The older Dragonkeeper pointed with his staff toward the eastern slope of the volcano.
"Many wild dragons live over there. One of them, black as charcoal, is particularly vicious. It frequently steals food from other dragons, and when hunger grows unbearable, it will even devour smaller dragons. We Dragonkeepers don't go near that side."
Aemon immediately recognized the description.
"Are you talking about the wild dragon Cannibal?"
The Dragonkeeper saw Aemon's interest and nodded his head.
"All dragons hatched wild on Dragonmont are dangerous. They have never been tamed by the Targaryens and know nothing of living alongside humans. Unless fate itself binds you to it, you should never attempt to claim Cannibal."
Rhaegar seized the opportunity.
"Aemon, if you want a dragon to ride, why not just try Balerion directly?"
He said it casually, hoping there might be a chance to follow Aemon into the Dragonpit one day.
Aemon placed an arm around Baelon's shoulders.
"The Black Dread can stay for my brother. Didn't he punch Balerion in the nose when he was only two years old?"
"The Prince of Spring Dawn! Brave Baelon!" Rhaegar chimed in, copying Aemon's pose so the two of them leaned on Baelon from both sides.
Baelon suddenly crouched and lunged forward, slipping out from under them.
"When other people say that, it's praise," he grumbled. "When it comes from you two, it's pure mockery!"
"At least your nickname sounds decent," Rhaegar complained miserably. "They call me Hard Rod. What kind of ridiculous title is that?"
Baelon pointed at him and burst out laughing.
"Hard Rod has already been written into the royal records. You'll never get rid of it, hahaha!"
Aemon stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"It's not impossible to make people forget a nickname. A man can have many titles. My father has quite a long list."
In recent years people had begun calling the king Jaehaerys the Wise, praising him for restoring population and commerce and for building the Kingsroad.
Aemon himself had been named Prince of Dragonstone several years earlier. Though not formally codified in law, by Targaryen custom the title clearly marked the heir to the throne.
No one dared casually attach nicknames to him.
Most of the time Aemon maintained a solemn, dignified demeanor, only revealing his true self around his brothers.
Baelon, as the second son, possessed a far livelier temperament. His title, Prince of Spring, came simply from the fact that he had been born in spring, some flattering noble's invention.
After the three boys finished joking around, the older Dragonkeeper spoke again.
"If Your Highnesses wish to claim a dragon, Vhagar would be a fine choice. There are also two red dragons living on the western side of the volcano, Caraxes and Meleys. Both were trained in their youth by King Aenys and later by King Jaehaerys, so they understand certain commands."
Aemon smiled.
"The Dragonkeepers all say Caraxes is the most ferocious dragon among the younger generation, aside from the wild ones. I've even seen it snatch a fish straight from another dragon's jaws."
"So you've had your eye on Caraxes all along," Baelon said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he considered which dragon he might attempt to tame himself.
Every child born into House Targaryen, boy or girl alike, received a dragon egg placed in their cradle.
If the egg hatched, the dragon would share a natural bond with the child, growing alongside them until they eventually became a dragonrider.
Unfortunately, neither Aemon nor Baelon's cradle eggs had hatched.
They would have to choose a grown dragon on Dragonstone and tame it themselves.
Seeing Aemon's interest in Caraxes, Rhaegar explained:
"After Aegon the Conqueror died in 37 AC, rebellions broke out across the realm. The Hand of the King died alongside Harren the Red. Maegor, who had achieved victories elsewhere, was appointed the new Hand and was granted the sword Blackfyre by King Aenys."
"That same year, two dragon eggs hatched on Dragonstone. People saw it as a good omen, that the two brothers would rule the realm together."
The history of Westeros stretched back endlessly. Rhaegar was no maester of the Citadel, and he couldn't possibly know every story of every house.
But he had studied the histories surrounding Harrenhal, where he himself lived.
Jaehaerys rarely spoke to Aemon and Baelon about the dark days of Maegor the Cruel. Their generation lived in peace; it was better for them to forget that bloody civil war.
"Thirty-seven AC…" Aemon frowned. "So the dragons that hatched from those eggs were Caraxes and Meleys?"
Rhaegar nodded.
"Balerion and Vhagar existed before the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. The late Quicksilver was once Aenys I's mount. Rhaena was already flying Dreamfyre in 35 AC, so those four can't be them."
"Jaehaerys's Vermithor and Alysanne's Silverwing both hatched in their cradles, eggs placed there by Rhaena herself."
"That leaves only two dragons: Caraxes and Meleys. Even their names were chosen by your grandfather Aenys."
Rhaegar spoke with absolute confidence.
Because Rhaena herself had told him all of this.
The knowledge of raising, taming, and hatching dragons was the greatest secret of House Targaryen.
It was never written into books.
Instead, it passed orally from one head of the family to the next.
Aegon the Conqueror passed the knowledge to Aenys.
Queen Visenya passed it to Maegor.
Aenys passed it to Aegon the Uncrowned.
Both Aegon and Maegor had once been husbands of Rhaena.
After the realm fell into turmoil in 37 AC, Jaehaerys, then the second son, spent years fleeing across the realm from the age of eight. Alysanne had been even younger.
By the time the war ended in 48 AC, the Targaryen siblings who remained alive, Rhaena, Jaehaerys, and Alysanne, found that Rhaena possessed the deepest knowledge of dragons.
Much of what Jaehaerys knew today had originally come from her.
And after Rhaena became convinced that Rhaegar was a true dragonlord even greater than the dragonlords of old, she had taught him everything she knew about dragons.
Only the Valyrian language still remained a work in progress for him.
The older Dragonkeeper nodded, accepting Rhaegar's explanation.
"Caraxes is fierce. We call him the Blood Wyrm. If Prince Aemon wishes to tame him, he will need great patience."
"Thank you for the explanation," Aemon said politely.
He treated everyone with the same courtesy.
The Dragonkeeper returned the gesture with a salute.
"To answer the princes' questions is both the duty and the honor of a Dragonkeeper."
Rhaegar suddenly leapt forward and hooked an arm around Aemon's neck.
"I explained all that, why don't you thank me?"
"Thank you?" Aemon shouted angrily. "You broke my sister Alyssa's nose! The maester says it will be crooked forever. You ruined her face!"
He tried to pry Rhaegar's arm away but couldn't.
Rhaegar refused to admit fault.
"Training accidents happen! She overestimated herself and picked the wrong opponent!"
Baelon rushed over to help his brother, grabbing Rhaegar around the neck.
"This morning Alyssa came to us," Baelon declared. "She knighted both me and Aemon with a wooden sword, and ordered us to give you a proper beating!"
Rhaegar stared at them in disbelief.
"You two actually agreed?"
"Alyssa is our sister!" Baelon said while twisting Rhaegar's head sideways.
"And she's my aunt!" Rhaegar shouted back, tightening his hold around Aemon's neck.
Aemon, tall but still thin, couldn't break free.
"Baelon!" he yelled desperately. "Grab Rhaegar's legs and lift him!"
"Hey! Don't pull my trousers!"
Rhaegar grabbed his slipping waistband with one hand while still wrestling them.
"Fine! Two against one, is it?"
"I, Rhaegar, fear nothing!"
"Dragon-Subduing Ten Slaps!"
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