Chapter 151: Dragon Eggs of Gulltown
The Vale, Gulltown
Gulltown is one of the most important ports in the Vale, and its status among the surrounding settlements is exceptionally prominent. This city is ruled by the ancient and long-established House Grafton, whose members have maintained Gulltown's prosperity and stability through their wisdom and leadership.
The Vale was the first place invaded by the Andals and also the region where Andal culture left its deepest influence. Although there are still ancient families here dating back to the age of the First Men, after generations of immersion in Andal civilization, most of the people here have become devout followers of the Faith of the Seven.
Gulltown possesses an excellent natural harbor. Its overall shape resembles an apple with a bite taken out of it, and that missing section forms the harbor entrance. It is precisely because of this harbor that Gulltown became one of the five great ports of Westeros.
"I thought you would use the Stormlands as your breakthrough point?"
The beautiful Jeyne Arryn asked curiously as Gulltown drew nearer.
After completing the integration of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, Aegon Targaryen came to Gulltown in the Vale. As the first step in his conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon had chosen this place.
The reason Aegon selected Gulltown as his foothold was simple. The Vale was easy to defend and difficult to invade, and it was also the closest region to the North.
At this time, the title of Defender of the Vale belonged to House Arryn. Due to the death of Lord Jon Arryn, control had passed to Lady Lysa Arryn. This disastrous fool had long since given her heart entirely to Petyr Baelish, known throughout the Seven Kingdoms as Littlefinger.
As a result, the Vale had effectively become Littlefinger's domain. Although the Vale lords had yet to openly oppose Lysa Arryn, many of them had already begun considering other possibilities in secret.
This was also why Aegon had chosen to come here. The Vale appeared solid and united from the outside, but in reality, it already stood on the verge of collapse.
In the Mountains of the Moon to the west, countless mountain clans descended from the First Men remained restless, constantly thinking about reclaiming their ancestral lands. At the same time, many fallen noble houses dreamed of restoring their former glory.
This was the perfect stage. Aegon could muddy the waters here and then, just as he had done in Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh, gradually seize control bit by bit.
"This place is the most suitable. Once this route is opened, I can receive support from the North. White Harbor is already training a fleet, and when I need them, my dear cousin Robb will lead roughly ten thousand men south to support me."
After answering Jeyne Arryn's question, Aegon turned his gaze toward a massive Sept standing atop a small island. That was the legendary Motherhouse of Maris, the Vale's refuge for bastards, where many nobles secretly sent illegitimate daughters they wished to hide.
The reason Aegon was interested in this place was entirely because there were two dragon eggs here. Yes, dragon eggs.
After arriving here, Jeyne Arryn had clearly sensed the faint aura of dragons coming from Gulltown, and there was not just one source—but two.
Historically, Princess Rhaena Targaryen had once brought three dragon eggs to Gulltown. Later, however, she departed only with a young dragon named Morning, while records concerning the remaining two dragon eggs disappeared into the river of history.
Clearly, those two dragon eggs had remained here all along, hidden inside the Motherhouse of Maris. After receiving confirmation from Jeyne Arryn, Aegon signaled Captain Letho Yamin to bring the ship to shore.
While taking a small boat toward the Motherhouse of Maris, Aegon and Jeyne Arryn observed the countless colonies of gulls scattered across the cliffs surrounding Gulltown.
The birds cried endlessly as they nested, hunted, and mated upon the rocky cliffs. Perhaps back in the age when the Children of the Forest ruled Westeros, the ancestors of these creatures had already lived here.
"Thump, thump..."
After the small boat docked at the Motherhouse of Maris pier, several septas wearing gray robes and white headdresses soon approached them.
After bowing to Aegon and Jeyne Arryn, one of the older septas—a plump woman—spoke politely:
"Hello, respected sir. This is the Motherhouse of Maris. Men are normally not welcomed here. If you have come to leave someone in our care, you are welcome. But if you merely wish to visit, please leave."
The fact that Aegon had reached this place meant he had already passed Gulltown's City Watch inspections, so there should not have been any issues. Because the Motherhouse of Maris served as a refuge for bastards, its security had always been managed directly by Gulltown's City Watch.
Because of this security arrangement, the septa had no intention of allowing Aegon ashore. Furthermore, many of the women inside had never seen men before, and she had no desire to break long-standing rules simply because of him.
"I only brought my wife here to visit. Since there are rules, I won't enter. My wife was once harassed by thugs while traveling through King's Landing, and a kind septa saved her. Since arriving here, we thought it appropriate to contribute a little assistance to the Faith."
At Aegon's signal, one of the sailors rowing the boat carried over a treasure chest roughly the size of a basket. As the lid opened, countless Lysene gold coins and precious gems immediately reflected in the fat septa's eyes.
Although the fat septa had practiced asceticism for many years, her eyes still brightened uncontrollably at the sight of such wealth. Unlike the women raised inside this place, she had not grown up here but had instead transferred from a Sept in Gulltown.
The fat septa understood very well that with such wealth, the food and living conditions here could finally improve.
Thus, after receiving Aegon's "donation," Jeyne Arryn was immediately welcomed into the Motherhouse of Maris, while Aegon remained waiting on the boat.
After waiting aboard for roughly thirty minutes, Jeyne Arryn finally emerged surrounded by several septas. Upon noticing Aegon's questioning expression, she gave him a playful wink.
"Did you get them?"
On the journey back, Aegon immediately asked.
"Naturally."
After answering Aegon's question, Jeyne Arryn removed a dragon egg from the bag she carried.
"Was it really that easy? You didn't use any special methods?"
Aegon found her success somewhat unbelievable. Since he had not sensed any traces of magic on those people, he was naturally curious.
"I simply mentioned during the tour that I really liked the two dragon eggs, and the septas gave them to me."
"Just that simple?"
After hearing Jeyne Arryn's explanation, Aegon looked rather stunned.
"It really was that simple. Clearly, they had no idea what those two objects actually were. They merely treated them as beautiful decorations. Dragon eggs are rare things; not everyone can recognize them."
After hearing Jeyne Arryn's explanation, Aegon finally understood. The two of them immediately boarded the small boat and returned to the larger sailing vessel.
The Looking Up was a merchant ship from Lys and also one of The Chainbreakers' intelligence bases under Aegon's control. The Looking Up specifically handled intelligence operations throughout the Vale.
The thieves under Narses had already begun collecting information throughout the Seven Kingdoms after Aegon captured Tyrosh. Under the cover of Lysene merchants conducting business everywhere, very few people paid attention to their activities.
Moreover, this identity made it easier for those thieves to approach noble houses without arousing suspicion.
In Aegon's hand was a dragon egg streaked with purple and black. The purple patterns shimmered beneath the sunlight as though something inside was flowing and alive.
The dragon egg in Jeyne Arryn's hand was brown and green. She also told Aegon that the patterns resembled those of her former dragon, Terrax.
The moment Aegon held the dragon egg in his hand, he seemed to sense the faint life force Jeyne Arryn had described.
Jeyne Arryn explained that dragon eggs naturally resonated with the blood of Dragonlords. If a Dragonlord possessed exceptionally pure blood, then even a dragon egg that had already turned to stone might awaken once more through the power of blood and fire within that Dragonlord's bloodline.
"Your aunt is different from you; she must have awakened an ancient Dragonlord bloodline. Dragonlords have always intermarried with one another. Perhaps she awakened the bloodline of one of the Forty Families of Valyria."
Aegon had already told Jeyne Arryn about Daenerys, and Jeyne Arryn had always been extremely interested in this aunt of his. Aegon simply had never gone looking for her.
Otherwise, Jeyne Arryn probably would have run all the way to Slaver's Bay long ago. After all, she had only ever heard of reviving dragons from petrified eggs in ancient Valyrian legends.
"You mean these two dragon eggs only returned to this state after sensing our presence?"
Aegon found Jeyne Arryn's words astonishing, though after thinking about it further, he suddenly understood why Daenerys had been able to awaken her three dragon eggs.
"It's just a pity that once such dragons hatch, their vitality will eventually be exhausted. That means they will never be able to reproduce or lay eggs. So even if these two dragons hatch, our plan still cannot change."
After hearing Aegon's words, Jeyne Arryn became slightly worried that he might place all his hopes on these two dragon eggs.
"Don't worry. Dragon breeds must be cultivated. We cannot think only about the present. The future still lies ahead, and we must think of our descendants as well."
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