The tail of the Red Comet streaked across the night sky like a blood red wound torn through the deep heavens. The whole comet was crimson, and its long tail was bright enough to light up nearly half the sky.
The Red Comet would remain visible for a long time. Everyone in the known world would notice this omen and give it their own interpretation.
Near the collapsed pyre in the courtyard of the Magister's mansion in Myr, the three little dragons frisked about, puffing wisps of white smoke from their noses and mouths. After the black dragon let out a hiss, the other dragons followed with cries of their own.
"So the formula still works," Gendry thought. Only death can bring life.
The blood of kings, Viserys and Khal Drogo. The blood of an unborn child, likely Viserys's child. And probably the blood of a sage as well, which meant that some witch was very likely dead too. And there had also been a woman who loved Viserys.
"Viserys was never going to escape death, but dying by his own hand is better. At least Dany will not have to bear the name of kinslayer." Gendry could only call it a twist of fate. He had wanted to spare Viserys, but the Beggar King had become obsessively mad over the crown, and his mind had long been unstable.
"The Red Comet. Dragons!" Qyburn rubbed his eyes, unable to contain his excitement. Dragons. Living, breathing dragons. Dragons were the most mysterious creations of magic. For those obsessed with magic, nothing could compare to them. The sight of a dragon was joy itself.
First came the Red Comet, then the dragons hatched. The Red Comet and dragons were clearly bound together. Qyburn glimpsed a possibility in it. Perhaps his own magical research also had a chance of succeeding.
The black and red dragon leapt from Gendry's neck to his shoulder, and Gendry carefully settled the hatchling into his palm.
The little dragon's body shone black, with scarlet streaks running through its black scales, echoing the colors of its wings and horns. Its eyes too were a deep ember red. Dragons usually bore more than one color.
"I knew I had not judged wrong. The Lord Commander will carry the fortune of this age." Qyburn stared at the dragon in Gendry's hand. Since the dragon had chosen Gendry, he would become the first child of House Baratheon to ride a dragon, bastard though he was.
Gendry gazed at this magical creature, the most wondrous species in the world. The black dragon was the largest of the three hatchlings, and the fiercest as well. Being able to command a dragon was the foundation for building something entirely new.
When the hatchling spread its wings, their span was three times the length of its body. Each wing was a sheet of delicate translucent skin, vivid in color and stretched taut between long, slender bones. If one looked closely, it became clear that a hatchling was made up mostly of neck, tail, and wings.
"My lord, that is Balerion. He has been reborn," an Unsullied cried out at the sight of the black dragon. Even in the Free Cities and among the Dothraki, the tales of the Black Dread were known.
The green dragon and the white and gold one stayed by Daenerys's side. Daenerys had never seen creatures so beautiful and strange. How she wished her brother could have seen them once, but that could never be. She was the last Targaryen.
Dany nestled against Gendry's chest, while the three dragons curled around them. The biggest and fiercest, the black dragon, had claimed the best position, and the other two hatchlings did not dare challenge him.
"They've only just hatched," Qyburn said softly. "One swing of a longsword or a curved blade would kill them. And many people will come to steal dragons. Dragon eggs are worth more than gold and jewels, and living dragons are beyond price. There are only three in the entire world, Prince, Princess. Anyone who sees them will covet them."
"They belong to Gendry and me. As long as we live, no one will take them from us," Dany said. They had come into the world through her faith and her tragedy, through Gendry's courage and strength, through her betrothed Gendry's battles, through the death of Khal Drogo, through Viserys, through Viserys's unborn son, and through the death of Viserys's wife.
"No one will, Dany." Gendry tightened his grip on Daenerys's hand.
"What happened today is not to be spoken of outside this place for the time being," Gendry told them all.
"Yes, Prince," the Unsullied and the handmaids answered.
Whether man or woman, Gendry only had to look into their eyes to know they would submit to him forever, today, tomorrow, and always. It was not only his authority, or the gratitude they owed him, but the sincere devotion in their hearts.
Gendry trusted their loyalty, but some things could not be hidden.
After the Red Comet, the tide of magic would slowly begin to rise, and magic itself would grow stronger. Some sorcerers would foresee the coming of dragons and set out in search of them.
[Bloodlines: Blood of the Storm (Activated, Awakening ↑60%), Blood of the True Dragon (Activated, Awakening ↑10%), Blood of the First Men (Not Activated), Blood of the Rhoyne (Not Activated), Blood of the Green Hand (Not Activated)]
Gendry felt his blood stirring. His strength and physique had grown stronger again, along with his power, speed, agility, alertness, and even his five senses. Gendry sensed that the Blood of the Storm had nearly reached the limit of what a mortal body could bear. Any further improvement would perhaps touch on the very origin of House Baratheon, and the will of the Storm God.
"The Blood of the True Dragon. It has activated." Gendry clearly felt the awakening of that bloodline, and with it an inexplicable bond and pact between himself and the black dragon. From this day on, his house too would become a new house of dragonlords.
By blood, House Baratheon was the great house closest to House Targaryen. Not only because of the rumors about a bastard founder, but also because Robert's grandmother had been the last Targaryen Princess to marry outside the family.
"Prepare some roasted lamb for our dragons," Gendry said.
"Yes, Prince."
At the sight of the roasted meat, the young dragons darted and scrambled for it like snakes. Like humans, dragons ate only cooked meat.
"It seems my brother was right. Only dragons and humans enjoy cooked food."
"Dany, I think we need to move them somewhere else," Gendry said to Daenerys.
"Mhm." Daenerys nodded. Dany would not allow the young dragons out of her and Gendry's sight for even a moment. Only that seemed to keep them calm.
Gendry had already chosen the place. For now, the dragons would stay with them. Once they grew bigger, he would mark off an estate near Wolf's Den and have utterly loyal soldiers and servants guard it day and night.
"Gendry, look, they're still smoking," Daenerys said.
Dany was fascinated by their smooth scales. Dragon scales gave off heat, and on cold nights it was especially obvious, as though their whole bodies were steaming.
"They really are marvelous," Gendry said, watching the dragons. They also ate an astonishing amount. As long as the meat was roasted, the hatchlings could swallow several times their own weight each day and steadily grow stronger.
"Master Qyburn." Gendry motioned him forward. "This is when the young dragons are at their most vulnerable. You'll have to take extra care."
Gendry was not particularly worried about dragon thieves who relied on brute force alone. Far more dangerous were the strange and secretive ones, those mages who carried the smell of death.
"I understand, Prince," Qyburn said with a nod.
"My love, the dragons have been born anew. They should have new names," Dany said.
"Let's call the black one Balerion. Perhaps the black dragon truly is Balerion reborn." Gendry stroked Daenerys's hair. After thinking it over, he decided this was the most imposing name.
Dragon names came in all kinds. Some were named for Valyrian gods. The three dragons of conquest, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes. Others were named for their form or their nature, like Silverwing, Moondancer, Sunfyre, and Cannibal.
"As for the other two, I want to name them after the kin the gods took from me. The green one will be called Rhaegal, because my brave brother died by the Green Fork. The white and gold one will be called Viserion. Viserys was cruel, weak, and cowardly, but he was still my brother. His dragon will fulfill his wish," Daenerys said.
"Princess, Viserion is fine enough. But Rhaegal..." Qyburn reminded her softly. "Back then, many men died for your brother, and many others fought for King Robert. Rhaegal would only stir up old hatred."
"Master is right. Then let him be called Vhagar. I've heard Vhagar was that color too, yes? Balerion's companion, the mother of dragons. I'll bear many children too." Dany kissed her betrothed on the cheek.
"All right, my little princess. The birthing bed is a battlefield even more dangerous than war, so that will have to wait until you're older," Gendry said gently to Daenerys.
Daenerys was breathtakingly beautiful, of course, but for a little girl to bear children was far too dangerous. He had no such tastes. That would be pedophilia.
Like the red rose and the white rose, from this day on there would be no more Targaryen and no more Baratheon. He would have a new house.
Once everything in the courtyard had been dealt with, Gendry escorted Daenerys back to her bedchamber. After so much grief and joy tangled together, Daenerys needed rest, and the two little dragons stayed with her the whole time.
Gendry had originally wanted the black dragon to stay with Dany as well, but Balerion preferred rubbing himself against Gendry. In the end, Gendry had no choice but to keep Balerion with him.
Gendry and Qyburn walked together into the council chamber of the Magister's mansion, where the Handsome Man was already waiting. There were only the three of them.
"The defenses need to be tightened even further. Word of this must not get out," Gendry instructed Qyburn.
"Prince, our men and soldiers already hold this region firmly, and now you have the favor of dragons as well. Perhaps. I think it is time for us to march on Westeros," the Handsome Man said.