The choking smell of sulfur and haze drifted on the wind, and the sky seemed forever as blood-red as a bruise, the crimson hue originating from the wrath of the Fourteen Flames.
Rubies and Sapphires sparkled, preventing the explorers from falling into the most desperate of circumstances.
Viserys felt that the Fourteen Flames might still hold many dragon lairs and gold, red-gold, and silver mines belonging to the Dragonlord families, but they were difficult to access.
Everyone looked up together at the dark brown ruinous hill; though the magic dragon was dead, its bones remained, still looking down upon the world with pride.
Fire Elements—the long-dormant Fire Elements were calling out to Viserys; the Fire Elements within the massive dragon bones were as vast as a hellish sea.
At Viserys's summons, the Fire Elements gathered in the dragon bones shifted from slumber to a wild dance, allowing him to absorb a massive wave of energy.
The magic dragon truly lived up to its reputation as the peak creation of blood and fire, possessing far more value than the Human-Faced Worm.
The remaining hundred-plus meters of the dark dragon skeleton suggested that this was likely a fierce old dragon of a size similar to Vhagar or Meraxes.
On the ruinous hill stood this magnificent dragon skeleton; the dragon bone was as black as onyx and rich in iron.
Viserys also saw the magic dragon's hollow eye sockets; the dragon's throat bone was also terrifyingly wide.
Magic dragons never stop growing unless they are close to death.
However, as magic dragons grow, their speed also slows due to their increasing size.
A magic dragon is likely at its most powerful during its middle age, when speed and fire power reach a balance.
Seeing such a massive adult magic dragon, it seemed Orryon was a powerful dragon rider who could not accept the destruction of the empire.
Viserys led the group up the hill, carefully observing his surroundings for any missed treasures while remaining on guard against Human-Faced Worm.
But it appeared that the giant dragon's bones still held a deterrent effect on the Human-Faced Worm.
A dragon horn hanging from the dragon's horn shone with an alluring light; that twisted horn was a full six feet long from end to end, shimmering with black light and covered in stripes of red-gold and Valyrian black steel.
"Don't move recklessly." Viserys cautiously summoned fire, followed by a stream of condensed water element.
Only after washing and confirming the horn had no parasites or curses did he let Argos take it down.
The ruins of Valyria had too much radiation and too many insects; one had to act cautiously to survive until the end.
Viserys took the horn; it was as delicate as a woman's skin.
The horn was also shiny, bright enough for him to see his own distorted reflection deep within it.
Strange ancient magic runes were inscribed on the gold and black steel stripes wrapping the horn.
"I am Dragonbinder. No mortal shall sound me and live. Blood for fire, fire for blood."
To blow this horn is to walk the path of death.
An ordinary person blowing the horn would eventually pay with their life.
Viserys looked at the script; he wasn't exactly a mortal, being a dual sorcerer of water and fire.
The dragon horn was too sinister, and Viserys had no intention of using it.
The purpose of the Dragonbinder horn was to bind dragons, and it likely also induced a sense of emotional excitement, loyalty, and rage that ultimately brought destruction and endings; it wasn't a True Dragon horn.
"Do not touch this horn; once blown, your lungs will be burned dry," Viserys warned, and Argos slung the horn over his back.
Viserys was the first to climb onto the dragon's back, aiming for the dragon rider's position.
Orryon wasn't an ancestor of his family, so he had no psychological burden when it came to looting him.
Speaking of which, besides The Maiden's prophecy, the Targaryens were also pushed out by these greater Dragonlords.
Competition in Valyria back then was equally brutal.
At its peak, Valyria was the greatest city in the world, the center of civilization.
Behind those shining high walls, forty Dragonlord families vied for power and glory in the courts and councils, engaging in never-ending, subtle, and sometimes cruel struggles, rising and falling with the tide.
Viserys saw the soot-colored scale plate armor; where the dragon rider's saddle should have been, there were now only human ashes.
Orryon's body had long since turned to decay, yet that prone suit of armor remained so magnificent.
It was a suit of soot-colored valyrian steel scale armor—as black as smoke, and as light to wear as a silk shirt.
The edges of the scales were red-gold, shimmering with light as they moved. The metal was decorated with patterns—swirls,
hieroglyphs, and mysterious symbols, all etched into the steel.
Viserys figured Crows Eye might have only reached this far, which was still the edge of the Valyrian ruins.
Though Crows Eye didn't know fire magic, the skinchangers of the Greenseer lineage could let him possess animals or people to reach this place at any cost, but he could only get this far.
The core of the ruins further in and the Great Volcano on the edge were filled with the wrath of blood and fire.
Even Crows Eye wouldn't dare go deeper.
Viserys carefully picked up the longsword beside the ashes; the sword's crossguard was in the shape of connected'S' letters, decorated by a pair of chasing, clawing purple-gold magic dragons.
The magic dragons were cast from purple-gold rippled valyrian steel, with amethysts for eyes, displaying full honor and magnificence.
Perhaps Orryon's family was known for its legendary purple-gold dragons, so they favored purple and gold, just as the House Targaryen favored black and red.
A beautiful oval amethyst was also set into the pommel of the longsword.
This sword wasn't a greatsword, but a perfect hand-and-a-half sword, just like Blackfyre and Longclaw.
This kind of sword is longer than a shortsword and shorter than a two-handed greatsword, being a hand-and-a-half sword, usually carried on the back.
The blade also featured purple ripples from being forged a thousand times, showing an eerie beauty.
"True Dragon Sword." Viserys saw another line of Valyrian script on the hilt; the name was simply True Dragon, quite straightforward.
Viserys gripped the True Dragon Sword and quickly discovered the blade's special properties.
The True Dragon Sword was also fitted with gems and magic arrays for Fire Element affinity, making it convenient for fire sorcerers to use.
Valyria was built on blood and fire; Blood Magic and fire magic were its true core.
Orryon's family mastered the core techniques of fire sorcerers, unlike the Targaryens.
The Targaryen specialty was being "Dragon Dreamers," which, to be honest, was a bit metaphysical compared to top-tier Dragonlords like these.
Viserys put away the True Dragon Sword and saw a lance on the side of the dragon saddle, also made of valyrian steel.
The lance's blade emerged from the open mouth of a greedy and arrogant gold-purple magic dragon, the blade glinting coldly.
The lance blade was dominated by golden ripples, like a golden dragon lance from myth.
"Spear of the Long Summer?" Viserys put away the lance.
The Sothoryos were originally part of the Valyrian peninsula; the meaning of Long Summer was perhaps that Orryon's family would be as prosperous and unending as a long summer.
It seemed like quite a bit of dark humor now.
Viserys took off his surcoat and wrapped Orryon's remains.
Though they were strangers, Viserys had at least struck it rich by looting Orryon.
Viserys saw a broken silver plate engraved with Valyrian script, looking unremarkable on the surface.
But being something Orryon guarded even in death, Viserys didn't believe for a second it was simple.
"Fire and fire."
Viserys awakened his fire and roasted the silver plate with it.
Under the flames, the writing was blurry, as if covered by a layer of smoke.
The silver plate continued to absorb the fire, and the writing composed of golden flames slowly emerged.
It seemed to be intermittent last words, which faded quickly after appearing.
The handwriting was elegant, with powerful strokes.
"Stranger from afar, do not grieve for me. For if I were alive, you would surely have been burned to death by me.
It seems you have treated my remains well and can awaken the Fire Element; I grant you my true legacy.
Orryon, heir to the leader of Fire Party of the Dragonlord Council—such a great Dragonlord, yet in death, I am but a handful of dust... May the flames consume the sons-of-bitches of Blood Cult, along with their disgusting pets and hybrid, butchered monsters.
Fire is the truth.
Please bury me here; perhaps I cannot be buried beside those I love in the Purple Palace of House Belaerys, but being buried in Valyria where dragons dance, along with my soldiers, will suffice.
As for my legacy, my family no longer exists, and I cannot live on alone... Having endured a thousand hardships to reach this place, you must be a cunning adventurer and a lucky soul, wanting to play the game of power and magic.
Take my true legacy and take fierce revenge on those servants who betrayed the Dragonlords; punish the treacherous with blood and fire.
Four feet underground, directly beneath the head of the magic dragon 'Purple Dragon Tyrant,' Balerax, don't forget to look for my bracelet and candle.
You shall bring new terror to those vermin, turn the world upside down, and kill those Archons and Magisters; this is what I, who loved clamor, would enjoy most.
0..0.
Restore the glory, or Orryon will never forgive you."
Viserys put away the silver plate; there were many words and a lot of explosive information.
Orryon had left behind his armor, sword, and lance for protection, but there was another part of the true legacy, even more precious than the valyrian steel armor and sword.
It seemed that in the era of Valyria, there was Fire Party, which adhered to fire magic, and Blood Cult, which was familiar with Blood Magic, and the relationship between the two was terrible.
"The candle and the bracelet." Viserys thought to himself that these two were clearly things Orryon cared about especially.
Viserys leaped down from the magic dragon's body and began digging at the spot Orryon had mentioned.
Pushing aside the obsidian, sulfur stones, and black stone remnants, there was a backpack woven with gold thread; inside the backpack, outlined with flames and magic dragons, lay Orryon's most precious relics.
Viserys opened the bundle and found Orryon's crown and bracelet, a ring, a glass (actually obsidian) candle, several gems, and a broken glass mirror.
And, of course, a dragon egg—a fossilized dragon egg of purple and gold, now just a stone.
The golden glass candle was long and twisted, like a faceted blade.
Using such glass candles, a sorcerer's sight could cross mountains, seas, and deserts.
Sitting before such a candle, they could enter others' dreams to show visions or communicate across half the world.
Orryon's imperial crown was also a simple valyrian steel circlet set with large circular amethysts, similar to Aegon's crown.
His bracelet and ring were dancing purple-gold magic dragons, with a purple gem held in the dragons' mouths.
After shaking off the dust, the ring and bracelet appeared as beautiful as ever despite the countless years.
The flame patterns and magic dragon imagery on them would be enough to make the most skilled craftsmen of today envious, not to mention the magic arrays through which fire magic flowed.
After finishing all this, Viserys felt he had reached the limit of his treasure hunting and took all of Orryon's legacy with him.
To honor his oath, Viserys buried Orryon's skeletal ashes near the giant dragon and left a mark.
The group searched the giant dragon's skeleton inside and out until they were sure nothing had been missed.
Finally, Viserys noticed the dragon saddle Orryon had left behind; it hadn't rotted after all this time, so he took that as well.
Viserys and his group walked down the hill and returned to that army of human statues.
Although they found no more valyrian steel armor or valyrian steel weapons inscribed with fire-gathering arrays in the army.
The cost of manufacturing valyrian steel armor and valyrian steel weapons with fire-gathering arrays was too high, and they used too much material.
Even for the wealthy Dragonlords, not every family possessed them.
But after a careful screening, Viserys and the others still found a rugged valyrian steel battle-axe.
A valyrian steel arakh with a dragon bone hilt and a pitch-black blade with ripples on it.
There was also a beautiful valyrian steel smallsword; the hilt featured a rearing Unicorn with Sapphires for eyes, looking incredibly lifelike.
Viserys looked at that valyrian steel sword with silver ripples; it had the aesthetic of a divine weapon.
Though it couldn't compare to the True Dragon Sword in Viserys's hand, it was still extremely precious.
In addition, there were some valyrian steel daggers, all of which were taken.
Even without going deep into the ruins of Valyria, Viserys had made a massive profit on this looting trip.
Just as everyone felt the mission was accomplished, Viserys suddenly felt a sense of urgency from fire surging in the sky.
Some kind of animal was coming, wreathed in Fire Elements.
"Heads down, get ready to take cover!" Viserys shouted.
High in the sky, beneath the red clouds, a three-headed monstrous bird swept toward them, accompanied by a gale.
"Goldenheart Wood Longbows, ready!" Viserys ordered.
Viserys saw the monstrous bird spread its wings; the first head was a lion, the third head was a Unicorn, and the second head in the middle was a giant eagle.
All three heads were extraordinarily large, with red gems embedded in their foreheads.
The giant bird was not a natural creation, but seemed to be stitched together with some kind of evil Blood Magic.
"Is this a pet of Blood Cult?" Viserys also wanted to curse that group of dark sorcerers who loved genetic modification.