The Iron Harvest (My Sweet Dragonfly)

by dxrkneptxne

Summary:

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die."
"No one ever wins this game. Victory is merely dying later."
"You are a fool if you think we will not prevail, girl."
"There are places in the world where fools have much power, my lord."
"I assure you, this is not among them."
"We shall see."

~~

Long ago, in a time already slipping from record, a quiet corruption began to seep through the Red Keep. In a kingdom where summers stretch indulgent and unbroken, and winters are known only in stories, the King's strength wanes, and those who once bowed in reverence now circle like carrion birds, waiting to feast upon his corpse.

At the centre of this unravelling stands a fractured royal house brimming with heirs who have never known a world without fire. From frost-bitten Winterfell to decadently perfumed Sunspear, this tale follows queens and princes, schemers and innocents, maesters and monsters, who will make or break the world as they know it.

Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, fire and terror, the fate of the House of the Dragon hangs by a single fraying thread.

Only one may prevail in the end.

Notes:

I am a university student guys so updates will be sporadic.
I'll always be editing though so when I do update, you'll get plenty.

Chapter 1: THE IRON HARVEST UNIVERSE

A NOTE TO THE READERS: This chapter can be skipped and is not part of the actual story, this is just a preface to the organisation of the books in this series and the chronology of the stories. You do not have to read this if you have no intention of reading any of the other stories in this universe when they are published. Skipping this chapter will not result in any lacking context for the story, nor will reading it result in any spoilers for the plotline or the relationships between the characters. Read at your own leisure and by your own volition. 

Thank you for your time :)

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Welcome one and all to The Iron Harvest universe! It’s a pleasure to have you here. Before you settle in, I’d like to offer some friendly advice on the order to read the books that centre within this fanfictional universe for the ease and comfort of you, my esteemed readers.

THE SERIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
1 | The Iron Harvest
Total number of chapters: 113
Timeline: 127 AC - 129 AC

1.5 | The Copper Seeds
Total number of chapters: 37
Timeline: The Summer of 129 AC

2 | The Golden Fruits
Total number of chapters: 102
Timeline: 129 AC - 130 AC

3 | The Starving Bronze
Total number of chapters: estimated 110
Timeline: 130 AC - 133 AC

 

BONUS CONTENT:

0.1| As High as Honour (a Jeyne Arryn story)

0.2| We Light The Way (a Gwayne and Alicent Hightower story)

• After nearly a decade away from court, seven and ten summers old Gwayne Hightower returns, transcended from squire to a green knight. 

0.3| Blood Upon the Sand (Aegon II x Aliandra Martell)

0.4| The River of Blood (an Oscar Tully story)

0.5| Three Towers of the Whispering Sound (A House Costayne story)

0.6| The House of a Thousand Suns (a Qoren Martell story)

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The following is everything that you need to know prior to reading this story:

 

Firstly, It contains multiple first person POVs as indicated by the character name at the start of each section. 

The POVs for this story are that of the following people: Sovya Arryn, Helaena Targaryen, Jacaerys Velaryon, Jeyne Arryn, Alicent Hightower, Gwayne Hightower, Aegon Targaryen, Aemond Targaryen, Joiya Corbray, Titus Costayne, Larys Strong, Aliandra Martell, Cregan Stark, Tyland Lannister

These voices are distinct, flawed, biased and deeply human; they will contradict one another, misunderstand one another, and occasionally reveal truths the others cannot see. Each one of them brings their own history, prejudices, and emotional landscape to the page. Some will be reliable. Some will lie to you. Some will lie to themselves.

 

Secondly, the total length of this series will reach close to 350 chapters by the time it is fully completed.

Take that as you will. You will have probably looked at the word count and the number of chapters before deciding to read this like the smart cookie you are, but if you haven’t, this is your warning. This work is a behemoth of a task, both reading and writing, and I applaud anyone who makes it through this journey with me. 

 

Thirdly, this story uses multiple languages including High Valyrian.

I make a habit of trying to learn and use fictional languages of the fandoms I consider myself a part of, and High Valyrian is one of the languages I have taken to learning, and so I like to try and use it, with the assistance of online translators and the High Valyrian dictionary that is frequently updated with more vocabulary. I will do my best to provide translations on as much of it as possible, usually in italics directly after the High Valyrian speech to indicate that that is the translation. 

 

Fourthly, this is not entirely book accurate or show accurate.

This story does not adhere strictly to either book canon or show canon.

While it draws heavily from the world George R. R. Martin created — its histories, cultures, political tensions, and familiar faces — it also diverges from it in meaningful ways. Some events unfold differently. Some characters develop along alternate paths. Some relationships, timelines, and political outcomes are reshaped to serve the narrative I’m building.

Think of this work as a hybrid continuity: rooted in canon, respectful of canon, but not bound to it.

If you come across a detail that doesn’t align with Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon, A Song of Ice and Fire or any other official material, it is intentional. This story follows its own internal logic, its own emotional arcs, and its own version of history. Canon is a foundation, not a cage.

Fifthly, there are some warnings and ratings that you need to be made aware of.

It is fairly standard for ASOIAF stories on here to have explicit ratings, and to have warnings for violence, sexual content, swearing and character deaths (all of which appear in this story). And while they do appear in this story, I preface by saying that for the most part, they appear in a mild form, yet, there are chapters that are greatly explicit and require various different content warnings. 

The following is an exhaustive list of everything that occurs in this story, and will eventually be marked with which chapters it occurs in:

 

Abuse (in various forms)

Alcoholism 

Anarchy 

Anxiety 

Age gap relationships

Arranged marriage

Asphyxiation 

Bathing scenes

Betrayal 

Blood and injury

Body dysmorphia 

Body shaming

Brutality 

Bullying 

Cannibalism 

Canon-typical violence

Cheating 

Childbirth 

Choking

Choking (with a rosary)

Classism

Classist ideas

Coercion

Crimes (of various natures)

Death  

Domestic violence

Dornish culture and customs

Explicit language

Explicit sexual content

Execution 

Forced feminisation

Forced heterosexuality (confhet) 

Forced marriage

Forced proximity

Gender based oppression

Gender based violence

Graphic depictions of violence

Grief 

Hallucinations 

Harm to children

Hate sex

Hate speech

Homophobia 

implied/referenced incest

Incest (Targcest)

Infantalisation 

Infanticide 

Infidelity 

Internalised homophobia

Internalised misogyny

Interrogation 

Kidnapping 

Loss of faith

Loss of identity

Loss of innocence

Loss of trust

Loss of virginity

Love triangles

Manipulation 

Masochism 

Mental health issues

Misandry 

Misogyny

Misscarriage 

Murder 

Non-consensual drug use

Obsessive behaviour

Panic 

Patricide 

Patriotism 

Period-typical homophobia

Period-typical sexism 

Pregnancy 

Political alliances

Political backstabbing (including literally)

Possessive behaviour

Power imbalance

Public nudity

rape/non-con elements

Referenced grooming 

Referenced rape/non-con

Religious-based violence

Religious conflict

Religious guilt

Religious imagery and symbolism

Religious trauma

Revenge 

Ritualistic behaviour

Ritualistic violence/murder

Sadism (including sexual sadism)

Self harm

Sexism 

Sexual content (including clothed)

Sexual exploitation of young women by older men

Slavery (in reference)

Suicide (with references to)

Torture 

Toxic masculinity 

Trauma 

Underage prostitution

Unhealthy relationships

Vomiting 

Voyeurism 

War

War crimes