"No— no—"
Elbert shook his head in a daze, his mind teetering on the edge of total collapse.
He had only come to stop Brandon from riding south. Why was he being subjected to this?
"Untie him."
Suddenly, a voice cut through the air. The rope binding his numb wrists went slack.
Elbert looked up in astonishment to see Daeron standing over him.
Wearing a smile that was a touch cold, Daeron spoke flatly, "Ser Elbert, we meet again."
"Prince?"
A glint of hope sparked in Elbert's eyes. He planted his hands on the ground, struggling to stand.
Daeron crouched down and pressed him back to the floor, speaking face-to-face. "Lord Rickard's death was no great loss, but his fighting spirit—battling to save his eldest son—is something I truly admire."
Like Brandon before him, Elbert couldn't make heads or tails of the Prince's words.
Daeron put it bluntly. "To rescue Brandon, Lord Rickard risked everything to come south."
"..."
Elbert suddenly realized something. He had been imprisoned for so long... had his uncle, Jon Arryn, made any move to save him?
The answer was: No.
Daeron spoke, mixing truth with lies. "I wrote to Duke Arryn, hoping he would vouch for your innocence. But let alone coming to King's Landing himself, Duke Arryn hasn't sent a single man or even a raven."
Translation: You have been abandoned.
Elbert was shocked and hurriedly tried to argue. "That's impossible! My uncle named me his heir. He wouldn't give up on me."
"Then why hasn't he thought of a way to save you?"
Daeron's question stumped him.
Elbert stammered, opening his mouth several times but failing to find any words to defend his uncle.
Daeron said "kindly," "Perhaps you didn't know. To protect Robert and Ned Stark, Duke Arryn has maintained his silence. He has even brought his distant cousin, Denys Arryn, back to the Eyrie."
Daeron was making this up. He wasn't in the Eyrie; how could he know the internal affairs of House Arryn?
But he hit the bullseye.
Elbert's pupils constricted. The name Denys Arryn echoed in his mind. He began to tremble violently, sinking into a pit of agonizing suspicion he couldn't climb out of.
Uncle wants to change the heir. He really doesn't want to save me.
Daeron leaned in and whispered, "Ser, your uncle... he wants you dead."
Boom—
The words were like a thunderclap. Elbert's eyes rolled back. Unable to handle the blow, he fainted on the spot.
"Naming a nephew as heir usually means neither side trusts the other."
Daeron shook his head and signaled for Elbert to be carried out and settled somewhere comfortable.
When he woke up, he would be sent back to the Eyrie.
Daeron didn't want the aging Jon Arryn to have to bear the grief of losing an heir just yet.
---
Aerys wasn't idle, either.
Watching the Stark father and son die with his own eyes had filled him with an unimaginable sense of satisfaction. He was swelling with arrogance!
He immediately ordered Maester Aemon to write a letter demanding Duke Arryn send the heads of Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark to King's Landing. In exchange, he offered to overlook the fact that Arryn had fostered them.
This wasn't a random bout of madness; it was an accusation based on logic.
Duke Rickard had plotted treason, so his in-laws were accomplices.
Robert was betrothed to Lyanna, and Ned was Rickard's second son. Both deserved to die.
As for Duke Hoster Tully of Riverrun, Aerys had thrown him to the back of his mind. A minor House Tully, simply marrying a daughter to the Starks? Not worth his grand efforts.
Maester Aemon and Daeron had already decided on a course of action. They followed the King's request for the letter but deftly erased Robert Baratheon's name.
The content was changed to demand only that Duke Arryn send his ward, Ned Stark, to King's Landing.
This was a manipulation of human nature. It forced Arryn to start a rebellion for the sake of his ward, Ned, while dragging Robert—who was technically a victim—onto the warship.
Robert's stance was unclear, but given the "abduction" of his betrothed, he was likely pro-war.
If all three united to raise the banners of rebellion, then in the eyes of the lords of the Seven Kingdoms—especially those in the Stormlands—Robert wouldn't be rebelling because of a life-or-death threat to himself. He would be rebelling for a woman.
Using war to exact revenge on Crown Prince Rhaegar.
The difference between the two narratives was massive.
"Take them away, too."
While his father Aerys was indulging in his madness, Daeron took it upon himself to decide the fate of the noble sons who had followed Brandon.
There were three of them:
Ethan Glover, a Northman.
Kyle Royce, from Runestone in the Vale.
Jeffory Mallister, from Seagard in the Riverlands.
The only surviving messenger from the original timeline, Ethan Glover, would remain imprisoned until the war ended.
Kyle and Jeffory were taken away to be cleaned up. Daeron sent letters to "Bronze Yohn" Royce and Lord Mallister, informing them that their kinsmen would be released shortly.
House Mallister of Seagard and House Royce of Runestone were of noble birth and held transcendent status. One was a powerful border lord of the Riverlands, the other the second-in-command of the Vale.
Daeron had a dragon. He was the legitimate heir. He needed to learn how to express his political stance.
Eliminate the ringleaders—the Starks—but spare the innocent.
Whether it was Bronze Yohn, Lord Mallister, or the other lords of the Seven Kingdoms, Daeron needed them to see that House Targaryen still had a sane man worthy of their trust and loyalty.
---
Half a month later.
Elbert Arryn and Kyle Royce, supporting each other, stumbled their way back to the Eyrie after a rough journey.
Upon seeing Duke Arryn, they handed over the King's letter.
"Child, you're alive!"
Duke Arryn was initially shocked, then realized that sounded wrong and quickly corrected himself. "It is good you returned safely. I was just trying to find news of you. Your return is the greatest blessing."
Elbert heard the first half, and his heart went cold.
He treated the second half like a fart in the wind, drooping his head. "Uncle, I am exhausted. I need to rest."
Kyle Royce, having witnessed the tragedy in the Throne Room, played along. "Yes, my Lord. I must return to Runestone, so I will not disturb you further."
Duke Arryn assumed they were simply unwell and sent servants to help them wash and change.
After reading the contents of the letter, his kind, aged face instantly tightened, revealing a grim ferocity.
The Starks were dead.
In a trial by combat, they had died by the sword of the Dragon Prince, Daeron Targaryen.
And the King was demanding he send his ward, Ned, to King's Landing.
If he actually sent Ned, would House Targaryen spare House Arryn?
Jon Arryn closed his eyes. After a long silence, he spoke. "Guards, bring Robert and Ned here!"
Duke Rickard was dead. The four-region alliance had been exposed.
The Mad King would not let them go.
While House Targaryen was in decline and Prince Daeron's dragon had not yet grown into a behemoth, they had to raise the banners of rebellion immediately.
Only by overthrowing the Targaryen rule could the four Great Houses truly be safe.
---
Longtable.
Daeron arrived on dragonback, receiving a warm welcome from Earl Owen Merryweather.
"Prince, look! This is the cow in my family that produces special milk."
Earl Owen was overjoyed to be back home after so long.
He pointed to the botanical garden in the Longtable hall, where two white-spotted cows, one large and one small, were leisurely wandering about, occasionally lowering their heads to nibble on rice seedlings and fruits.
Daeron watched for a while and found the two cows were similar to the ones on his farm.
The difference lay in the diet.
The cows on Daeron's farm ate blue grass every day, hay on rainy days, and received diligent petting from Daeron to boost their mood values. They had long been producing large bottles of Iridium or Gold Star quality milk.
The cows at Earl Owen's house weren't eating well. Not only was the calf growing slowly, but the mother cow's milk quality was merely average.
"Hehe, House Merryweather is lucky. The big cow gave birth to a little cow."
Earl Owen was very satisfied, grabbing a handful of hay to feed them.
This kind of sustainable, special animal was unique in the entire Reach. Countless noble lords drooled with envy over it.
"Take good care of them. Send someone to pet them when possible. Special animals have high intelligence and need to maintain a good mood," Daeron advised.
"Rest assured, tomorrow I will select the maid with the best temper specifically to pet the cows," Earl Owen promised immediately.
---
Before long, a raven flew into Longtable, bringing news from King's Landing.
Duke Jon Arryn had raised the banners of rebellion.
Robert Baratheon had led a charge, storming Gulltown, slaying several knights in battle, and had now taken a ship south to return to the Stormlands.
"The War of the Usurper has finally arrived."
Daeron felt no panic, only an impatience to reorganize the Seven Kingdoms.
It had been some time since the death of the Starks.
To prepare for the war, he had two things to do.
First, he had preemptively told Earl Grafton of Gulltown not to fight to the death against Jon Arryn's rebel forces. He was to surrender when necessary and let Robert return to the Stormlands.
Second, he needed to go south to the Reach and win over the Reach nobles, led by the Tyrells of Highgarden.
---
Here, we must discuss the history of the "War of Conquest" and Aegon the Conqueror's plans for the Seven Kingdoms.
During the Conquest, of the seven kings of Westeros, only three died, along with the destruction of their houses: Black Harren, the Gardener King, and the last Storm King, Argilac.
The destruction of House Gardener was particularly strange.
The Gardener King and the Lannister King had gathered an army of a hundred thousand to oppose the Conqueror in the Reach. Aegon, riding Balerion and accompanied by his sisters, unleashed the "Field of Fire," famous throughout the realm.
But the Lannister King was unharmed. After the defeat, he knelt and submitted, retaining the title of Warden of the West.
In contrast, the Gardener King and his numerous heirs and cousins all died, causing the populous House Gardener to be wiped out in a single battle.
Why?
Daeron had read the history books and knew this was Aegon's intention.
He specifically targeted the banners of House Gardener to burn.
Starting from this baseline, look at Orys Baratheon conquering Storm's End, marrying the only daughter of the last Storm King, replacing House Durrandon, and instantly becoming the youngest Lord Paramount of the Seven Kingdoms.
A conclusion can be drawn:
The condition for House Targaryen to sit safely in King's Landing was to guard against the four directions—the Vale, the West, Dorne, and the North—while winning over the Riverlands, the Reach, and the Stormlands, which were interlaced among the four borders.
After destroying the "Black Heart" Harren's House Hoare, the Riverlands weren't given to the newly rising House Tully, but to Aegon's loyalists (initially).
Another conclusion:
Harrenhal must be held by a royal loyalist, blocking the invasion routes to King's Landing from the West, North, and Vale.
The existence of Harrenhal meant that if enemies came from the north or west to attack King's Landing, the Crown could rely on Harrenhal for logistics and grain, or retreat into Harrenhal to defend.
This was Aegon the Conqueror's original strategic plan.
Times had changed. Dorne, which originally needed guarding against, had become a royal in-law. The West, in the hands of his teacher Tywin, leaned toward the Crown.
Instead, the Tullys of the Riverlands and the Baratheons of the Stormlands had become the main forces resisting the Crown.
It had to be said, it was very interesting.
Facts proved that the plan Aegon hastily made after conquering the Seven Kingdoms was no longer applicable to the current situation.
Daeron re-planned a new policy.
First, target the Riverlands, Reach, and Stormlands, which secured the safety of the Crownlands.
The Reach supported the Crown and shouldn't be touched.
The Riverlands and Stormlands were the main force of the rebellion and had already been planned into Daeron's scheme to expand the Crownlands.
Yes, he wanted to swallow large parts of the Riverlands and Stormlands to expand the scope of the Crownlands.
Westeros was a typical feudal system.
The definition of the feudal system is "enfeoffing territories to build states." This leads to the rule of "my vassal's vassal is not my vassal."
Daeron wanted to push Westeros a step toward Centralization.
Many people confused the concepts of feudalism and centralization, thinking they were just ancient dynasties.
Actually, the difference is massive.
Centralization brings local power back to the center, allowing the monarch's orders to reach the local level directly, breaking the "my vassal's vassal is not my vassal" flaw, and unifying political decrees.
This method greatly promotes social productivity and condenses social resources.
Daeron's ambition wasn't too big, and he saw the situation clearly.
He didn't seek to beat the Seven Kingdoms into submission in one go or push the entire continent of Westeros into a centralized social system.
As long as he centered on the Crownlands, controlled the Riverlands and Stormlands, and radiated influence to the Reach, the power of the Iron Throne would skyrocket.
Let alone the noble lords fighting their own battles on the continent, he wouldn't even fear the Nine Free Cities of Essos.
(Note: The Free Cities follow a slave system, which is a social system even more backward than the feudal system of Westeros.)
The Free Cities were strong, yes.
But their strength lay in the fact that there were nine of them. The powerful within them sat on trade economies and saved countless amounts of manpower and wealth through slavery, exploiting the bottom-tier commoners without a shred of humanity.
This was not the essence of their strength.
If slavery were abolished, they wouldn't even be able to maintain basic productivity or the balance of distribution.
For example:
A person produces five loaves of bread a day and needs to eat three.
The appearance of slavery allows a slave to produce five loaves a day but only eat half a loaf, just enough to not starve to death.
The slave owner who controls the means of production can then squeeze out an extra two and a half loaves on top of the fixed two loaves of profit.
Whoever does this gets rich.
Daeron couldn't change the Eastern Continent, but he could change Westeros.
To ensure the War of the Usurper proceeded smoothly—to fish out all the lords of the Seven Kingdoms who supported the four great families and ensure a bloody purge later—he had also instructed Earl Grafton of Gulltown not to resist stubbornly. He was to let the rebel army enter Gulltown.
Otherwise, Daeron could have just ridden Caraxes to block Gulltown and sprayed a mouthful of dragonfire to kill Robert.
But that would be meaningless.
The prerequisite for the purge was distinguishing who was a loyalist and who was a traitor.
If Robert died, the rebel army would collapse on its own.
How would Daeron expand the Crownlands and strengthen his family then?
So, Robert, like Rhaegar, was just a pawn.