Legacy of Valyria: Maegor’s Glory

-280 AC-

For two years straight, Maegor had relentlessly pursued Mera's teachings, continuously improving himself. Under Mera's guidance, Maegor had almost reached the level of arena champions from Old Valyria. Acting on Mera's advice, he trained in a dual-wielding style, mastering combat to a championship level, much like Yone in League of Legends. He had achieved the pinnacle of human standards in Planetos, with even Ser Arthur Dayne unable to make Maegor break a sweat.

Meanwhile, under Varys's influence, Aerys had grown increasingly paranoid over these two years. He was now secretly dubbed the Mad King by those within the castle walls. Though Maegor didn't harbor much love for Aerys as a father, he felt responsible towards the man who had brought him into this world. All the plants Mera needed for the antidote had been found; the only missing ingredient was blood from a magical creature. Even the elusive Shadow Cats commonly seen in the cursed north had disappeared, making it impossible to find a drop of magical animal blood. Maegor suggested offering his own blood since Targaryen blood was inherently magical. It was disheartening when Mera informed him that his blood lacked sufficient magic.

In these years, Rhaegar had become obsessed with the prophecy of the Prince That Was Promised, fervently desiring that his child with Elia Martell would be Azor Ahai. Rhaegar and Elia had married this year, and Elia, Princess of Dorne, was pregnant with their first child, Princess Rhaenys.

After a long two years, Mera had imparted some crucial information to Maegor. Most importantly, this morning after training, she revealed Valyria's most important secret: Portals.

"It's time, Maegor, for you to learn some of Valyria's secrets. I've watched you tirelessly strive and grow for two years. Understand that we were not the first to ride dragons. Before us, there was a great empire in Essos called the Great Empire of the Dawn. They were so advanced that they ruled almost the entire world for thousands of years. They were our predecessors. The Great Empire of the Dawn tamed dragons and brought all sorts of strange innovations to the world. We Valyrians were the shepherds of the Great Empire of the Dawn. Isn't it ironic? A nation that ruled the world was just shepherds. According to legends, the first Emperor of the Dawn was said to be the child of the God of the Night Lion and the Maiden of Light. The gods loved their children so much that they gave him a power that could rule this world and even the universe if used wisely: the 'Portal'.

"A Portal is a door opening to a random world. It's a living entity of sorts. It opens a door, sets goals for that door, and rewards those who successfully complete those goals in unimaginable ways. Through Portals, the Great Empire of the Dawn prospered over the years, but as they developed, they became greedy. When the God on Earth grew weary of human greed, he left the throne and returned to the stars to be with his family. He left the throne to his son, the Pearl Emperor, who passed it on to his own daughter, the Amethyst Emperor. The Bloodstone Emperor, feeling jealous of his sister Amethyst, removed her from the throne and took her place. His ambition was insatiable, constantly pushing his soldiers into battle by opening new Portals everywhere, until he opened a Portal in the North. The Portal opened in the North to a horrifying place—a world of endless snow and ice, populated by blue corpses walking on ice. Ultimately, the Empire of the Dawn could not cleanse the Portal. You must understand, when a Portal is opened, it must be cleansed; otherwise, the Portal reverses, and the other side begins to enter your world. The failure of the Empire of the Dawn to cleanse the Portal reversed it, and the Long Night began until the son of the Jade Emperor plunged his sword into his wife's heart and became Azor Ahai. During the most troubling moments of the war, the Jade Emperor fought a Godlike Ice Monster that came through the Portal. The Monster and the Emperor did not defeat each other and both withdrew heavily wounded. The Godlike Ice Monster withdrew back through the Portal due to its wounds, while the Bloodstone Emperor lost his life due to the injuries he sustained.

After his father's death, the son who became Azor Ahai led the forces of the Empire of the Dawn in long wars and managed to drive those monsters back through the Portal, but unfortunately, the Portal never closed. Aware of the unclosed Portal, under Azor Ahai's leadership, construction of the Wall began. When the forest children finished everything, they judged Azor Ahai, who committed suicide at his own request. The Empire of the Dawn tried to close the remaining Portals and succeeded in closing all except the one north of the Wall. Sadly, the knowledge of Portal construction was lost with the death of the royal family, and internal strife eventually led to the downfall of the Great Empire of the Dawn.

As people began to forget everything, we shepherds found a hidden cave in what you now call the Dothraki Sea. This cave was where Azor Ahai, fearing his death in battle, passed on his family's legacy to his children, but unfortunately, we did not know how to read. We concealed the entrance to the cave and after much effort, my brothers and I managed to enter Yi Ti. The people of Yi Ti were quite closed-off and not welcoming to outsiders. Within a few years, we learned to read and one night, we quietly escaped from Yi Ti.

When we discovered the information in the cave, we were shocked; the lost legacy of the Great Empire of the Dawn lay before us. Initially, we sought to tame the dragons to strengthen ourselves. Unfortunately, we were not immediately successful, and in the process of stealing three dragon eggs, seven of our siblings perished. With the legacy, we hatched the dragons from the eggs and were ready to rule. We swiftly conquered the Valyrian continent, where dragons thrived. As we mastered the legacy, we became obsessed with establishing the Portal. Our ambitions did not mislead us, and we finally succeeded in establishing our first Portal in the ancient lands of Valyria. To conceal the Portal from others, we began hiding it within the first of the 14 Valyrian volcanoes. Each successful Portal was hidden within a volcano, thus forming the famous Fourteen Flames.

However, ultimately, we failed. The 15th Portal we opened dragged us into a world of flames and ashes, where the Portal assigned us a single task: to kill the giant who turned that world into ash. Meeting the giant was a disaster for us; a group called the Valyrian Gods perished in that world to the Fiery Giant. Our efforts were in vain, and eventually, we managed to escape that world, but the reversal of the Portal spelled our doom. The giant emerged from the Portal without any opposition, drew his great sword, and plunged it into the ground. The effect of the sword caused all 14 volcanoes to erupt simultaneously, unleashing a heat and magma rain even dragons could not withstand. At that moment, I abandoned my physical form there by performing forbidden magic.

Maegor, breathlessly listening to Mera's story, finally understood the reason behind the Disaster of Valyria. He grasped how ancient Valyria and the Great Empire of the Dawn had ultimately come to dominate the entire world — their weapons unseen elsewhere, their magics unknown to others, and how they had tamed dragons. Maegor, now finding scenes like those created by the Children of the Forest in the series somewhat absurd, was secretly thrilled. The Others were starting to pass through the portal again, signaling another war awaiting humanity.

Curiously, Maegor asked Mera, "And is your desire for us to reopen the Portals and rule the world once more?"

Mera replied, "My only wish is to bring back my siblings. What you do with the Portals is up to you Targaryens. If you happen to find a high-level resurrection elixir or resurrection magic in any world you enter, you must use it for me. Maybe I could even have a new body."

Maegor couldn't help but grin inwardly upon hearing Mera's relatively modest desires. There was so much Maegor could do to reunite Mera with her siblings. They could conquer a low-level magic or sword world, he could learn magic or sword auras. Perhaps one day he could eat the Devil Fruit or create Shadow Clones with Chakra.

Maegor involuntarily started to grin, a smile that prompted Ser Arthur Dayne, the Kingsguard, to retort angrily, "Are you so happy just because you defeated me once, oh 'noble' Prince Maegor? I understand now, the Kingsguard has weakened me. I shall return to my training regimen from my youth."

Maegor nodded with a smile and bid farewell to the Kingsguard, intending to retire to his chambers for a bath.

Maegor: "Mera, how will we construct the Portals then?"

Mera: "Dragons and magic, young Prince. 'Black Stone', forged with dragonfire, is the primary material for the Portal. The rest involves a few animal sacrifices, several weirwood roots, and one liter of blood from the person opening the Portal."

As Maegor conversed with Mera, there was a sudden knock on the door, and Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard entered.

Ser Barristan: "My Prince, the Shadow Cat you've been searching for these past two years has been captured by Brandon Stark while hunting in the Wolfswood. As per your instructions, all of the animal's blood has been drained and filled into jars, and it is on its way to the palace."

Maegor was greatly pleased with the good news. If he could cure his father Aerys of his madness, he would garner significant support behind him.