Legacy of Valyria: Maegor’s Glory

264 AC August 22, 264

Rhaella Targaryen was exhausted and stressed due to consecutive miscarriages and stillbirths. Aerys II was not treating her kindly either with his behavior. Five years had passed since she gave birth to Rhaegar in 259, and she was pregnant again. This time, she prayed to all the gods she knew, to the trees, to the dragons, that the child she was carrying would not die. She leaned over her belly and said, "Maegor," wishing for the child to live, to be strong, to become one of the realm's greatest knights.

Five days passed in an instant, and screams that could be heard even outside the Red Keep were scratching everyone's ears. Aerys II was outside the room with his loyal friend and Hand of the King, Tywin Lannister.

Turning to Tywin, he said, "Old friend, the Seven will show mercy this time. Last night, I had a dream; a shadow circling above King's Landing, casting flames into the air. My son who is to be born will bring back the dragons to us, and we Targaryens will revive the glory of our ancestors once more."

Tywin smiled, saying, "My King, the realm has been peaceful since your ancestor Jaehaerys. You have already shown your glory to the realm."

Tywin, who had served as Hand of the King since 254, knew Aerys well, being one of his closest friends, and he knew that praising him in such moments was the best course of action.

Aerys smiled and glanced towards the door, praying silently for the child to be born.

Since ascending the throne after the tragedy at Summerhall, the realm had enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and peace. The only issue had been the children born to him; since Rhaegar was born in 259, his wife had either miscarried or given birth to stillborns. At times, he even suspected someone of poisoning his wife or children, fueled by whispered words that did little to help.

For Aerys, the agonizing wait ended approximately two hours later with the sound of a baby's cries from within. Entering the room, he saw Grand Maester Pycelle holding the swaddled infant and took him into his arms. Looking into the bundle, he saw a healthy baby boy who had just stopped crying, with eyes like his ancestors' deep violet, chubby red cheeks, and a few strands of silvery-platinum hair.

Turning to Rhaella, he said, "Thank you, you have given me a healthy son. He shall be named after our wise ancestor, Jaehaerys."

Rhaella turned to Aerys and replied firmly, "No, my king, I have promised to the gods. As long as I have a healthy child, his name shall be Maegor."

Aerys looked at his gentle wife and sister, who had never opposed him in years, now unexpectedly defying him, which surprised Aerys and brought a small smile to his face.

"Well then, so be it. Maegor is a strong name. We may face objections from the Starry Sept and some noble families," he conceded.

Rhaella smiled and took the swaddling from Aerys' hands. "Maegor, be strong, my baby. You are my lucky star."

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"Brother, don't do this," said a man resembling a human but covered all over with scales. "We can still win this war. The other lords of the council are clearing the portal we opened."

As the scaly brothers conversed among themselves, suddenly a towering figure emerged from the portal, wreathed in flames and smoke, with horns on its head and wielding a long sword of fire.

"Weak," declared the fiery giant.

The scaly man turned to his brother. "Now we face an impossible war," he said.

Looking at his scaly brother, the man continued, "5000 years ago, we were just shepherds, shepherds of the Great Dawn Empire. We discovered their legacy, tamed dragons. While God Kings may live for a maximum of 250 years, brother, we have lived for over 5000 years. But everything has its price. Wasn't it the Emperor of the Shard who opened a portal in the north and started the Long Night?"

The scaly man replied, "Brother, they simply called themselves god-kings, they didn't deserve to wield this power and couldn't master it. We did, we have ruled for thousands of years. We are now legends, true gods. What do they call us? The gods of Valyria."

His scaly brother said, "Brother, I will perform that spell, even if it costs my life, to give our blood a chance to rebuild Valyria."

Before the scaly man could respond, the Dragon Lords attacked the towering giant made of fire and smoke, but their assaults did not affect the giant. The giant raised its enormous sword and plunged it into the ground. The earth began to boil, with temperatures rising to unbearable levels as 14 volcanoes erupted. Dragons flying in the sky fell to the ground, and fleeing people began to burn like torches.

Turning to his scaly brother, he said, "Meraxes, perform the memory spell. Anyone who witnessed the portals must forget. I will perform the magic that will divide my soul, so that one day everyone will remember the glory of Valyria."

Meraxes replied, "My objections will avail nothing. I will perform the magic you desire, but will others not survive this disaster?"

His brother replied, "The cause of this disaster was the greed of others; they will face their punishments. Syrax cursed them all, giving up her life force to apply a curse. They will slowly decay from within, none of them living longer than ten years. With their selfishness, they will fade away without passing on their knowledge."

Meraxes looked at his brother one last time and nodded, beginning to utter certain words. Those who survived the apocalypse felt they had lost something, but couldn't understand what.

Within an hour, the continent vanished in catastrophe. The towering giant of fire looked around and found nothing worthy of a satisfying battle.

"Boring," it said, and entered the portal it came from, disappearing. As the giant left, the portal closed on its own, and all information related to the portal, including the ancient ruins and bodies of Valyria, was lost forever.

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In the dark void, a soul was drifting. The consciousness of the soul was sometimes awakening to itself and then closing off again. The soul wondered how much time it had spent in this darkness; at first, it panicked as it couldn't feel any of its limbs, but the initial panic gradually gave way to numbness.

After drifting for hundreds of years, the soul noticed a light. The light gave the soul pure ecstasy, yet at the same time, it instilled an infinite dread. At first, the light seemed quite distant, but it approached, closer and closer, until it turned towards the soul. The soul panicked inwardly, cursed its limbs it hadn't felt for years, and prayed to all the gods it knew to escape.

The light struck the soul swiftly. The soul expected an unbearable pain that never came. Suddenly, the body it hadn't felt for years began to warm, but there was no pain. The body, which had not been felt for years, was melting with pleasure as if in a sauna.

If someone were looking at the soul from the outside with the naked eye, they would see a purple-colored orb starting to merge with a white-colored sphere.

The soul drifted blissfully as it lost consciousness once again.

When consciousness returned, it realized it was back to its monotonous drifting. The soul began to ponder who it was, something it had been doing for years.

Augustus—that was the name given to him by his family. He was born into an academic family. His mother was a woman enamored with the Roman Empire and bestowed its founder's name upon him. Augustus inherited his family's genes and was a very intelligent child. He absorbed his mother's curiosity and developed an obsessive interest in history. While at university, he took his father's classic Toyota 2000 GT car to meet his girlfriend. As he waited at a red light:

Scrrreeeeeeeech

That was the last sound he heard. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a bed. Most of his body was in casts. When he tried to move his arms, nothing happened. When he tried to move his head, nothing happened. After much effort, he managed to tilt his neck to the side and saw his mother crying as she looked at him. He tried to speak to his mother, but his mouth was too dry. There was a knock on the door, and a doctor entered.

"Hello, madam. Unfortunately, solving this situation without risking his life is very difficult," the doctor said.

His mother began to cry more deeply, and his father entered with a tray of soup and water.

"Doctor, will my son never walk again?" his father asked.

At that moment, scalding water poured down from Augustus' head.

After months of hospital care, Augustus returned home and began living with a caregiver his family had arranged for him. His caregiver, Helen, was a complete otaku. She talked often about anime, games, books, and manga—things she watched and read, often watching movies and anime together.

Augustus had fun times with Helen, but deep down, his desire to live decreased with each passing day. One day, he talked to his father, Oliver, about his situation and wanting euthanasia. His father refused and forbade him from bringing up the topic again. Two years later, he expressed this desire again, enduring unbearable mental anguish. Bedridden, sores formed around his body, and he wasted away like a candle. After long discussions and tears, his family reluctantly accepted his wish.

On August 31, 2022, in Canada, he closed his eyes to life.

When he opened his eyes again, he was drifting in eternal darkness.

Augustus drifted in darkness when suddenly he began to feel pain in his body—a sensation he deemed impossible. It felt as if he was forcibly trying to squeeze through a narrow gap, with all his bones repeatedly breaking.

Then, he felt a cold sensation throughout his body, although he couldn't feel it. He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. Suddenly, he felt a shock from his bottom, and this shock made him cry out.

"Waaaah! Waaaaaaah!"

He took a deep breath, and with the shock of pain from his bottom, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a spacious room, held by his feet by an old man with chains attached. He saw a platinum-haired woman lying in bed, her body drenched in sweat, and areas where the woman lay were washed with blood.

The chained old man handed Augustus over to a woman, who cleaned and swaddled him. The woman lying in bed smiled and asked the servant for the swaddle. She saw a wrinkled-faced, dark purple-eyed baby.

"Maegor, your name shall be Maegor from now on," the woman said.

After being taken away by the man who entered later, Maegor fell asleep while looking at the person holding the swaddle.