Year 110 A.C.
POV: Denovan
As we disembarked, we were greeted with various questions and cheers of joy.
"Long live the King of the North!"
"Where is the dragon?"
"Is that the Dragon Princess?"
Men and women crowded around us, trying to catch a glimpse of Rhaenyra.
Roar! Syrax roared and slowly landed on the beach, making the curious onlookers step back, although not very efficiently.
"Everyone!" I roared loudly, overriding the noise. "We are all tired from the journey! You will have other opportunities to see the dragon or the princess..."
The crowd continued murmuring.
"So return to your homes..."
With some grumbling, they finally began to disperse.
I sighed. I looked at Rhaenyra and said:
"Princess, I really do not know where your dragon can stay... The hot springs are far away." I stepped a little closer. "As we discussed before, a warm and appropriate place for dragons would be Skagos, with its semi-active volcanoes. If you can send your dragon there, it would be perfect for her."
"But, if not..." I continued, "we have a large forge. The place is hot, too hot, you can put her there."
"I will accept the forge, then. Syrax is not like your little pets that obey only your thoughts."
"Could you teach me that, my lord?" Rhaenyra said, standing very close to me with an amused smile.
As I was about to answer, Melika's voice reached my ears.
"My king, I was waiting for you..."
Melika's mismatched eyes gave me a slight shiver. She then looked at the princess, bowed slightly, and said:
"It is an honor to meet you, Princess. Your Highness is more beautiful than the stories say about the Valyrians."
Rhaenyra looked at her, her eyes wandering between the tattoos and the clothes of the woman, which, as always, were extremely inappropriate for the harsh Northern climate.
"Thank you, my lady. And you would be?..."
"Forgive me," Melika said, approaching me. "I am Melika... The best runemaster you will find."
My eyes fixed on her. That woman really was a phenomenon. She wasn't as dazzling or curvaceous as the princess or the ladies of the court, but everything about her overflowed with appeal. She seemed born to seduce... She was definitely using some rune besides the ones she had told me about, or it was simply a natural, dangerous charm, beyond magic.
"Well... allow me to introduce you properly," I said, placing myself between the two of them. "Melika, this is Rhaenyra Targaryen, Princess of the Seven Kingdoms and a dragonrider." Then, I turned my eyes to Rhaenyra. "Princess, this is Melika. She is the one who taught me about runes and, today, is one of the people I trust most here in Scalebay. In my absence, she is in command."
"It's a pleasure..." they said simultaneously, in a polite tone.
"Princess... Will you take your dragon now? Or will you let her roam for a while?" I asked.
"Can she roam free here?" Rhaenyra said, surprised.
"My people are not foolish enough to approach your dragon. And, if they are, they can only blame themselves... I know Syrax's reputation, she is quite tame. As long as she stays that way, I don't mind."
"Then let it be for now. Later I will guide her to your forge."
"I understand... Let me show you your quarters, Princess. I hope you will not be disappointed."
POV: Rhaenyra
The city was quite simple and cold, very cold, even with me wearing several layers of heavy clothing.
The wildlings... I suppose it's not proper to call them that. As they call themselves: the Norses.
They were a rustic people. When they saw me, many seemed disappointed. According to one of Denovan's men—who was not at all subtle—they thought I would have horns and dragon wings, but, in the end, I was just very pale and pretty.
I found that somewhat refreshing. Here, no one placed the weight of the crown upon my shoulders.
The houses were mostly made of wood, all with chimneys spitting gray smoke into the sky. The people hurried from one side to the other, but they seemed genuinely happy.
What caught my attention the most, however, were the animals. Not the goats and chickens, that was normal. What impressed me was the large number of owls, eagles, wolves, and even some shadowcats walking among the people.
According to Denovan, many wargs have awakened among his people. Seeing his smile, I believe he sees this as a great sign, but observing the expressions of my knights and Alicent, who accompanied me, they were not at all comfortable with the situation.
"Afraid of the little pets?" I asked, trying to break the tense atmosphere.
"It's a little scary. They say that, with sorcery, they enter the minds of animals... Did you know they can even enter human minds?" Alicent whispered.
As she said that, one of the giant warriors standing next to Denovan, previously seemingly smiling, darkened his expression and turned abruptly. Two of our soldiers immediately stepped between us and the giant.
"That is taboo, lady of the South..." the man growled. "Since centuries ago, such action has been repudiated and punished among us."
"Tormund, do not cause a mess," Denovan reprimanded firmly.
With a heavy sigh, the warrior answered quietly: "They scare easily, my king."
"I apologize for his abrupt attitude. Do not take it badly," Denovan said, trying to smooth things over.
I signaled for my guards to lower their weapons and answered: "It is fine, my lord."
A few moments passed with me trying to reassure Alicent and talking to the others, until we finally arrived.
"This is my home," Denovan announced. "It is not as grand as your castles, but to me, it is everything. Make yourselves at home."
Looking at the immense fortified wooden mansion, we started to enter. Soon we came across a large hall that displayed a long table and... tigers... maybe tigers, or lions, I don't know what they were. Two enormous black felines with fangs so large they protruded from their mouths.
"Ahh!" Alicent jumped back in fright when the beasts advanced toward Denovan. They seemed... to have missed him.
"How are you, boys? Are you well?" he said as he stroked the massive creatures, which, when standing, were taller than him.
And that only highlighted how large the animals were, because to this day I hadn't seen anyone taller than the beast king.
What a title, huh... seeing these animals and remembering that wolf, you can understand why... how many more are out there?
"Come on... stop it, go to the room. You're scaring the guests," he ordered. In an instant, with the typical purr of giant cats, the felines slowly left the hall.
"Don't mind them," Denovan said casually.
The mansion was huge, but it couldn't hold all of us. Denovan showed the rooms to me, to my ladies-in-waiting, and to two knights of the Kingsguard. The rest of the escort would have to spend the night in other lodgings in the city. Well, it was expected.
The house was extremely pleasant, much warmer than outside, and welcoming.
And so the day passed. Lord Denovan accommodated us and offered a modest meal. Perhaps it was one of the simplest meals I had ever eaten, but it wasn't all bad; as he himself said, it was home-cooked.
The next day
Upon waking, I decided to walk around the house. Beside me, my faithful knights, Ser Criston Cole and Ser Harrold Westerling, escorted me closely.
As I turned down one of the house's corridors, I bumped into a black-haired woman wearing leather armor with metal plates. Beside her walked a giant red wolf... It was stunning. Its scarlet fur was extremely fascinating to look at.
Grrr...
A low growl echoed. In an instant, the atmosphere in the corridor turned icy, and my whole body shivered. The Kingsguards drew their swords immediately and pointed them at the beast.
Then, in a harsh language I didn't know, the woman spoke to the wolf, which stopped immediately. The woman turned to us. Her eyes were the color of honey. She possessed a fierce beauty.
"Princess..." she bowed in a stiff and unpracticed manner.
"Lady?" I asked, already signaling the two guards to lower their blades.
The woman's eyes narrowed.
"I am no lady. You may call me Sigrid... or Sig, as most call me."
"Oh," I couldn't help but be surprised. "So you are Lord Denovan's sister. He told me about you, my lady."
"Did he now? And what did he say?" Sigrid asked, curious, her eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.
"Well... He told me that you, his younger sister, were a great warrior," I answered quickly. Of the things he had told me, about her being impulsive and annoying, I thought it wouldn't be appropriate to mention now.
"Younger sister? Tsk... that bastard... I'm not the younger sister. Be careful what you believe from that liar." Sigrid turned her back abruptly and marched off, the red wolf following close behind.
I sighed. I looked back and saw Ser Harrold give me a look of pure appeal.
"My princess, this place is putting my nerves on edge. Everything here seems dangerous."
"Rest assured, Ser. I believe it is safer here than in King's Landing. The people in this place don't seem to hide behind polite masks."
I spoke while already turning around. As freezing as it was outside, I wanted to explore. Denovan had said it was a new city and was growing fast.
"Sers, let us explore the city. I want to see everything with my own eyes."
As soon as we walked out the mansion gates, I ended up running into Sigrid again. She gave me a slightly embarrassed look and sighed:
"I had forgotten... I will accompany you for today. My brother is busy."
I couldn't help but smile. Beneath that fierce exterior, she seemed quite helpful.
"It will be an honor, Sigrid."
POV: Denovan
It had been a while. It had been such a long time.
Ting.
Ting.
The rhythmic sound of the hammer against the metal, the scorching heat of the forge... I missed that. But things were very different now.
The metal wasn't just heated; we were truly melting it. If before my furnace roared, now, this was a completely new monster. The roar of the flames was deafening, and the heat was infernal. If normal people were working in here, they would certainly have burns after a mere ten minutes.
But my forge didn't have normal people operating it.
The runes changed everything. The former slaves had taught my people some crucial techniques. Metallurgy and engineering techniques that, in my past life in the 21st century, I knew existed in theory, but whose practical implementation had always been a mystery to me.
But now it was all here.
The forge was immense. It had a connected warehouse holding steel weapons. Yes, not simple iron, true steel. Recently, with my men exploring the surroundings and excavating mountains, we found a rich iron mine not far from here. The coal needed to reach steel temperatures came straight from Skagos.
Oak shields with thick metal rims, swords, axes, pickaxes, helmets... We could have ten times the production, but we didn't yet have the necessary mining speed. The men collected the resources cautiously, as we were structuring the mines safely to avoid collapses.
The other problem was capable hands; we had few blacksmiths, but things were going to get better... no! They were already getting better.
The gold of the Seven Kingdoms was still not well accepted here in Norway. Few things could be bought with coins minted in the South. A good steel weapon here would easily be worth over 100 gold dragons, but, even though my men knew the value of the coin, most still preferred the good old barter system.
But let's get to what really matters: my current project.
My axe. A heavy weapon, whose blade I forged in Damascus steel. As always, the undulating pattern of the metal was beautiful, but, this time, I added a special spice: I used an insane amount of blood to bathe it during cooling and pieces of Orochi's scales to fill the carved grooves of the runes.
What was inscribed there was any warrior's dream. If this theory worked, Norway could be attacked from all sides and we would still prevail. Gold, food, ships, horses, titles... everything would fall into my hands like snow in a blizzard, in unparalleled abundance.
The rune carved into the weapon was what, out of pure lack of creativity, I called Slave. It returned or advanced according to the master's will. What master? The one bearing the opposite rune, carved into the skin, which meant Magnar(Lord/Master).
It might not be magic capable of freezing oceans or breathing fire, but imagine the practicality of a 12-kilo battle axe that, after being thrown to crush a skull, could return to the warrior's hands with a simple mental command. Or that, upon being thrown, gained magical momentum instead of losing speed. In the hands of an elite warrior, this would be a practically divine artifact.
The premise was simple: both runes needed to be made with the same base material and sealed with the same magical blood.
The rune possessed two traction functions: advance or return.
And why hadn't I done this before? Simple. The rune engraved on the weapon needs to be constantly recharged with mana. To solve this, I created a mechanism: a thin trail, forged with cuttings from Orochi's scales, that started at the hilt and extended to the edge of the blade. Should I decide to inscribe more runes in the future, that magical "circuit" would already be ready to conduct energy.
By injecting magic into the circuit, the weapon was ready to receive the Magnar's command. Theoretically, there shouldn't be a strict maximum distance, but the bearer needed to have a clear visual or mental connection with the weapon; in any case, if a connection existed, it could receive a command, as long as there was also magic in the circuit.
All of this was still theory, one I intended to prove in the coming days, as soon as I finished polishing.
The uses that Orochi's scales were making possible were immense, although limited by the user's capacity. They were artifacts that discharged, but which could be used infinitely if the bearer could power them.
The theoretical consumption of the Magnar-Slave link seemed quite low. Or perhaps my own magical reserves were just too high. In my case, if I used it continuously in combat, waiting moments between a throw, the return, and another throw, the uses would be, in practice, unlimited.
Now that I had returned to Scalebay, I would fully dedicate these two remaining months before the war in the Stepstones to this project.
Until then, all the runes Melika or I made were passive; they fed on the bearer's magic unconsciously. Obviously, if the user actively forced them, the effect could reach 110% efficiency.
But active combat runes were different. The more energy you voluntarily supplied, the stronger the tool's effect would be. And, so far, only Melika and I possessed enough control to release that energy spontaneously. Perhaps the sorcerers of Asshai or the Red Priests of the Lord of Light could, but ordinary people? Impossible.
Therefore, commercializing these magical weapons was useless, and teaching some outsider how to use them was out of the question. The risks were simply too high.
But, either way, what made this miracle possible was Orochi. The sea dragon, sea wyrm, or as I liked to call it, the Naga, was the pure manifestation of magic. Its blood and venom were magical, and its scales were much more than just flesh, bone, and keratin.
The axe... I was inspired by Kratos's Leviathan and would name it in its honor.
The metal, besides having been tempered in the beast's blood and venom, displayed an impressive design. It had a serpent carved into it that started at the hilt and coiled up to the blade. The dark, bluish Damascus steel paired perfectly with the greenish tones of the scale circuit that filled the runes.
If the Leviathan worked, then, truly, a door of infinite possibilities would open for me.
-/-
Author's Notes
Guys, maybe the use of magic, forging, and these things was a little too abrupt.
But I believe that now everything is in favor; his time there may be short, but it will be enough. Now he has most of the materials he might need there, besides the knowledge and practice. Theoretically, there's nothing stopping him from really starting to make the runic weapons.
And tell me what you thought, did I exaggerate? Was it taking too long to get here?
Now tell me, if the next chapter is practically entirely about the Leviathan project and other runic weapons and artifacts, will you like it or think it's bad?
And finally, what do you think about me changing the kingdom's name from Denonvam to Northumbria, instead of Norway? I saw a comment and liked the idea.