Even Corlys allowed himself a small smile, hearing this, that sentence alone represented decades of work or…in Aethon’s case, fifteen years.
His gaze drifted absentmindedly toward the map covering the western wall.
No one noticed the thought behind his calm expression as he watched the map.
He thought breifly ‘Driftmark is currently the pinnacle of absolute control, when one controls the seas, they control Westeros…not stupid lands.
Now I have made sure that House Targaryen will see us as a necessity, we will be their very oxygen because without us, they might not survive for long, still they have dragons, which is a plus for them.’
‘But we too have dragons, so it is safe to say we have the leverage…if everything goes to plan, I will have Harrenhal soon and vassalize the houses there, in fact, I will become the Lord Paramount if things go accordingly’
‘With Driftmark and Harrenhal under my influence, things may go exceptionally well for me when the Dance of the Dragons begins, or I could just prevent it and save the many dragons that died in the stupid war.
Hmmm’
His thoughts drifted as usual when he recalled his previous life; it felt strangely distant now.
Sometimes he struggled to remember the faces of the people he’d once known; he even forgot his own name…
‘….Jake, ah!
That had been my name, Jake.
It’s hard to remember when I’m too focused on embracing this new world and becoming the most powerful.’
A perfectly ordinary man from an ordinary world he once was.
A man who had spent countless evenings watching Game of Thrones, reading A Song of Ice and Fire, arguing over theories online, and wondering how differently events might have unfolded had someone simply made better choices for the kingdoms.
Then one ordinary day, while he was on his way back from watching the World Cup for soccer…A beautiful lady who looked familiar asked him to help her start her car engine as it was having troubles, like a gentlmen he obliged and went to help.
But when he opened the hood and got to work, he felt a gun pressed against his back.
This obviously made him panic because this was his first time being pointed at with a gun, he always imagined he would act calm like a movie character in this situation and quite possibly disarm the person, but this was real life, there was no try again button, so he didn’t tempt death.
The lady revealed herself to be someone he impregnated and abandoned 5 years ago on his business trip, she ranted about how she contemplated killing herself because of how he left her in shambles.
Jake was clueless and drunk, so he frantically apologized and asked to see the kid, but the security from the stadium saw them and shouted for help.
Unfortunately, the shout startled her and made her pull the trigger.
Naturally, she apologized for shooting him and only intended to intimidate him into taking responsibility, then she swiftly made a run for it, leaving him bleeding to death.
That’s basically a summary of his final moments before his demise without divulging to much.
He was stuck in limbo contemplating his life until he’d opened his eyes as a crying infant beneath the roof of Driftmark.
At first he’d questioned his sanity at this strange predicament, then he questioned fate on what brought him here.
Eventually, he’d stopped questioning altogether because reality cared little for disbelief.
If this world truly existed before his very own eyes…Then the Dance of the Dragons would come.
Thousands would die, dragons would perish and House Velaryon would bleed beside House Targaryen.
He had spent fifteen years preparing for that inevitable storm to pioneer a new age.
Every increase in wealth, additional ship, commercial agreement and reform he quietly introduced.
None of it had been done merely to enrich his house, it was already rich.
It had been done because the power decided all things in Westeros.
And when the dragons finally danced, House Velaryon would need every advantage it could claim, or in other words he could claim when the time comes.
Fortunatly the meeting had ended and he now trekked back to the dragon pit to confront a certain dragon.
Of all dragons to befall Westeros, he did not expect an egg of Smaug to come here.
Since he was aware of who Smaug was a dragon, he already knew the immense power he already possessed in Westeros among all dragon riders, after all, who else had a highly intelligent talking dragon that was very strong.