The dragons roared in the courtyard as the young ones devoured the flock of goats prepared for them. The black dragon Balerion ate the most. Balerion was always hungry. Besides the live prey prepared for him in the courtyard, he sometimes flew out over the sea to hunt flying fish. He would wrap the fish in flame and swallow them whole.
Once they had eaten their fill, the young dragons began clawing and biting at one another as if looking for trouble. They did this from time to time.
Daenerys hurriedly grabbed the green dragon Vhagar by the tail to keep it from grappling too fiercely with the white dragon Viserion. Brienne and Dacey stayed close to Daenerys, still holding back their awe of the dragons as they guarded her. Balerion let out a roar, and under the gaze of his coal-red eyes, the green dragon and the white dragon quieted down at once.
"These dragons are growing far too quickly, especially the black dragon Balerion. Perhaps he really is the reincarnation of the Black Dread from all those years ago. His growth is anything but ordinary. And the magical tide has returned," Maester Qyburn said in wonder. He had seen the miracle unfold with his own eyes, watching the dragons grow from the size of kittens to dogs, then to small horses. It was not the existence of dragons that had awakened magic. Rather, magic had slowly risen back from its lowest ebb, creating the conditions for dragons to be born. And the birth of dragons, in turn, had quickened magic's revival.
"I never thought I would live to see dragons dance," Ser Barristan said with a sigh. "All those who tried to bring dragons back before failed. The times truly have changed." Most Targaryens had once tried to bring dragons back, but they had all failed, leaving only ridicule, mockery, and even death behind them.
Aegon III, the Dragonbane, summoned nine warlocks from beyond the Narrow Sea to hatch dragon eggs. The devout Baelor the Blessed once prayed over every egg, begging them to hatch. The corrupt Aegon IV had alchemists build dragons of wood and steel, only for those wooden and iron dragons to burst into flame and explode before they even passed through the Kingswood, killing and injuring hundreds and burning a quarter of the forest. The cruel Aerion Brightflame tried to become a dragon by drinking wildfire, while Aegon V's attempt ultimately led to the tragedy of Summerhall.
Lothor Brune, Anguy, and Robar Royce were also there, standing at the edge of the courtyard. But they could not really join the conversation. The old knight and the old Maester far surpassed them in knowledge and experience. Dragons had been gone for too long. The arts of training and riding them had been lost, and the few rare books that remained were almost impossible to find. Even Daenerys was still groping in the dark, let alone ordinary men like them.
"In another year or two, we should be able to ride them," Gendry said confidently as he watched the dragons. Dragons and men were inseparable, and Dragonmont's volcanic climate was the ideal place for dragons to live. They would grow faster here than before.
"The guards, both seen and unseen, are all in place. As you ordered, Dragonstone is as solid as rock," Maester Qyburn said with a bow. "This Dragonstone Company lacks no capable hands, such as Brienne. We also have a mage in the red priestess. Once Marwyn arrives, it will be even more secure."
"Dragons are a miracle returned to the world, but news of them will be difficult to hide completely. Caution is only natural." Gendry watched the dragons tease and provoke each other. After the dragons hatched, the bleeding sword had appeared, and spells had become far more effective than before. The warlocks of Qarth had been able to trace the dragons' appearance back then. News of the dragons would likely spread farther and farther.
"The most detestable are the warlocks of Qarth. Those Qartheen are truly greedy," Ser Barristan said. "They even wanted you to visit the House of the Undying. That place must reek of magic."
"The Undying covet the fire and heat inside a dragon's body. The Qartheen even sent Sorrowful Men to follow Malaquo's party. They say warlocks always repay a grudge, but they were the ones who provoked me first." Gendry and that city of the world were destined to be enemies, not friends. The Undying disguised themselves as splendidly dressed warlocks in their prime, but in truth they were old, withered, and gaunt. Calling him to the House of the Undying was nothing more than a scheme to steal his life-fire.
At that moment, the dragons shot into the sky, soaring above Dragonstone Castle's dragon courtyard.
The dragons circled round and round, climbing higher and higher as they competed with one another. Dragons liked to attack from above. When they rose between the sun and their opponent, they would fold their wings and dive with shrill screams.
The black dragon Balerion was the largest, and he flew the highest and fastest, even vanishing from Gendry's sight. The green dragon and the white dragon were testing each other. They locked onto one another and tangled into a ball of scales, tumbling down from the sky while raking with claws and lashing with tails. Dragons were tremendously tough, so to them this was only a bit of exercise. When they were close to the ground, the two dragons split apart at once and rose again with sharp cries, their wings stirring dust through the courtyard.
"How goes the matter of the dragon eggs, Master Qyburn?" Gendry asked. "Great Lord Stannis and Lady Melisandre both said they found no trace of dragon eggs on Dragonstone. They searched the crypts and cellars. It is said that House Targaryen once guarded dragon eggs very strictly in places like those, but when my uncle took Dragonstone, he did not find a single egg, not even a fossil. What have you found recently?"
"Not the slightest trace," Qyburn said with a bow. "People have always said Dragonstone stores dragon eggs, but they seem nearly impossible to find. Even if there truly are dragon eggs here, they must be hidden somewhere extremely secret, somewhere no ordinary search could uncover. And Dragonstone may not be the only place where dragon eggs were hidden. There may be others."
"Where exactly are the dragon eggs?" Gendry was puzzled as well. The many dragon eggs the Targaryens had once possessed had vanished without a trace after the fall of the Targaryen dynasty. Aegon of the Greens and King Aegon of Summerhall had both brought seven dragon eggs when they tried to hatch dragons. Yet in the known world today, aside from Illyrio's three fossilized dragon eggs of unknown origin, not a single dragon egg had appeared. That made no sense.
If Dragonstone truly had dragon eggs, they had to be hidden somewhere very well concealed. Great Lord Stannis and Ser Axel Florent had both spent many years on Dragonstone, and according to the original history, when Great Lord Stannis and the others went north to fight, they had taken no dragon eggs with them. As for Daenerys and her brother, they had not known where the dragon eggs were stored either. If they had brought dragon eggs with them, even fossilized ones would have been priceless, more than enough to cover their daily expenses. They would never have had to sell crowns in hardship.
"The previous kings certainly had no shortage of dragon eggs, but where they stored them is hard to say," Ser Barristan said. In the past, dragon eggs had not been quite so rare. They were precious, of course, but they did appear from time to time. The lustful Aegon IV had even given one away after sleeping with a daughter of House Butterwell.
"Even forty years ago, in 259, the royal family could still produce seven dragon eggs with ease," Qyburn added quietly. He was speaking of the tragedy at Summerhall.
"That was also the last time dragon eggs appeared in large numbers. Many relatives of House Targaryen had gathered there to celebrate the birth of King Aegon V's first great-grandchild, and the king was preparing to bring dragons back. It is said there were seven dragon eggs, symbolizing the glory of the Seven, though the king's septon had warned them. The septon and the maesters seem to have burned to death there, though I cannot be certain. There was also said to be a dwarf prophetess, the one who told Jaehaerys that the Prince That Was Promised would be born from his line." Ser Barristan thought back carefully, then spoke slowly. "Ser Duncan the Tall, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, saved some people. After escaping the fire, the king's granddaughter Princess Rhaella gave birth to her first son by her brother Prince Aerys. Rhaegar."
Aegon V, the king who was not meant to be king. Gendry had heard the legends of this commoner king. Gendry's great-grandfather, the Laughing Storm Lyonel Baratheon, had once been Aegon V's staunchest supporter. After their falling-out, the Laughing Storm had even briefly declared himself king. Aegon V needed to revive the dragons. He wanted to reform the realm and improve the rights of the common people, but the nobles fiercely resisted him. On top of that, all his children broke their betrothals. The king, forced into compromise again and again, had slowly lost patience and become increasingly obsessed with dragons.
Few could clearly explain the tragedy at Summerhall. Ser Barristan had not been there, but he guessed it had involved sorcery and sacrifice.
Gendry also felt Summerhall had met the basic formula for the rebirth of dragons. It had simply gone wrong. Present at the time were King Aegon V, the pregnant Rhaella, a septon, pyromancers, maesters, and even the Ghost of High Heart and Jenny of Oldstones, both witchlike figures. It seemed to satisfy the formula of king's blood, a pregnant woman and fetus, and priestly sacrifice. Only death could pay for life. But in the end, the most crucial one, Rhaegar, was not sacrificed. The attempt failed, and House Targaryen was badly weakened. The number seven was also not quite right. Three seemed to be the correct number. The dragon has three heads.
"Find those dragon eggs." Gendry stroked the Firebinder ring on his hand. Ordinary methods naturally would not work. But this ring, if it truly followed the power of fire, might have a chance of finding dragon eggs by sensing the gathering and tides of flame.
Those dragon eggs could not all have been destroyed at Summerhall. Besides, the Targaryens had possessed far more than seven. So where, now, were those beautiful dragon eggs hidden?
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