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Aegon I:: Please, my son… you need to promise to be loyal to your brother. To do whatever it takes when I pass…
Maegor: "You shan't pass for a while, I know it. You're much too strong."
Aegon I: Valar morghulis. (All men must die) I need you to promise this to me. That you will ensure our dynasty will survive the tribulations of the new era.
Maegor: I promise, kepa.

Dragonshield is a A Song of Ice and Fire Fic by Longclaw__1_6. on Fanfiction.net and Archive of our Own.

As the realm reeled from the death of queen Rhaenys Targaryen, Aegon and Visenya begin to work to consolidate the realm. But with some changes in policy and a few new bends in life, the journey for their children and grandchildren will be quite different from what may be expected. Especially for their son Maegor who will live a life full of grand combats and intrigue working to act as the dragonshield for his family.

Read it here or here.

Tropes in Dragonshield include...

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     A-E 
  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: Valyrian swords naturally, as Dark Sister and Blackfyre are there from the start.
  • Action Girl:
    • With different influences Rhaena is now a fighter to keep up with the best of them.
  • Adaptation Expansion:
    • The first Viserys Targaryen gets a little more focus thanks to Maegor not having it out for Aenys's line, giving him things to do around the realm.
  • Adaptational Heroism: Maegor is given the nickname "The Cruel" here more by enemies than by common knowledge. In part because he's given a northerner's mindset.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Essentially all of House Targaryen gets an overhaul in its relationships.
    • Aegon and Visenya end up reconciling so they now have a passionate 2nd half of their marriage.
    • Aenys and Maegor are still contentious with each other, but have a relationship closer to Daemon and Viserys in that Maegor is also trying to look out for his brother.
    • Rhaena and Aegon (son of Aenys) are a bit more contentious since she's not as into doing sibling marriage.
    • With Maegor and Rhaenys's influences, the North begins creating a truce with the free folk, even allowing some tribes in the Gift as a kind of semi-warded group.
    • Instead of marrying a lady from House Mormont, Alaric Stark develops a relationship with Ryah Bolton.
  • Adaptational Badass: Rhaena is now not only a dragon lady on Dreamfyre, but a sword fighting powerhouse too.
  • Adaptational Personality Change: As part of a different diplomatic strategy, Maegor gets fostered with House Stark for a few years. This keeps his hard personality, but tempers it with honor and courage so that he's no longer as bloodthirsty.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Meeting earlier in life, and due to rising in station much sooner, Septon Barth is not King Jaehaerys's most trusted Hand, but instead Number Two under Hugor for manipulating Westeros.
  • Alternate Universe Fic: The big turning point here is that Aegon's mom got on his case for how he was acting towards his still living wife, leading to a slow change in how the realm unfolds.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Alyssa prayed to the Old Gods to give her happiness to Jaehaerys after he found out about Maegor's affair with Alyssa. Unfortunately, part of that was her having to live in hiding when the faith demanded her as repayment for the affronts.
  • Big Bad: Hugor Flowers. A bastard of the Gardner line, cousin to the Hightowers and Arryns who works for decades to gain his revenge on the Targs for wiping out his family.
  • Book Ends: The end of Act I and the end of the story both feature a dragonless person witnessing the end of a ruler, coming to the Dragonpit, and taking over the reigning monarch's dragon as a sign of passing the torch to the next generation.
  • Conflicting Loyalties: A given in the mixture of Westerosi politics. Ceryse perhaps suffers the most from this, as her old loyalties to the Hightowers, her devotion to the faith, her love of Maegor and her frustration at her body seemingly failing to carry a child to term all war in her mind. She chooses Maegor and comes to love her new wives, Rhaena and Tyanna.
  • Court Mage: Tyanna of the Tower is back as a mystic at King's Landing.
  • Church Militant: The Faith of the Seven is still at its peak of power right now, and with some unease going on with raiders and the triarchy mid reign, Aenys ends up giving permission to form the Warrior's Sons and Poor Fellows to act as deterrents.
  • Enemy Mine: As part of working to create a working alliance to fight the dragons, Hugor ends up building ties with many existential rivals that he normally might've been uneasy giving concessions to. These include Dorne and The Triarchy.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: In a historical parallel, this is King Aenys's last words after his friend and Hand comes to stab him last.
  • Eye Scream: Jaehaerys gets an eye gouged during an attempted break out from the Red Keep.

     F-O 
  • Face Death with Dignity: Septon Murmison meets his end with calmness as the Sept of Remembrance is burned down.
    • High Septon Hugor dies in full regalia, conceding defeat to Visenya before ending his own life with a dagger.
  • Going Native: Unlike many of his family, Aenys actually did want to embody the ways of The Seven in ruling the Seven (6) kingdoms. In a kind of irony, this also made him a target of scorn from both the faith and his family for always wanting a middle path between them all.
  • Greed: This is the constant struggle Rogar Baratheon has with himself. That as he's already a great lord, descended from the conqueror's most trusted ally, he already has status, wealth and the charisma to sleep around. However, he still feels empty, and thus desires even more power and status as he goes.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Sharra Arryn is actually introduced into the story as a quiet manipulator behind the scenes. Someone who was forced into submission with fear for her child, but who wasn't above playing favorites to get her allies into power, or speak dissent and treason behind closed door. However, as time wore on and things became a bit more stable, she began to be more amiable towards the House of the Dragon. So that nearer to the end of her life, she actually now decided that she liked what the Targs had made the Seven Kingdoms and began worrying about the reign of King Aenys and the hopes of her son.
  • Inadequate Inheritor: Aenys gets this as a label from the moment he's crowned, as the other power players begin seeing him as "weak". While not a fighter, Aenys was still someone who knew where to find good help to continue the reign of his father, which is why The Faith had to start driving other more loyal people away from him over the course of his reign.
  • Killed Offscreen: Despite helping to puss the pebble that lead to the avalanche of the faith rebellion, Sharra Arryn dies offscreen right before the fighting begins.
  • Mythology Gag: As part of their...unique family arrangement, Rhaena's child Daemon knows his biological mother as muna, Tyanna as his "Black Muna" due to her hair, and Ceryse as his "Green Muna" thanks to her different dresses.
  • Never Mess with Granny: Visenya is rapidly getting older over the course of the story, but she's still the woman riding Vhagar the second biggest and oldest dragon and can still do diplomatic missions and intimidate others.
  • Official Couple: while they all have their own interests, the author called Maegor and Rhaena as the main 2 characters of this epic.
  • Original Character: Rhaenys, daughter of Aegon and Visenya. A new child made after the death of Queen Rhaenys, she ends up going north as part of the pact of Ice and Fire.
    • Hugor Flowers: Bastard son of Mern Gardner, takes the role of High Septon for the Targs to ferment the faith rebellion.

     P-Z 
  • Passing the Torch: Built into this story is how Aegon worked as hard as he could to ensure that the realm he built for the family doesn't collapse after him. And chapter 14 called Bequests is all about the different positions and relics that were passed on as a sign of all this.
  • Point of Divergence: Such a story wouldn't happen if there wasn't a few nails to see.
    • The first essential nail being that Lady Valeana, their mother survived into the conquest, and was the one to reprimand Aegon about being cold to Visenya when they need each other for their moment of grief. Thus changing the trajectory of their marriage, and all the things that would come from this essential thing.
    • Following this, Aegon and Visenya have a new daughter. And with this new bargaining tool, they then try a new diplomatic approach to show new strength to the realm: create a pact of Ice and Fire with The North as a show of solidarity against the other kingdoms.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: With Maegor still recovering from the trial of seven, it's Rhaena on Dreamfyre who burns down the Sept of Remembrance in retaliation.
  • Slap-Slap-Kiss: Arya Reed was hostile, pushy and suspicious of Jaehaerys Targaryen for much of their youth. Then when Jae finally reunites with her after [ losing an eye, she finally confesses that part of her hostility was that she was highly attracted to him.
  • Team Pet: At this time, Direwolves and Dragons are both a pet from the Targs and Starks to give their enemies pause.
  • Tragic Mistake: Maegor and Alyssa Valeryon had an affair after Maegor returned from the north, as Alyssa was attracted to Maegor's strength and Maegor found Alyssa a beautiful and well thought lady. However, as she'd already been betrothed to Aenys, Maegor broke things off even after they'd been intimate, and then both of them lied about the subsequent child being Aenys's. This turned Alyssa against Maegor and all his decisions for the rest of her life. Even when they could've been strong allies to help Aenys through his reign.
  • Wham Episode: Hail Caesar. After tens of chapters with the faith growing their vocal discontent, the Targs starting to divide trying to keep the realm in tact, and the dissent given from others in various ways, it all finally boils over as The Conspiracy assassinates King Aenys.
  • Wham Line: From Chapter 56, when Ceryse is given a stronger form of moon tea, this line drops: "She paused mid sip. She recognized the taste."

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