Chapter 138: Aegon's Decision
A majestic, silver-grey dragon roared as it dove from the clouds, the spray it kicked up from the ocean clearly visible even from a distance. In a moment, the dragon spiraled up from the sea, a tentacle still flailing in its mouth, trying to escape. But with a flash of fire, the dragon gulped down the large squid as easily as if it were eating wheat pasta, a specialty of the Reach, before spreading its wings and flying in another direction, not even sparing a glance for the Mouse.
"A brand new winged steed!" Dorco disregarded the rocking of the ship and lunged to the rail, shouting in surprise and joy. "I'm going to herd it back to Dragon Sand Great Khal's flock!"
"Dorco, that is King Aegon's property." Hugh recognized the dragon. He had seen this dragon soaring over King's Landing when he was young and knew it belonged to Ser Laenor Velaryon. Of course, Hugh didn't know the dragon's name. "Uh, in your Dothraki terms, that's a winged steed from King Aegon's flock, not Prince Draezell's flock."
"King Aegon? Is his flock as big as Dragon Sand Great Khal's?" Dorco asked doubtfully. "Does his flock have winged steeds like Vermithor? Oh, I remember now, King Aegon… is that hatchling next to Dragon Sand Great Khal? Isn't his flock just Dragon Sand Great Khal's flock?"
Hugh realized he couldn't convince or change Dorco's mind, so he stopped bothering with him and instead shouted to the lookout: "Elin, check for any other ships chasing the dragon."
"Yes!" Elin, sharp-eyed, indeed spotted a small, fast ship suddenly change course, speeding off in the direction the majestic silver-grey dragon had flown. The fast ship, disguised as an oarless sailboat, instantly extended dozens of long oars and quickly outpaced another merchant ship nearby.
"Marda, chase after them! Scholar, release the raven!" Hugh also lunged in the direction Elin pointed, shouting. The petite Marda rushed to the helm. "Adam, take the men and adjust the sails, we're giving chase." The cabin door creaked open, and a young scholar stumbled out. However, the scholar didn't release the raven; instead, he pulled out a blood-red dagger and slit the raven's throat. Strangely, not a single drop of the raven's blood fell onto the deck; instead, the dagger grew redder and redder, eventually disappearing in the scholar's hand. But no one noticed the scholar's strange actions; they were all focused on adjusting the direction of the large sailboat.
"Yes, Mother." Adam immediately took the sailors guarding the sails and adjusted the sail direction. The Mouse slowly turned, preparing to chase the fast ship.
On the fast ship, the captain, whose face was tattooed with waves and sailboats, knelt before Hogg Belarris and Ben Bunibal, trembling as he said: "Masters, we can't go any faster. We are just a small ship, we can't reach the speed of a hundred-and-fifty-oar or two-hundred-oar warship."
"Idiot, there's a ship chasing us from behind." Hogg kicked the captain over. Ben pressed Hogg's shoulder and said to the captain, who immediately prostrated himself again after being kicked: "Full speed ahead, chase that dragon, ignore the ship behind us."
"Ben, that's a Varezes Family sailboat. Even the Swan Ships of the Summer Isles and the Purple Sail Ships of those Braavosi slaves aren't as fast as them. Do you want to kill us?"
"What you and I are doing is already a beheading offense." Ben Bunibal motioned for the captain to quickly assign the oarsmen, then grabbed Hogg's collar: "Have you forgotten how Taraz died? Since we came to tame a dragon, then the dragon is our only target. As for the pursuers, as long as no dragon comes, just kill them."
Hogg pushed Ben away and straightened his collar. There were not only sailors on this ship, but also twenty Unsullied and twenty Tiger Cloak soldiers hidden below deck. To avoid alarming the various ports, they had to swim to the ship in an almost impossible place near Storm's End, a place where ships almost never stopped. The entire ship didn't even resupply at Tarth; instead, they bought supplies directly from a Volantene ship that was leaving port. Only then did they arrive smoothly in Blackwater Bay.
They had to be fast. As for the pursuers behind them, hmph, who would kill whom was still uncertain.
Dragonstone.
Caraxes roared as he descended from the sky. The slender, snake-like, blood-red dragon settled steadily on the long causeway outside the castle. Hearing the dragon's roar and arrival, Ser Robert Quince, the acting lord of Dragonstone, hobbled forward to greet him. The old ser was not only aged but also very fat, and reaching this point had already exhausted much of his strength. "Your Majesty, I have blockaded all the ports on Dragonstone. No unfamiliar ships have entered the harbor."
Daemon dismounted from the dragon's back, taking off his gloves as he walked over to Robert: "I'm hungry, and the dragon is hungry. Prepare food for us." Daemon had just finished patrolling Blackwater Bay on his dragon, but unfortunately, the chase between Hogg's ship and the Mouse only began after his patrol.
The Old Prince had unfortunately missed the dragon thief's ship.
"Your Majesty, the food is ready." Ser Robert leaned on the stone railing of the causeway, panting as he followed the regent. "Ser Alfred has taken the Dragon Guard to patrol Dragon Mountain. I can guarantee that today, we only saw Seasmoke go out to forage, and no other dragons."
"What about Sheepstealer?" Daemon asked. As an old dragon born during the time of Jaehaerys I, Sheepstealer, though not very large, was known on Dragonstone for its cunning, greed, and cruelty. Many shepherds on Dragonstone had fallen victim to it. This wild dragon had even flown to the Vale to forage, and by the time the knights of the Vale arrived, Sheepstealer had left behind only ashes and a completely incinerated mountain tribe.
"We haven't seen that old dragon." Lord Robert Quince recalled, confirming that none of the outposts he had stationed around the island had spotted Sheepstealer.
As for Grey Ghost? Almost no one had seen that shy young dragon. Only a few fishermen had seen it dive into the sea to hunt plump tuna, then disappear immediately into the clouds or mountains.
"Have any new dragon eggs hatched on Dragon Mountain?" Daemon suddenly stopped, looking seriously at Lord Robert Quince. This was a critical question, one Daemon only realized after receiving news of Sarafasas and Igaras hatching. Daemon clearly remembered that in his youth, the Targaryen family did not lack dragons.
Specifically, in the hundred years from Aegon the Conqueror's unification of the Six Kingdoms to King Viserys's ascension, the Targaryen family often had far more than the few dragons they currently possess. During the youth of "the Cruel" King Maegor, because he never had a dragon, Aegon I and Queen Visenya arranged twelve dragons for him to choose from, and these twelve dragons were only the healthy, combative ones among those born on Dragon Mountain.
During King Jaehaerys's reign, Queen Alysanne's Dreamfyre almost continuously produced dragon eggs, and in the years she lived on Dragonstone, dragon eggs hatched almost every month. So many, in fact, that the dragon-rearing courtyards on Dragonstone became too crowded, and many young dragons escaped the courtyards, nesting in various parts of Dragon Mountain and becoming wild dragons.
But the Targaryen family seemed to pay no attention to the dragons hatched on Dragon Mountain. Except for those tamed and ridden by family members, the rest were left to fight and survive on their own. As a result, by the time Viserys I became king, almost no hatched young dragons could be seen on Dragon Mountain. Even if there were any, they were eaten or hunted by Cannibal or other dragons.
It was only then that Daemon realized this couldn't continue. He had to cherish every dragon egg, every hatched dragon. He had to firmly grasp these true military forces, these kin of true dragons, in his hands.
Lord Robert Quince was stumped by the question. He thought carefully. Although the old ser was old, his memory had not yet declined. He suddenly remembered the news from the patrolling Dragon Guard. "Yes, I remember now. Dragon eggs have hatched on Dragon Mountain. When the Dragon Guard patrolled, they heard cries different from Seasmoke, Sheepstealer, and Grey Ghost."
"Quick, take me to see." Daemon was overjoyed. This was wonderful news, even better than Dawn and Igaras hatching. This was a dragon hatched in the Targaryen family's territory, especially in a time shrouded by the shadow of dragon theft. A newborn dragon was enough to prove that the Targaryen family's destiny remained.
"Your Majesty, aren't you going to eat?" The Old Ser tried to dissuade the prince, wanting to cry. Daemon was not yet fifty and could still endure it, but he couldn't. Coming out of the castle to meet Daemon had already taken half his life out of the old and fat ser. Going to Dragon Mountain again… No, he had to go. The Old Ser made up his mind to follow his master until his soul returned to the Stranger.
"I'll eat later. By the way, Caraxes needs to eat now. Lead the way."
"As you command."
Dragon Nest City.
Aegon, carrying a wooden sword, climbed down from the training ground in front of the Dragon Crystal Tower, covered in bruises, and plopped down at an empty spot at the edge of the field, grabbing a water bottle and chugging it down.
In the field, Aslan Rondell sliced through Reville Haiton's sword with one strike, then flicked his blade and slapped the young squire's back, knocking him face down: "Unstable center of gravity, too little resilience. You're not even as strong as King Jacaerys was at nine years old." Aslan said in a deep voice.
Aegon took a sip of water, feeling a bit sad at the mention of his older brother's name. Lingor's training was also over; the boy didn't need combat training, his sessions were much easier.
"Lingor, do you think I can compare to my older brother?" Aegon watched another boy in the field get knocked down by Aslan, then get up and continue training, and couldn't help but ask.
"King Jacaerys is King Jacaerys, and Aegon is Aegon." Lingor, acting like a little adult, patted the young king's shoulder. "To be honest, my uncle told me that King Jacaerys never managed to beat Lord Aslan, even until the end." Lingor wasn't very familiar with Jacaerys. He only had vague impressions of the handsome, dark-haired older brother, including how he would often hold and play with him, and frequently talk to his father. But he knew Jacaerys was a very good person.
Hearing that his older brother also hadn't beaten Aslan, Aegon smiled knowingly. Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from beneath Dragon Nest City.
The entire Dragon Nest City seemed to shake.
"Why is Vermithor taking off?" Aegon sprang to his feet, taking three steps in two to reach the edge of the training ground, which faced the Dragonpit entrance below.
The enormous Vermithor, large enough to blot out the sky, spread its wings and flew. Aegon could even clearly see Dragonzel, the dragon knight, wearing his Valyrian steel armor on its back.
"What happened? What happened?"
"They must have found the dragon thief. I saw Prince Draezell give Assistant Scholar Arthur a red dagger, and they said something else I didn't dare listen to. It must be something that can notify him immediately. This damned dragon thief, daring to covet a dragon."
Aegon looked in the direction of the voice and saw Reville gossiping with Quintin. He rushed over and asked, "Reville, what's going on? What dragon theft?"
"Your Majesty, don't you know? A few days ago, a group of dragon thieves from Volantis tried to steal Vermax, but Vermax burned one of them to death, and the rest escaped." Reville was also puzzled why Aegon didn't know about this.
Aegon stood up without hesitation and ran towards the Dragon Nest Tower without even changing his dirty clothes.
"Aegon, what are you doing?" Lingor quickly followed with his short legs.
"I want to see too. Who's so bold?" Aegon gritted his teeth and said, "Daring to steal my older brother's dragon."
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