Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 483 The Dragon Dynasty (The Finale)

That supreme, magnificent, and great dynasty was forged from blood and fire, dragons and iron.

The Targaryen-Varezee dynasty succeeded the Targaryen dynasty of Westeros. Following the Battle of the Long Night, Aegon IV of the Targaryen dynasty was assassinated. (Note: According to some poems and diaries, Aegon IV may have committed suicide, and his assassination was the result of the Vareses altering historical records to achieve their goals. However, this is overly conspiratorial and lacks sufficient convincing evidence; therefore, professional historians should only consider it as a reference and not readily use it as evidence. Similar theories include the Vareses murder theory.) The Targaryen dynasty became extinct, marking the end of the Targaryen dynasty, which had ruled Westeros for over two hundred years.

Aegon IV's throne was inherited by his sister, Princess Daenerys. According to Aegon IV's will, the Targaryen and Varese families were merged into one, and the surname was changed to Targaryen Varese. Since the merger of surnames was actually led by the Varese, the Varese family gladly accepted the request to merge the surnames.

Based on this, due to Queen Daenerys's lack of political ability, during her long reign (Note: As the first and last monarch of the Vareses Targaryen dynasty, Queen Daenerys ruled this land for sixty years, making her one of the longest-reigning monarchs), the actual power was held by her husband, Hoffa Vareses I, and the couple began a rare era of "dual monarchy."

The term derives from the long and unique reigns of two monarchs (Hofa's reign was shorter than his wife's; after his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son with Daenerys, Valar Targaryen Vareses I, until Daenerys's death). During this period, the throne room in the Red Keep and the throne room in Dragon's Nest were perpetually occupied by two thrones standing side by side: the Iron Throne and the Obsidian Throne.

Because the couple frequently switched thrones, defining their power dynamic became extremely difficult, sparking considerable debate at the University of Citadel. Some argued that out of respect for traditional political structures and at least superficially for House Targaryen, Daenerys actually held a higher political position. Supporters of this view cited Hoffa's repeated prioritization of his wife's opinion in disagreements. Others argued that the arguments of the Daenerys faction were insufficient, as their disagreements were primarily over trivial matters unrelated to politics, such as opinions on the execution of a noble, the decoration of the palace, and the menu for banquets. Aside from the former, most of these issues demonstrated the goodness of their marital relationship. In reality, Hoffa held the decision-making power for almost all political matters. Furthermore, Hoffa extensively used the royal regalia, while Daenerys's regalia was more reserved for the queen. This sufficiently demonstrates the dominance of the dual-kingdom era.

Furthermore, some argue that it is not important which of the two kings was more noble, but rather the impact of the dual-kingdoms politics on the Targaryen-Varezee dynasty. The long and peaceful reign of the couple allowed the entire kingdom to recuperate, and the major reshuffling brought about by the War of the Long Night and the War of the Defenders greatly alleviated the kingdom's political conflicts. This laid a solid foundation for the transition of the Targaryen dynasty to the Targaryen-Varezee dynasty, and then gradually into the "Varezee dynasty" that people are accustomed to.

Regardless of contemporary controversies, there is no doubt that, at least during the sixty years of joint rule, Hoffa I and Queen Daenerys jointly inherited the abundant legacy of several wise Targaryen kings, as well as the Vareese family's vast wealth, high prestige, and formidable military power. Politically, Hoffa I reorganized the Council of Kings and strengthened the Targaryen Warden-Governor system. Firstly, the Reach, which had once been able to mobilize over 100,000 troops in every major war, was completely fragmented into subdivided territories similar to the Royal Domains. This expanded the royal domains directly controlled by the monarchy from the Royal Domains of the Targaryen era to a vast territory including the Royal Domains, Frontier Princely Domains, and the Reach, resulting in an unprecedented strengthening of the royal family's power. Under the threat of dragons and powerful military force, the tradition of "my vassal's vassal is still my vassal" was further implemented. The jurisdiction of the dukes over their vassals was basically transferred to the "Guardian" and "Governor" positions, which were not forcibly bound. During the reigns of Varard I and Jonil I, it became the norm for members of the royal family to hold temporary "Guardian" or "Governor" positions. By the time of Hofar II, the Varese dynasty had initially completed the centralization of the great nobility and basically achieved basic centralization of power.

Legally, Hofa I initially revised the new legal code, and during the reign of Jonial I, this comprehensive legal code based on the Code of Bath was completed, establishing the basic rules of dynastic rule.

Economically, through the construction and improvements of four monarchs—Hoffa I the Legislator, Valar I the Blessed, Jonnil I the Builder, and Lonzel I the Golden King—Westeros developed into an economic sphere centered around seventeen major cities. With the support of the powerful Valyzers, the king was able to appoint members of the royal family as governors of major cities, including Lannister Port. Indeed, during Hoffa I's reign, the Lannisters achieved the political status they had long coveted. Tywin Lannister served twice as Hand of the King and three times as Master of the Treasury. His eldest son, Jaime Lannister, married his eldest daughter, Cersei Lannister, with the tacit approval of the royal family. Tywin's youngest son, Tyrion Lannister, served as Master of the Treasury four times during the reigns of Hoffa I and Valar I, until his death in office. As a necessary consequence, the administration of Lannister Port naturally transferred to the royal family.

It's easy to see that the Vareses have always been generous to their supporters. In the Royal Council, they often reserve two positions for members of the royal family and nobles of the royal domains, while the others are allocated to their supporters. Both the Arryn and Stark families used this to gain entry into King's Landing's political circles.

Rickard Stark's plan to collude with the Southern nobility ultimately failed, resulting only in the marriages of Lyanna Stark and Robert Baratheon, and Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully.

Lyanna was troubled by Robert's philandering after their marriage, while Robert would always try his best to appease her after angering her. The quarrels between this ill-fated couple continued until Robert died in a hunting accident (Note: Some historical accounts claim this was revenge from Lady Lyanna, but there is a lack of evidence). Lyanna then took on the heavy responsibility of caring for the children and supporting House Baratheon. Robert's stubborn second brother, Stannis, served as Master of Justice for a long time during the reign of Valard I and was regarded by the world as a ruthless henchman. His third brother, Renly, became a world-renowned womanizer—it is said that he had an incestuous relationship with Loras Tyrell, the youngest son of House Tyrell, who had been stripped of most of his lands.

Brendan Stark and Barbara Leswell married, but they had no children of their own. Instead, they adopted Eddard's second son, Robb. Eddard's third son, Bran, was chosen by Captain Duncan of the Kingsguard at the age of fifteen and became the youngest member of the Kingsguard.

Jon Stark, Eddard's eldest son, is the most legendary member of House Stark. Although the great chapter of the Song of Ice has passed, no one can guarantee that the Wall has lost its purpose.

So Jon Stark became the second Lord Commander of the Wall, responsible for rebuilding the Wall's defenses—not the Wall itself, of course—and made outstanding contributions during this time, even marrying a Vareses princess—just like his ancestor Basilon.

The story of that generation, the one that fought the Long Night, ended in peace. But no dynasty lasts a thousand years, and no kingdom lasts forever.

With the end of A Song of Ice and Fire, the mortal world began to reject magical power again. After eighty years of dragon prosperity, the dragon race began to decline; old dragons gradually died out, and new dragons were no longer born. As the number of dragons dwindled and the drawbacks of the long reign became apparent, the Varese dynasty also embarked on that inevitable path.

During the reign of Igor II, the eighth king of the Varese dynasty, known as the Wise King, the rift within the Varese family finally tore the kingdom apart. The great chaos known as the "Dragon Plague" caused heavy losses to the Varese family, and their power gradually declined. During the reign of Hoffa IV, the eleventh king, known as the Dragon Loser, the last dragon of the Varese family perished, and this once powerful dragon king family lost all its dragons.

Beginning with the twelfth king, Rhaegal II the Handsome, House Varese began to consolidate its power through consolidating its vast royal domain and intermarrying with other great noble families. This also signified the Varese's decline from its pedestal.

Along with this came the regular seasons and a flourishing civilization.

The era of the song of humanity has truly arrived.

During the reigns of the last six kings, the Varese family frantically sought a way to hatch dragons, which exacerbated the increasingly sharp contradictions within the kingdom. The rising bourgeoisie in the major cities began to strongly resist the kingdom's rule, and their resistance seriously shook the Varese family's rule and affected the royal family's revenue.

Until the fury known as the "Great Revolution" swept through the kingdom.

The Varese dynasty lasted for 396 years and had 23 kings.

When the last monarch of the Vareses dynasty, the “incompetent” Ringor III, went to the guillotine in the fury of the French Revolution.

A new era has begun.

(End of book)

Thank you for reading. In a few days, I will write a reflection on the writing process and lessons learned from this book. Here, I would like to give a preview of my next book, which will also be based on the A Song of Ice and Fire theme, but this time it will feature a single protagonist.

The book is tentatively titled "A Song of Ice and Fire: The Dragon Shepherd".

The dragon has three heads. No, that's not right, the dragon has four heads.

(End of this chapter)