Year 108 A.C.
Cutting through the clouds with enormous and silent wings, a colossal eagle circled the bustling skies of the capital. From high above, the creature's sharp eyes focused on the imposing towers of the Red Keep.
Without wasting time, its wings beat harder and harder. The eagle first passed in front of the wide windows of the Small Council chamber and, seeing it empty, continued its flight even higher, towards the royal chambers.
The creature looked inside the balcony of the king's room. With its keen vision, it found a man in informal clothes, with his back to the window, hunched over an immense miniature city made of stone. The eagle closed its wings, increasing its speed in a precise dive, and passed through the open window.
The beating of its wings made very little noise, but the landing on the heavy oak table emitted a loud clinking of metal.
The eagle's legs were adorned with rings and steel protections on its sharp claws. Its beak also had a macabre metallic coating, giving it a far from friendly silhouette. It looked like a weapon forged in the shape of a bird.
And the impact of this was noticeable by the man's immediate reaction.
POV: Viserys Targaryen
I started, almost knocking over one of the delicate towers of Old Valyria that I was carving. My breath caught in my throat as I turned around and came face to face with that colossal creature on top of my table.
My first instinct was to scream for the Kingsguard, but, as the seconds passed and the initial shock lessened, reason returned to my mind. I looked at the creature's appearance: the incredibly black feathers, the highly abnormal size for an eagle, and, especially, those golden and intelligent eyes that stared at me with an almost human weight.
I knew who had sent it.
I opened my mouth to speak, trying to find some composure worthy of a king, but the creature was faster. The metallic beak opened, and a bizarre sound tore through the silence of the room.
"It's been a while, Viserys... I came to see the result of my beautiful advice from a few years ago."
The voice sounded horrifying. It wasn't regular or fluid like the raven's from years ago; it was distorted, extremely hoarse, and forced. It sounded like the animal was tearing its own throat to form human words.
The eagle tilted its head, noticing my visible discomfort.
"Heindall is not very skilled in speech like the raven that visited you... but I believe you can understand," the creature said, taking two heavy steps forward. The metal of its claws scratched the oak of the table.
I swallowed hard, taking a step back.
"I... I understand," I murmured, passing a hand over my tired face. "The gods know I haven't forgotten you, acclaimed Beast King from the other side of the Wall."
"A somewhat pompous title they gave me..." said the hoarse voice.
"... there are others I've heard of."
"Ah... ignore them and get on with the news."
It seemed that I, the King, was subordinate to this fellow. I ignored the audacity and kept talking:
"And yes, I followed your advice. Aemma and I didn't try to have children all this time. The pressure from the council, from Otto and from the lords was terrible, but I resisted. We decided to start trying again only now, that she is fully recovered and healthy."
The eagle blinked slowly, listening.
"About my brother..." I continued, sighing. "Daemon is a bit more controllable, at least for now. And Otto... Otto Hightower is my Hand. I maintain a certain distrust and keep him under watch, as you suggested, but I still think he isn't such a bad man. He serves the realm."
The eagle emitted a harsh sound that resembled a dry and mocking laugh.
"The results are very good," Denovan's torn voice echoed through the room. "The simple fact that your queen is alive and well is already fantastic news, Viserys. But I didn't come here to receive a report." The creature took another step, the aura becoming instantly heavier. "I deserve a reward... a gesture of goodwill on your part."
I frowned, crossing my arms.
"Reward? And what do you seek?"
"I want you to totally prevent the attack on Scalebay."
The demand came fast and sharp as a blade.
"Scalebay?" I blinked in confusion. As much as I suspected he had a name for his "kingdom", Scalebay didn't seem appropriate at all. Why scales? "What kind of name is that?"
The eagle shook its head in a gesture that seemed purely amused. "It's what we call my settlement now. The Bay of Scales. One day you'll know why."
My confusion soon turned into frustration.
"You ask me for something almost impossible! I can't simply prevent an attack like that," I retorted, feeling the usual headache of the crown return. "The Night's Watch and the North are thirsty for this battle. They see you as a threat. Lord Stark demands action, and my Small Council is paranoid. The distrust is too great for a simple decree of mine to make an army of northmen retreat for no apparent reason. They would call me mad or weak..."
The eagle sighed. It was a long and incredibly human sound, loaded with pure irritation.
"The stupidity and petty politics of you southerners disgust me," the hoarse voice scolded. "But since you can't stop anything with a simple word, even having the damn crown on your head, then we will make a practical agreement."
The golden eyes pierced me.
"I'll be honest, Viserys. The population of Scalebay is increasing very rapidly. I have no way to keep everyone fed only with what we have beyond the Wall. So, I will give you an irrefutable reason to hold back the Starks and the Crows."
The eagle raised one of its giant wings, pointing vaguely towards the window, in a southerly direction.
"You have a problem with the Stepstones, don't you? The Triarchy is infesting the region, charging abusive tolls, enslaving sailors from Westeros and preventing your trade routes from prospering. I will be your vanguard."
I widened my eyes, the surprise silencing me.
"You only need to ensure that no one invades the True North," Denovan continued, the distorted voice dictating the terms. "And, in exchange, as 'proof of our goodwill', my people will serve your realm. I will send my men and my ships to eliminate the Triarchy's pirates in the Stepstones. You will not cause an all-out war with Essos because the Crown and the Targaryen army will not be officially involved. You will just be turning a blind eye to a bunch of 'northern barbarians' invading those islands. The same thing Essos does when it finances those pirates."
The proposal was insane, but... brilliant. Daemon and Corlys Velaryon were begging for a war in the Stepstones. If the Free Folk fought there, the Crown would keep its hands clean, trade would return, and the Starks would have to back down if this "King Beyond the Wall" was providing a vital service to the Iron Throne.
"That... that would solve many political problems," I admitted, calculating the possibilities. "But what is the exact price? How much or—"
"Food," the eagle squawked. "I want you to send me supplies by sea. I need enough food to sustain fifty thousand people a month."
"Fifty thousand?!" I almost yelled, stepping back, shocked. "That's absurd! The cost would be monumental for the Crown's coffers, and moving so much food to the far North would draw the attention of the whole realm!"
"Calm down, king," Heindall growled. "The amount will decrease over time. We will loot the ships and the pirates' hideouts. Once we have gold and valuable items from the Triarchy, we will buy our own food and finance our other endeavors in the North ourselves."
"Even so..." I ran my hand through my thinning hair, pacing back and forth. "I can't say 'yes' so easily. I need to see how much this will cost the coffers, I need to make excuses for the merchant fleet, I need to calculate the risks..."
The eagle slammed its metallic claws on the table violently, stopping my pacing.
"Heindall will stay hidden in this city for two days to rest his wings, and then he will return to me," Denovan's voice cut through the air, dry, with no room for negotiation. "You have exactly that time, Viserys. Either to stop the attack on Scalebay, or to organize the shipment of food, or to find a solution. But resolve it..."
The creature leaned its body forward, menacingly.
"Nothing is free, Viserys. Unfortunately, my warning about your wife years ago, about your dreams and about the dangers that exist in the far North were not just pure kindness; I always thought of the survival of my people first. So, help me. Because if you don't do this, and my lands are attacked... I will then be forced to massacre the Stark army, invade the Wall, and loot everything for the survival of my people..."
"And... as much as my advice lacks real proof that the tragedies would happen if you didn't follow them, preventing a war and saving people is something a good king would do, isn't it?"
"And well... a war would be terrible, wouldn't it? And I'll tell you one thing: if we really have a war, the ones most harmed will not be my people, I guarantee you that. Me not desiring a war is already an act of pure goodwill."
The weight of that threat left me completely in silence. The air in the room seemed to have become scarce.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden door opened with a jolt.
Aemma and Rhaenyra entered. Both were cheerful, laughing at something, my wife's sweet voice and my daughter's giggles breaking the tense atmosphere abruptly.
But the smile on Aemma's face disappeared the exact second her eyes fell upon the table. Seeing the enormous black eagle with golden eyes and metal claws standing in front of me, realization hit her like a lightning bolt. Her face went pale. Without saying a word, she took a step back, instinctively pushing Rhaenyra behind her, and placed a trembling hand on the door handle, ready to flee.
Rhaenyra, on the other hand, a girl with dragon blood running in her veins, was unfazed. She was a bit scared by the size of the bird, yes, but for a child who grew up watching fire-breathing beasts the size of castles, a big bird was no reason to panic. She peeked from behind her mother's skirts, her violet eyes shining with curiosity.
Seeing Aemma's terrified reaction, the eagle raised its head.
"Don't do that, Aemma..." The voice came out drawn-out. "Don't run or scream... that will only cause me problems," Heindall said. The hoarse voice scared Aemma even more, but the tone was restrained. "I came only to talk with your husband."
The creature then turned its steel beak in the direction of my daughter. To my total shock, when the eagle spoke to her, the hideous distortion seemed to soften a bit, sounding slightly calmer, in a clear attempt to seem friendly.
"Hello, little princess... I see you've grown a bit since last time."
Rhaenyra blinked, surprised to be noticed by a talking animal, but did not step back.
"Last time?" she asked quietly.
The eagle ignored it and turned its black face back to me, and the monstrous voice returned with full force.
"Two days, at this same time. Heindall will return to this balcony, and you will have your answer. Think carefully. Talk to your counselors..." The word came out drawn-out, loaded with a dark and amused irony. "...and give me a good answer, King."
Without waiting for a reply from me, the colossal bird of prey turned around. With two heavy leaps over my model of Valyria, it opened its massive wings, the wind generated by them scattering my papers across the floor, and jumped through the window, disappearing into the blue sky of King's Landing.
We stood there. A half minute of absolute and deafening silence filled the room. I was lost in thoughts, Aemma was still holding the door handle and the papers were still fluttering across the floor.
It was Rhaenyra who broke the silence, stepping out from behind her mother and taking a step forward, looking at the empty window.
"Father... the giant raven took one of the Valyrian dragons in its claws," she said, pointing to the model.
I looked at Rhaenyra, then at the tower that had lost the stone dragon, and let out a long sigh.
My eyes met Aemma's and I said: "He came just as we thought he would..."
Aemma let go of the door handle and came towards me with careful steps.
"And what did he want...? He... didn't seem as friendly as you said he was."
"Father, the raven talked a lot, right? Can I have one of those? ... And stop ignoring me!" she finished, crossing her little arms, a bit irritated.
"It wasn't a raven, my daughter... And no, you cannot have one of those, because there is only one like that in the world."
"But—"
"Daughter, can you go play with Alicent? I need to talk to your father. We'll see about the bird later, alright?" Aemma intervened softly. Under her mother's firm gaze, Rhaenyra huffed and left quickly.
"And so, Viserys..." Aemma asked as soon as the door closed. "What did he say?"
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Viserys and Aemma talking apprehensively about what to do regarding the Beast King's situation.
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