rhaenys motioned towards the Doom with one hand although her eyes never left the face of the women in front of them. "It was our home, hundreds of years ago. We lived with dragons, we had magic and knowledge and…so much. Then there was the disaster, the Doom of Valyria that laid waste to it all. Most of the dragons perished, our knowledge and magic died with many of the people who perished. Those who lived fled, far away across the Narrow Sea and after many years of death, fighting, and surviving what was kept was lost."
Hariel seemed to calm at this. She nodded her head, her gaze turning from Rhaenys to Corlys and back again as if she was studying them. It would only be fair, at least, because Corlys was studying this strange woman in front of him even more.
Magic. The thought sent a thrill through him. Perhaps not the blood, directly, of Old Valyria but the heart of it…the spirit of it, the magic of lived within this woman.
"That seems…true. Artemis told me of dragons and humans living together, that this was the home of her people before they left to travel." Hariel said, thoughtfully, her gaze turning to Artemis. "What destroyed it?"
Corlys swallowed thickly. This conversation was meant to be an introduction, a test of the waters that they may convince this woman to sail with them in a day or so. Yet every word she said was like a blow to the head -- it left him dizzy and disoriented, and yet almost giddy with delight. He almost felt like a boy again, and was only glad that he had the solid ground beneath his feet and the ability to control himself.
Yes, Rhaenys had been the proper choice for this excursion. Corlys could not see anyone else keeping a level head. Not when he, himself, struggled to.
"The Fourteen Flames, the volcanoes that lit the Valyrian Freehold, all sang their song at once and bathed Valyria in blood and fire." Rhaenys said, and Corlys could hear the control in her voice. His wife's eyes darted to the dragon that lay before them, not slumbering but alert and watchful. "Did Artemis not know of the Doom?"
Hariel shook her head, and her hand came out to rest on the muzzle of her dragon. "No, Artemis thought it still alive. It was when her…ugh, the dragons before her left. When she saw that it was not…" She trailed off.
"Why did they leave? Where did they leave to?" Corlys asked. He adjusted his weight to his right leg.
Hariel bit her lip, and then said tentatively. "Let me ask again, to make sure I tell you the right answer."
She then turned to her dragon and spoke in a hissing, whispery language that made the hair on Corlys' arms stand on its end. It was quiet, oddly soothingly so, and yet the strange and jagged away the words sounded was off putting.
Meleys' head seemed to snap to the woman as she spoke, and Artemis' stood a little as Hariel spoke to her. Artemis' great head nodded up and down, as if she and Hariel were in a conversation. Then the dragon spoke back, in a language identical to the one Hariel spoke, and Hariel turned back to them.
"Artemis tells me that they desired adventure. To see what is unseen, to conquer what is unknown. This was the land of my home, far way -- Artemis says that her mother told her they thought it in the stars, but I do not know if that is truthful or myth. It was a small group that had left, only a few dragons, and that they used dragonmagic to set off to a new world. But some were captured. Artemis'..ugh, her ancestors, yes, ancestors. They were captured and Artemis kept slave. She does not fully remember the magic, only how to return home."
These ancestors of Hariel's must have had strong magic to keep a dragon a slave.
"And she is not a slave now?" Rhaenys asked, sharply.
To keep a dragon a slave….it was the sigil of her house, and it was not a good sign. Hariel frantically shook her head, and she brought her hands up in front of herself as she did so.
"No, no, not slave. Not to me, not to anyone -- not ever again. I free Artemis. She is…she is…" She struggled, a little more frantically this time than the last. "Like sister? Yes. Family, now. Never slave. Never."
She seemed to repeat herself in the language of the dragon. It was as startling to hear the second time as it was the first. Artemis' great head moved to nudge against Hariel's shoulder, and the woman sagged a bit with relief, although her own gaze turned sharp when it turned to Meleys.
"Meleys is no slave. A dragon is a slave to no one. We are partners." Rhaenys said, before Hariel could speak, the sharpness once again gone from her voice.
"Good. Good." Hariel said. Her shoulders seemed to sag a little, and she leaned in heavily against her dragon as she stifled an obvious yawn.
When had it gotten so dark? Nighttime had crept up on them without Corlys noticing, and that he could pay so little attention to his surroundings was startling.
"It is late. You have learned much, tomorrow Artemis and I will learn much. Then we can make decision." Hariel said.
Corlys wanted to insist that they leave. Magic could not be left to fester on Valyria, not until he could find a way to return to bring back what had died. Yet he knew better than to argue. Patience was an old friend, and one that he would great now.
So he nodded his head in acquiescence. "Dream well, Lady Hariel. We shall meet in the morrow, after first light to break fast."
Hariel nodded, and her gaze briefly turned to the ship. "It is late, it is dark. I will give you..ugh, Cold Fire to take with you to light the way."
She pointed the stick at the palm of her hand and a ball of brilliant blue fire burst into creation in the palm of her hand. It flickered and licked at the air as any normal fire did, but it was a startling and beautiful blue-white, glowing so bright it lit up Hariel's face and a few feet all around her.
She held it out to them with one hand, a tentative smile on her face as she gazed at them. "It will not burn you, or your clothes, or your ship. It is Cold Fire, ugh…Bluebell Fire is the name. It is meant to warm one's hands and make light. You can put it in glass to…ugh, to sleep. Water cannot kill it."
Corlys stepped forward and took the fire from the hand of the sorceress. True to her word, it did not burn his hand. It was warm, pleasantly so, but it did not burn his hand or the cuff of his sleeve when it brushed against it.
"Thank you for the gift. We look forward to breaking bread with you in the morning." Corlys said, and titled his head in thanks.
They waited for the woman to retreat on her dragon before Rhaenys stepped forward, her hand boldly coming to cup above the Cold Fire in his hand. Bluebell Fire, Cold Fire.
"It does not burn." Rhaenys said, awe in her voice.
As he watched the Bluebell Flames dance in his wife's hands, Corlys could not help but be glad that he had chosen his lady wife for this excursion. He had not been certain, at first, that she would go. He knew that she resented his continued absence, and had no taste for travel herself. He could have taken Laena. Vhager would have been a threat at first sight and no negotiations would have needed to be made. Yet, Laena's temper was not as calm as he desired for this excursion. She was too similar to her husband in that regard, and diplomacy was neither of their strengths. Laena took what she wanted and did not ask, and that was a risk with the unknown. Laenor and Seasmoke were another option, and yes, and his son held the right temperament for this sort of excursion.
Yet, if either Daemon or Rhaenyra, the spouses to his children, were to have come -- and they would have wanted to, certainly, when they found out where their spouse was leaving to -- well. Corlys could not see this interaction being as calm as it was with either his son or daughter in law present. Not when presented with magic, dragon hatchlings, dragonspeech and the knowledge of dragonmagic.
He had taken a chance that Rhaenys would come with him, and it was a choice that was well made.
"I will return to the ship, to give word on what our plan is." Corlys said. He nodded his head towards the fire that still danced in his wife's hands. "I must also find a gift to return to Hariel, in return for this fire she gifts us."
"What gift does one return, when one has been gifted with magic?" Rhaenys murmured.
She returned the fire to Corlys hand, although she seemed to want to hold it longer. Corlys would return it to her when he came back, and would savor the feel of it as he walked.
"That is a good question, wife. One that I cannot answer as of now. But I will think on it." He gazed at the fire. "We have been given much to think on."
--
Hariel #3
--
Hariel was tired when she returned to Grimmauld. She had spoken so much to the two strangers that had arrived at her proverbial doorstep, and while the whole situation had been exhausting…it also had not been a bad experience. Not a bad first contact, Hairel thought, not at all.
She had not figured out a way to move the house, not yet, maybe not ever and time was not slowing for her. The eggs would hatch in a month's time. She had said they would leave when there was half a month left…yet this was a good opportunity to find aid. There were people on her doorstep, willing to listen and not demand things and there was no sign that anything in the library would be of any help.
At least, not for moving a whole house.
The woman, Rhaenys -- a Princess, the thought made Hariel nervous -- had a dragon herself. Meleys, she called the dragon, although Artemis had not had the chance to speak to the other dragon.
Hariel knew she wanted to, desperately, but that she'd held her tongue while Hariel tried to gauge the situation. She was not naive enough to think that she could trust two people she just met…and yet she was also desperate enough that she was willing to test the waters. The food was running out, and even the knowledge that she could eat the weird deer-rabbit things was not of much help. Hariel only saw them occasionally, after all.
Hopefully the two dragons would be able to talk tomorrow, as Hariel had breakfast with Corlys and Rhaenys, and to get a gauge on the dragon without her rider around. The two seemed patient, at least on the surface, and had reacted to her magic favorably -- although with obvious interest. If Hariel could get a good word from the dragon, from Meleys, that these people could be…well, not trusted, but at least not entirely feared or mistrusted, Hariel would pack up and leave.
Maybe she could return in the future for what she did not have room to carry -- and ideally, she'd be able to return for the entire home.
Notes:
Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, left a kudos, or left a bookmark! I love hearing what everyone thinks and I appreciate all of you!
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