Chapter Text
Everything was darkness… And then it wasn’t
Daenerys opened her eyes. She felt very different. The change was so abrupt. She did not feel the pain of the stabbed dagger that killed her or the fatigue from almost not sleeping that she had been feeling for the last few weeks. Neither the hunger nor thirst from only eating or drinking the minimum, only what had been tasted and approved by her tasters once the hours passed after consumption without any poisoning effects.
After so long she felt good again, how could she haven’t noticed that things had gotten so bad? She hadn’t felt like that in a while, well rested, without hunger or thirst, and above all without the burning rage that had been the fuel to keep moving forward.
Her eyes told her that she was in front of the iron throne in the red Keep. But she felt that something was off. Something was not right with what she saw.
“You died here,” said a voice from behind her, which made her turn around quickly. To find Brandon Stark standing behind her.
-If I’m dead, what is this supposed to be? You are not even dead that I know, how are you here to receive me in this other life?
-I’m not dead, but I am the three-eyed raven. And you’re not dead now. At least not entirely, but none of that matters. I come to talk to you because your true path has just begun
-Will I rise back to life like Jon did? – As soon as she said his name, the name of the man she loved, she remembered how he betrayed her – Are you coming to ask for forgiveness for your brother so when I wake up he doesn’t have to face my anger?
-You won’t come back to live the way Jon did, and I’m not here to ask you to forgive Jon. That’s your decision. Although he is not completely responsible for his actions, nor are you for yours. I’m afraid I planned for a long time for some events to turn out this way.
-What are you talking about? Explain yourself!
-They had already told you, although they did not understand what they were saying, you are the princess that was promised. So many prophecies and so many interpretations. I am the memory of men and only I knew what it was about. You have not yet fulfilled your purpose Daenerys. And while I’m sorry for all the pain you had to face, all the pain I caused you by interfering, it was for a greater purpose, a necessary one.
-I don’t believe in prophecies or gods, you talk in circles, you say I’m the princess that was promised but your sister killed the night king. You talk about the pain you cause me but I barely interacted with you.
-For you to understand you must stop seeing me as Brandon Stark, I am not, I am the three-eyed raven, I am one and all the other men and women since the long night that became the three-eyed raven. And the pain I caused you was manipulating men and women to act the way I wanted, to replicate the story of Azor Ahai. So many thought that they were talking about the same person when mention was made of the one who was promised, they were wrong.
Azor Ahai is not the promised one, although he is a key part of its story. Azor Ahai kills Nisa Nisa in sacrifice and her soul becomes lightbringer. Who brings the dawn.
I had to replicate what happened. Few remember that there is magic in sacrifice and lineage, only in this way was it possible to prevent darkness from winning. To replicate what happened I had to get the right people to act their part. The magic in the blood of kings made it possible for you and Jon to play your roles. Jon was Azor Ahai and you were Nisa Nisa. Your new self will be Lightbringer who brings the dawn, the princess who was promised.
-I don’t see how replicating the story, causing so much pain and death, is necessary if the night king was already defeated. – Dany said as she felt her temper rise, wondering how many deaths of her loved ones were orchestrated by whoever was in front of her.
-The night king, his army that he raised has fallen and will not rise again. But the darkness was not defeated. The king replicate what raised him to begin with. I don’t know how many times but more than a couple dozen times at least. New Kings of the night are hidden in the depths of the North waiting, giving a sense of security to humanity to attack when we are most unprepared. If the prophecy is not fulfilled it would truly be the end of life.
-If they are so hidden, how do you expect me to find them? It sounds impossible. I don’t even know why I play along with what you are saying. I have nothing left to fight for. And you ask me to make a hunt that everyone depends on. You are expecting me to kill who knows how many Night Kings when I couldn’t hurt 1 Night King.
-You’re wrong, I don’t want you to look for them and kill them. I just want you to kill the original one… Before he figures out how to replicate the magic that created him. That’s what the magic that Azor Ahai used is about, traveling in time and changing the past to create a new story, the long night had no solution in its time, it was already a lost cause, a world that was taking its last breaths. Nisa Nisa’s soul traveled to her ancestor 100 years earlier and unified thousands, turning allies out of former enemies and strangers. Only then in the union was it possible to push back the long night until the king of the night, seeing himself at a disadvantage, hid.
-So you want to send me to possess an ancestor of mine from 100 years ago and kill the king of the night? -Daenerys asked him without being able to believe what she heard.
-Not 100 years. The sacrifice of the people you burned at King’s landing was necessary to take you further, to the precise moment that I believe is the best opportunity for you to fulfill your destiny. The time I’m talking about is when the largest number of dragons inhabited Westeros.
Suddenly the landscape she saw changed and she found herself in a field, nearby she could see some creatures that reminded her of children inserting a knife into the chest of a man tied to a tree. Not a knife, an obsidian dagger. The man began to change before her eyes. His skin turned pale and his eyes turned blue.
Abruptly the landscape suddenly changed again to a frozen wasteland. And she saw a baby on what looked like a pedestal and the king of the night walking towards the pedestal. Once again everything changed and they found themselves on a beach.
-What you saw first was how the children of the forest created the king of the night, to use him as a weapon against the first men. The second vision is how the night king uses babies to create new white walkers not linked to him.
-He was once a sacrifice in a ritual created through the children’s magic. But he was not a volunteer. The white walkers linked to him are men who surrendered to him and voluntarily gave themselves to him so as not to die. But under the threat of death, it is not a truly voluntary sacrifice. The child you saw is one of several babies who were sacrificed by his father Craster to the Others. Because it’s a sacrifice and the baby lacks the understanding to resist, the king of the night can manage to turn them into autonomous beings not dependent on his magic because they also have an obsidian full of magic as their heart.
-Although when you attacked with dragon fire you didn’t hurt it, it’s because it wasn’t hot enough. But a Dragon’s fire can melt their obsidian hearts.
Once again what surrounded them changed. She now found herself in what looked like the outside of a forge. A man with Valyrian features was carrying a container full of obsidian to a huge dragon, Slightly larger than Drogon, that bathed the container with fire. The fire lasted longer than any flame her dragons had made. When It finally stops. The obsidians were united in a liquid that looked like lava.
-In Valyria they used obsidian for its absorption and retention of magic properties as a base for Valyrian steel and other magical inventions such as glass candles. Limited inventions as not everyone has the fire of an adult dragon to turn obsidian into a malleable state. Even your ancestors lost the secrets behind their manufacture even when they still had dragons. Of the remains of Valyria, only the magic of their blood remained, it gave them better health, the ability to bond with dragons, and prophetic dreams. Thanks to this last one, your ancestors once knew of the coming danger. But this knowledge was lost in the dance of dragons. The last one to receive the prophecy was Rhaenyra from her father Viserys I.
The atmosphere changed, a girl was entering a room where a man was already inside looking at the skull of a dragon. She listens to the father-daughter conversation about how Aegon the Conqueror’s dream, the song of ice and fire, was the reason behind the conquest.
-Jon and I are Aegon’s blood. And we face the king of the night. Did we not meet what was expected of us?
-As I told you, when you did it, it was already too late, and you did not unite the kingdom, what Aegon is talking about is the true dawn, which is your task. Jon did his part. Your first life served to teach you everything necessary so that you do not make the same mistakes and be the fire of the song.
-You talk about My mistakes as if I were the only one to make them. I did the best I could in every situation.- said Daenerys offended
-One mistake of yours in your new life can cost everyone their lives. Some mistakes cost you a lot but teach you valuable lessons. These are the ones that would prepare you to be the queen that Westeros needs in its darkest hour.
-From Mirri Maz Duur you learned that magic comes with costs and that an enemy can approach you pretending to be your friend, to see the motivations of others before trusting. In Meereen you saw how conquering and reigning are not the same, achieving unity requires commitment, but giving in too much puts you in a position of weakness. Just as chained dragons are vulnerable so are their riders. You learned to be a rider when Drogon came in your time of need. Reconnecting with the Dothraki, becoming Khaleesi taught you the importance of showing strength, while also adopting some of your subjects’ culture as your own, while also being able to be firm and leave the bad parts behind. On your way, you find that the oaths of your enemies without honor are just words that go with the wind and they will hide behind innocents like the slavers and Cersei did. Looking for you to lower yourself to their level to beat them.-
-Having advisors like Varys and Tyrion taught you that having capable and intelligent advisors does not always mean that they give you good advice, especially when their objectives differ. Jon was once truly loyal to you. He advised you what he considered best, but that did not make his advice good. All to teach that although you should listen to advice, you should meditate on the value of that advice for yourself and thus do what you consider best according to your judgment.
-But no one achieves greatness alone, it takes friends and allies to do anything of value. I want you to think about what you did and what you would have been able to do when you didn’t have anyone you trusted by your side. A dragon alone in the world is a terrible thing. That is truthful for those of your house and dragons, Viseryon and Rhaegal have proven how dragons when riderless are much more vulnerable.
-But above everything you learned is the invaluable knowledge about the great enemy you must defeat. Now you know about how it can take down a dragon, how fire does not last in its presence, or how only the strongest of dragon fires, obsidian and its derivatives such as Valyrian steel can kill them. Their weaknesses and strengths in battle.
Your entire life as Daenerys Targaryen was a lesson in preparation for your true destiny. Lightbringer, who brings the dawn, WAKE UP!