The green seawater surged violently, crashing against the coastline of Bloodstone.
Rhaegar saw the sky and sea merge into one color, smelled the faint salty tang of the seawater, and heard the shrieks of dragons in the sky.
The shrieks of the dragons awakened the entire island from its slumber.
Unfortunately, the Stepstones were indeed ravaged by storms, so there was no way to see lush green grass or blooming flowers.
But my twelfth year was, after all, colorful.
The soldiers looked up at the sky, saw three striking dragons, and cheered.
These were the Prince's dragons, and also the dragons that guarded the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones.
Rhaegar looked down from the sky at the changing Bloodstone; this place had once been a pirate den, but now it was the Bloodstone Customs and the garrison for the Guardians of the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones.
Bloodstone was rocky and rugged, ravaged by storms, and previously had few indigenous inhabitants, relying entirely on its geographical advantage to be ravaged by pirates from many nations.
The environment of Dragonstone was already poor, and the Stepstones were even more desolate, unable to support indigenous inhabitants.
However, Bloodstone at least had a geographical advantage; by establishing customs and building a castle, the economic revenue would be much better than that of Dragonstone.
Currently, Bloodstone had a double-ring structure: an outer wall and an inner city. The first ring, the outer wall, consisted of earthen mounds and fences, while the second ring, the inner city, was the Dragons Roar Fortress built relying on the rocky mountains of Bloodstone. Between the two rings, most of the Iron Throne's army was stationed, including the main camps of Prince Aerys, Lord Tywin, Ser Steffon, Ser Mace, and others.
The main camps were spread out around the leaders, but Prince Lewyn, with his Dornish spearmen, remained some distance away from the Iron Throne's camp.
The Dornish were always like this; they preferred to keep to themselves.
Although the war in the Stepstones had ended, the major infrastructure projects in the Stepstones continued, with castles being built on large islands and military camps on smaller ones.
Most of the Iron Throne's troops had not yet withdrawn.
The massive consumption of the soldiers was, at this point, an astronomical figure.
However, with the food and financial support from the two incredibly wealthy Lords of Highgarden and Casterly Rock, partial support from the Stormlands and Dorne, plus money borrowed from Braavos, the infrastructure projects were in full swing.
The ten-year trusteeship of the Stepstones was something that would never be given up, and the Iron Throne still hoped to achieve a tax revenue miracle through the Bloodstone Customs.
Rhaegar was quite satisfied with the progress on Bloodstone, as this was the first castle he had built from the ground up.
Although it was overkill, it still gave him a great sense of achievement, and later, when economic conditions permitted, King's Landing would also need renovations.
Although Bloodstone had many rocky mountains, they were not as massive and towering as the Dragonmont of Dragonstone, making the construction of the Dragons Roar Fortress relatively easy.
On Grey Gallows, there was also such a Dragons Roar Fortress, currently under construction.
With the castle, a shadow city and a harbor could appear later.
However, this place was full of reefs, sea stacks, and winding waterways, which were indeed not very suitable for building a large harbor; he could only wait until the construction was finished to see if it was possible to turn the island into a basin to facilitate ship docking.
Rhaegar watched the busy and hardworking royal escort soldiers on the island as the three dragons landed in the middle of the Iron Throne's camp, bringing back the message of welcome from Dorne.
According to Ser Barristan, the timing was indeed right; Prince Aerys, Ser Steffon, Lord Tywin, and this large group of people were preparing their formal wear for the visit to Dorne.
Rhaegar walked quickly into Prince Aerys's luxurious tent. Prince Aerys was wearing a magnificent black and red silk tunic, high black boots, and a long black satin cloak.
The black tunic had rubies as buttons, with red lines outlining rows of red dragon sigils, and the black cloak was depicted in the same way.
Coupled with the House Targaryen's ancestral silver hair and purple eyes, he looked truly radiant.
"Prince, wearing this outfit, you truly look radiant; it dazzles my eyes," Ser Mace said exaggeratedly.
Ser Mace had chosen a green silk tunic, decorated at the throat with a golden rose, also quite bright.
The vast majority of the House Targaryen possessed inhuman beauty and great charm, and even Prince Aerys was no exception.
However, looking at Prince Aerys, Rhaegar felt that, like Mace Tyrell, he was all gold on the outside and rotten on the inside, with mediocre talent.
By comparison, although Mace was vain and greedy, he was at least a normal person and could listen to advice.
Prince Aerys was more neurotic, fickle, and vain.
In his youth, the Prince was not known for wisdom, diligence, or martial prowess, but he was recognized as being full of charm.
He was generous, handsome, and bold, but he had a hot temper, was moody, and was also fickle, changing his affections very quickly, both in politics and with women.
Rhaegar felt that currently, Prince Aerys was being managed well by Jaehaerys, and with the family flourishing and the Princess not having suffered multiple miscarriages, he had not yet become exceptionally volatile.
Rhaegar had already changed the tree of fate, trying his best to keep Prince Aerys from falling into the abyss of jealousy, suspicion, cruelty, and extreme outbursts of hysteria.
The most critical thing was to remove those who pandered to the Prince's worst impulses.
Everyone in the tent, from the Prince and Lords to the knights, was dressed in magnificent and luxurious clothing.
Lord Tywin wore a black outfit with a red cloak, accented with a Golden Lion.
Ser Steffon was also in a black outfit with a green robe, accented with a golden stag.
Going to visit the Princess of Dorne, the attire certainly had to be luxurious.
This was the case in most parts of the two continents; a ruler could not awe the world without magnificence, and the more luxurious and noble, the better.
Only Braavos still insisted on that minimalist style; even the top figures wore dark or brown colors, which was simply boring.
But in the tent, an even more dazzling and eye-catching Silver Dragon appeared. Rhaegar was simply wearing a black T-shirt, with a silver steel ring on his silver hair.
The black T-shirt was modified by a tailor at Rhaegar's request, and the embroidered T-shirt was also depicted with a red dragon sigil.
Rhaegar felt that wearing this kind of T-shirt was the most comfortable; those robes felt like tedious formalities, making him uncomfortable.
"Rhaegar, why are you dressed like this? It is truly an insult to noble etiquette," Prince Aerys said, shocked.
Lord Tywin, Ser Steffon, and Ser Mace also appeared somewhat surprised.
People from Braavos liked to wear dark or black clothes, but Prince Rhaegar's attire was even lighter than that of the Braavosi.
However, the Prince's handsomeness and dashing style were enough to capture any rose, giving off a candid and natural feeling.
"In the army, this kind of clothing is more convenient," Rhaegar said. When it came to being light and simple, the T-shirt was the way to go.
"It is acceptable in the military camp, but one must pay attention to etiquette in formal occasions. How was your trip to Dorne?" Prince Aerys asked.
"Father, the Princess of Dorne is very willing to have you lead the delegation to visit Sunspear," Rhaegar said.
"I am not good at fighting, but I am capable in etiquette and diplomacy. Once we have arranged the garrison for the Stepstones, we will prepare to head to Dorne to demonstrate the kingdom's peace and unity," Prince Aerys said to his son.
"Did the Princess of Dorne ask you about any marriage matters?" Prince Aerys asked suddenly, seeing Prince Lewyn.
"No!" Rhaegar replied firmly.
He had attended a banquet at the Water Gardens, and the Princess of Dorne had not asked about this matter either.
"That's good. I know that daughter of hers—no breasts, no hips, and sickly; she wouldn't be able to give you many children. Even if there were children, they would have a Dornish flavor," Prince Aerys whispered, feeling a bit more relieved.
After everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while, Rhaegar walked out of the camp.
Prince Aerys was still satisfied with his son; he was simply the perfect Prince, even making up for the martial prowess of his own generation.
Rhaegar went to the rocky mountains of Bloodstone to pile stones with the soldiers to build the Dragons Roar Fortress.
The main builders of the city were Rhaegar's royal escort soldiers, landless adventurers who had voluntarily joined Rhaegar's team during the war in the Stepstones, as well as second and younger sons of noble houses. Most of them were still willing to follow the Prince after the war ended. After reorganization, and adding those left behind in King's Landing and Dragonstone, Rhaegar's total army had expanded to 2,400 men.
Rhaegar also needed to quickly build the customs and the castle to better support such an army.
The soldiers were somewhat flattered, but seeing the Prince working alongside them, they were very excited.
Prince Rhaegar, wearing a round-neck undershirt, moved stones and laid foundations with the soldiers.
Infrastructure, logistics, strategy, and unity—these were the foundations of warfare.
Because Rhaegar had seen such an army before.
"Rhaegar-shirt!" the soldiers called the Prince's new invention, and soon they all began to emulate him.
At the construction site of the Dragons Roar Fortress, everyone was rejoicing.
[Destiny Claim: Westeros (High Tier): Hatching Dragons, Silver Hair and Purple Eyes Beauty, triumphant general, Beloved by the People, City Builder. Unacquired: Aegon the Conqueror's Crown, blackfyre. Old Valyria Smoking Sea Ruins (High Tier): Relics of the ancient forty Dragonlords, High Tier Blood of Fire. Rhoyne River (Low Tier): Faint rhoynar blood, Low Tier Blood of the Water.]
Rhaegar discovered a new attribute in his template: Destiny Claim. The higher the Destiny Claim, the stronger the legitimacy of regional rule, and the more sacred and inviolable the imperial power.
Now Rhaegar already possessed claims to three territories, but apart from the Sunset Continent, the other two were desolate, remote, and cursed, completely unsuitable for human survival.
Rhaegar already possessed a great deal, such as his silver hair and purple eyes, and even the hatching of dragons; these were all sources of the Dragonlords' legitimacy to rule.
It seemed no one without silver hair and purple eyes had ever ascended the Iron Throne.
The most miserable were Baelor and Rhaenyra's three Velaryon sons.
During the struggle between the Greens and the Blacks, they would even attack each other because young children couldn't hatch dragons.
It would be great if Rhaegar possessed blackfyre and the crown of Aegon the Conqueror; Rhaegar really wanted to find them.
Both were symbols of royal power, but unfortunately, both had disappeared.
The Conqueror's crown was lost in Dorne, and the blackfyre was highly likely lost on the other side of the Narrow Sea.
But dragons were destiny, Rhaegar thought.
With dragons, these things were secondary and would return to his hands sooner or later.
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