Rigo was a bard from the eastern continent, a mixed-blood Valyrian. His father, a performer from Volantis, had passed down to him silver-gold Valyrian hair and decent looks, while his noble mother from Myr gave him the olive-toned skin of the Rhoynar and a sweet, melodious voice. She also bestowed upon him knowledge most common folk would never encounter in a lifetime.
With these gifts, the wandering bard roamed far and wide, relying on his learning to travel across more than half the world. Through sheer determination, he built a well-regarded theater troupe. Utilizing ancient trade routes, they traveled as far as the legendary lands of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti and the magical city of Asshai. They made their fortune entertaining the eerie and terrifying warlocks of Asshai but were eventually forced to leave due to the city's decline and the civil wars between sorcerers. In Yi Ti, they expanded the troupe and amassed an incredible amount of wealth.
Unfortunately, the once-prosperous and mighty Golden Empire—called the Scarlet Dynasty—never regained its former glory after the reckless Emperor Lo Bu lost his head to that fierce and cunning woman of Jogos Nhai. The Yellow Dynasty, which followed under Emperor Chai Duq, collapsed centuries ago. Now, the current Indigo Dynasty under the Bu emperors had lost its authority. The Son of Heaven, who once governed half the world, could no longer even step outside the capital of Yin.
The former capital of the Scarlet Dynasty, Si Qo, had been swallowed by forests, now devoid of human life.
A religious leader, called a "Sorcerer-Lord" by western scholars, rebuilt the Yellow Dynasty in Carcosa, a city beside the Hidden Sea. It was said this High Sorcerer, robed in yellow and crowned with tall feathers, had close ties with the winged ancient race dwelling in the nearby city of the Avians.
The Jogos Nhai, mounted on zebras, ravaged the northern lands of Yi Ti. But merchants and generals of the Indigo Dynasty crushed these barbarians. A wealthy merchant-general destroyed the vast empire, filling the northern borders of Yi Ti with the skulls of Jogos Nhai warriors. This general founded his own kingdom in the trade city, offering tribute to Yin's Son of Heaven, yet refusing to obey the Bu emperor's commands.
The defenders of the Five Forts lost support from the south of the swamps. These warriors, who once guarded a severely damaged line of fortresses, split in different directions. Some retreated south to the prosperous cities and established their own kingdom of former Fort Defenders. The rest allied with demon hunters wandering the Gray Waste and the legendary King Mosu'i, continuing to hold their ground in the ruined ancient strongholds.
Yi Ti was now fragmented. Seven powerful warlords, seven scheming kings, warred across the unknown lands east of the Bone Mountains. Rigo's troupe lost all their fortune amid this chaos, and he was forced to flee with only his stories.
They had visited Qarth, a city of mystical sorcerers and greedy merchants. There, Rigo first heard tales of the Dragon Dynasty in the West—an empire that had revived the glory of Valyria, when dragons soared through the skies. And so, they began their journey westward. In Volantis, Rigo's troupe learned of the legendary rise of the dragonlords. Elephant Party nobles praised the wisdom of the Silver Dragon, and even erected bronze statues of Cleorius Vaelarys and Draezell Vaelarys in the Volantene Senate. In the Great Temple of R'hllor, red-robed priests also raised a statue of Draezell, hailing him as the Chosen of the Red God. Though the Tigers scoffed at the Silver Dragon for abandoning the dream of rebuilding Valyria, they still publicly lauded the two surviving true dragon houses.
While crossing the disputed lands, Rigo's troupe was attacked by mercenaries who had entrenched themselves in the lawless region. The once-grand troupe of over a hundred performers, capable of staging elaborate productions, was reduced to just him. All their puppets, props, and even his costumes were stolen.
The destitute old bard had to rely on storytelling to earn enough coin for a ship fare. He boarded a Lyseni merchant vessel and arrived in Tyrosh, where he joined a reconstruction crew hired by the Vaelarys family governor. There, he filled his belly and saved a bit of coin.
"It was that very coin that brought me to Oldtown, my friend."
The fallen old performer Rigo spoke slowly as he recounted his tale. He had just finished his contribution to the play The Day the False Dragon Fell—composing its music.
Clunk, clunk.
The actor portraying the Usurper Aegon rolled onto the stage in a wobbling gait. A tall actress playing Alicent and a dwarf portraying Ser Cole, "the Kingmaker", suddenly began dancing erratically. The Usurper Aegon joined in, prancing comically across the stage.
At one point, flanked by the two actors, he leapt onto a mock Iron Throne, singing solemn lyrics: "I am the King, the true King! The Dragonstone whore is but a gasping pretender!"
"You're no king!" the crowd roared.
Then, trying to escape the other two actors' grasp, he ran toward the edge of the stage, shouting, "You lied to me! You all lied to me!"
"Boo~" the audience hissed in unison.
But the dwarf yanked him back, forcing him to slump defeatedly on the Iron Throne. Alicent collapsed beside him, just as broken. They seemed like puppets, lifeless—only the dwarf remained energetic, bouncing about the stage.
"Oathbreaker! Get off! Get off!" the crowd jeered.
Just then, a handsome actor holding a silver dragon sculpture strode confidently onstage, followed by a young, dashing boy carrying a great dragon figurine.
"Long live Prince Draezell!"
"Long live His Grace, King Jacaerys the First!"
Both chants erupted from the crowd at once, blurring into each other, making it impossible to tell which side outshouted the other.
The actress playing Queen Rhaenyra made her entrance with deliberate grace. She wasn't what one might call beautiful—her features were full and heavy—but her stage presence far outshone the rest of the cast.
Prince Viserys, his face lined with wrinkles, listened silently as old Rigo rambled on about mysterious tales. But his eyes remained fixed on the play, a rendition that had likely been rewritten countless times. He had dyed his hair, applied makeup—few would recognize him. Apart from that scoundrel Prince Aegon, who was off carousing somewhere.
"Did you rewrite it?" Viserys asked calmly. Onstage, the plot moved quickly. After the dwarf actor and the actor playing Aegon fled in panic, the woman portraying Queen Rhaenyra plopped herself down boldly on the Iron Throne and launched into an endless monologue, undisturbed even by the scenes meant to represent the fall of dragons, civil war, and riots in King's Landing.
"I only changed part of it, my friend," Rigo replied with a nostalgic glance at the intricate stage props. The play had now moved into the Battle of the Red Fork. The boy playing Jacaerys swung a wooden sword furiously, beating down dwarf actors cast as Western troops. The actor portraying Aemond held up a green dragon prop and clashed fiercely with another actor holding a silver dragon model. Before long, the latter cried out:
"Ah! I am struck down!"
The dragon prop and actor both fell dramatically. The actors playing Usurper Aegon and Alicent rushed over, wailing.
The audience burst into cheers.
"Where did you see all of this?" Vaelarys asked.
"Silvercrown, my friend. A prosperous city," Rigo replied with a gap-toothed smile. "I saw more plays there than I ever did in Yin, Qohor, or even Volantis. They've got proper theaters, and they even give subsidies to poor bards like me."
"I see." Viserys grew calm again. Truth be told, he rather liked this version of the play. Though the main heroes remained the House of Vaelarys and the climax still revolved around the three Draezell brothers and their dragons crushing the Greens, along with Draezell shooting down Aemond, this script had added a great deal for House Targaryen as well. It even went so far as to paint Usurper Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra in a more flattering light.
What intrigued him more, though, was Rigo himself. From what the old performer had said, he'd traveled from Silvercrown to Blackport, then to Dragon's Nest, and even to King's Landing, collecting stories and material along the way. Though much of it came from other bards, it was still a decent source of information.
"All thanks to the Muse of Song," the old bard said with a shrug, unconcerned with theological matters. The Faith of the Seven was surprisingly tolerant of foreigners like him. "If I had arrived in Silvercrown three years earlier, I wouldn't have made nearly as much coin."
The Vaelarys family was celebrating Lady Daenera's pregnancy.
Viserys knew why. Nearly four years ago, at the end of the year when Valar died, Lady Daenera became pregnant a second time—but nothing came of it. The official word from House Vaelarys was that it had been a false diagnosis.
But Viserys knew better. With all the resources House Vaelarys commanded, a misdiagnosis was out of the question.
Something had happened.
Not long after, three dragon eggs hatched in Dragon's Nest, drawing a veil over the whole affair.
Unfortunately, the intelligence network of Oldtown did not extend to the border territories, and his ailing elder brother couldn't possibly concern himself with such matters. In the year 162 AC, Queen Samantha had gone into labor with King Aegon's last child. Though young Baelor was safely born, the queen suffered severe complications and her health had steadily declined since.
King Aegon's own health was failing, too. They now spent more time recuperating in the Black Keep of House Vaelarys than in the Red Keep. Prince Daeron had begun serving as regent and taken part in governing the realm.
"Old friend, you don't happen to have a song about it, do you?"
"I do, but only a few," said Rigo, lowering his voice mysteriously. "I heard from a mad musician once—it might be tied to magic. After all, everyone knows the Silver Prince is a great sorcerer."
Viserys chuckled. He didn't press further.
"The people in the borderlands are always so warm," Rigo said cheerily. "Same in King's Landing. They love our plays. Even His Grace and Her Grace have watched them. The Crown Prince even granted us an audience."
Vaelarys had heard about that, though he wasn't familiar with the details.
"Oh?"
"The prince is a fine, valiant young man. May the Muse of Song bear witness—if he were in one of those chaotic lands, he'd be a mighty warrior-king. No—he'd be a wise and saintly king, wherever he ruled. After our meeting, he even asked for the ballads I'd collected in the Disputed Lands."
Viserys's eyes suddenly shifted.
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