The Rise of Valyria - House Belaegon

The roar of the three dragons was so powerful that it shook the room they were in. The trio standing beside the dragons in the trembling room fell on their backsides due to the force of the tremor. Even if they were in pain, they didn't care. They were too busy gazing in awe at the majestic appearance of the dragons. Anogrion's blood-red eyes, Aeloris's emerald-green eyes, and Vendieron's golden-yellow eyes shone like jewels in the dimly lit room. The dragons' hot breath had warmed the air, filling it with the scent of burnt flesh and sulfur. And now, the three dragons, responsible for this atmosphere, were busy devouring the rat carcasses laid before them by the trio.

Vaegon took a deep breath and cautiously approached his dragon, slowly extending his hand toward Anogrion's head. Sensing Vaegon's movement, Anogrion, who had been feasting on the rats, turned his head slowly toward him. Face-to-face with the dragon, Vaegon froze, his outstretched hand trembling. Inside, he muttered, "Don't be afraid, Vaegon. If you show fear, Anogrion won't accept you, and you'll never escape this cursed place. You've already bonded with him once, so there's no need to fear."

As Anogrion gazed at Vaegon, his eyes gradually softened. Vaegon's raised hand began to go numb, but Anogrion leaned his head toward it. As the dragon's head approached his hand, a low, contented rumble escaped Anogrion's throat—though "rumble" might be an understatement, as the sound was so powerful that Vaegon nearly lost his balance and fell. While Vaegon and Anogrion rekindled their bond, Vaelar and Darion, watching from the sidelines, gathered courage from Vaegon's success and approached their own dragons.

Vaelar, having finished placing the rat carcasses before Aeloris, stepped closer to the emerald-eyed dragon, who regarded him with a haughty stare. As he reached out to touch Aeloris's head, he said, "I'm here, you arrogant lizard. Aren't you going to greet your closest friend?"

Aeloris responded with a low growl and a weak shake of his head, causing Vaelar to lose his balance and fall backward to avoid the dragon's approaching snout. Sitting on the ground, Vaelar glared up at Aeloris's proud eyes and stood up, brushing himself off. "You traitor, is this how you treat your oldest friend after so long apart?" he said.

Aeloris continued to stare at Vaelar with his usual arrogance, but as Vaelar drew closer, the pride in his eyes gave way to warmth. This time, Aeloris leaned his head forward willingly, and Vaelar placed his hand on the dragon's head. "I missed you too, old friend. We're together again, and this time, we won't part until death," Vaelar said.

Meanwhile, Darion had reached his dragon, Vendieron. As Darion extended his hand toward Vendieron's head, the golden-eyed dragon didn't hesitate and immediately leaned into his touch. Darion placed his hand on Vendieron's head and said, "We've reunited, my friend. I swear by the skies we've flown, the moon that lit our nights, and the stars that guided us, we'll never part again. And we'll carve our names into history with golden letters."

Darion's oath caught the attention of Vaegon and Vaelar. Vaegon remarked, "Darion, it seems you've become quite the poet. When did you come up with such beautiful words?"

Darion, still stroking Vendieron's head, replied, "Those words aren't mine. I heard them in the other world we lived in."

Vaelar, who had fallen on his backside earlier and was still rubbing his sore rear, asked, "How do you remember things from the other world? Didn't we just agree that we'd forgotten everything?"

Darion thought for a moment before answering, "At first, I thought so too. But then I realized that while I can't remember the things that defined me in that world—like my name, my family, my nationality, or where I lived—I can still recall the books I read, the songs I listened to, the knowledge I gained, and the things I watched. They don't affect me as deeply, but they're still there."

His words brought a contemplative silence to the room. For a few minutes, Vaegon, Darion, and Vaelar fell into deep thought, each trying to recall what fragments of their past they could still grasp. The silence was broken by Anogrion's irritated growl.

The sound snapped the trio out of their reverie, and Vaegon suddenly remembered the task Elenya had given them. "Damn it!" he exclaimed. "Guys, we got so excited about the dragons that we forgot the mission Elenya entrusted to us. We need to leave this place and meet with those lords as soon as possible."

Vaegon's words brought the other two back to reality. Vaelar, who had been absentmindedly stroking Aeloris's head, said, "You're right, Vaegon. But I have a question. Let's say we strike a deal with the lords Elenya brings. How are we going to get these people out of here? That's why I'm in favor of just us going. But if you think going alone isn't an option, we could always throw three women on the dragons' backs and take off. After all, we need to continue our bloodline, don't we?" His tone was slightly mocking as he finished his sentence.

Vaegon responded to Vaelar's words, "You stupid bastard! Didn't you want to marry Princess Rhaenyra before? Of course, you can marry more than one woman, as long as it doesn't exceed four. But that's not the topic of discussion right now. As you said, how are we going to take these people with us when we leave this place?"

Darion answered Vaegon's question, "Brother, first of all, I'm curious—what stopped you at four? Secondly, guys, remember those cages our father loved so much, the ones he spent a fortune on to keep his wyverns? Couldn't we use those?"

Vaelar, reacting to Darion's words, said, "First of all, brother, we might not be able to do that. Remember the dagger Vaegon found earlier? It had succumbed to time and rusted. I recall the cages were made of iron. They might have corroded by now. Secondly, you bastard, you're talking about my desires, but do we even know what time we're in? What if we're in a time where Rhaenyra is already dead or hasn't even been born yet? Have you thought about that?"

Vaegon replied to Vaelar's question, "Brother, can't you use the brain you were given? Didn't Elenya say we're in the 223rd year after the Great Doom? Aegon the Conqueror invaded Westeros 114 years after the Doom of Valyria, right? Subtract 114 from 223, and you'll find out what year we're in. We're roughly 109 or 110 years after Aegon's Conquest. That means Rhaenyra is about 12 or 13 years old, and we were 16 before we passed out. So, yes, you can go and marry Rhaenyra, you idiot. And as for the four women, as you said, we need to continue our bloodline. Think about it—if each of us marries one woman, we can form alliances with three families. But if each of us marries four women, we can form alliances with twelve families. And in these times, there are more than three but fewer than twelve noble families we can ally with. This way, we can form alliances with all of them without leaving anyone out." After answering Vaelar and Darion, Vaegon slowly drew Deathbringer from his belt and extended it toward Vaelar, saying, "Vaelar, didn't I just tell you not to call me a bastard?"

Vaelar, swallowing hard as he looked at Deathbringer, said, "Vaegon, I forgot what you said. I apologize for calling you a bastard. Please, put that sword back in its sheath." Meanwhile, Aeloris, displeased by his rider being threatened, let out a low, menacing growl. Anogrion responded with an even louder roar.

Darion was about to intervene to prevent the two dragons from fighting in this cramped room when Vaegon sheathed Deathbringer. Grinning, Vaegon said, "Brother, I accept your apology. Don't let it happen again."

Darion, annoyed by Vaegon's actions, shouted, "You call me crazy, but I think you're the mad one, Vaegon. Do you realize what you just did? You almost caused the dragons to fight in this small room and got us killed. And Vaelar, aren't you going to say anything about the four women? Remember, you're the one who wants to marry Princess Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra isn't a sheep; she's a dragon. And the wrath of dragons is devastating!"

Vaelar, who had been shouted at by Darion, replied, "If Rhaenyra is a dragon, am I not a dragon too? Vaegon's reasoning convinced me." Then, dramatically, he added, "Our marriage is only for the benefit of the house; our feelings are irrelevant. I'm sacrificing myself for the future of my house."

Vaegon, still grinning and ignoring Darion's outburst, said, "Brother, why are you so upset? I still stand by my idea. And if we get out of this cursed place, I'll tell you which houses I'm thinking of allying with and why, if you want."

Darion nodded for him to continue, and Vaegon said, "First, the Targaryens—no one would oppose them. We don't have a dragon egg, so we'd either have to get one from the Targaryens, which is doubtful, or marry a female dragonrider from their house. Princess Rhaenyra fits that description perfectly. But if this world is different from what we know, and there are other surviving dragonlord houses, we could marry into them instead."

"Second, there's House Velaryon. They have a massive fleet. If Laena, rider of Vhagar, is alive and unmarried, we could marry her, gaining not only an older but still formidable female dragon but also a wealthy house with a powerful navy."

"Third, there's House Celtigar. They don't have the wealth of the Velaryons or the dragons of the Targaryens, but they still possess considerable riches and a fleet. Despite being Valyrian, they're undervalued by the Targaryens, which increases the likelihood of them joining us. This would give us a fleet and skilled shipbuilders."

"Fourth, there's House Lannister. The reason is simple—they're extremely wealthy, and their blonde hair means any children we have with them would likely look Valyrian."

"Fifth, there's House Tyrell. Their lands are incredibly fertile, and they have a large population, which would provide us with ample food and the most important thing needed to rule—people to govern."

"Sixth, there's House Hightower. Located in the Reach, they have abundant food and a large population. They also have a fleet. But most importantly, they control the Citadel, the source of all knowledge in Westeros and where maesters are trained."

"Seventh, there's House Tully. After the Reach, they have the most fertile lands, ensuring plenty of food production. They also likely have a larger population compared to other regions. I'm not entirely sure about that, but where there's plenty of food, there's usually plenty of people."

"Eighth, there's House Martell. Their lands produce goods with high commercial value, which would allow us to buy these goods cheaply and sell them for a profit, amassing a fortune."

"Ninth, there's House Arryn. Despite being in a valley surrounded by mountains, their lands are fertile, and they have a fleet. One of their vassals also produces scented candles. And lastly, there are the mountain clans, descendants of the First Men, who would provide us with people to govern."

"Tenth, there's House Stark. There's only one reason for this: I like them."

"Eleventh, there's House Greyjoy. Before you interrupt, let me say this—I know they're untrustworthy. But they live on islands made of iron, and they're the best sailors in Westeros with a strong fleet. This would allow us to trade with the wildlings beyond the Wall—the First Men—or even bring them to our lands as part of our population."

After Vaegon's lengthy explanation, Darion said, "Vaegon, weren't you planning to build a city made up solely of Valyrians? From what you're saying, it sounds like you want to use the First Men. Have you changed your mind?"

Vaegon, whose mouth had gone dry from talking, first asked, "Brothers, do you have any water with you?" When Vaelar and Darion shook their heads, he continued, "Let's ask Elenya to bring us some water after we talk to these lords. Anyway, as I said, my goal is still to build a city made up solely of Valyrians. But since we won't find enough Valyrians, I plan to make the heir's seat of power a Valyrian city, and if their numbers grow over time, the capital will be a city of pure Valyrians. But a kingdom can't be built on a single city—we'll need other people too. That's where the First Men come in."

As Darion was about to ask another question, Vaelar, growing impatient, interrupted, "Gentlemen, when are we going to meet Elenya? And how are we going to get our dragons out of this room?"

Vaelar's words made Darion and Vaegon think about how to get the dragons out. After a moment of thought, Vaegon grabbed one of the horns on Anogrion's head and said, "Anogrion, lift me up." As Anogrion raised his head, Vaegon used the horn to climb onto the dragon's thick, long neck. Carefully, he walked down to the space in front of Anogrion's wings, where a saddle would normally be but was now empty, and sat down. Vaegon's actions caught Darion and Vaelar's attention. Darion teased, "What are you planning, Vaegon? Are you going to use your dragon to make your own door?"

Vaegon, sitting atop Anogrion, replied to Darion's mocking words, "Brother, you're so clever, you know that? As you said, I'm going to make my own door." He then pointed to the nearest wall and commanded, "Dracarys, Anogrion!"

At Vaegon's command, Anogrion unleashed his golden flames, streaked with white veins, at the wall. Inspired by Vaegon's actions, Vaelar and Darion followed suit, shouting, "Dracarys, Aeloris!" and "Dracarys, Vendieron!" ordering their dragons to join in.

Aeloris, at Vaelar's command, added her golden flames laced with silver veins to the inferno. Vendieron, at Darion's command, contributed his own golden flames. The combined fire of the three dragons melted the wall, creating a hole large enough to pass through in less than half an hour. The hole was massive—about 70 meters wide. When the dragons stopped, Vaegon, still on Anogrion, called to Vaelar and Darion, "Gentlemen, I'm going first. Following Darion's idea, I'll head to where our father kept his wyverns and see if there are any intact cages there. Don't be late in following me." He then pointed to the hole in the wall and commanded, "Soves, Anogrion."

At Vaegon's command, Anogrion walked toward the hole. When he reached the edge, he leapt down without spreading his wings. Vaegon shouted, "Soves, Anogrion! Soves!"

Anogrion ignored Vaegon and continued to fall. Vaegon kept yelling for the dragon to fly. Finally, Anogrion obeyed, spreading his wings and flapping them rapidly. He soared past the hole in the wall and stabilized himself in the air. Drenched in sweat from the terrifying experience of his first flight, Vaegon angrily shouted, "Anogrion, this isn't the time for games! I almost died, you damned bastard!"

Anogrion responded to Vaegon's words with a roar. After the dragon's roar, Vaegon, who had just been shouting angrily, said, "I'm sorry, Anogrion." Then, pointing toward the distant eight-story manor, he added, "Anogrion, fly to the wyvern garden. Let's see if any of the cages are still intact."

As Anogrion flew toward the designated location, Vaelar and Darion, who had been left behind, mounted their dragons. Now, they were arguing over who would go through the hole first. Vaelar said, "Darion, I'm the oldest. I should go first."

Darion replied, "So what if you're a few minutes older than me? That doesn't give you the right to go before me."

Vaelar was about to respond when he saw Anogrion, with his massive 110-meter-long body and over 200-meter wingspan, leap through the hole and head toward the wyvern garden. Stunned by Anogrion's size, Vaelar's jaw dropped. Seizing the opportunity, Darion pointed to the hole in the wall and commanded, "Soves, Vendieron!"

At Darion's command, Vendieron approached the hole and, like Anogrion, leapt down with his wings closed. Darion, terrified as Vendieron plummeted, couldn't speak. Sensing Darion's fear, Vendieron spread his wings and began to fly, following Anogrion.

Left alone in the room, Vaelar shouted angrily, "Darion, you opportunistic bastard! I'll beat you when I get my hands on you. And Aeloris, what are you waiting for? Fly, now!" Aeloris responded to Vaelar's commanding tone with a low growl, prompting Vaelar to say, "Alright, alright. I get it. Soves, Aeloris. Soves. Let's catch up to those bastards."

Aeloris, following the new command, approached the hole in the wall. Like Anogrion and Vendieron before him, he leapt down with his wings closed. As Aeloris plummeted, Vaelar, gripped by fear and frustration, shouted, "You damned lizard! Fly, damn it! We're about to become paste! We're heading to the wyvern garden, not hell, you arrogant bastard!"

Aeloris let out a haughty roar in response to Vaelar's shouting, then spread his wings and began flying toward the wyvern garden, following the others. Once Aeloris stabilized, Vaelar saw Vendieron ahead, with Darion on his back. Vendieron's massive body, over 100 meters long with a wingspan exceeding 180 meters, loomed in the sky. Seeking revenge, Vaelar said to Aeloris, "Aeloris, fly past them at full speed. Let's show them what happens when you don't listen to your elders."

At Vaelar's command, Aeloris began flapping his wings faster, rapidly closing the distance to Vendieron. As Aeloris flew past Vendieron, he swished his tail, adorned with silver-gray veins on white scales, to startle Darion. After the taunt, Aeloris sped toward the wyvern garden, leaving a furious Darion behind.

When Vaelar arrived at the wyvern garden, Vaegon, standing beside Anogrion, looked at Aeloris, who was 100 meters long with a 190-meter wingspan, and said, "Vaelar, do you realize how dangerous your little stunt was? What if Vendieron had taken your prank as an attack and gone after Aeloris? You idiot!"

Vaelar was about to respond when Vendieron, with Darion on his back, arrived at the wyvern garden. Darion, still on Vendieron's back, shouted angrily at Vaelar, "You stupid bastard, you almost got me killed! I'm going to beat the hell out of you!"

Vaegon, watching the two still on their dragons, shook his head in exasperation and said, "Boys, we've changed worlds, but we haven't changed your habits. Stop fighting and let's check these cages. We'll take the three largest intact ones and bring them to the meeting place with Elenya and the lords."

At Vaegon's words, the two stopped arguing and climbed down from their dragons, using the wings as slides. The trio—Vaegon in the lead, Vaelar in the middle, and Darion at the back—left their dragons behind and walked toward the large garden where their father had kept his wyverns in cages.

After about five minutes of walking, they reached what their father had called the "wyvern garden," which was essentially an open-air prison where wyverns were kept in cages, separated by size. The garden was filled with cages of varying sizes. The smallest cage, which belonged to a brown-bellied wyvern, was 15 meters long, 12 meters wide, and 8 meters tall. What surprised the trio was that there were no wyvern bones in the cages, only dust accumulated over time. This reminded Vaegon of the dragon skeleton they had placed in front of the statues at the top of the tower the previous day. As they continued walking, Vaegon said to Vaelar and Darion, "Guys, we forgot to take Raeyes' bones. You know how important dragon bones are—they're essential for making Valyrian steel and healing potions. Vaelar, do you think we could make the healing potion and Valyrian steel using wyvern bones and blood instead?"

As Vaelar pondered Vaegon's question, Darion interjected excitedly, "I'm not sure about the potion, but I think we could make Valyrian steel. It would be of lower quality than what we make with dragon bones, and it would take some time to figure out the right proportions to prevent it from melting during the final heating stage with dragonfire. But once we can make Valyrian steel with wyvern bones and blood, we could give it to the lords under our command. We could use these second-tier weapons as symbols of nobility and distribute them only to houses directly loyal to us. We could even sell this second-tier Valyrian steel to amass an enormous fortune. But we'd have to be careful not to let the wyverns go extinct."

As Vaelar listened to Darion's words, he pondered the possibility of creating the potion and replied in an uncertain tone, "Vaegon, I can't promise that the potion can be made with wyvern bones and blood. I don't even know how to make the potion myself. I only have the formula. Once I gain enough experience in potion-making, I'll try what you suggested, but you'll need to provide me with test subjects."

Hearing Vaelar's request, Vaegon laughed and said, "What could be easier than that? Brother, we're going to Sothoryos. You can use the savage cannibals there for your experiments."

Vaegon's words surprised Vaelar and Darion. They hadn't thought of that. Darion said, "Brother, didn't you say you wanted to establish a kingdom? If you give Vaelar the wild people of Sothoryos to test his potions on, won't they become our enemies? And didn't you say you need people to rule if you want to be king?"

Before Vaegon could respond, Vaelar interjected mockingly, "And they call me the fool. Brother, didn't you listen to Vaegon when he listed the houses we might ally with? Most of those alliances are about gaining people we can use. And with his earlier words, he proved he doesn't intend to rule the people of Sothoryos. But I'm also curious, Vaegon, why don't you want to use them?"

In response to Darion's question and Vaelar's words, Vaegon explained, "There are two reasons. First, they eat human flesh, which makes it hard for me to see them as human. Second, they don't intermarry with outsiders. And you know that if the conquerors don't mix with the local population through marriage, they'll always be seen as outsiders."

Meanwhile, the trio wasn't idle. As they walked and talked, they inspected the cages they came across. They had moved past the smaller cages and now reached the ones housing the swamp wyvern and the spotted wyvern. These cages were 50 meters long, 70 meters wide, and 20 meters tall. As Vaegon finished speaking, the trio spotted a skeleton inside one of the cages. They ran to the cage and found the skeleton of an 18-meter-long wyvern with a 36-meter wingspan. Darion asked curiously, "Brothers, do you know what kind of wyvern this is?"

Vaegon replied, "Darion, if you think about it, you'll realize this is a swamp wyvern. Its size matches that of a swamp wyvern. Spotted wyverns can't grow larger than 15 meters, and their bones aren't this thick. Also, shadow-winged wyverns, even at this size, wouldn't have bones this thin."

After answering Darion, Vaegon drew Deathbringer from his belt and began striking the cage door to break it open. While Vaegon worked on the door, Darion pulled an empty storage bag from his backpack to hold the wyvern skeleton. After about a minute, Vaegon broke the door open. Inside, Vaelar drew his sword, Blue Shadow, from its sheath and approached the skeleton's head. He said to Darion, "Brother, do you think this skeleton will fit in your bag? If not, I'll break it into pieces."

Darion replied, "I'm not sure, but just in case, break it in half." Following Darion's instruction, Vaelar began striking the skeleton with all his might. After less than five minutes, the skeleton split in two. Vaegon and Vaelar lifted one half and struggled to place it into Darion's bag. Once both halves were inside, the trio exited the cage.

As they left, Vaelar asked curiously, "Guys, why are we going further? We can use most of the cages here and back there. And why did we only find a wyvern skeleton in this cage after checking so many others?"

Darion answered Vaelar's first question in the same mocking tone Vaelar had used earlier, "Brother, since we don't know how many survivors there are, we're heading for the largest cages. The biggest cages, for the shadow-winged wyverns, are at the deepest part of the wyvern garden. They're 80 meters long, 100 meters wide, and 40 meters tall. And judging by the condition of the cages we've seen, we might be able to use those."

Vaegon answered Vaelar's second question, "Vaelar, we don't know why it's like this. But it's probably our mother's fault. She used to feed some of the wyverns here to her dragon, Aeksion, just to annoy our father. Remember how much she enjoyed irritating him? Every month, she'd specifically feed his favorite wyvern of the month to her dragon."

The mention of their mother brought tears to the trio's eyes. As they walked, Vaegon wondered what had happened to his fiancée and cousin, Deanora. According to his memories, she had gone to see her dragon, Raeyes, just five minutes before they passed out. But they hadn't encountered any skeletons on the stairs. Where had Deanora's bones gone? As Vaegon pondered these thoughts, they slowly reached the deepest part of the wyvern garden, where the shadow-winged wyverns were kept.

The trio looked at the 14 cages lined up side by side. This was the deepest part of the wyvern garden, where the shadow-winged wyverns were housed. Their small numbers were due to the difficulty of capturing such large creatures alive. Their father had even traded two Valyrian steel swords just to fill these 14 cages. The reason their father valued wyverns so much was that dragons grew faster when fed wyvern or firewyrm meat. No dragonlord would refuse a large dragon. House leaders only allowed their most trusted and skilled members to feed their dragons this way. Of course, those who didn't want to spend so much on wyvern meat could hunt in Sothoryos. Over time, wyvern and firewyrm meat became symbols of wealth and were served at feasts.

Their father, Aelarys, used wyverns to display his wealth and power. The 14 shadow-winged wyverns were his most prized possessions. He had placed them far from the other wyverns and fed them the meat of other wyverns to make them grow even larger. As the trio reminisced, they inspected the cages and found that six of them were still usable.

Even though six cages were usable, they could only take three. Vaelar asked, "Guys, we can use three cages now, but what about the sick man Vaegon wants to heal?"

Vaegon replied, "What can we do? Since it's my idea, I'll carry him. In fact, I'll take any other patients as long as they don't exceed 70. You two just make sure to pack enough food and water for the journey to Volantis and then Sothoryos."

Darion said, "Vaegon, fine. You carry the patients, Vaelar, you handle the food, and I'll carry the people. If they don't fit in mine, we'll put them in your cage."

Vaelar nodded in agreement. Vaegon then said, "Alright, let's head back to our dragons, grab the cages, and go meet Elenya."

With Vaegon's words, the trio began walking back toward their dragons, with Darion in the lead, Vaelar the middle, and Vaegon at the rear.