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The journey across the sea remained long, but the return trip could truly be called fruitful, with the ships traveling at double speed.
Viserys Targaryen, fifteen years old, was a king and a Dragon Rider.
Youth is a good companion for the journey home; this age was not particularly remarkable among Dragon Riders of the past, as many had their own dragons at just a few years old.
But now, the reappearance of dragons was a true miracle.
The greatest wealth Viserys had gained was naturally the golden-red dragon Sunfyre he had taken with him, the miniature purplish-red dragon nest, four dragon eggs from the Blood Cult leaders, House Darys, and one purple-gold dragon egg from the Fire Party leaders, House Belaerys.
Viserys had not managed to find the lairs of Dragonlord families like House Belaerys, but the legacies of the individual Dragonlord Orryon and Dragonlord Darys were exceptionally bountiful.
By comparison, the gold and single greatsword of valyrian steel left behind by House Lannister seemed very meager.
The Valyrian steel armor, weapons, rings, bracelets, books, and glass candles used by top Dragonlords were considered priceless treasures in any era.
The House Targaryen had once been a middle-to-lower branch of the forty Dragonlord families; Aenar the Exile had sold all the family's assets in the Freehold and Sothoryos due to his daughter's prophecy of the Dreamer.
When they left, they only took two valyrian steel swords, Blackfyre and Dark Sister, some ancient Valyrian scrolls and books, and five dragons.
Even during the heyday of the Freehold, not every Dragonlord Family had the wealth or power to purchase Valyrian steel armor, which was worth enough to buy a kingdom.
The gains from Viserys's adventure suddenly elevated the House Targaryen's reserves to an extremely high tier.
Inside the captain's cabin, a fine log table was placed in front of Viserys.
Most conspicuous on it was the volcano-shaped dragon nest, based on dried black stone, decorated with purple and red gems, and featuring exquisitely crafted flame patterns.
Valyrian black stone is characterized by its dryness, while other greasy black stones are said to be made by the Deep Ones.
Viserys also placed the purple-gold dragon egg on top of the dragon nest.
The dragon nest seemed to possess a magical power, attracting the purple-gold dragon egg; the nest held the purple-gold dragon egg perfectly, and now this dragon nest artifact could be considered complete.
Using fire as a tool, this kind of dragon nest had the effect of gathering Fire Elements.
The Valyria of the past was filled with many ornamental columns, platforms, and dragon nests engraved with fire-gathering arrays, but after the fall of Valyria, no one mastered this craft.
Viserys looked at those five exquisite dragon eggs, like the most perfect works of art; even as fossils, they were glistening with flowing light.
"What about the previous dragon eggs of the House Targaryen?" Viserys was very puzzled.
Even a single fossilized dragon egg could be exchanged for at least one large merchant ship; such high value should not have all vanished without a trace.
Historically, the House Targaryen had never lacked dragon eggs.
According to records, dragons could lay at least five eggs in a clutch.
After Aegon II of the Greens restored his rule, he attempted to hatch dragons in King's Landing; the dragon eggs he brought from Dragonstone after Sunfyre died were the seven most promising ones, all of which were living dragon eggs.
At that time, the dragon eggs were stored in the cellars and crypts of Dragonstone, under strict guard.
Aegon II also excluded those dragon eggs that had turned into fossils due to the passage of time.
"Dragonbane" Aegon III had also invited nine mages from across the Narrow Sea to attempt to hatch dragon eggs; rumor has it that nine dragon eggs were used that time.
As for "The Unworthy King" Aegon IV, that lecher, after spending a night of passion at the castle of House Butterwell, he left all three of the lord's daughters pregnant, and afterwards, he gifted a dragon egg to Lord Butterwell.
Even about thirty years ago, Viserys's closest great-grandfather, "The Unlikely King" Aegon V, used seven dragon eggs in the Tragedy of Summerhall.
The House Targaryen's inventory must have been much larger than seven.
The once-numerous dragon eggs had now all seemingly vanished into thin air, which was indeed suspicious.
Viserys was only seven years old when he left King's Landing, and he knew very little about the secrets of the House Targaryen.
He hadn't even managed to get a single fossilized dragon egg, let alone the cellars and vaults where the dragon eggs were hidden.
"Where is my companion dragon egg?"
Logically, as a family tradition, Viserys should also have had a dragon egg as a companion gift, but there was none; otherwise, no matter how urgent the flight, he would have brought it with him.
After Aerys went mad, neither the "The Spider" Varys, whom he trusted most, nor Stannis Baratheon, who was currently enfeoffed and stationed at Dragonstone, knew the whereabouts of the dragon eggs.
Otherwise, with a large batch of fossilized dragon eggs being so expensive, how much gold and grain could Stannis have exchanged for them?
It is more likely that the Summerhall crisis came suddenly, and Aegon V took the location of the hidden dragon eggs to his grave; neither his son King Jaehaerys nor his grandson King Aerys knew of it.
"I will wait for the arrival of this magical tide, yet I lack the family's dragon egg vault." Viserys's long, strong fingers stroked the fossilized dragon egg, its beauty not inferior to the finest enamelware.
Legend says that Dragonstone hides dragon eggs, and Viserys also felt that Dragonstone was the most suspicious place for hiding them.
He would just have to wait until he launched a counterattack on Dragonstone to search it carefully using Fire Magic.
However, the House Targaryen didn't have that many bloodlines now, so even eight or nine eggs would be enough.
Even if three or four hatched, Viserys still had two female Dragon Riders.
Leaving the remaining dragon eggs to his heirs would not be a problem, so Viserys put this question to the back of his mind for now.
In the far North, the raven's dragon Brynden, the wolf-skinned dragon Jon, and the maester's dragon Aemon—could they still be considered True Dragons?
Viserys expressed doubt; he felt that only the old maester was still worth trusting.
When he had time, he still wanted to contact the old maester.
Viserys had absolutely no feelings for Jon Snow; as the saying goes, if you don't visit for three years, even kin are not close.
Moreover, that romance between the dragon and the wolf was indeed the beginning of the fall of the House Targaryen.
As for the corpse-like Bloodraven, that Half-man, half-tree thing, he had long since seen the vastness of heaven and earth, not limited to human kingship, perhaps harboring the universe and the legacy of the Old Gods.
Although the future of the House Targaryen would be a restoration of the old Royalists, Viserys had long determined to reshape a new kingdom with his own will, breaking apart what needed to be broken, and merging what needed to be merged.
As for those three distant relatives, Viserys's current attitude was to let them be; everyone has their own destiny.
Viserys looked at the two new suits of Valyrian steel armor hanging on the wall, as bright and magnificent as the mithril armor of Greygalis.
The soap-colored valyrian steel scale armor of the Fire Party's Orryon, "Dragon Protector," had ancient characters on it that read: "I am the Dragon Protector; no mortal can truly master me. To use this armor, blood and fire are the path."
There was also the golden valyrian steel plate armor of the Blood Cult, "Shield of Light," which read: "Darys, head of the Blood Cult. Blood for fire, blood to control fire. Shield of light, armor of the Dragonlord."
The craftsmanship of the armor had long been lost, and furthermore, the sorcerers had used blood and fire to repeatedly engrave arrays onto it; the effort put into making the armor was far greater than that of ordinary valyrian steel weapons.
Viserys wiped his armor; in fact, this armor didn't need wiping at all, but maintaining the armor brought a huge sense of satisfaction.
Soon, this world would see a brand new, spectacular scene.
Whether it was Orryon or Darys, they would surely be happy to see how he severely punished those traitors.
Back then, after the fall of Valyria, some princes and magisters of the Free Cities had led the masses in a sneak attack, ambushing the Dragonlords who were on vacation and recuperating.
This was also a major reason why Orryon had run back to Valyria; the hostility surrounding him was too intense.
Viserys turned his attention back to the other items he had brought back from the ruins, those treasures from the heyday of Valyria.
First was Orryon's Dragon Horn "Dragonbinder," the purple longsword "True Dragon," the golden lance "Long Summer," the valyrian steel imperial crown embedded with purple gems "Emperor of Valyria," and Orryon's Ring of Fire and fire bracelet.
There was also a twisted golden glass candle belonging to House Belaerys, broken glass lenses, gems, and so on.
The sorcerers of the ancient Freehold used this kind of glass candle to allow their vision to traverse mountains, oceans, and deserts.
Sitting in front of such candles, they could enter others' dreams to display illusions, or communicate across half the world.
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
This is the fifth glass candle. Legend has it that a thousand years ago, before the Doom of Valyria had descended, four glass candles were brought from Valyria to The Citadel.
They were one green and three black, all long and twisted. They should be of the same category as Viserys's, though Viserys's is certainly superior in quality.
Beside the legacy of Dragonlord Orryon lay the treasures left by Dragonlord Darys.
A ancient bronze box filled with the "seeds of fire" of life, the valyrian steel greatsword "Dominator," the blood-red longsword "Secret Blood," the warhammer "Roar of the Angry Dragon," the Ring of Blood, some blood gems, and the red crystal dagger "Blood-Driver."
That Valyrian chariot also lay obediently beside them.
Aside from the legacies of the two great Dragonlords, there were the valyrian steel arakh, the Unicorn rapier "Legend," and the battle-axe "Frenzy" that Viserys had obtained from the ruins of Orryon's legion.
The morningstar "Blazing Star" and shield "Raging Tide" obtained from the Undying of Qarth, a tattered map, and the greatsword "lightbringer" obtained from House Lannister.
Viserys gave the arakh to Argos Blackwood, the first to accompany him through life and death.
Argos named the curved blade "Dragon's Bounty," forever remembering King Viserys's kindness.
As for the valyrian steel morningstar "Blazing Star," Viserys decided to gift it later to Roland Rykker, the first instructor and knight to join him.
The rest included some valyrian steel daggers; these small items could be rewarded individually, while larger ones would be awarded based on merit.
valyrian steel weapons are like a cheat—sharp and lightweight.
Indestructible on one hand and light on the other, they allow the user to far surpass opponents in speed and power.
However, even among valyrian steel weapons, there are differences.
Speaking of top-tier weapons, no house can rival Viserys's armory.
Due to material, craftsmanship, and the integration of magic circles, weapons vary in rarity. One can distinguish the difference with a glance.
Those imbued with magic circles that gather blood and fire, using more materials, or having strange shapes are naturally more precious and scarce than ordinary weapons.
Valyrian steel armor had never appeared before.
Most valyrian steel weapons in Westeros are relatively bastard swords. valyrian steel greatswords like Ice and lightbringer use solid materials; if melted down, they could produce two Valyrian steel arming swords.
Viserys scanned his gathered spoils with satisfaction; the weapons were perfect and would soon make an appearance on the battlefield.
Viserys opened the map at hand, looking at the clear territorial lines of Essos's powers.
Some of his supporters were still overseas; Dorne and Martell had secret channels.
Some minor lords who had been punished by Robert or were dissatisfied with the status quo had long been wailing that they had waited too long for the royal army; they were loyal.
Most of Viserys's supporters were still far away, while his enemies were right before his eyes.
"From the Dothraki Sea to the Valyrian Road at Ghoyan Drohe, an iron curtain spanning the continent of Essos has fallen. Behind this line lie numerous Free Cities and Dothraki tribes—Tyrosh, Lys—these people are increasingly gathering under the banner of opposing me. If we add the Baratheons west of the Narrow Sea, I face enemies on at least three fronts," Viserys analyzed.
This was not only a war between the revived Andalos and the Free Cities, but also a war between slavery and abolitionism, and between maritime and land trade routes.
However, the better news was that Viserys's enemies would not swarm him all at once, given the ocean barriers and differing customs.
If they really wanted to coordinate and send troops together, there would be endless bickering and red tape.
Normal nations also found it hard to ally with the dothraki; they had always despised the tyroshi and were untrustworthy.
Some kings of the Sarnori paid with gold, slaves, and opportunities for pillaging to hire the dothraki to attack rival city-states, thereby inviting disaster.
After several city-states were destroyed and the fortress city of Mardosh fell, the remaining Sarnori kings finally woke up and united against the dothraki, only to suffer a crushing defeat.
Therefore, the dothraki would be the first opponent to attack the Andalos.
Viserys looked again at the Free Cities surrounding him on the map; Braavos and Pentos would remain neutral. Braavos was conflicted, and Pentos had no army.
The aid Braavos gave him was a trickle; the Iron Bank hadn't even provided a formal loan. It was angel investment Viserys had pulled from the likes of the Black Pearl.
Braavos was also quite surprised by the rapid rise of Viserysburg.
As Viserys's power expanded, the internal attitude of the Braavosi toward him became increasingly calculated.
With Viserysburg as the origin, Viserys not only took in destitute Andals and Rhoynar but also opened the doors of asylum to runaway slaves.
The newborn nation of the Andals looked vibrant, no longer showing signs of sinking into chaos.
The nobles only wanted to see the possibility of a Targaryen and a Baratheon fighting it out, with the Iron Bank collecting money from both sides, but they certainly did not want to foster a land power right at their doorstep.
Besides, in terms of distance, Andalos was closer to Braavos; even the former enemy Volantis was half an ocean away.
Even if Braavos was a top-tier maritime power, their vassals, minerals, and fresh water all came from the surrounding land.
Moreover, Viserys was no longer the exile with fledging wings in their Secret City, but a true king, a dangerous and cunning warrior with an invincible reputation.
He even dared to slaughter the dothraki; no one could ensure that Viserys would counter-attack Westeros as they expected, rather than turning back to strike Braavos and Pentos.
Under various conditions, internal divisions were rapidly forming in Braavos; the optimists remained optimistic, but the pessimists and hostile factions could no longer be ignored.
Although the situation was ambiguous, at least the Sealord and the Pentos Magisters had no intention of sending troops with the Dothraki, remaining objectively neutral.
The Volantene were dissatisfied with Viserys poaching their people and taking in runaway slaves, but they were beyond reach.
The closer The Three Daughters held a very hateful attitude toward Viserys. Originally, the Andalos' lands were such a good source of slaves, and now that was cut off.
Myr's attitude was relatively mild; after all, the Myrish combat effectiveness was indeed poor.
But the slave owners of Tyrosh were always warlike, and Lys also needed Andalos and Rhoynar as a source of bed slaves—they couldn't exactly go and fetch ugly people like the Ibmen.
So on the two southern fronts, the Lysene might provide some military force alongside the Tyroshi for a siege.
Viserys marked Tyrosh and Lys with two crosses as envisioned enemies of the war.
Looking around, Viserys actually found two countries that were relatively friendly to him.
Qohor and Norvos, rare inland city-states and a pair of anti-Volantene allies, were also relatively friendly toward Viserys.
These two city-states were among those with fewer people; Norvos had a cold environment, and Qohor was the City of Iron.
Norvos even had Doran's wife who could act as an intermediary.
Mellario of Norvos came from the Norvosi nobility and had a lot of influence.
It was mainly due to aligned interests; the city-states were in a weak position after the inland trade routes were cut off.
The Qohorik are very wealthy now, but before the rise of the Dothraki, when the Kingdom of Sarnor had not yet fallen, they were ten times wealthier.
Had the Unsullied not risked their lives to defend it back then, Qohor would have long since fallen, slaughtered to the last by the Dothraki.
Qohor and Norvos also hated the Dothraki to the bone; other maritime city-states at least had sea trade.
They only got trade routes that had plummeted in volume; who knows how much hatred they harbored.
"Win over the Black Goat and the bearded priests," Viserys decided. These city-states could cut off the Dothraki's retreat.
But both of these city-states were the type that wouldn't act without seeing a clear advantage, fearing the enemy like tigers; unless Viserys gained a strategic advantage, they would never strike.
As for the last city of the Sarnori, Saath, with its twenty or thirty thousand people, it wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between teeth, but Viserys would still try to win them over.
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