Three days after Arya settled in Dragonstone, another visitor arrived in Valyria, which allowed Viserys to confirm which kraken the omen referred to.
A longship with black sails sailed into the harbor, and the people on board respectfully delivered a letter.
The contents of the letter were brief and direct: "Crows Eye" Euron Greyjoy wanted to form an alliance with Valyria. He intended to take advantage of the chaos in the Seven Kingdoms to counter-attack Westeros in exchange for Viserys's support in seizing the Iron Islands.
If Viserys agreed, House Greyjoy would pledge loyalty to the Targaryens for generations and never rebel.
Count Elisha stood to the side, his expression heavy. "Your Majesty, House Greyjoy cannot be trusted. King Balon of the Iron Islands has just declared independence again, and the ironborn are raiding the coasts of the North and the Westerlands. Euron's arrival at this time may not be with good intentions."
"I know," Viserys said, placing the letter on the table. "But I still want to meet him."
After all, he was the only other person in the original story who had made it out of the Valyrian Peninsula alive, and he had even obtained the dragonbinder.
Ever since he took the Valyrian Peninsula, Viserys had searched it thoroughly but hadn't found the dragonbinder. Thus, the dragonbinder might have been taken by him long ago, so his target this time was likely the dragons.
However, he wasn't worried. After all, the dragons under his control would not be affected by the horn; he had already tested this in previous battles.
He turned to the messenger. "Tell Euron Greyjoy's men to go back and deliver a message: I will meet him in person to have a proper talk."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Another week passed, and Euron Greyjoy arrived in the waters of the Valyrian Peninsula with his men and nearly a hundred pirate ships of various sizes.
Ever since he was exiled by Balon, he had been active as a pirate in the Stepstones. After so many years, he had long become the most powerful pirate. Even Salador, known as the King of the Narrow Sea, was very wary of him.
Their appearance had long since alerted the Imperial Navy, and Duke William personally led a fleet to monitor them from outside the harbor.
Euron left all these men behind and sailed into the Valyrian docks aboard only the famous "silence."
The ship's figurehead was a kraken with flailing tentacles, and a blood-red eye was painted on the black sails with some kind of pigment. As soon as the ship docked, it put the Unsullied soldiers on alert.
Among those who disembarked, the leader was relatively tall, wearing black leather armor with one eye covered by a black patch.
His hair was gray, and a half-smile played on his lips. His entire being radiated an aura of madness, arrogance, and danger.
Behind him followed a dozen or so men, equally lean and fierce-eyed, all carrying weapons.
"Euron Greyjoy, here to meet His Majesty the Dragon King of Valyria." His voice was raspy and penetrating, reaching the ears of the guards clearly even from a distance.
When Euron was brought into the council chamber, his posture was very casual. His good eye scanned the hall's decorations and the guarding Unsullied with interest, finally landing on Viserys as he entered, lingering for a moment on his silver hair.
"Your Majesty Viserys, I have long heard of your great name." Euron bowed slightly.
"Captain Greyjoy," Viserys said, sitting in the main seat without inviting him to sit. "I have read your letter. You spoke of an alliance, but where is your sincerity? Verbal promises are worthless."
"Sincerity? Your Majesty, I have brought my fleet, and..."
His hand brushed over his waist. "A gift that you might be interested in. The legendary dragonbinder, which I found deep within the ruins of Valyria. It is said that the Dragonlords of Old Valyria relied on it to control their dragons."
"A very interesting gift," Viserys said slowly. "But are you sure it's useful? As far as I know, the dragonbinder requires the blood of a Dragonlord to be sounded, otherwise, it will claim the life of the blower."
A strange look flashed in Euron's single eye. "Your Majesty is indeed knowledgeable. Indeed, I tried to have my men blow it, but they all died."
His gaze swept across the hall, seemingly searching for something. "I heard that you have hatched several Young Dragons. I wonder if I might have the honor of seeing them?"
"The Young Dragons went hunting today, quite unfortunately. You may go back and rest first. I will take you to see the dragons tomorrow and tell you my decision then."
Euron's smile stiffened for a moment but quickly recovered. "Of course, Your Majesty. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow."
He turned to leave, the horn swaying gently with his steps. Despite saying it was a gift for Viserys, he still kept it on his person; he was clearly treating Viserys like a fool.
Euron stood at the prow of the "silence," his hand gently stroking the horn in his hand while he softly chanted ancient incantations. The runes on the horn's surface glowed faintly, as if in response.
"Tomorrow, I will make those Targaryen dragons mine."
The next morning, Viserys sent someone to invite Euron to visit the training grounds.
Euron gladly accepted. When he arrived at the training grounds, nine Young Dragons were training under Viserys's command. Seeing these legendary magical creatures, even the well-traveled Crows Eye had a flash of undisguised greed in his eyes.
"Truly amazing," he whispered. "This is true power."
"Yes, but they only obey my commands," Viserys said pointedly. "Dragons are not beasts; they are intelligent."
Euron smiled, his hand touching the dragonbinder. "Intelligent beings can also be persuaded, or guided."
Just then, Balerion, the Young Dragon that most resembled Black Flame, dove down. It skimmed just above Euron's head, its dark red dragon eyes glancing at him as a warning growl issued from its throat.
Euron's right eye narrowed. "It doesn't seem to like me."
"Dragons can sense malice," Viserys said calmly. "They are more perceptive than we imagine."
"Is that so? Pity that whether they like it or not won't matter for what comes next." With that, he pulled out the horn and began to blow it at the Young Dragons on the field.
He knew Viserys had two even larger dragons, but the larger they were, the harder they were to control with the horn. He only needed these Young Dragons.
After getting them, he would flee to the continent of Sothoryos to the south and wait there for the dragons to grow. He had connections with the natives there, who were also very interested in dragons. Once the dragons grew a bit, he could rely on their numbers to defeat Viserys.
He blew the horn frantically.
Unfortunately, the dragons on the field only tilted their heads slightly, as if they had heard some noise.
"This is impossible!" Euron shouted. "The dragonbinder should be effective against all dragons!" Since no outsiders knew the details of Viserys's battle with Volantis, Euron naturally didn't know either.
Viserys sneered. "Your information is outdated, Euron. The dragonbinder can only affect ordinary dragon-taming methods."
He no longer wanted to waste time with him. This time, Viserys only wanted to see if there were any other gods behind Euron helping him, such as the "Drowned God" worshipped by the Iron Islands.
Unfortunately, nothing had been discovered so far, so this must have been just Euron's own idea.
At that moment, Ghidorah, who had been circling above, descended rapidly, kicking up a huge cloud of dust in the center of the training grounds.
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