Fanfic / To Forge an Heir

To Forge an Heir is a House of the Dragon Alternate Universe Fanfic by Capulet730. It posits an interesting premise: what if Rhaenyra had someone to help her grow into her role as heir to the Iron Throne from a young age?

Or, a chance conversation with her father leads to Rhaenyra finding an unlikely mentor in Lyman Beesbury.

Completed on March 1, 2024.

---

Tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer:
  • Daemon's attraction to Rhaenyra is much less welcome when she's an adult, due to her devotion to Alicent.
  • Larys Strong is still obsessed with Alicent, and tries to force her to marry him by blackmailing her. Alicent, petrified over the idea of having to go through Marital Rape License again, ends up stabbing him to death in a panic.
• Adaptational Angst Downgrade: There is considerably less tension and overall grief for House Targaryen thanks to Lyman's presence in Rhaenyra's life, including helping to facilitate the reconciliation (and romantic relationship) between Rhaenyra and Alicent. Otto Hightower dying early on in the story and unable to spread his corruptive influence also certainly helps.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Without the accusation of paternity fraud involved, Vaemond's attempt to take the inheritance of his great-niece Baela is motivated solely by ambition and misogyny.
• Adaptational Job Change: Criston Cole exchanges his white cloak for a black one after murdering Otto Hightower in a fit of rage. Towards the end of the story, it's revealed he eventually rose through the ranks to become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Thanks to House Targaryen being united behind her claim and Lyman's support, Rhaenyra never sinks to the horrible depths she did in canon. While she can still be ruthless when needed, she is committed to being a just and fair ruler above all else.
  • No longer having to fear Rhaenyra does wonders for Alicent, who is a much better parent to her children in this AU. This leads to all her children being much more well-adjusted and more heroic as well.
• Adaptation Name Change:
  • Thanks to Lyman's intervention, Aegon is named Aemon in this AU. Similarly, because of Rhaenyra and Alicent's renewed friendship/relationship, Aemond is named Rhaemond instead.
  • Of Rhaenyra's children (who are all sired by Laenor instead of Harwin Strong), only Jacaerys gets to keep his name. Lucerys is named Lucas instead (likely because he is to be the heir to the Vale instead of the heir to Driftmark), and Joffrey doesn't exist, instead replaced by a daughter named Visenya.
  • Donald Tarly's wife, named Jeyne Rowan in book canon, is named Janna Rowan instead.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: Aemon inherits Alicent's auburn hair instead of silver, and Rhaemond has her brown eyes instead of purple.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Rhaenyra and Lyman develop a friendship that eventually blossoms into a surrogate father-daughter bond between them. In canon, Lyman was just a member of the Small Council who was loyal to the King above all else, and supported Rhaenyra as a result of that.
  • Lyman convinces Rhaenyra to have an honest conversation with Alicent around the time of Aemon's birth about the truth of Alicent's marriage to Viserys, not only allowing them to reconcile but to also confess their feelings to each other and become a romantic couple. This, combined with Rhaenyra promising to step down before allowing Aemon to come to harm by members of her faction, means that Alicent has no reason to fear for her children's lives and thwarts her father's attempts to drive a wedge between them.
  • Thanks to her reconciliation with Alicent and Viserys's Parental Neglect, Rhaenyra is much closer to her younger siblings than she was in canon, filling in as their second parent in her father's stead. After the ten-year Time Skip, all pretenses are dropped in private and Alicent's kids regularly refer to her as "Muna" (the Valyrian word for "mother"), making it very clear that as far as they are concerned, she is their second parent.
  • Rhaenyra's more politically driven mindset and maturity cause her to gradually lose romantic interest in her uncle Daemon. Eventually, by the time Daemon has returned from the Stepstones, she's moved on from her crush on him completely and is in a committed relationship with Alicent, and is furious when he tries to trap her in marriage with him. His death, however, shows that despite this estrangement, she still loves him as family.
  • As Rhaenyra never jilts him, Criston Cole never loses his devotion to her. Instead, his dedication only grows stronger, to unhealthy and dangerous degrees, which ends up having fatal consequences for himself and Otto Hightower.
  • Harwin never has an affair with Rhaenyra, due to meeting and courting the newly single Rhea Royce after the latter's marriage to Daemon is annulled.
  • Rhaenyra's relationship with her cousin and ally Jeyne Arryn is more personally close, to the point where Jeyne is willing to name Rhaenyra's child as her heir.
• Adapted Out:
  • Grand Maester Mellos is replaced many years earlier than canon by Alester instead of Orwyle, who never appears.
  • Rhaenyra's three youngest sons, Joffrey, Aegon, and Viserys, don't exist in this AU. Joffrey is replaced by a daughter named Visenya, and the latter two aren't present because she and Laenor had long decided they would have no more than the three children they needed to inherit their combined claims (the throne, the Vale, and Driftmark).
  • Jason Lannister dies before fathering his canonical son Loreon, leaving his oldest daughter Tyshara to inherit Casterly Rock.
• Affectionate Nickname: Aemon takes to calling Lyman "Beebs" due to his inability to pronounce "Beesbury" as a toddler.
• Altar Diplomacy:
  • Rhaenyra still marries Laenor, though in this AU it is a politically-calculated choice on her end, and only after confirming Laenor can arouse himself long enough to give her trueborn children. If her betrothal to Laenor hadn't worked out, she already had multiple other potential spouses lined up, including the heir to Highgarden, Willas Tyrell.
  • To bring the Velaryons back into the fold, House Targaryen starts sounding out the idea of betrothing Aemon to Baela (who is the heir to the Stepstones). The epilogue reveals the betrothal went through, and that Aemon did marry Baela and became her consort.
  • Rhaenyra decides to betroth Jacaerys to Helaena, partially out of the sentiment of combining her and Alicent's bloodlines, and partially to keep the Valyrian heritage of House Targaryen strong so they can keep the dragons under control.
• Ascended Extra: The main character and point-of-view for the story is Lyman Beesbury, who finds himself the unlikely mentor of the Heir to the Iron Throne.
• Authority in Name Only: After the Time Skip, Lyonel Strong is effectively ruling the Seven Kingdoms in all but name due to Viserys being permanently bedridden from illness. Later, when Westeros is rocked by multiple crises that require both decisive action and royal authority to resolve, he motions to have Rhaenyra declared Princess Regent so she can make decisions in Viserys's stead. While there is some hesitance from some of the Small Council due to there being no precedent for a regency in such a situation, the motion passes and Rhaenyra becomes regent. Even after Viserys recovers from his illness, he decides to allow Rhaenyra to keep power due to no longer having the physical or emotional capacity to rule after learning of Daemon's death.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Even though she came to love Lyman, Rosamund couldn't help but resent that she wasn't the Lady of Honeyholt and that her sons wouldn't inherit anything. Then a series of tragedies ended up wiping out her brother-in-law's entire family, leaving his wife Florence a grief-stricken wreck. Rosamund, understandably, no longer took any pleasure from her new position and seems to regret having ever been jealous of Florence at all.
• Big Bad: House Hightower (sans Alicent, Gwayne, and the former's children). Initially spearheaded by Otto in the first half of the story, after he's killed his older brother Hobert takes over and proves to be even more dangerous than Otto ever was.
• The Cameo:
  • Nettles pickpockets Lyman on Dragonstone.
  • Vaemond brings Alyn and Addam of Hull to court with him; Lyman assumes they're Vaemond's bastards and is confused as to why he would disrespect his wife in such a way, but Vaemond is actually using them as blackmail material to make Corlys support his claim.
• Dead Guy Junior: Prince Lucas is implicitly named for the late Lucas Arryn, Jeyne Arryn's father and Rhaenyra's maternal uncle.
• Death by Adaptation: Arnold Arryn dies at the end of his first uprising; in desperation, he plots to bring down Syrax with a scorpion bolt and is instead killed by one of his own allies to stop the utter destruction that would befall the rebels and their families if they killed the heir to the throne.
• Devoted to You: Heavily deconstructed with Criston Cole. His obsessive devotion to Rhaenyra is portrayed as unhealthy for both her and him. In addition to Criston being more dedicated to the idea of Rhaenyra being the perfect heir and ruler, Rhaenyra subconsciously fears disappointing him by not living up to those high expectations, causing her undue stress. After he murders Otto Hightower in a rage for insulting her by beating him to death and ignores all her orders to stop the attack, to the point of striking her, Rhaenyra is forced to acknowledge that she can't trust him with the protection of her family, as his blind loyalty to her may cause him to harm them if he believes they could be any threat to her.
• Dies Differently In The Adaptation:
  • Instead of dying in a duel with his nephew, Daemon is killed in an attack by the Triarchy.
  • Otto Hightower is beaten to death by Criston Cole instead of being executed by Rhaenyra. Ironically, he would've likely been executed anyway, as his daughter Alicent was going to turn him in for treason.
  • Ormund and Bryndon Hightower are killed in an explosion set by Alys Rivers instead of being slain in battle.
  • Larys Strong is stabbed by Alicent during a Sexual Extortion attempt instead of executed by Cregan Stark.
• Dirty Business:
  • Rhaenyra is disgusted with herself after she has her sworn sword Criston Cole judged in a public trial for the murder of Otto Hightower, as it feels like she's throwing him under the bus to save her reputation. Lyman has to remind her that none of the situation is her fault and that Criston is guilty of his crimes regardless of how people might interpret her actions.
  • Lyman feels ill after consenting to a bargain with Larys Strong to have the leading figures of House Hightower assassinated. He's able to work through it by reminding himself that this will keep the realm at peace and allow Rhaenyra to safely ascend the throne.
• Dramatic Irony: Much of the humor in the first half of the fic is the constant allusions to Rhaenyra and Alicent's relationship in the background, while Lyman (whose POV the story is told from) remains completely oblivious to all the hints.
• Due to the Dead: After Lyman's death (twelve years after Rhaenyra was crowned Queen), Rhaenyra personally flies his body back to Honeyholt, and most of the royal family attends his funeral. As a final sign of her affection for him, she adds his house's sigil to her personal banner, which is the one to serve as her funeral shroud upon her own death decades later.
• Entendre Failure: Rhaenyra's attempt to use the "duck and goose" analogy to allude to Laenor's homosexuality flies completely over Lyman's head.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Otto Hightower might've been an ambitious snake who is willing to use underhanded means to secure the throne for his grandson, but he's still Alicent's father, and while she might not agree with his choices, she does love him. Therefore, she's horrified by his murder at the hands of Criston Cole and demands justice for him once she's processed the situation.
• Everyone Has Standards: Rhaenyra takes no pleasure at all in Otto Hightower's murder, both because of its brutal nature and because of the pain it causes Otto's daughter, her lover Alicent. It's for this reason that she refuses to pardon her sworn sword Criston Cole for the act, despite his long years of loyalty and service, not wanting Alicent to have to face her father's murderer every day. Instead, she convinces Criston to take the black, feeling this is the most mercy she can give him.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When ruminating over Lyman and Rhaenyra's partnership, Otto tries to figure out what Rhaenyra offered Lyman in exchange for his help. It never occurs to him that Lyman wants to help Rhaenyra simply because he cares about her and wants her to succeed in her duties.
• Evil-Detecting Baby: Hobert Hightower gets bitten by his toddler great-nephew Aemon.
• Evil Is Petty: When Lyman refuses to abuse his position to push for Aemon being named as heir, Hobert Hightower retaliates by weakening House Beesbury in several ways; an increase in taxes, grain collection and conscription of men-at-arms, pressuring Oldtown merchants to refuse purchasing their honey and using the house's influence on the Maester Order to get Lyman's son expelled on false charges.
• Exact Words: Rhaenyra protests her innocence of Otto's accusations by swearing to Viserys on her mother's memory that "I have never bedded any man." She is, however, bedding Alicent.
• Foil: The story deliberately contrasts Lyman with Otto, something that is referenced in the last book. Both are second sons of houses in the Reach who found themselves prominent positions in King's Landing, but whereas Lyman accepted his post as Master of Coin to sincerely serve the realm and redeem his family's honor, Otto deliberately sought his position as Hand to the King out of pure ambition. Lyman never wanted to be Lord of Honeyholt and inherited his title because undue tragedy that cut down his older brother's family, while Otto was always bitter about how his "idiot" older brother Hobert got to be Lord of the Hightower just because he was born first. Lyman wholeheartedly supports not just Rhaenyra but all of House Targaryen and keeps them united both out of affection and to maintain peace in the realm, while Otto tries to divide the family, even if it means causing a Civil War in the future. And in the end, while Lyman goes down in history as celebrated figure, Otto goes down as another example of a grasping second son.
• Framing the Guilty Party: Otto tries to frame Rhaenyra for sleeping with Daemon out of wedlock. It fails because as it turns out, her alleged encounter with Daemon happened at the same time she was sleeping with Alicent. Since Otto obviously can't expose his own daughter as Rhaenyra's lover without destroying his plans, the whole scheme blows up in his face.
• The Fundamentalist: In his own brief POV scene, Hobert Hightower is revealed to be a religious zealot who hates House Targaryen for making a mockery of the traditions of the Faith with the Doctrine of Exceptionalism and wants Aemon to be king so he can end his house's incestuous practices and make the Faith of the Seven the predominant religion of Westeros by declaring a holy war against the North.
• Good Is Not Soft:
  • After having enough of House Hightower's schemes, Rhaenyra decides she's going to have Laena and Vhagar burn the Hightower to cinders and wipe out the entire family (sans Alicent, Gwayne, and her half-siblings) to end their plots. Doing so will taint her reign as she has no proof to provide the lords of Westeros that her actions will be justified, but she declares she doesn't care if it means it will protect her family.
  • To prevent Rhaenyra from going through with her plan to destroy the Hightower using Vhagar and preserve her reputation, Alicent and Lyman strike a bargain with Larys Strong to have all the adult males in House Hightower wiped out in such a way that it can't be connected to the royal family.
• Heir Club for Men: In addition to Rhaenyra's difficulties at being accepted as heir to the throne, Corlys keeps on trying to convince her to have a fourth child because her third child, the one who is designated to inherit Driftmark, is a girl. There is also Arnold Arryn's attempt to forcibly usurp the Vale from his cousin, Jeyne Arryn, and Vaemond Velaryon's attempts to undermine his niece Baela's inheritance despite having no legitimate claim whatsoever to the Stepstones.
• Heteronormative Crusader:
  • Alicent's mother Melara took a dim view of her attraction to Rhaenyra, even outright banning her from spending time with the princess so her feelings for the other girl wouldn't grow.
  • Played with in the case of Otto. He didn't particularly care about Alicent's "deviant" feelings and forced Melara to lift the ban because he didn't want any distance between Rhaenyra and Alicent to compromise his influence in court. It isn't until those feelings (and the subsequent relationship) cause Alicent to side against him and his ambitions to have Aemon crowned that he begins to show serious disapproval.
• History Repeats: For the second time, Caraxes's rider is killed by Essosi pirates, and Caraxes is then claimed by his late rider's nephew.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Otto's attempt to slander Rhaenyra's name by accusing her of sleeping with Daemon in a brothel backfires horribly. Not only are there four credible witnesses attesting to Rhaenyra being in a completely different place at the time of the alleged encounter, but one of those witnesses is Otto's own daughter, Alicent (who was the person Rhaenyra was actually sleeping with, much to Otto's horror). After Rhaenyra's own sources confirm that Daemon actually slept with some Lyseni whore and happened to call out Rhaenyra's name while he was climaxing, a furious Viserys ends the entire interrogation and strips Otto of his position as Hand to the King.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Otto still tries to slander Rhaenyra's reputation by accusing her of sleeping with Daemon. However, it fails because Rhaenyra never traveled the Street of Silk with her uncle and has multiple credible highborn witnesses claiming they saw her return to the castle and enter Alicent's chambers the same hour her alleged encounter with Damen happened.
  • Rhaenyra still marries Laenor; however, here it's her own choice, and only after several discussions and negotiations (including confirming whether or not Laenor will be able to impregnate her and give her trueborn children).
  • Rhaemond still loses an eye.
  • Seasmoke still dies in battle with Vermithor.
• Irony:
  • As much as Rhaenyra and Otto hate each other, the one thing that they can agree on is how much they hate Viserys is neglecting his children by Alicent.
  • Otto's attempt to slander Rhaenyra by convincing Viserys she slept with Daemon in the middle of a brothel fails... because at the time of the alleged encounter, she was instead sleeping with Otto's daughter Alicent in the Red Keep.
  • To convince Alicent to turn against Rhaenyra, Otto claims that Rhaenyra will harm Alicent's children and put her half-siblings to the sword to secure her claim. The only serious harm Alicent's children end up suffering is from Otto's family, when Otto's older brother Hobert has Blood and Cheese try and kidnap Aemon, leading to Rhaemond getting maimed while protecting him and losing an eye. A furious Alicent effectively disowns the Hightowers after that and sanctions a plot that wipes out nearly every adult male in House Hightower, including her oldest brother.
• I Reject Your Reality: When Otto's attempt to discredit Rhaenyra goes wrong due to her ironclad alibi, he doubles down and claims that two members of the Kingsguard (including not only the commoner Criston Cole but the highborn Steffon Darklyn), the heir to Harrenhal, and his own daughter are all lying on her behalf.
• It's All My Fault: Aemon blames himself for Rhaemond's lost eye, as Rhaemond was maimed trying to protect his older brother after the latter went into the Red Keep's tunnels and was accosted by kidnappers.
• Kangaroo Court: As part of Lord Hightower's retaliation against the Beesburys for their support of Rhaenyra, Lyman's son Garlon is expelled from the order of maesters under false pretenses and with no chance to plead his case.
• Kissing Cousins: Lyman and Rosamund's grandson Alan is betrothed to his first cousin Samantha Tarly, the daughter of Rosamund's sister.
• Lie Back and Think of England: Alicent is miserable with her marriage with Viserys and hates sleeping with him to the point that their encounters border on Marital Rape License. It's likely one of the reasons why she finally gave into her feelings for Rhaenyra after they reconciled.
• The Magnificent:
  • The epilogue reveals that Rhaenyra will go down in history as "Queen Rhaenyra the Golden", and that her reign ushered in a golden age for Westeros.
  • Lyman is remembered as the "Queenmaker" for the role he played in mentoring Rhaenyra.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: The method of assassinating the Hightower conspirators to avoid the additional collateral damage and bad PR of dragonfire. Alys Rivers blows the top off the Hightower, which is taken for an alchemical accident when it's not taken as divine judgment.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Criston Cole still gives Lyman a head injury when pushing him aside in a frenzy to get to Otto.
  • Rhaenyra comments that if she married Daemon then Jeyne Arryn would disinherit her line and leave the Vale to a fourth cousin - such as Joffrey Arryn, her designated heir in canon.
  • Saera's letter to Rhaenyra includes a cryptic apology for "the cats and the bees" which she used to bully her sister (and Rhaenyra's grandmother) Daella.
• Named by the Adaptation: Alicent and Gwayne's older brothers are identified as the canon characters Bryndon and Myles Hightower.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Otto's attempt to use Arnold Arryn's desire for control of the Vale to undermine Rhaenyra's status as heir backfires, as Arnold forgoes a legal challenge in favor of an armed rebellion, causing Rhaenyra to fly to her cousin Jeyne's defense and giving her a chance to prove herself in battle, increasing her popularity.
• Parental Neglect: Viserys has no attachment whatsoever to his children with Alicent, at one point saying in an emotional outburst that the only child he has is Rhaenyra, to the fury of both Alicent's father Otto and Rhaenyra herself. In the end, the closest thing Alicent's children have to father figures are Lyman and their sworn shields, at least until Rhaenyra marries Laenor and brings him and his lover Joffrey into their family.
• Parental Substitute:
  • Lyman effectively becomes Rhaenyra's new father, acting as a mentor and as a confidant for her, and showing more faith in her abilities than Viserys ever did. He later becomes a grandfather-figure to her and Alicent's children, particularly Aemon, who affectionately calls him "Beebs".
  • Laenor and his lover Joffrey become the predominant father-figures to Alicent's children after the former marries Rhaenyra.
• Parents as People: Lyman is a good man and loves Rhaenyra dearly, but he was raised in a traditional household and has a somewhat conservative view of the world. It's for this reason he has a hard time accepting Rhaenyra's relationship with Alicent at first.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Rhaenyra and Laenor are married best friends who are happily co-parenting all of House Targaryen's children with their respective lovers. This close relationship allows them to fool the rest of the realm into believing they're Happily Married and evading a scandal.
• Promotion to Parent: A combination of being romantically involved with Alicent and Viserys's complete lack of interest in his children by his second wife forces Rhaenyra to step up as a second parental figure for her younger siblings. Toward the end of the story, she even refers to Aemon as her "son".
• Rage Breaking Point: The attempted kidnapping of Aemon, which led to Rhaemond's maiming and subsequent loss of an eye proves to be the last straw for both Alicent and Rhaenyra, who quickly begin plotting to completely wipe out House Hightower in retaliation.
• Related in the Adaptation: Rhaenyra's children are trueborn in this AU, making Laenor their biological father.
• Running Gag: Lyman's annoyance over the Redwynes falsifying their ledgers and fudging their taxes. It's the first thing he complains about in the story, and over a decade later, he's still complaining about it.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Grand Maester Alester walks in on Otto accusing Rhaenyra of sleeping with Daemon while trying to speak to Viserys on an unrelated matter, Otto attempts to rope him into the debate by suggesting Alester examine Rhaenyra to see if she's still a virgin like she claims. After Rhaenyra shoots this down (by pointing out how she's been riding dragon-back since she was a child, so her hymen was probably broken at some point anyway), the very awkward-feeling Alester quickly uses this as an excuse to flee the room, not even observing the customary formality of asking Viserys' permission to do so.
• Secret-Keeper: Before leaving to confront the Hightowers' Dragonseeds, Rhaenyra reveals the Song of Ice and Fire to Lyman to pass on in case she does not return. If it is necessary for him to do so, then he will tell Alicent, who will be the one to decide when to tell Jacaerys.
• Selective Obliviousness: For the first half of the story, Lyman remains completely oblivious to the romantic nature of Rhaenyra and Alicent's relationship, convinced that they have a close and "sisterly" bond. Eventually, it takes Rhaenyra outright telling him for him to finally understand what's really going on.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: The "gold cloaks" of the City Watch become "blue cloaks" as part of a rebranding effort after Daemon leaves.
• Spanner in the Works:
  • Lyman's friendship with Rhaenyra throws a wrench in Otto's plans to discredit the latter and position Aemon as heir to the throne. His belief in her motivates her to take her duties seriously and build up her credibility, his advice allows her to avoid most of Otto's traps, and most of all, he urges her to reconcile with Alicent, which allows the two women to start a Secret Relationship and ensures Alicent remains on Rhaenyra's side.
  • Otto anonymously encourages Arnold Arryn to challenge his cousin Jeyne's right to have inherited rule of the Vale instead of himself, hoping to use the similarity of this confrontation to Rhaenyra and Aemon's situation to make Viserys change his mind about the succession. Unfortunately for Otto, Arnold decides instead of a legal challenge to stage a rebellion, which sours the Small Council towards his claim and also provides Rhaenyra an opportunity to prove herself in battle, making her hugely popular in both the Vale and King's Landing.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • As the Dance is completely averted, multiple people are spared death from the canonical civil war, including Lyman himself.
  • With Rhaenyra's help, Rhea Royce gets her marriage to Daemon annulled, removing his motivation to kill her.
  • Thanks to Criston Cole being shipped off to the Wall before Rhaenyra's wedding to Laenor, Joffrey Lonmouth survives the feast and joins Rhaenyra's family.
  • Laena survives the story and grows to an old age, due to Daemon being killed by the Triarchy before he can get her pregnant again.
• Superior Successor: Thanks to Lyman's mentoring and Rhaenyra taking her duties as heir seriously, many lords lose reservation over the idea of a woman taking the throne due to Rhaenyra proving herself to be vastly more capable than her father, Viserys.
• Take Back Your Gift: When Daemon asks for Rhaenyra's favor at her wedding tourney (which he crashes after being banished when he lied about having sex with her), she instead returns the Valyrian steel necklace he gave her as a child.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: According to the author, Rhaenyra uses her position as cupbearer to drug Grand Maester Mellos until he is forcibly sent into retirement, so she doesn't have to be around him after his hand in her mother's death; Lyman doesn't realize it was poison, let alone that she was responsible.
• Too Clever by Half: Otto's attempt to slander Rhaenyra by claiming she slept with Daemon might've worked under different circumstances. Unfortunately, he forgets to do one thing—confirm the woman Daemon actually slept with really was Rhaenyra. As it turns out, she wasn't and there are four credible witnesses, including Otto's daughter Alicent, that can attest to that.
• Trial Balloon Question: When Lyman is shocked at the idea of Daemon and Laena having an open marriage, Rhaenyra's attempts to argue for acceptance are underlined by the nature of her own marriage to Laenor and relationship with Alicent, which Lyman is then unaware of.
• Underestimating Badassery: Otto severely underestimates several people throughout the story, including Lyman and Rhaenyra, which leads to his downfall. Ironically, however, the person he underestimates the most is his older brother Hobert, who manages to scheme his way into commanding two dragonriders who claim Vermithor and Silverwing, kill Seasmoke, and nearly kill Laenor. It's also implied that he provoked the Triarchy into attacking and killing Daemon, starting a war between them and Westeros. Most of all, he manages to hide his plots well enough that the protagonists can't find any definitive proof this was House Hightower's doing at all despite knowing they're the masterminds.
• Unexpected Successor:
  • After the death of Arnold Arryn, Rhaenyra finds herself heir to the Vale, as Jeyne Arryn's closest living relative after their aunt Amanda (who is very unlikely to outlive either of them). Since Rhaenyra is heir to the Iron Throne and can't succeed Jeyne as Lady of the Eyrie herself, the position is instead given to her second son by Laenor, Lucas.
  • Lyman himself was a second son with his older brother and three nephews ahead of him in House Beesbury's line of succession. Then his nephew Braxton got killed in trial by combat over the scandal with Princess Saera, another nephew died in a jousting accident, and his last nephew and his brother both perished of disease, leaving Lyman as Lord of Honeyholt.
• Universally Beloved Leader: Rhaenyra and Alicent are adored by the smallfolk for their many charity endeavors. In the last chapter, it's stated that the people celebrated Rhaenyra's coronation so exuberantly that it bordered on disrespect toward the recently diseased Viserys.
• White Sheep:
  • After reconciling with Rhaenyra, Alicent is, at first, the only member of House Hightower making no attempt to undermine the princess or grab for more power.
  • After Otto's death, Gwayne is removed from the City Watch and made Helaena's sword shield instead. This allows Alicent to turn him to her side, and by the end of the story, he's the only adult male in House Hightower who is not involved in their schemes and plots and disapproves of their underhanded attempts to put Aemon on the throne.
• Women Are Wiser: While Lyman is hardly a fool, he has very little aptitude for intrigue, and his wife Rosamund proves to be the more cunning and subtle of the two of them. For one thing, Rosamund figures out the true nature of Rhaenyra and Alicent's relationship long before Lyman himself is finally told.
• Wrong-Name Outburst: Daemon calls out Rhaenyra's name during sex with a Lyseni whore named Taena. By the following morning, all of King's Landing is declaring that this is the closest he is ever going to get to having sex with his niece.
• Zero-Approval Gambit: The fourteen-year-old Prince Aemon attempts this for a period, behaving as lazily and obnoxiously as possible in hopes that people won't consider him a viable king. Lyman points out to him that those who are pushing for him to rule instead of Rhaenyra don't prefer him because of any personal qualities, but because of his blood and his gender. In fact, being lazy and obnoxious is what these same people would want him to be, because those traits make for the perfect Puppet King.

---