"Lothor, bring out the armored dummies!" Gendry ordered. Training dragons had to be done one step at a time. Dragons were willful by nature; if they were not trained properly now, they would become far more troublesome later.
"As you command, Prince."
Several squires set up dummies in the courtyard, stuffing old armor and helmets with torn clothes and padding, propping them upright with wooden poles, and giving them oak shields and weapons in their hands.
The black dragon Balerion beat the air with his black wings. The green dragon Vhagar bent his head back, ready to breathe fire. The white dragon Viserion roared, gray smoke rising from his pointed snout.
"Balerion! Dracarys!" Gendry spoke the word as if awakening the dragon's muscle memory.
The black dragon Balerion spat a twisting stream of red-black flame. It struck one dummy at once and swallowed it whole, making the figure seem to swell within that scorching, domineering black-red fire. The flames started from the top, burning downward and consuming everything.
In an instant, the old cotton padding vanished in the flames, and the oak and steel shield broke apart with it. The steel armor, however, proved much more stubborn. The dragons' flames still needed time to grow stronger.
"Be brave." Gendry gestured for Daenerys to step forward. She wore a purple dress that set off the violet of her eyes.
"Vhagar, Viserion," Daenerys called warmly, forgetting all her fear. "Dracarys!"
The green dragon and the white dragon shrieked, then spat out two different colors of flame. One was an orange-yellow storm threaded with green light, belonging to Vhagar. The other was a pale golden pillar of fire mixed with blood-red and orange, belonging to Viserion.
The two spears of flame struck their dummies, and the air filled with smoke, dust, and the smell of fire.
Balerion tried to hook his claws into the partially melted black steel armor and carry it off, but the suit was still too heavy for a dragon of his size.
Bang!
Balerion angrily lashed his long tail against the armor. The half-melted suit broke apart as the wooden pole snapped, and then the dragon soared high into the air.
"That's Balerion for you," Gendry praised. The black dragon had the keenest instincts for killing and hunting, the finest of the three.
A dragon's attacks relied mainly on fire at range. Only in special circumstances would it use its other weapons, claws dark and hard as steel, teeth sharp as swords, and a tail like a long whip.
Everyone watched the dragons' performance, Barristan and the others included. Though the dragons were still young, their Dragonfire already had considerable killing power. They were growing too quickly, and their flames were too strong.
Ser Barristan watched with mixed feelings. Dragons overturned the rules of war. There was no reasoning with them. In the Field of Fire, three great dragons had burned four thousand soldiers to death. That kind of casualty ratio was simply unnatural.
When the dragons finished their fire display, they flew back to Gendry and Daenerys. The young dragons beat their leathery wings, the membranes creaking with each flap, while their flames lit the courtyard.
"Well done, Balerion. Good lad." Gendry stroked the black dragon's red horn. Balerion roared, snorting hot breath.
The dragons stretched out like giant serpents. Their bodies were the size of foals, but their wingspans were far larger. First came the long-horned dragon head, then the long neck, then the rest of the body. A dragon's neck and tail were especially striking.
Only after the flames had dimmed somewhat did Gendry walk into the center of the fire. In truth, he had already grasped some of the methods of fire magic, and with the Firekeeper's Ring, he could draw in the flames. Still, he needed to check the exact strength of the Dragonfire.
Gendry glanced at the three ruined dummies. The old cloth padding and oak shields had been reduced to ash. Though parts of the armor had not melted, the flames had heated it red-hot, enough to roast a knight inside like meat in a tin. Once the dragons grew to the size of full-grown horses, melting brass and steel would be much easier.
Balerion followed in Gendry's footsteps, his eyes glowing like blood-red lava.
"The dragonfire is still lacking a little heat," Gendry said.
"They are still too young," Qyburn added. "As dragons age, their defenses and the intensity of their flames continue to strengthen. Once they reach the age of Balerion and Vhagar, they can melt steel and stone."
Yes, stone. Gendry thought for a moment. Stone fortresses were what dragons feared most. Never mind Dragonfire, even bombs would struggle to pierce those heavy layers of rock.
And Casterly Rock, unfortunately, was a massive stone.
"It is time for the knights and warhorses to enter, once the smoke and sulfur stench thin out a bit," Gendry said. The courtyard of Dragonstone was still filled with that foul smell, enough to make breathing difficult. As the dragons grew larger, the fire and smoke they produced would only become thicker and more suffocating.
A little while later, Lothor and Robar appeared in black armor, while guard knights wearing studded vests and wool trousers led their warhorses over. This was the first meeting between dragons and mounted knights, and the experiment was rather exciting.
Just as Lothor and Robar were about to mount and enter the yard, the warhorses smelled the sulfur and stink rising from the courtyard below Dragonmont and began to tremble, refusing to go in at all. Once they saw the dragons' shadows, they turned and fled, utterly ignoring the knights' commands.
Balerion let out a mischievous roar, a sound enough to make a hundred lions tremble. Then the green dragon and the white dragon roared as well. Vhagar and Viserion followed, their voices rolling like thunder.
The warhorses were terrified out of their wits. They tore at the ground with their hooves and bolted in the opposite direction. The reserve knights, well trained, used nets and ropes before they finally brought the two runaway horses under control.
"Even small dragons are enough to frighten lions and tigers," Qyburn sighed.
"A dragon appearing on the battlefield is a disaster for both knights and horses." Ser Barristan looked at the poor warhorses as the knights led them back to the stables in a sorry state. In that brief moment, the horses had seemed to go mad.
Gendry looked at the noisy, lively crowd in the courtyard. Even a lower supernatural creature like a Direwolf was enough to drive warhorses wild, let alone dragons, the highest of their kind.
"Come here, good lad, Balerion."
The dragon came to Gendry. Balerion, the proudest and fiercest of the black dragons, had been trained well by Gendry. He flew over obediently, his leathery wings stirring a faint breeze.
Gendry examined Balerion closely. The dragon landed on his arm, his scales like black jade, radiating heat as hot as sun-baked armor. Though Balerion looked about the size of a foal, a dragon's wingspan was three times its body length. Once his wings spread open, he already looked imposing.
Because dragonbones were light and hard, and because a dragon's body was mostly neck, tail, and wings, a dragon weighed less than an ordinary animal of the same size.
The dragons would need to grow at least four or five feet tall before they could carry him in flight. By then, they should be able to carry Daenerys.
"Eat." Daenerys picked up a bowl of salted meat and tossed strips into the air. The dragons stretched out their long, serpentine necks and began snapping the pieces up midair.
Balerion also darted away from Gendry and quickly swallowed a piece of salted meat in the air.
"It is time to give the Lannisters a little surprise," Gendry said, looking at Balerion. Once the dragons grew a little larger.
Casterly Rock was like a natural barrier, but other castles did not have such protection.