(Text; UN: motherofdragons)

[decisiveconquest]

I will not hide my identity nor pretend these words are not attached to me. There were men who thought I committed many wrongs before I came here. One man held me accountable and spared me nothing besides a lingering death, which leads me to my question: in your estimation, are there any crimes that are unforgivable?

What a common man or woman cannot - should not - do, a king or a queen can do for the good of their people, correct? Great sacrifices are expected in battle - in war - however do you think that a ruler's life should be forfeit for them? What good can they do if they are slain prematurely?

I can admit when I am wrong, but on this...

I don't understand.

Comments

un: undyingsoul

[necroyalty]

[ Oh.

Oh.

Yeah, she kind of wishes she had a drink, because...this is gonna be a doozy. Oh boy.]

What did you do.

[decisiveconquest]

I killed my enemies.

Along with thousands of commoners.

[necroyalty]

And were the deaths of the commoners unavoidable, or merely "necessary"?

[ Note the quotes around "necessary". ]

[decisiveconquest]

Since the knights that supported Queen Cersei were mixed in with the city's populace, no.

[necroyalty]

...I feel as if I'm missing something here, so I'd like you to elaborate. I'd certainly like to think your murder of thousands of civilians was not a first resort, but judging by how others on this network have reacted, I'm not so sure.

[decisiveconquest]

She thought to use the commoners as a shield. My armies easily overpowered hers - particularly since I had a Dragon and she didn't. She slaughtered one of my sons and I was not going to let that happen to my last.

Her soldiers threw down their swords and she tolled the bells, asking for mercy. After killing my son and beheading one of my dearest friends.

I had no mercy to give.

[necroyalty]

Tell me how they died. Or rather, don't; you did say you had a dragon with you and I am in possession of an imagination.

There's only two reasons you tread upon her capital, and it's either because you were an invading force come to usurp power, or things had really gotten out of hand.

And I've at least seen the first one done with far less slaughtering of innocents.

[ That would be the goblin kingdom not too far from hers, and she's gotta say: hobgoblins got their shit together. ]

[decisiveconquest]

Good. A Dragon the size of mine can easily set a whole city aflame. (Of course Drogon has been changed here. For his safety, she isn't too keen on attaching him to what was done.)

I'm the usurper? Don't be ridiculous. Her husband was the reason my father was slain on his throne. I merely returned to take what was mine.

[necroyalty]

[ ...there's alarm bells going off in Ambro's head as she reads this, and she's reminded again of her father. ]

So. You got what you wanted in the end, at least before you died.

But was it what your subjects needed? If you had nothing to offer them but your birthright, you did not deserve that throne.

[decisiveconquest]

I brought them armies from the East to protect them; I brought them Dragons - three of them - though only one survives. I brought them my experience conquering and ruling cities.

I did not just bring them a name.

[necroyalty]

You brought them an army and dragons that ended up being the death of them. You brought them experience in conquest, but conquest is easy.

Governance is harder.

[ Because the mun is totally just stealing/paraphrasing a Hamilton quote okay. ]

Tell me something: if you had lived and claimed the crown for yourself, what could you offer the subjects who refused to accept your rule?

You may have wanted the throne all your life, but what did you intend to do afterward? What laws would you have enacted, which ones would you have changed or stricken from the records?

You speak often of what you would have destroyed, but not what you would have built. I'm genuinely interested.

[decisiveconquest]

I saved them from the Night King and his armies. They have Cersei to thank for their deaths. If she hadn't used them as a shield, I would not have had to use brute force and firepower.

Did you not read the part where I said I had experience ruling - that includes governance.

(If she felt entirely comfortable with what she had done, she wouldn't be snapping.)

They would have been fools to deny me. If they refused to bend the knee to their rightful queen, I would have passed judgment over them.

(Either they would be burned, locked up or... No, that's pretty much it.)

As I said, I am a conqueror. I would see to the expansion of the Seven Kingdoms and I would ensure peace by adding to my armies. There would be no place that would be vulnerable to attack under my watch and, if I had my way, the entire world would soon be united under my rule; under the Iron Throne.

There must be more Dragons too and I will find them. I will awaken them from their long slumbers and magic will re-enter the world.

[necroyalty]

Then you speak not with the voice of a worthy queen, but a tyrant. A delusional whelp who seeks to bring about peace by instigating more war. Perhaps you find what you seek, but only because everyone is either broken or dead.

You may have people bowing to you out of fear, dear queen, but they turn their backs, and they teach their children to spit upon your name.

If it were not a swift death at the end of a dagger, it would have been poison in your goblet. Or discontent until the peasantry demanded your head ripped from your neck. Or even a long, dreadful life, until your children resolved to spend their entire reign undoing your mistakes.

I would know. I've spent eighteen long years cleaning up after the messes left behind by a wretch like you.

The one we call the Mother of Dragons in my world has a special place all to herself, and it is in the pits of the Nine Hells.

I suppose not much changes after all.

[decisiveconquest]

You are presumptive and you haven't a clue how my world works. I was sold by my brother in exchange for an army; he told me he didn't care if I was raped by every soldier in the Dothraki hoard as long as he had what he wanted. And I was raped. Yet I found a way to survive, learning the language of my husband and the customs of his people. Once I was pregnant with my son, I found my strength.

Because of foul magic, I lost my son and my husband. On Khal Drogo's pyre, my Dragons hatched. From that moment on, they saw me as their mother. I will never think my title as the Mother of Dragons is a curse.

They are the reason I carried on. They are the reason I survived the deserts of the East and all the challenges set before me. Perhaps I am harsh - perhaps I am cruel - but I am as I was molded.

[necroyalty]

[Jesus fuck. She reads over those first two paragraphs, and it hurts, but this also doesn't justify anything here, but she deliberates...

And then she types.]

And yet your instinct after knowing immeasurable pain is to inflict the same upon others.

You could have aspired to far greater things.

[She's not even mad anymore, just disappointed.]

[decisiveconquest]

Cersei slaughtered one of my Dragons and beheaded my dearest friend before my eyes. How could I be merciful? She didn't even face me properly on the battlefield. Instead, she stayed hidden in the Red Keep, thinking, mistakenly, that I would never bring those walls crashing down upon her.

This was one battle. I freed slaves in the East and punished their Masters, I brought peace and prosperity to the city I conquered. I wanted to do likewise for Westeros. I built my armies for that purpose because I knew the usurpers would strike at me as hard as they could. I spent my life barely avoiding the assassins and poisons that Robert Baratheon sent my way.

Innocence doesn't protect you.

[necroyalty]

Freeing the slaves aside, I don't know if you understand the full implications of what you've done.

Conquest by an invading power is, in itself, inherently unforgivable.

[decisiveconquest]

The "invading power" was Robert Baratheon. The Targaryens - my family - sat on the Iron Throne for three hundred years before he murdered my father.

[necroyalty]

And, let's do a bit of imagination for a bit and say that you were never interested in claiming your birthright.

Was there any other reason he was unfit to rule besides the fact that he was a usurper?

[decisiveconquest]

He was a drunk who paid no attention to the needs of the Seven Kingdoms. He left that to his council.

I also cannot count how many bastards he has in King's Landing and beyond.

[necroyalty]

Alright, this is an extremely fair assessment.

What of your father?

[decisiveconquest]

My father was called the Mad King for good reason. He used to set people on fire and watch them scream.

I am not him and I am not Robert Baratheon.

[necroyalty]

But you certainly could not escape enough of your father's legacy.

Burn an entire city for the sake of a brighter future if you want, but don't be surprised if all you end up with is ash.

[decisiveconquest]

From ash, the future will grow. The city will be rebuilt and repopulated.

[necroyalty]

Not if you killed everyone.