Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

The southwestern wind carried the fresh, salty scent of the sea to the eastern shores of Slaver's Bay, diluting the stench of blood and fire on the battlefield below the poplar-covered slopes.

The midday sun reflected off the snow-white sword blade, which bore seven or eight nicks, casting dazzling flashes of light. The spectators nearby, including Barristan Selmy, squinted slightly against the glare.

Behind Dany, seven wooden stakes stood tall, each carved with the fresh likeness of a deity from the Faith of the Seven: a bearded man holding scales (the Father), a smiling woman (the Mother), a young warrior with a longsword (the Warrior), a veiled maiden (the Maiden), a burly man with a hammer (the Smith), a hunched old woman carrying a lantern (the Crone), and a faceless figure (the Stranger).

Dany tapped the sword's spine three times against the shoulder of the bearded man kneeling before her. In a clear and commanding voice, she declared,

"Jon Snow, bastard of Braavos and the North, in the presence of the Seven, do you swear your allegiance to me? Will you, for the rest of your days, serve me as my loyal knight, offering your courage, strength, and wisdom in my name?"

Removing her helmet, she let her silver hair cascade down over the gray-black pauldrons on her shoulders. Under the sunlight, her hair shimmered like molten silver. Her small, fair-skinned face carried an expression of solemnity and dignity. The deep, smoky violet of her eyes radiated sincerity and authority, so much so that onlookers forgot to admire her breathtaking beauty.

The bearded Jon knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with emotion as he shouted,

"I, Jon Snow, bastard of Braavos and the North, swear my allegiance to my lady, Daenerys Targaryen! I vow my loyalty, never to waver nor stray!"

"I accept your oath." Dany's smile bloomed like a field of flowers. "I swear that you shall always have a place by my hearth. You shall drink wine and share meals at my table. I vow never to let your service be tainted by disgrace. In the name of the Seven, I, Daenerys Targaryen, solemnly swear."

She then withdrew her sword, casting her gaze over the gathered warriors before settling her eyes on Jon's bowed head. In a soft yet firm voice, she proclaimed,

"As your liege and queen, I hereby declare that Jon Snow, son of Luna Bolton, shall henceforth bear his mother's name."

"Jon Bolton—thank you, my lady!" The bearded man's voice quivered with emotion.

And just like that, Dany's newly recruited knockoff protagonist had been erased.

She stepped to the side and stood before another kneeling, bearded man. Once again, she tapped his shoulder three times with the sword's spine.

"Bruce Wayne, descendant of Northern exiles, in the presence of both the Old Gods and the New, do you swear your allegiance to me? Will you serve me as my most loyal knight, devoting your courage, strength, and wisdom to my cause for the rest of your days?"

Like many in Westeros, Bruce followed the Old Gods of the North but still held reverence for the Seven.

Jorah Mormont was much the same—a Northerner who had embraced the Faith of the Seven and undergone the knight's anointing, becoming a legitimate knight despite his Northern roots.

For Bruce, Dany slightly altered her oath.

After Bruce swore his allegiance, the next to kneel was a tall red-haired woman, Lyla Umber, followed by a black-haired middle-aged man, Herman Tallhart.

And it didn't end there.

Once the four new knights rose, a group of 25 warriors, including Scarback Simon, the portly Morono, the dark-skinned Tar, and the horseman Qylo, formed two lines before the Seven's effigies and knelt before Dany.

This was a ceremony of reward and recognition. These 25 men had distinguished themselves in battle that day, and Dany was about to knight them all.

They could follow their own faiths, but they would still undergo the anointing of the Seven to become true knights—though many of them lacked even the basic skills of knighthood.

Watching Qylo, his face flushed red with excitement as he took his vow, Aggo muttered to Rakharo,

"I want to be a knight, too."

"So do I," Rakharo murmured.

Haggo hesitated, then shook his head firmly. "No. The Khaleesi said that we, her bloodriders, are her 'blood of my blood.' Our bond is stronger than that of knights and their liege lords. We must not forget our roots!"

"Yes, yes! The Khaleesi's father's kingdom was overthrown by his own lords, but never in all the Great Grass Sea's history has a khal been betrayed by his bloodriders!" Aggo's voice grew excited.

"We are the Khaleesi's last line of defense!"

After knighting the 25 warriors, Dany took it a step further—granting each of them the title of "Ser."

A knight did not necessarily have noble status, but being knighted was the first step toward nobility. A "Ser," however, was a true noble, albeit of the lowest rank.

Dany was meticulous in her rewards. The Rose Company had only recently pledged loyalty to her, so they could not receive the same honors as those who had fought and bled for her victory.

Yet, the ceremony was still not over.

Dany had one more knighting to perform—her own.

Knighthood and nobility were not the same. A knight, when granted the title by a king, could be addressed as "Ser," but this did not make them a true noble.

Likewise, even as a queen, Dany was not a knight. She had never undergone the rituals of knighthood, never been anointed with holy oil, nor had she served under a true knight.

How could the leader of so many knights not be a knight herself?

Barristan Selmy, as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, had the authority to knight anyone he deemed worthy—except a king or queen.

Had Mad King Aerys or even Dany's late brother still been alive, Selmy could have knighted her as a princess.

Both princes and princesses could kneel before the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. But a reigning monarch could not.

It was not that queens were forbidden from becoming knights. If a High Septon of the Faith were present, he could bestow knighthood upon her.

But there wasn't a single septon in sight, not even a lowly acolyte.

So, Dany did what she always did—she made her own way.

Standing before the gathered knights, including Barristan Selmy, she declared loudly,

"There are no septons in Slaver's Bay, let alone a High Septon. So I shall follow precedent and appoint myself as High Septon of Astapor."

And it wasn't mere arrogance—King Baelor the Blessed, that "godly" fool who locked his three sisters in the Maidenvault and indirectly caused the Blackfyre Rebellion, had done the same. He had been both king and High Septon.

If Dany maintained her rule and legacy until her last breath, she would undoubtedly be remembered as "Saint Dany."

Her place in the history of the Faith would surpass even Baelor the Blessed, making her akin to Saint Peter, Saint John, or Saint Paul in Christianity.

Thus, in her role as High Septon, Dany anointed herself as a knight.

The Knight Queen, Dany, drew her sword and planted it firmly in the ground before her. Facing the Seven's effigies, she knelt on one knee.

Behind her, dozens of knights simultaneously drew their swords or curved blades, mirroring her movement, their expressions solemn as they knelt in unison.

"I vow to protect the weak!" Dany proclaimed.

"I vow to protect the weak!" the knights echoed in one resounding voice.

"I swear to bravely resist oppression!"

"I swear to fight against all wrongs and injustices!"

"I swear to wield my sword in defense of the people!"

"I swear not to harm children or infants!"

"I swear to aid my fellow knights!"

"I swear to uphold honesty and integrity!"

"I swear to abide by fundamental laws and traditions!"

Not a single word was mistaken—everything was declared flawlessly!

"I swear to take ignorance as a disgrace, to despise idleness and indulgence, and to scorn extravagance and debauchery!"

As Daenerys recited each vow, her knights solemnly followed suit. The scene was simple yet sacred, and the atmosphere was filled with solemnity and reverence.

The surrounding soldiers silently bore witness to the ceremony, filled with both awe and admiration, longing to partake in such honor.

However, Daenerys' newly "invented" knightly oath was, well… a bit over the top, packed with personal ideals—by the end, it was just shy of outright declaring the "Eight Honors and Eight Shames."

Well, to be fair, the "Eight Honors and Eight Shames" were undoubtedly more progressive in ideology than the traditional knightly vows.

The lords of Westeros had long disregarded the rule of law; they were ignorant, uneducated, indulgent, and insatiably greedy. It was about time they received a baptism of advanced thought!

With a resounding voice, Daenerys delivered the final vow:

"In the face of formidable foes, we shall stand fearless! We shall be courageous and loyal, steadfast and righteous, unyielding even in death, and protect the weak without violating natural justice!"

As a feudal knight-king, she certainly couldn't let her subordinates forget the values of "loyalty and bravery."

If loyalty wasn't promoted, would she encourage knights to rebel instead?

And since they were at war, valor was even more crucial.

After concluding the knighting ceremony, Daenerys stood up and scanned her surroundings, noticing the newfound vigor and morale among her soldiers. It was evident that they not only saw honor but also recognized the tangible rewards of military achievements.

The army's morale was strong!

With that thought, Daenerys ordered the workers to prepare food and drink. After all, they had won a great battle and knighted so many warriors—of course, a celebration was in order!

After arranging the afternoon festivities, she gathered the newly knighted warriors to wrap up the post-battle affairs.

The Unsullied were assigned to lead the workers in clearing the battlefield. Grey Worm stepped forward to report the casualties:

"Your Grace, we lost 127 knights, and 206 others were wounded and unable to immediately return to battle."

Daenerys frowned. Even in such a favorable battle, casualties had exceeded ten percent. That ratio…

Speaking of which, during the Red Wedding, the Freys (about two to three thousand men) and the Boltons (around three thousand infantry) ambushed and slaughtered Robb Stark's four thousand elite cavalry and infantry. Yet, the Freys only lost a little over fifty men—ten of whom were killed by Robb's direwolf, Grey Wind.

In the Game of Thrones TV series, Grey Wind died pitifully, trapped in a cage—born a majestic beast, only to perish in disgrace. But in A Song of Ice and Fire, Grey Wind was released by Reynard Westerling, unleashing carnage before meeting a heroic end.

Reynard Westerling was Robb's brother-in-law, the elder brother of Jeyne Westerling from Crag, and the eldest son of Lady Sybell.

Ironically, Sybell had never disclosed her alliance with Tywin to her children—truly making her the greatest "undercover agent" in A Song of Ice and Fire.

She had even arranged for Reynard to marry a Lannister woman, per her deal with Tywin.

In the end, the treacherous mother and the loyal son met tragic fates—Reynard, outnumbered and unwilling to surrender to the Freys who had violated guest rights, drowned himself in the river during the Red Wedding.

His loyalty and bravery were beyond question.

As an interesting aside, Robb's direwolf was far more attuned to danger than Daenerys' dragons. It repeatedly snarled and snapped at Sybell's children in front of Robb, trying to warn him. Yet, it remained affectionate toward Reynard.

"Why did so many die?" Daenerys turned to Barristan Selmy.

She had personally led her elite cavalry and Little Green to clear out stubborn enemy strongholds, suffering only around twenty casualties. Selmy, commanding the main force, should have met little resistance—especially since the enemy camp had already been trampled by cavalry.

"We suffered minimal losses in the southern camp," the old knight sighed, "but when we moved north, we encountered stronger resistance."

Daenerys nodded but didn't press further.

The slavers had predictably placed their mercenaries at the front of their encampment. Through Black Dragon's aerial reconnaissance, Daenerys had strategically cut the enemy's forces in half—leaving merchants and slave soldiers in the north while wiping out the mercenaries in the south.

Her cavalry had repeatedly swept through the mercenary encampment, then switched to fresh mounts before advancing north.

In exchange for a few hundred casualties, they had captured thousands of slaves and merchants—a price well worth paying.

(End of Chapter)

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