"Magic dragons have appeared in Westeros again!"
The news was like a massive boulder thrown into a river, creating huge ripples. The shock people felt upon hearing this was no less than hearing the Wall had melted or the Titan of Braavos had collapsed.
Had the long-lost dragons truly returned?
Some said the Red Comet heralded the hatching of Great Dragons. Others claimed Great Dragons had begun appearing all over Essos. Still others said beams of light and flames could be seen near the Dragonpit in King's Landing, suggesting a dozen dragons had hatched at once. Some guessed dragons were born naturally from Dragonstone or that stone dragons had hatched themselves. In short, the rumors spread far and wide.
But the most credible rumor was that someone in House Targaryen... the Royal Family had hatched a true dragon, awakening memories of those beasts of war.
This wasn't hard to guess, as there were very few royals left. Apart from two little princes held by wet nurses and the Queen caring for them, there were few candidates capable of hatching a dragon.
King Jaehaerys II had been sickly since childhood, though he had improved slightly in the last two years. As for the Prince of Dragonstone, Aerys, his big mouth couldn't keep a secret. If he had really hatched a dragon, all of Westeros would have heard him shouting about it. And this Crown Prince was now a laughingstock, far removed from the image of a true Dragonlord.
Everyone was left with one guess: Prince Rhaegar.
Prince Rhaegar was born talented, spent much time traveling abroad, and had visited the Vale, the crypts of the Pale Mountains (Castamere?), and Dragonstone. Rhaegar had stayed for long periods in all these places where traces of dragons were found.
Considering time, energy, and location, Rhaegar was the only remaining choice.
The Royal Family, caught in the vortex, chose silence, issuing only an invitation to the public. The Iron Throne neither admitted nor denied the hatching of dragons.
The Iron Throne simply announced that to celebrate the tenth anniversary of King Jaehaerys's ascension, the King would hold a tournament at the Dragonpit, inviting all lords, great and small, to gather.
The Dragonpit—this familiar name made many lords' imaginations run wild. Their informants told them the Dragonpit's gates were open and guarded once more. They never expected such a grand plan: all this was to mask the resurrection of the Great Dragons. Once the magic dragons were revived, the strength of the Dragonlords would have to be re-evaluated.
As soon as news of the grand event spread, lords from all over flocked to King's Landing. Whether the tournament was held or not no longer mattered; missing the debut of the magic dragons would be a huge loss.
The gates of the Dragonpit camp closed again, leaving only a few small doors open, heavily guarded. Outsiders were temporarily banned from approaching the Dragonpit.
Prince Rhaegar and his Eagle Guard were stationed here. These were battle-hardened, well-equipped elite troops, not to be compared with the Gold Cloaks.
Especially since Prince Rhaegar had a fierce reputation abroad. This lovely and genial Silver Prince was also a God of Slaughter on the battlefield, a cruel warrior, the Butcher of Maidenpool. Many people came to watch the excitement, but no one dared to risk entering the Dragonpit. Although many were tempted by large sums of money, promising countless rewards for specific information about the dragon, there was still too much false information.
Many of the "fleas" from Flea Bottom had not entered the Dragonpit to glimpse the Demon Dragon, yet they all claimed to have seen it, describing the Demon Dragon in every conceivable way.
Rhaegar recruited another three hundred men from the Crownlands, such as Rosby and Stokeworth. Ser Jaremy Rykker showed exceptional enthusiasm and strongly supported Prince Rhaegar's recruitment efforts. Currently, the Eagle Guards already numbered seven hundred soldiers.
In fact, King's Landing is a large city, but its people are too slippery and not necessarily good soldiers, and the social connections of King's Landing residents are often more complicated. Rhaegar's screening of King's Landing soldiers was stricter.
Ideally, Rhaegar wanted to establish his own Quick Reaction Force, numbering around two or three thousand men. However, training elite soldiers required substantial military pay, which couldn't rely entirely on funding from the wealthy merchants of Gulltown. The small amount of wildling wealth obtained from the Cannibal's cave was also not a long-term solution.
Rhaegar was in his tent, having ordered the removal of the tent's dome to avoid obstructing the flight of the Small Dragons.
Three Small Dragons circled above his head, still chasing each other, their favorite game. Their dazzling, shimmering scales glowed brightly, making them look magnificent.
A Purple Dragon, a Silver Dragon, and a Black Dragon. Early dragons were fast, like small dogs, big dogs, or even ponies. But they had not yet reached their peak; in their prime, they would be as massive as the Black Dread, the size of a small town.
They even breathed fire at each other, each dragon's flame unique. The Silver Emperor's flame was a blend of gold and silver, predominantly silver with golden streaks on the outer ring. The Black Dragon Balerion's flame was black, tinged with red. As for the Purple Dragon Belaerys, its flame was a beautiful purple fire.
The Small Dragons were all growing, with the Silver Emperor growing the fastest. Belaerys and Balerion grew to similar sizes.
Accelerated by the Dragon Pact, the Chain of Blood and Fire, and the Purple Dragon Nest, Rhaegar felt his dragons were growing extremely fast.
This also meant they could no longer stay in the Dragonlord Ring; the dragons' aggression and instability nearly overturned Rhaegar's magic ring.
The Demon Dragons rose again, reproducing the glory of the Dragonlords!
The Eagle Guard soldiers nearest the tent saw the flight of the three Demon Dragons. Although everyone was excited, they strictly observed discipline and did not spread the news.
They were the army closest to dragons in this era, and they knew only Prince Rhaegar could control the three small dragons.
Serving the true Dragon Prince, a brilliant future and glory were within reach. When the tournament arrived, the three magic dragons would make their grand entrance.
Rhaegar looked again at the two black iron hammers in front of him.
The black iron hammers were heirlooms of House Rykker of Maidenpool, handed down for who knows how long.
Rhaegar picked up the hammers, weighed them, and examined them carefully.
On the surface, they looked like ordinary steel hammers, but they were heavier than steel.
House Rykker hadn't produced great warriors; perhaps these warhammers were far more powerful than they appeared. In contrast, House Darklyn was known as the "Family of Seven Swords," boasting seven White Knights.
Rhaegar tried striking the hammer with a longsword but found it useless. There were no marks on the hammer. Rhaegar considered using his Valyrian steel sword but worried about damaging the Rykker heirloom.
Just then, Rhaegar had a flash of inspiration: he struck the two hammers against each other, producing a dull, powerful sound. The impact echoed in the tent.
The hammers still showed no obvious change, when suddenly the Silver Emperor swooped down from the air, breathing dragonfire.
The Silver Emperor personally tapped the iron hammer twice, perhaps disliking the dull sound of metal striking metal.
"You little rascal." Rhaegar was about to scold the Silver Emperor when he suddenly noticed symbols slowly emerging on the black warhammer. They were runes of the First Men, similar to those on the Bronze Armor of House Royce.
Rhaegar was not afraid of the brief heat, especially since the young dragon's fire had not yet reached its maximum temperature.
Rhaegar stroked the simple, black, ancient runes.
(Explorer: Congratulations on discovering a great relic. Your blazing fire has rediscovered the Warhammer Runes.)
Rhaegar saw all the runes begin to flicker, converging before him into the shape of a hammer.
The Shield Rune represented defense, while the Hammer Rune represented power—the power to destroy everything.
The Warhammer Rune slowly merged into Rhaegar's body. He felt the wonder of power, the ability to break all laws with brute force.
As long as I am fast enough, strong enough, and responsive enough, I am invincible.
Well done, Silver Emperor!
Rhaegar tossed a lamb chop into the air, and the Silver Emperor cheered and pounced on it.
He was very protective of his food and liked to eat alone.