Chapter 179: A Stag Acquired in the Kingswood
272 AC, by the banks of the Blackwater Rush, before the Kingswood.
Over a hundred tents were pitched, and thousands of common folk came to watch.
Some came for the spectacle, while others were hawkers and peddlers, selling goods to the hunting party.
It was a grand hunting scene, with bright banners fluttering in the wind, shining armor, and tall warhorses adorned with gold and silver.
Three dragons circled in the sky—silver, purple, and black—but they made no sound, for fear of startling the prey. Moreover, the dragons flew high, merely tiny specks in the blue sky, so they wouldn't frighten the game.
Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's dragons were unique; this was a fact known throughout King's Landing.
The three dragons—Silver Emperor, Balerion, and Vhagar—grew quickly and robustly, completely unlike the decaying state of the last dragons. They were full of vitality and fierce in battle, requiring no chains or steel spikes. They grew much faster than typical young dragons and were too proud to bother anyone.
The three dragons currently slept in the Dragonpit camp, moving only at the Prince's command, requiring only the Dragon Guards to provide them with food. They always attacked together, as if they were a single three-headed dragon. These three dragons had much more stable temperaments compared to previous dragons. However, no one dared to provoke them; dragons were, after all, dragons.
Prince Rhaegar's retinue stood in neat formation, first the noble knights, followed by the elite and battle-hardened Dragon Guards, and then the boisterous, dazzling young soldiers.
Most magnificent were the armors worn by the warriors. Rhaegar's black scale armor, Ser Barristan the Bold's milk-white armor with a cloak as white as fresh snow, Ser Joffrey Arryn's blue armor and cloak, and even young Jaime Lannister wore simple golden armor.
Thirteen-year-old Rhaegar Targaryen rode a black steed, his party like dragons and tigers. He was the most dazzling presence—the striking Silver Dragon and the victor of King's Landing.
Rhaegar galloped ahead, followed by Ser Barristan, Cesar, Ser Joffrey, and his squires Myles Mooton and Jon Connington. The page, Jaime Lannister, was too young and rode a smaller horse as a special allowance.
Rhaegar, clad in black scale armor, led the charge. People now recognized the Prince as the strongest warrior of the younger generation, a dazzling and fierce dragon whose reputation on both sides of the Narrow Sea already rivaled that of his ancestors.
The front of Rhaegar's armor was adorned with a silver three-headed dragon emblem. He did not wear a helmet—it was too hot. Instead, he wore a black-and-red jeweled steel circlet to restrain his short silver-gold hair.
At his waist hung the Valyrian steel blades Orphan-Maker and Shadowcleaver, and his horse carried a dragonbone longbow and arrows. His close attendant, Myles Mooton, also carried arrows for him, as the dragonbone bow required larger shafts.
It was a pity that the sword Blackfyre and Aegon the Conqueror's crown were lost and difficult to find; otherwise, Rhaegar would appear even more radiant. These relics symbolized legitimacy and kingship, leaving Rhaegar with lingering regret.
People praised Prince Rhaegar for his inhuman beauty and martial prowess, like Aegon the Conqueror reborn. The people of King's Landing often recalled the Conqueror's glory, for he had once appeared much the same when he landed in Westeros.
Rhaegar felt that ordinary black scale armor was heavy. Unfortunately, he lacked the means to obtain Valyrian steel armor, which likely only remained in the ruins of the Smoking Sea.
Legend held that such armor was as black as smoke and as light as silk, its edges gleaming red-gold and etched with runes and ancient patterns. Such a treasure was priceless.
Rhaegar already possessed Shadowcleaver, Orphan-Maker, and the True Dragon spear. With Valyrian steel armor, it would form a perfect set.
Rhaegar and his party first engaged in falconry in the marshlands along the bay.
Rhaegar's white falcon—gifted by Lord Jon Arryn—caught several wild ducks. Ser Barristan's falcon caught a heron. The birds used by others were clearly inferior.
Training falcons, raising hounds, and breeding horses were favorite luxuries of noble youth. Rhaegar himself was not fond of such pursuits, but hunts served as group training and cohesion.
He galloped through the Kingswood, treating the hunt as a simulation of war—vanguards, reinforcements, and flanking maneuvers.
The forest was vast, but luck was poor. Only rabbits and pheasants appeared.
In hunting, deer, wolves, wild boars, wild oxen, and shadowcats were prized. Among them, the stag was the most honored—symbol of kings and lords alike.
Rhaegar rode ahead, his horse unmatched, with only Ser Barristan keeping pace.
In a grassy clearing before a dense thicket, he saw something unusual.
A black stag faced a massive wild boar.
The stag was magnificent—sleek, muscular, with vast antlers and a coat like satin.
The boar was monstrous—covered in coarse black hair, tusks long as a man's arm, a creature of brute fury.
"What a beautiful deer," Rhaegar said.
The boar turned and charged.
Rhaegar calmly drew his bow.
The arrow struck its eye.
It screamed and rushed forward blindly.
Ser Barristan fired—striking the other eye.
"Careful, Your Grace!"
Rhaegar dismounted.
The beast thrashed wildly, a demon in pain.
Rhaegar moved like lightning, his blade slashing across its throat and piercing deep.
Blood flowed. The boar collapsed.
"Even great warriors have limits," Ser Barristan said.
Rhaegar laughed. "Fear not. This is a knight's duty."
The stag had not fled.
It watched.
Rhaegar approached slowly.
The stag stepped forward… and bowed its head.
Rhaegar gently placed a hand upon its antlers.
An omen.
A stag bowing before the dragon.
The others soon arrived.
They saw the fallen boar, the noble stag, and the prince beside it.
"Congratulations, Your Grace!" Ser Joffrey Arryn said. "An auspicious sign!"
The men cheered.
Then—
An arrow cut through the air.
Rhaegar raised his sword and deflected it.
The stag fled into the forest.
Silence fell.
"Poachers!" Ser Joffrey shouted. "Seize them!"
The Kingswood was royal land.
Poaching here was no small crime.
It was punishable by death.
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