291 AC, Viserys Hills, White Keep.
On the white marble balcony of the Kings Tower, Viserys toyed with the black fish bones in his hand, a gift from the rhoynar fishermen to the King.
The rhoynar worshiped the Rhoyne River, but since they lived off the river, anything they deemed not fitting the criteria of the giant turtle and crab deities was simply eaten and enjoyed.
These days, Viserys had become a bone-eater, spending quite a lot on dragon egg and fish bones.
Although the bonus effects from attribute improvements were slowing down, like a curve slowly flattening, there was at least positive feedback.
Viserys was essentially mining several sources at once, and his talent was already very good.
Now, not only did he have training sources, but also "special talent" sources, and his progress could be called rapid.
"I need to get something more potent," Viserys thought. If the best effects came from dragon heads and broken dragon egg, that was easier said than done.
The scarcity of dragon bone went without saying. While plenty of fish bones were sent from all directions, "bones of the river god" that received the "blessing of the Rhoyne River" were extremely rare.
Actually, thinking about it, this was normal. With so many fish, shrimp, and crabs in the Rhoyne River, not every aquatic creature learned to draw upon the water elements of Mother Rhoyne.
Viserys skillfully finished the last piece of fish bones, and he was preparing to set out on a new expedition.
This time, it was not to clear out the rhoynar or dothraki bandits, but to go and see the ruined city of Gohod.
The bandits entrenched on the lands of the Andalos and the adjacent Rhoyne River basin had been scared out of their wits by the nickname "Bloodthirsty Dragon" Viserys. These people began to change direction, fleeing towards places closer to the Norvos hills, the Qohor forest, or escaping to the Dagger Lake.
Viserys even received a diplomatic letter from the bearded monks, but thanks to the connection with the wife of Prince Doran, the people of Norvos were still easy to deal with.
Moreover, as an inland Norvos of hilly city-states, its strength was relatively inferior to other city-states, and it had no heart to confront the Andalos head-on.
["Vaerys Targaryen, the Fate-Reverser" has devoured the enchanted item "bones of the river god", reward: basic attribute improvement, Strength increased →, Agility increased →, Toughness increased →]
"Not bad." Viserys was very happy; the last bite was satisfying.
It was just like buying a lottery ticket; at least he got the odds right. The feeling of spending money was extremely comfortable.
In addition to the attribute improvement, Viserys also saw new notifications on his panel.
This made him even happier, after all, Viserys's panel had been silent for a while. It was normal for upgrades to slow down as his attributes improved.
["Vaerys Targaryen, the Fate-Reverser", you have completed the initial accumulation of water elements, gained talent: Water Element Affinity, fate axis fluctuates, activated profession: Water Channeler.]
Viserys's spending had yielded results, but he certainly hadn't expected the first talent to arrive not as a Fire Channeler, but as a Water Channeler.
Come to think of it, noble marriages go back and forth, and many are various bloodline mixtures.
It seems the dragon bone content wasn't enough, and fish bones were easier to obtain after all.
All fear comes from insufficient firepower. As long as the attributes are filled enough, it will definitely be activated.
[Talent (Water Element Affinity): Traveling through thousands of worlds, water is the source of life. Water Element Affinity brings the gentleness of water, the resistance of water, and the sharpness of water. (Note: The effect is best when used in the Rhoyne River basin...)]
Viserys looked at this talent, and this verified his speculation.
The water elements of the Rhoyne River are the same yet different from the water elements of the sea. The Rhoyne River and the Drowned God shroud different regions as abstract, elusive divine powers.
Mother Rhoyne is gentler, while the Drowned God is entirely synonymous with slaughter and cruelty.
[Profession acquired: Water Channeler (Introductory), the power of the great river endures, the most exquisite Water Sorcerer can awaken the dance of the great river.]
Viserys opened his palm, but it was useless. The level was still too low to make the water elements dance along.
As a rare magical profession, advancement is naturally much slower than traditional professions.
And Water Channeler should be a higher tier of Water Sorcerer. Thinking about it, it makes sense; Fire Mage has now become an insult used by those charlatans playing with wildfire, so Channeler is a higher grade.
If Viserys could activate Fire Channeler, then he would consider the possibility of heading to the Valyrian Ruins.
"Viserys, it's time." Rhaenys, wearing a silver dress, said to Viserys.
"You take good care of Viserysgrad. For internal and external affairs, there is Syrio, Ser Roland Lake, and Count Donal." Viserys rubbed Rhaenys's long hair.
"Rest assured." Rhaenys clenched her fists.
After Viserys put on his black scale armor, he went downstairs. The Red Viper, Argos, Hugo, and Gaelin were already waiting for him at the stables.
"I heard from the fleeing Dothraki that Khal Balbo, the father of Khal Drogo, is dead." The Red Viper said with a tone of mockery.
"He is dead. Khal Drogo is busy killing disobedient Khals and attacking other tribes on the grasslands." Viserys replied.
Nowadays, the Great Grassland is starting to become chaotic, even though the most powerful Khal Balbo was lucky enough to pave the way for his son.
The old Khal lived until Drogo was an adult and invincible, but the dothraki still like the way of seizing power by force.
Drogo still needs to continue to show his bravery and then achieve results.
This is also a window period for them. Once Drogo comes to his senses, the possibility of the Battle of Viserysgrad will become greater and greater.
If he chooses destruction to increase his prestige, Drogo will not ignore Viserysgrad, and the Tyroshi will send key intelligence.
"Set off!"
Viserys whipped his horse, the black and red dragon banners fluttered, and the cavalry in black armor were like stern sentries in a pine forest.
The cavalry swept down the hills, and then left from the gates of the Viserysgrad town below the hills.
"Our army! Long live the King!" The Andals and the rhoynar on both sides of the road had already given way under the command of the garrison, and they shouted the name of King Viserys.
The hoofbeats were light and nimble, and with the dothraki Sea already in a mess, Viserys and the others traveled to Gohod as fast as the wind.
When he saw the gentle green river and the desolate ancient city on the small hill, Viserys knew that Gohod had arrived.
This city was unremarkable; it was not a big city, just beautiful and outstanding, with emerald flowers, canals, and fountains.
The rhoynar had both the spirit of craftsmen and an artistic flair. They created a series of beautiful cities, only to be destroyed by the dragonlords in the end.
Canals, fountains, palaces—the destruction of the rhoynar and Valyria both brought about the decline of civilization.
The rhoynar were not only militarily strong, but they even had their own specialized water magic.
Viserys seemed to feel the water elements dancing in the air, a little bit of glimmer slowly converging towards him.
As an introductory "Water Channeler" and Water Sorcerer, it was best to rely on the Rhoyne River.
"This is Gohod." The rhoynar Gaelin said with great emotion. "An ancient and beautiful city, destroyed for a thousand years."
A thousand years later, today, only reeds and silt remain in the canals, and the pools of stagnant water in the fountains have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and flies.
The ruins of temples and palaces are scattered everywhere, only the intertwined old willow trees on the wasteland by the river are growing more and more lush.
"Let's clear this stagnant water." Viserys ordered. "This is a breeding ground for flies, very easy to bring bacteria. Never mind, I will join you."
People still live in the ruins, and the locals have cleared some small vegetable gardens in the weeds.
Hearing the sound of iron hooves coming from the small hill, most of them hurriedly fled back to the caves where they usually lived. Only a few bold ones stood in the sun, staring at the passersby with dull, indifferent eyes.
A naked boy, covered in mud below the knees, stared blankly at Viserys, perhaps never having met such a handsome young man.
The soldiers dismounted together and then cleaned the dirty water in the fountain pool with Viserys, filling it with soil.
The locals watched for a long time, and only after confirming that these people were different from the dothraki bandits did they feel a little relieved.
"Eat some candy." Viserys grabbed some candy from his arms and scattered it.
The naked little boy mustered the courage to walk over, then ran away like a flash.
Viserys walked on the ruins of the city and suddenly thought of an ancient poem. "When the King dies, the spiders spin webs in his palace."
Viserys had intended to reinforce the city defenses here, but the terrain was too low, and with the Valyrian Road not far away, there would be no peace unless the Dothraki were defeated.
Viserys looked at these rubble and dilapidated buildings; the civilization of the locals seemed to have degraded to the level of savages.
Without civilization and organizational power, let alone Water Sorcerers.
Viserys walked slowly in the city and suddenly felt a trace of anomaly.
Why was there a fluctuation of water elements felt at the palace a distance away?
"Move all these stones away." Viserys ordered, and then moved the trivial stones of the palace with the soldiers.
Then came constant moving, until they opened the floor under the rubble and discovered a long wooden boat that had long been shattered.
The deceased in the dust lay in the long boat, the bones inside had long turned to powder, but the shining treasures attracted everyone's attention.
"This is?"
"The treasure of the ancient rhoynar." The soldiers cheered, not expecting treasures in such a remote place.
"Your Majesty, this is your glory." Argos invited Viserys to act.
Fish-shaped helmet, silver scale armor, turtle-shaped shield, and the most precious treasure at the bottom of the box, a beautiful spear.
The appearance and color of the spear were a shining silver, still as new after the trials of time, and the material was neither stone, jade, nor ordinary iron.
Viserys felt that this might be like Dawn, a kind of magical meteorite.
"spear of gaelis?"
Viserys carefully examined the spear. There was a person's name on the spear blade.
The silver spear was like silver glaze, without any impurities.
The spear was ten feet long, the first three feet were a leaf-like spearhead, and the last seven feet were the spear shaft.
The protruding part of the spearhead was a silver giant turtle and a silver giant crab holding it out, the turtle and crab were the incarnations of the river god, the Old Man of the River, and the Crab King, with an embedded azure gemstone in the middle, incomparably vivid.
The spear shaft was painted with scenes of the Rhoyne River rapids, as well as special species of the Rhoyne River such as big fish, crabs, turtles, water plants, and reeds.
Viserys toyed with the spear, seeming to really feel the great river dancing. Using this relic of the rhoynar, it might feel better to summon the great river.
"It's a gemstone." Viserys looked at the blue gemstone; the density and hardness of the gemstone were higher.
Just like Melisandre, using rubies to store or operate magic.
The Red Viper's eyes went straight; what kind of luck is this?
Greygalis was a legendary rhoynar hero and Prince of Naath in history.
Greygalis drove the Long-Haired People away from where Norvos is now.
However, the rhoynar did not stay here; they liked the mild climate of the lower Rhoyne River and hated the gloomy sky and cold mountain winds of the hilly lands.
"How could this spear be here?" Viserys still had questions.