While the chase between Earl Reyes and Marquis Frey was in full swing, Daniella had already arrived with her fleet at Runestone City, House Royce's stronghold in the Vale.
From Runestone City, crossing the Narrow Sea northeast would lead to Braavos. However, Runestone City's bay conditions were not ideal, and its prosperity was far from that of Gulltown to its south.
Daniella came to Runestone City to spend the night for two reasons: firstly, she wanted to see if Daemon's wife, Lady Rhea Royce, was truly as unappealing as described. After all, her sister, Laila, Daniella's personal maid, could be considered an ice beauty, so her biological sister shouldn't be too bad!
Secondly, Daniella was quite interested in House Royce's Bronze Runes Armor.
According to House Royce, this bronze armor could protect the wearer from any harm, but historically, countless people wearing this armor had died.
The current old Earl Royce was the guardian of Daniella's cousin, Lady Jenny Arryn, the Duchess of the Vale, and the Defender of the Vale.
After learning that the Highland Clans of the Brightmoon Mountains were also involved in the incident, Daniella sent a secret letter to the old Earl.
The Highland Clans were primitive tribal groups living in the Brightmoon Mountains in the Vale; their sizes and strengths varied.
The formation of these clan tribes originated during the Andals' invasion of the Vale.
The First Men who refused to submit to the Andals retreated into the Brightmoon Mountains, multiplying in the mountains and forests, forming various clan tribes.
Therefore, they retained many First Men traditions, similar to the wildlings Beyond the Wall—raiding and being unruly.
They did not recognize the rule of the Eyrie and were independent of the Seven Kingdoms and their economic and political systems.
They were fragmented into tribes of varying sizes.
They had no concept of gender differentiation; some women were also skilled raiders.
They were a poor people, with weapons and armor of very poor quality.
They survived by raiding nearby villagers, and if they encountered nobles without guards, they would attack them as well.
They would seize all food, weapons, and women they could.
Highland Clans residents rode small horses, which were very suitable for traveling on narrow mountain roads, which was the fundamental reason why Vale Knights had never been able to completely eliminate them.
The Brightmoon Mountains had complex terrain, where the cavalry could not utilize their advantages, while the Highland Clans, riding small horses, were like fish in water in the mountains.
For thousands of years, they had been a major hidden danger to the Vale Kingdom; every winter, countless Vale villages were destroyed by the Highland Clans' plundering.
So, upon hearing the news that these wildlings had gone to the Riverlands, the Vale Knights naturally would not miss this opportunity to encircle and annihilate them.
Because Earl Royce had always stayed in the Eyrie to educate Jenny Arryn and handle Vale affairs, the true mistress of Runestone City was now Princess Rhea, Daemon's wife.
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness!"
Princess Rhea was indeed somewhat robust, standing about one meter seventy-five centimeters tall, which was definitely "outstanding" among women in this world.
Although she was of average appearance, she had a heroic demeanor and a good temperament, definitely not the ugly woman Daemon had described.
"Hello, Lady Royce, I'm afraid I'll be disturbing you tonight!"
When Rhea heard Daniella call her Lady Royce instead of Princess Rhea, a smile immediately appeared on her stern, cold face.
"Not at all, it's House Royce's honor! I also want to thank Your Royal Highness for taking care of my sister, Laila."
"My sister and I usually speak quite bluntly and are not very likable.
But from Laila's letters, I can clearly feel that she is very happy living by your side."
Perhaps because of Laila, Rhea was very enthusiastic about Daniella's arrival.
After dinner, she even took Daniella to visit House Royce's Bronze Armor.
"They all say these armors can protect the wearer from any harm.
However, it seems that few of those in House Royce who wore the Bronze Armor came to a good end!"
Although the Bronze Armor in front of her did not look as ancient as the legends claimed, it was indeed filled with strong magical fluctuations.
A peculiar energy slowly flowed around the ancient runes on the Bronze Armor.
Daniella gently caressed the ancient runes, and suddenly felt that a power within her seemed to be instantly stripped away by these runes.
This caused the flame rune on Daniella's brow to immediately become scorching hot, startling Daniella into quickly removing her hand from the Bronze Armor.
"Your Royal Highness, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Daniella's sudden movement naturally caught Rhea's attention, so she immediately asked with concern.
Still shaken, Daniella quickly took a deep breath, then replied,
"Nothing, I just felt that these Bronze Armors seemed to contain some kind of magical power."
"You felt it too?"
When Rhea heard Daniella say that, her eyes immediately lit up.
"The first time I touched the Bronze Armor, I had a strange feeling.
It was as if something inside me was stripped away by it, so I rarely touched them after that."
"It's a pity no one in the family believed me, I didn't expect Your Royal Highness to have the same feeling."
"Most of those in House Royce who wore this Bronze Armor did not come to a good end, which might be related to this mysterious power.
So I think these Bronze Armors seem to be somewhat ominous."
As a member of House Royce, Rhea could naturally say this, but Daniella dared not casually agree.
After all, the Bronze Armor was House Royce's most prized treasure.
And the forging technique had long been lost, so losing one meant one less, although they still had a considerable stock.
This Bronze Armor seemed to possess an immortal quality, just like Valyrian armor.
However, the immortality of the Bronze Armor clearly had little to do with its material, but rather with the function of the runes on it.
So, Daniella, under the pretext of prayer, went to the Godswood in Runestone City.
House Royce was one of the few great noble houses in the Vale with First Men blood, so the castle still retained a Godswood and a huge Weirwood, though this Weirwood did not have a carved face.
Daniella first used fire magic to brand her own outline onto the Weirwood.
Then, she gently caressed the trunk of the Weirwood and began to examine memories related to the Bronze Armor runes.
As time rewound, Daniella finally saw how the Bronze Armor was forged and how those runes were branded onto it.
"It's blood sacrifice magic again?"
"It seems House Royce lost the blood sacrifice method, so these Bronze Armors could only autonomously absorb the energy of those who wore them to compensate for their own energy loss."
"No wonder those people from House Royce didn't have good outcomes; it turns out their destiny energy was depleted!"
After returning to her room from the Godswood, Daniella took out her Valyrian Armor, then summoned the flame in her palm and slowly branded ancient and complex runes onto the armor.