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English
Series:
Part 1 of Scion of Old Valyria
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Fanfiction that just tickle my brain, ✨An Assortment of DAMN Good Fics✨
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Published:
2020-10-29
Completed:
2021-06-29
Words:
211,455
Chapters:
35/35
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615
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772
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245
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49,521

The Dragon's Ascent

Summary:

The familiar story first introduced in the Game of Thrones novel, here seen from the perspective of Daenerys Targaryen but with a pivotal change; Arthur Dayne lives and helps raise the princess in Essos, changing the circumstances of the young Targaryen's upbringing and fixing many things along the way of the known story.

Chapter 1: Author's Note

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A note before you continue!

I suppose the vague idea of this fic started forming in my head around the time the finale of season 6 of the HBO television show Game of Thrones aired, where I brainstormed and even drafted rough scenarios about what could happen next, which was also around the time I had decided that I wanted to start reading the A Song of Ice and Fire book series. I thought that, by that point in time, George R.R. Martin would be releasing Winds of Winter... since that was what had been reported. That book obviously didn’t come out in the time that was initially planned, and it still has yet to came out, but I went ahead and read the book series anyway. As a Game of Thrones fan that only discovered the wonderful world that George R.R. Martin created through the television show, I was FLOORED by how much better I enjoyed the book series, even in comparison to the stellar production that was HBO’s Game of Thrones. As a fan of literary works of fiction, this revelation should not have surprised me as much as it did. It was darker, had far more depth and was a lot more complex than I could imagine a fantasy fiction could be. That being said, the only other piece of literary fantasy fiction that I’ve read besides the A Song of Ice and Fire novels are Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter books, so clearly I was in dire need of expanding my fantasy fiction horizons. And when you think about it, almost every piece of ‘hollywood’ television or film adaptation’s source material, 9 times out of 10, is much better than its visual medium. Almost.

But I digress.

It is no secret that my favourite character in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise is Daenerys Targaryen. You will find that to be abundantly clear if you chose to read this fic. And as a loyal viewer of the HBO television series, I was undoubtedly disappointed at the outcome of her character arc, to say the least. From the massive backlash the last (at least) two seasons have garnered, I know I am not alone in that disappointment. As many the many television critics, youtube video essay-ist, podcaster and fan-blogs will explain to you in far greater detail and a lot more eloquently than I could ever could tell you, the biggest problem the show that many (including myself) had a problem with wasn’t necessarily what happened at the end but how it got there.

Was it still a complete travesty and a stain on good storytelling? …well, yes. Undoubtedly.

But I want to put it out there that I don’t necessarily put all the blame squarely on the showrunners’ shoulders. Though some fair criticism is well deserved on their part, it should not have to be reminded that what they did with the television show was a massive undertaking. Adapting a television show like Game of Thrones from an expansive fantasy fiction series is an extremely tough task in itself for anyone to accomplish, let alone one that is as beautifully and meticulously written as George R. R. Martin’s works are. As it turns out, the HBO series turned out to be a masterfully done and critically acclaimed show that did the books justice... at least for the most part. Regardless, the showrunners did a fantastic job at translating the behemoth that is George R.R. Martin’s work into a 10 episode per-season television series in those first few years. They truly did! And that should be easy to recognise, but a lot of that is also due to the team behind them.

There is a lot of work that goes into making these high-prestige television shows; from costuming, to budget management, set design, location scouting, casting, directing, screenplay writing, art direction, VFX and the production crew etc,. Not to mention having to think about the massively talented actors, who has their own ambitions and other desires as well as having to consider what their agents and the television executive says, then the whole award seasons aspect of their career on top of all that. Let us not forget that all the people involved in this show had worked on this project across different countries, with productions happening simultaneously on a tight schedule that somehow all balances out. To say that it is a monumental task would be an understatement really.

The showrunners probably did not know what they were truly getting themselves into, and that showed in the last few years of the show (glaringly so in seasons 5 to 8). Which is why I give them some slack with how to show ended. What I mean to say is, though I hated the way the showrunners and some of the writers have (in my eyes) dropped the ball with sticking the landing of the series, it cannot be overstated that they probably tried the very best of their abilities to make it work. Unfortunately for us, that meant a disappointment (and low-key insulting) ending of a much beloved series. But they’re only human so… chile, anyway. Let’s move back on track.

At first I was angry at the outcome of Daenerys’ story. How could I not? But like many, I took refuge in re-reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series to try and determine if perhaps, maybe, possibly that Daenerys in the books won’t turn out as terrible as she did in the show... And to be honest, objectively speaking, with the way that George R.R. Martin has written her in the books, it is my opinion that Dany’s story could go either way. There are plenty of evidence that (hopefully and rightfully, in my opinion) point to her not being capable of committing such atrocities and would have a different ending to the show-canon one. But conversely, there are also some evidence that suggest a tragic ending similar to the show would befall Daenerys Targaryen in the books. Not the same way the television series gets to that conclusion mind you, but a tragic (and bittersweet?) ending all the same. George R.R. Martin famously loves writing about the human heart in conflict with itself, and this work of his is a fantastic reflection and study of that. So it won’t surprise me if he does indeed go with the almost nihilistic and pessimistic route with Daenerys’s arc.  My fic won’t necessarily focus on that aspect of the inner conflict, since I am no George R.R. Martin. If you’re looking for works that has that, then look no further than the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I hear they’re pretty good lol. Either way, as much as it pains me to say, it is my absolute belief that Daenerys will not have any sort of happy ending in the books at all. In fact, I think she will die a hero's death... but that is neither here or there.

Alas, that very possibility of a bleak ending for my favourite character is just an inevitability that I have come to terms with, which is why I decided to actually resume writing this fic in full (the initial concept of which has completely transformed into what is it now after watching S8) as a way for me to heal from the disenchantment I had with the ending of a television show I had enjoyed so intensely. Obviously, I felt that the best way to do this was to overhaul Dany’s entire story and “fix” many things along her journey that I thought would’ve otherwise led to her downfall. Now, I did not write this with the intent of trying to be any sort of writer who thinks they can create a better story than anyone else out there, especially not George R.R. Martin, so please do not expect his type of genius here. It was just a fun exercise; by me, for me. With the state of the world being upended these last few months (more than half a year now) from the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent quarantine lockdowns being the norm of life (on that note, please stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask and take care of each other!), I finally found enough time to dedicate in writing this fic to near completion (more a rough first draft). And you know, writing this story where I “fix” a lot of my favourite character’s “mistakes” in both the show and book canon has honestly been good for my tattered feelings during this weird time, so that’s a silver lining I suppose!

Now precisely because of the fact that I believe the ending of Daenerys’ arc in the books also won’t be anything similar to what I wish for her, many times in this fic will you find that things tend to go in favour for Daenerys, especially throughout her conquest and subsequent transformation of Slaver’s Bay. I tried making these ‘canon-divergences’ and 'fix-its' make as much sense within parameters of the reality that the fantasy world of A Song of Ice and Fire already establishes as much as possible. But at the end of the day, I really just wanted to make a fic with Daenerys having (what I envision for her, at least) a happy ending. If that’s not to your liking, then I honestly don’t know why you even bother being here on this fic.

Admittedly, while most of the plot, ideas and concept in this fic that diverges from both the television and book-canon came from my own ideas, there are many that were inspired by various youtube video essays, fan-blogs and forum threads that I’ve read and liked. And I wrote much this sort of without properly referencing these things, so please know that I do NOT take credit for all that is in this fic. And if you find that you’ve seen something in this fic that is similar to a theory you’ve seen or read online, then please let me know so I can properly reference it! And obviously, most of the plot and some of the words come directly from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels themselves because I wanted this fic to adhere as closely to the book-canon as possible, but I take no credit for writing those words. Some television-canon plot elements still do show up here too, especially in plots where the the television show has surpassed the books because neither WoW and ADoS have been released yet. Initially, I never intended to share this fic since I only made this fic for myself but then decided that perhaps others would like to read it too, as reading it over had made me feel better about the putting my headspace in the fantasy world of A Song of Ice and Fire again. So please, go easy on me! It’s my first fic after all.

Oh and another thing! One aspect I’d like to say the HBO production did phenomenally well was their decision to age up the characters. Even though George R.R. Martin’s novels are part of the medieval fantasy genre, his story still tries to stay true to the feudalistic medieval realities of our own histories, which is, to say the least, disturbing. And let me tell you, it made my reading experience much more uncomfortable when I read the POV chapters of literal children going through things like rape, war, murder etc. that is so common within these novels. So for obvious reasons, I have also chosen to age up the characters as well. That being said, I still won’t completely omit some of the grisly and dark realities that is present in the novels and of that time period the canon is set in. 

But let me make this clear; the rape tag I have put up is more of a precautionary tag, rather than a true reflection of the text itself, and that is to say I have not, and will not, write any scenes depicting explicit rape. The closest I would go is to imply of a past occurrence or an attempted assault. So please, be warned of that! 

And at last (but not least); here is my important disclaimer because I do not want to get in trouble...

These are works of purely speculative fiction. It is not intended to infringe on any rights by and of the companies and/or individuals involved in the production of any series mentioned here, including George R.R. Martin and HBO. All publicly recognisable characters, settings, words and plots etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended. I am grateful to George R.R. Martin for his wonderful work about the world of ASOIAF, for without his books, this fic could not exist. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official canon. The author is not and will not be profiting off of this work.

 

Notes:

As there have been a few questions about this in my later chapters, I wanted to add this little tidbit about my timeline of events so that some things are clearer for new readers from the onset…

Because I decided to age up the characters like the show did, this fic will follow the show’s timeline of events, (at least in terms of the counting of years) but I’ve also retconned it a bit to make Dany 18 at the start her story with the Dothraki (in the show, she was still 17, so I hope you can understand that this change was made for obvious reasons lol). Now for example, in the GoT show Dany was born in the beginning of 281AC, when the War of the Usurper ended. But here, I pushed it back one year, so she is born in 280AC, when the War of the Usurper ended in my timeline. This makes it so that when my story starts at 298AC, it is the same as the show, which also takes place in the beginning of 298AC. Despite the slight retcon of the year number, nothing else really changes, like everything in-canon happens the same way and in relatively the same pace since I only pushed the year back one year… (I hope that makes sense)