As a second born son, Prince Daeron Targaryen thought he understood his role, but with his father spiralling into madness and his brother chasing prophecies, Daeron realized the future of his family depended on him, forging a path to the title "Daeron the Defiant". It won't be Robert's Rebellion, but a second Dance of Dragons.
A Dragon's Roar
is an A Song of Ice and Fire fanfic written by spectre4hire, the same author of Our Blades Are Sharp, that follows the Seven Kingdoms during the life of Prince Daeron Targaryen, son of Aerys II, and how it differs from canon, wherein he had died half a year old. For better or worse, history is changed...
The fanfic was completed on July 5, 2022.
A Dragon's Roar provides examples of:
- The Ace: Rhaegar is this, as he is intelligent, well read, and an expert swordsman. Daeron has lived pretty much his whole life in his older brother's shadow and strives to break away from it. After Daeron manages to defeat him in a duel, this ends up getting deconstructed as he starts showing shades of becoming a Broken Ace.
- Achievements in Ignorance: Daeron seems to be oblivious to the fact that his friendships (particularly with Jaime, Elia, and Robert) have the potential to grant him vast political power in Westeros. It is implied that because of this Rhaegar sees Daeron as a threat to his future rule, which has only deepened Rhaegar's animosity towards him.
- Action Girl: Daeron encourages Cersei's desires to learn how to fight like a man, offering to train her with a sword. It pays off when Daeron's party is attacked by the Kingswood Brotherhood en route to Storm's End and she fends off some attackers after Gwayne Gaunt gets wounded.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Played with. Rhaegar is actually not too far off from how he was in canon, but since we see him from the POV of characters who don't like him (particularly Daeron's), his base personality gets deconstructed, so he certainly comes across as more of a jerk as a result of his aloofness.
- Adaptational Nice Guy:
- Cersei is substantially nicer to Tyrion in this story than in canon, thanks to her mother's influence.
- Tywin, thanks to his wife surviving, is also not cruel towards Tyrion like he was in canon. While still strict and harsh, he does so in a Tough Love sort of way and makes it clear that he is proud of his son's intellect. He also takes time to be more gentle with his youngest son.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
- Due to her mother's influence, Cersei has a very close and loving relationship with Tyrion. Inversely, her relationship with Jaime is colder than in canon, again due to their mother, who intervenes before their incest can actually develop.
- Tywin has a much better relationship with his youngest son thanks to Joanna still being alive and doing everything she can to keep her family happy and healthy.
- Unlike canon, where the proposal between Elia and Jaime doesn't go through, here it does. It also looks to be a Perfectly Arranged Marriage.
- Jaime was a complete stranger to Robert and Eddard in their teenage years. Here, the three of them (alongside Daeron) are True Companions.
- Robert actually acts as a father to Mya. And Lyanna is trying to convince him to be closer to Stannis and Renly as well.
- Aloof Big Brother: Rhaegar to Daeron and Viserys, preferring to spend his time reading than with them. This leads to Daeron having a low opinion of his elder brother since the crown prince never bothers to spend time with Viserys or comfort their ailing mother. To his credit, Rhaegar is aware that he is this and even apologizes to Daeron during their duel regarding this attitude; it's just that he's too obsessed with the prophecies he reads to change who he is. After Rhaegar's death in the war, Daeron lampshades how he only tried to be a brother when it suited him.
- Always Second Best: A major dividing point between Daeron and Rhaegar is that the elder brother is better than him at everything no matter how hard Daeron tries to surpass him. Even after finally defeating Rhaegar in single combat, many people still prefer the heir over the spare, and Daeron has serious self-worth issues because of it.
- Annoying Arrows: Averted. Rhaegar dies from a lucky arrow striking him during the battle.
- Anti-Climax:
- How Elia feels about Jaime's duel with the Smiling Knight, seeing as it ends quite abruptly during his recounting. Jaime notes to her that, unlike in minstrel's songs where duels could take hours, actual fights usually take only minutes or even seconds.
- The civil war ultimately ends with Rhaegar being killed offscreen by a random arrow.
- Arranged Marriage:
- Jaime is betrothed to Elia Martell, both to forge an alliance between the Westerlands and Dorne, and to spite Aerys for refusing to wed Rhaegar to Cersei (as he wanted Rhaegar to marry Elia instead). The fact that the pair are already interested in each other helps.
- Rhaegar tries to arrange a marriage between Daeron and Ashara Dayne, but the Lannisters are ultimately more successful in managing to tie him to Cersei, while Ashara gets married to Ned Stark. However, according to some of Princess Laela's maids, Rhaegar may still be trying to make his brother marry someone else.
- Brandon is arranged to marry Catelyn Tully, but he breaks the betrothal to elope with Barbrey Ryswell, causing trouble with House Tully, while Rickard Stark considers betrothing Lyanna to Edmure Tully.
- To secure the Greyjoys' loyalty to Daeron's faction, an agreement is made to wed Asha to Jaime and Elia's firstborn son.
- Daeron arranges for Viserys' betrothal to Arianne Martell.
- After the war, Cersei arranges for Tyrion to marry Ellyn Rowan when they're both of age in order to secure Tyrion's control of Goldengrove, which is given to him as a means of punishing the Rowans for siding with Rhaegar.
- Also after the war, Catelyn is betrothed to Stannis.
- Ascended Extra: In the original books, the existence of Daeron was little more than a historical footnote, as one of Aerys and Rhaella's many children who died early, or were miscarried or stillborn. This story shows what could have happened if he survived his infancy.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Chapter 35 sees Daeron being officially crowned by his faction at Casterly Rock.
- Because Destiny Says So: Most of Rhaegar's actions and aloof attitude stem from his obsession with his destiny, or rather, what he believes to be his destiny. During their duel, he tells Daeron that his destiny is to save the Seven Kingdoms, though he doesn't expect him to understand. When things don't go according to how he perceived them, he starts to become more broken.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: After Rhaella imprisons her following the coup against the remnant of Rhaegar's faction, Laela hangs herself rather than face execution.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Joanna may be a loving mother, but she's still a Lannister. She makes it clear that she'll do anything to ensure their family's standing remains strong and doesn't care at all about how her husband drowned the Reynes and Tarbecks, including the innocent men, women, and children. If anything, she feels they all deserved it.
- Big Damn Heroes: Ser Barristan saves Lyanna and Benjen Stark from the Golden Company men that Rhaegar hired to take them to the capital as hostages.
- Big "WHAT?!":
- Cersei's reaction to hearing about Jaime's betrothal to Elia.
- Robert, upon hearing of an attack on Daeron's convoy.
- Broken Ace:
- After his loss to Daeron, Rhaegar starts to show shades of this, being more melancholic and irritated easily, not to mention showing more traits of his father. Prior to his loss, he always won no matter what he did, so he doesn't know how to handle losing after years of being the best.
- Whereas Rhaegar became this eventually, Daeron has always been this. He's an excellent sword fighter and is intelligent and dutiful, but is plagued by self-esteem issues due to how everyone prefers his older brother. Not to mention that no matter how hard he tried, he could never surpass his brother, who naturally excelled at everything Daeron tried to do with far less effort.
- Character Development: Robert improves as a person thanks to Daeron's influence. While he still has his problems, he becomes less selfish, more introspect and does his best to hold off on his womanizing.
- Civil War: One starts brewing as tensions grow between the various members of House Targaryen. It eventually hits a breaking point at Harrenhal, when Rhaegar convinces Aerys that Daeron was conspiring with the Knight of the Laughing Tree against him. This gives Rhaegar the legal authority to strike at Daeron and his allies, who counter by crowning Daeron as king and striking back — the Westerlands and Dorne outright declare for Daeron, the Crownlands and Reach declare for Aerys and Rhaegar, the Riverlands, Stormlands, and Vale dissolve into mini civil wars over who to follow, and the North appears to be neutral.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Aerys at his nicest is still not all there.
- Conflicting Loyalties: Barristan's nightmare highlights the conflicts he feels in his oath of service to Aerys vs. the genuine loyalty he has to Rhaegar and Daeron. He ultimately chooses Daeron, after realizing that Rhaegar is no more worthy of his service than Aerys is.
- The Conspiracy: Both Daeron and Rhaegar gather their various allies to scheme against each other and to take the Iron Throne for themselves.
- Cool Big Sis:
- Cersei becomes this to Tyrion, showing him immense love and affection.
- Princess Laela becomes this to her goodbrother, Viserys.
- Cool Sword:
- Daeron eventually has one forged for Cersei, with a hilt in the shape of an intertwined lion and dragon.
- And of course, Dark Sister is returned to King's Landing.
- Rhaegar was wielding Blackfyre when he died.
- The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: When Pycelle dies right around the time of the civil war breaking out and Rhaegar seizing power, his acolytes state that he died of natural causes in his sleep, despite the fact that he didn't seem too feeble beforehand.
- The Coup:
- Rhaegar effectively stages one when the civil war begins, as he puts Aerys under house arrest and replaces the whole Small Council (except for Varys) with men he knows to be personally loyal to him rather than his father. And then he finalizes it by allowing Rhaella to kill Aerys.
- Another one ends the war. After Rhaegar's death in battle, his wife Laela takes over his court in their son Aegon's name and tries to fight on. In response, Rhaella and her own loyalists seize control of the Red Keep and imprison or kill all of Rhaegar's remaining followers, handing the capital over to Daeron.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Arthur's only (internal) objections to Rhaegar's orders to spy on Aerys and Daeron stem from this. He's a brilliant fighter and warrior, but anything beyond that, such as spying, is where he falters. He still carries through with his orders though.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Daeron calls out Robert on his womanizing, because he knows Robert needs to give that up if he's going to have a shot at winning Lyanna Stark's hand.
- Dead Guy Junior: Joanna named Tyrion after her beloved deceased brother.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Petyr Baelish is killed during the attack on Daeron's convoy by the Kingswood Brotherhood.
- Howland Reed is executed after taking the blame for being the Knight of the Laughing Tree.
- Grand Maester Pycelle dies of supposedly natural causes shortly after the civil war begins.
- Randyll Tarly and Mathis Rowan both die during the Battle of Goldengrove.
- Varys is killed by Rhaella and Alliser during their coup against Rhaegar's court at the end of the war.
- Robert kills Jon Connington during the war.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Victarion initially regarded Daeron with disdain, which he quickly dropped after he is bested in a duel.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- Gerold Hightower dies to Robert Baratheon in the skirmish at Harrenhal instead of at Ned's hands at the Tower of Joy.
- Rather than being literally stabbed in the back by Jaime, Aerys is smothered in his sleep by Rhaella.
- Gwayne Gaunt dies during the civil war's last battle at Arthur Dayne's hands, instead of dying trying to protect Aerys at Duskendale.
- Instead of dying at Robert Baratheon's hands, Rhaegar dies from some unknown peasant's arrow.
- Jon Arryn is killed by Golden Company soldiers during the war.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: Tywin contracts the Pale Mare during an outbreak that occurs during the war, and while he survives he's so severely weakened that he needs a wheelchair to move around at all.
- Domestic Abuse: Rhaella at Aerys's hands, as per canon.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After his betrothal to Cersei, whom he knows wanted Rhaegar first, Daeron decides to get drunk in order to try and forget that he's still only being treated as second to his brother.
- The Dutiful Son: Daeron to Queen Rhaella, tending to her wounds following Aerys's... visits. Aerys also seems to favor Daeron over Rhaegar because of this trait, as his second born shows himself as dutiful and loyal compared to his eldest son, whom he's convinced is scheming against him.
- Elite Army: The Dragon's Teeth, a specially trained unit of Daeron's army.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Victarion only fights for those who are strong enough to earn his respect, which Daeron does when he beats the Greyjoy in a duel.
- First Kiss: Daeron and Cersei have one while taking a personal walk along a private beach at Casterly Rock during Jaime and Elia's wedding celebration.
- For Want Of A Nail: There are a number of nails thrown in that cause events to go differently.
- Daeron Targaryen survives infant-hood.
- Joanna Lannister survives giving birth to Tyrion and her influence ensures Cersei treats her baby brother better. Her influence also helps Tywin be a better father to his youngest son.
- Cersei's duties prevent her from visiting Maggy the Frog, thereby never learning her prophecy.
- Ser Harlan Grandison dies at Duskendale, leaving Ser Gwayne Gaunt alive, and Ser Alliser Thorne becoming the newest member of the Kingsguard.
- Dark Sister returns to King's Landing.
- Denys Arryn is born years earlier, making him available to be betrothed to Lysa when she's forced to realize that Petyr loves Catelyn instead of her.
- Steffon and Cassana Baratheon succeed in securing a bride for Prince Rhaegar - a Volantene daughter of the Old Blood named Laela.
- The influence of Daeron's friendship on Robert helps make him less selfish. Among other things, this means he takes more of an active role in Mya's upbringing, arranging for her to be fostered in Dorne rather than abandoning her in the Vale.
- It's yet to be seen what effect it'll have, but Daeron is trying to prevent Viserys from becoming the entitled Royal Brat he was in canon.
- To make Ned seem like a more appealing match for Ashara, Robert offers him land and a lordship in the Stormlands. Specifically, he becomes Lord of the Rainwood, a title which in canon went to Davos.
- Arthur gets sidelined during the Kingswood Brotherhood affair, joining the party but not doing much of note in it. Daeron is the one specifically tasked by Aerys to hunt them down, Ned's the one that convinces Daeron to petition for more rights for the area's smallfolk, Jaime's the one that finally kills the Smiling Knight and Daeron's the one that knights him after he declines Barristan's offer to do so.
- Petyr Baelish is killed by the Kingswood Brotherhood when they ambush Prince Daeron's party as they're heading to Storm's End. This prompts the Blackfish to come over and join the group assigned with hunting them down.
- Howland Reed is killed by Rhaegar's loyalists after taking the fall for being the Knight of the Laughing Tree.
- Robert kills Lord Commander Hightower during the first clash between Rhaegar and Daeron's factions at Harrenhal.
- The conflict that eventually breaks out following the tourney isn't a rebellion against the Targaryens, but a Targaryen Civil War between Rhaegar and Daeron.
- The Ironborn don't stay neutral until the last minute like in canon. Here, Daeron invites them to his side to counter the naval advantage of Rhaegar's faction. For this, they secure a betrothal between Asha and the future Lannister heir, the post of Master of Ships for Quellon and a place in Daeron's Kingsguard for Victarion.
- Because Brandon breaks off his betrothal with Catelyn to instead marry Barbrey Ryswell, Cat is instead married to Stannis after the war, with the two of them being granted Harrenhal as their seat.
- Frame-Up: Rhaegar and his allies use Aerys' paranoia over the Knight of the Laughing Tree to convince him that Daeron is conspiring against the throne, by forcing a false confession out of Howland Reed (who took the blame for being the knight in order to protect Lyanna), who they then kill so Daeron can't refute the accusations.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: For his whole life, Daeron has worked himself to exhaustion to perfect his skills in combat to find something he could surpass his brother in. When Rhaegar decides to learn the sword, the heir overshadows his brother without trying. It's not until his duel with Rhaegar that Daeron's hard work finally pays off and lets him win after a lengthy, uphill battle.
- It's All About Me: Being nicer doesn't stop Cersei from being ludicrously self-centered. She's quick to getting angry when things don't go her way and deludes herself into believing that Rhaegar is just as in love with her as she is with him. It takes a lot to get her to give up on that latter bit.
- Jerkass Realization:
- After a talk with Elia, Cersei starts to acknowledge how self-absorbed and stubborn she is and makes an effort to swallow her pride for Daeron's sake.
- Daeron, after Elia calls him out on how coldly he treats Cersei following their betrothal, pointing out that he hasn't been taking her feelings into consideration.
- Kansas City Shuffle: How Rhaella kills Varys. She has Ser Alliser Thorne tell the Master of Whispers that she intends to escape King's Landing after Rhaegar's death, making Varys think Thorne will work for him as he moves to capture the Queen Dowager - only for Thorne to deal with Varys' minions while Rhaella stabs him in the throat.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Aerys pits Rhaegar against Daeron for the right to wield Dark Sister. After a hard battle, Daeron wins.
- Like Father, Like Son:
- Even at a young age, Viserys shows a small degree of the petulance and self-entitlement that is extremely present in his father. Daeron is doing his best to try and guide him out of this attitude.
- After his loss to Daeron, Rhaegar starts displaying demanding behavior that's eerily similar to his mad father. He also shows small bouts of paranoia that his family will turn on him (though in fairness, he does root his reasoning in the past Targaryen familial conflicts that often ended in them killing each other).
- Mistaken for Gay: After failing to gain Daeron's attention, Cersei comes to the conclusion that he's gay. Elia laughs off the notion, as Oberyn tried and failed to entice him to his bed.
- Named by the Adaptation:
- In canon, the mother of the three Martell siblings is unnamed. Here, she is named Mariah.
- In canon none of the daughters of Mathis and Bethany Rowan are named. Here, the eldest is named Ellyn Rowan.
- Never My Fault: Cersei (at first) refuses to accept that Daeron's lack of interest in her has anything to do with something she did wrong.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Brandon Stark not only elopes with Barbrey Ryswell, putting the alliance between the Starks and the Tullys at risk, but also negotiates with Rhaegar to fulfill the Pact of Ice and Fire by marrying Brandon's future son with a Targaryen daughter, essentially aligning the North with the Targaryens.
- Nightmare Sequence: Chapter 16 opens with Barristan having one of Aerys ordering Daeron's death.
- Not Good with Rejection: Cersei becomes inconsolable for days following Rhaegar's betrothal to Laela of Volantis.
- O.C. Stand-in: Since Daeron died at half a year old in canon, he's basically this since it's unknown how he would have turned out if he had lived past that point.
- The One That Got Away: Aerys still holds a torch for Joanna. When he saw Cersei, he mistook her for her mother and lashed out at her, yelling and begging for her to stay with him. This being Aerys, he likely would have done much worse had Daeron not arrived.
- The Paranoiac: Rhaegar becomes convinced that Daeron is plotting to usurp his place as heir. His attitude and actions towards Daeron only lead to this happening.
- Pet the Dog: When Barristan makes it clear that his loyalty lies with Daeron, Rhaegar lets him leave Harrenhal unmolested, as payment for Barristan having saved his father at Duskendale.
- The Plague: The Pale Mare/Bloody Flux, aka the ASOIAF version of dysentery, strikes Westeros during the civil war.
- Prophecy Twist: Before the last battle of the war, Rhaegar had an omen that an enemy of the family would die that day. He never considered that the enemy could be himself.
- Red Baron: After the Battle of Goldengrove, Jaime becomes known as "the Lionheart" while Victarion becomes known as "Iron Fist".
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Rhaegar's paranoia that Daeron is plotting to usurp him only ensures that it happens when Daeron is forced to fight for survival and his friends and allies support him.
- Sibling Rivalry: Rhaegar and Daeron continually butt heads, which Aerys encourages and Rhaella laments.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Daeron Targaryen, Joanna Lannister and Ser Gwayne Gaunt. The latter dies during the war's last battle, though.
- Denys Arryn survives the war, rather than dying during its Final Battle.
- Sterility Plague: While Joanna survived Tyrion's birth, it left her completely barren and incapable of ever giving birth again.
- The Squire: Daeron becomes Ser Barristan's squire.
- True Companions: Daeron, Robert, Jaime, and Eddard.
- Undying Loyalty: Rhaegar's friends show complete devotion to him and his cause. Arthur Dayne and Jon Connington are the most notable among them. When learning of Rhaegar's death, Arthur chooses to ask for death as well.
- Unreliable Narrator: Invoked by the author in regards to the characters' misconceptions about each other's personalities and motivations.
- Unwillingly Girly Tomboy: Lyanna is this. She expresses annoyance with having to dress like a Proper Lady and her attempts at etiquette, such as curtsies, are described as stiff in Eddard's POV.
- Vorpal Pillow: Rhaella eventually smothers Aerys with a pillow.
- War Is Hell: As the Civil War drags on, Jaime quickly learns that war is about survival, not glory. Often, he's plagued by fear that his troops will die of starvation or that he won't live to see his wife and newborn son.
- Willfully Weak: During their spar, Barristan and Arthur held back against Jaime and Daeron since it wasn't a serious fight. Had they gone all out, the prince and his friend wouldn't have lasted long.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Daeron refuses to harm Rhaegar's children after winning the war, even if they're potentially a threat to his claim.
- "You!" Exclamation: Laela to Rhaella when confronting her after the latter's coup.
