Chapter 134: Dragon Soul Game, Manipulating Vhagar
Dragons flapped their wings, soaring above the Myr Sea, while the Sea Snake's Valyrian Fleet rode the wind and waves across the vast Myr Sea.
Queen Aemma Arryn of King's Landing was about to give birth, and King Viserys firmly believed that Aemma would give him a son this time.
To welcome the birth of the future heir, Prince Daemon, Princess Gael, the Sea Snake, and Princess Rhaenys all received invitations from King Viserys, and they set off together from Myr to King's Landing.
To intimidate their northern neighbor, Pentos, Daemon chose a dragon flight path that specifically approached the Pentos Plain north of the Myr Sea.
Dreamfyre, ridden by Princess Gael; Caraxes, ridden by Prince Daemon; Vhagar, ridden by Lady Laena Velaryon; Seasmoke, ridden by Laenor Velaryon; and the Red Queen Meleys, ridden by Princess Rhaenys, all flew out simultaneously.
The Red Queen breathed fire, burning a large sailboat flying the Pentos flag, while Vhagar burned a coastal sentry tower, and Dreamfyre burned a circular fort that the Pentoshi were building by the sea.
This was merely a casual attack, yet with multiple dragons deployed, Daemon believed it was enough to make the Archons of Pentos tremble, and they might even consider sacrificing a prince again.
Dragons move incredibly fast and are unpredictable.
The dragon raid on the coast was enough to strike fear into Pentos; if the Sealord of Braavos and the Triarchs of Volantis incited Pentos to attack Daemon's Three Daughters recently, the Archons of Pentos would likely think twice.
A few days later, Daemon's dragon legion entered the Narrow Sea, turning northwest and continuing to soar.
When Daemon glimpsed the huge shadow of Storm's End by the sea from the back of his dragon, he smelled the scent of weirwood in the air; Daemon's dragon power had returned, and his Shapeshifter power once again surged within him.
In Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys, under the watchful eyes of unfamiliar gods, Daemon could not use his Dragonrider skill to control dragons, but in Westeros, it was different.
On lands once covered with weirwood, relying on the ancient memories of the trees, Daemon could use his Shapeshifter skill to possess the dragons and control them mentally.
Daemon attempted to control Caraxes, the dragon beneath him.
After just one heartbeat, Daemon gained Caraxes's vision; the smells of sea salt, seaweed, and shellfish in the air became incredibly vivid.
A dolphin leaped out of the sea, chasing the waves.
Daemon felt a surge of rage and flames in his throat.
Through Caraxes's eyes, Daemon stared intently at the dolphin, opened his maw, let out a roar, and sprayed orange-yellow dragonfire.
More than ten feet of dragonfire blasted the leaping dolphin, which was instantly roasted golden-brown and crispy, oozing with fat, and floated belly-up on the surface of the sea.
Daemon controlled Caraxes, swooping down to tear at the roasted dolphin with his teeth.
As Caraxes tore at the dolphin meat, its aroma wafted into Daemon's mouth.
Subsequently, Daemon's soul withdrew from Caraxes's mind and possessed Dreamfyre.
Dreamfyre carried cradles crafted in the style of castles on her back; three cradles were connected by ebony wood, shaped like Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr respectively.
Daemon's son, Little Aegon, sat in the Tyrosh castle cradle, Little Jaehaerys sat in the Myr castle cradle, and Little Baelon sat in the Lys castle cradle.
Possessing Dreamfyre, Daemon could clearly hear his sons' clamor and Princess Gael's soothing voice, as well as the roar of the high-altitude wind, through Dreamfyre's ears.
These three castle cradles were all creations of Master Simone of the Myr Carpenter's Guild, and Daemon's sons loved them very much.
Subsequently, Daemon's soul possessed Meleys, the Red Queen.
The dragon beneath Princess Rhaenys flew swiftly, looking down upon the wind and the ocean.
Daemon controlled his consciousness, his soul arriving in Seasmoke, Laenor Velaryon's mount.
Daemon found that Seasmoke loved the sea, the sea breeze, and the smell of sea salt.
This young dragon looked at the enormous dragon Vhagar beside her with adoration.
Finally, Daemon possessed Vhagar.
Previously, at Prince Baelon's funeral on Dragonstone, Daemon had attempted to use his Shapeshifter skill to control Vhagar, but had not succeeded.
This dragon, who once fought alongside Balerion and Meleys, possessed the strongest dragon scales and the most ancient memories.
Daemon's soul delved into Vhagar's mind; the feeling was like putting on an incredibly heavy suit of armor.
Vhagar let out a low growl, slowly shaking her head, trying to shake out the intruder in her mind.
Lady Laena Velaryon, on dragon Vhagar's back, did not notice Vhagar's abnormality, because Vhagar's movements were slow and sluggish.
Even though she was engaged in a fierce battle for body control with Daemon in her mind, Vhagar's limbs showed no violent reactions.
Daemon found that controlling Vhagar was much more difficult than controlling other dragons.
Vhagar was born on Dragonstone, but her companion, Balerion, was born in the Freehold of Valyria.
Many maesters believed that Balerion might have been the last creature of Valyria to die, and perhaps because of this, Vhagar carried an ancient magical memory.
Of course, Vhagar's magical power might have come from her former rider, Queen Visenya Targaryen, the right hand of Aegon the Conqueror.
When Daemon's grandmother, Queen Alysanne Targaryen, was young, she was once imprisoned by Visenya, making Visenya Queen Alysanne's childhood nightmare.
Queen Alysanne often referred to Visenya as an evil "old witch," and it was rumored that Visenya possessed the power of witchcraft, and she was also the owner of the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister.
Daemon couldn't help but wonder, was Visenya also a Shapeshifter?
Queen Visenya, along with Aegon and Rhaenys, once rode dragons to conquer lands.
Queen Rhaenys, riding Meleys, was attacked by a scorpion crossbow at Hellholt in Dorne; the bolt pierced Meleys's eye, and Rhaenys and her dragon fell together.
Queen Visenya, riding Vhagar, faced far more brutal battles than Queen Rhaenys.
Queen Visenya always rode her dragon safely, rarely getting injured.
The only recorded instance of her dragon being wounded by an enemy while she was riding it came from the Field of Fire, where Queen Visenya was struck by a flying arrow; the arrow pierced her armor and injured Queen Visenya's arm.
It was rumored to be a weirwood long arrow, and some singers believed that it was this injury that granted Visenya magical powers.
As long as Daemon could control Vhagar, then at least in Westeros, he could manipulate the largest dragon in the world at will, and no matter who the rider on Vhagar's back was, they could not control the dragon better than a Shapeshifter.
However, this was truly not easy.
In Vhagar's mind, Daemon was met with a magical backlash.
Daemon, still on the back of dragon Caraxes, felt a sharp pain in his head; he was dizzy.
Daemon's physical body was still on Caraxes's back, but his soul was trapped in Vhagar's mind.
Fragments of Vhagar's memory, like a flood, assaulted Daemon's soul.
In Vhagar's ocean of memories, Daemon saw a young Visenya, with silver hair and purple eyes, heroic and spirited, wielding the sword Dark Sister beneath the weirwood heart tree on Dragonstone.
Vhagar soared above the Field of Fire, attacking simultaneously with Balerion and Meleys.
The armored steel fist of heavily armored knights from the Westerlands and the Reach turned to ash like weeds and wheat under the dragonfire's onslaught.
Greenhands withered and shrank in the dragonfire, and the Golden Lion had its tail burned off, fleeing into the western mountains.
The snow-covered Mountains of the Moon and the Eyrie nestled on its peak, where a widow and her young son presented a crown to Queen Visenya.
In a bedroom, Rhaenys was disheveled, and a singer-like figure cowered trembling beneath a velvet mattress.
Visenya questioned Rhaenys; Daemon couldn't hear what she said.
Then, Visenya's hand moved, and her sword fell, stabbing the singer hidden in the bed to death.
The torrent of memories accelerated.
Visenya formed the Kingsguard, Visenya rode her dragon to burn Planky Town, Visenya soared with the strong male infant Maegor in her arms, Visenya brought soup to the frail King Aenys, Visenya rode her dragon to welcome the exiled Maegor back, crowning Maegor as king, Visenya imprisoned young Jaehaerys and Alysanne...
Suddenly, Visenya's gaze fixed on Daemon, her eyes cold and hard, "No one can control my dragon!"
Vhagar's memory vortex trapped Daemon's soul.
Daemon felt a splitting headache.
Was it Daemon's physical body that was hurting, or was it Vhagar?
Daemon couldn't tell.
Finally, Prince Baelon, the Prince of Spring, appeared in the torrent of memories.
Visenya's face was distorted and gradually blurred.
Prince Baelon smiled at Daemon, "Daemon, you must be brave.
You have done well.
You have become the Father of Dragons, the King of the Three Daughters, a Khal of the world.
You are the Dragon Overlord!"
Was this Daemon's hallucination, or were there truly remnants of Visenya and Baelon's souls within Vhagar?
Daemon couldn't say for sure.
Fortunately, Baelon's appearance in Vhagar's memory torrent allowed Daemon to gradually regain his strength.
The dragon legion had now flown over the Narrow Sea, soaring above the Stormlands.
Weirwood, rocks, streams, and flowers whispered to Daemon.
The world spun, and Daemon gained Vhagar's vision; her arrow-riddled wings drank in the long wind, and the folds on her neck swayed.
Daemon, riding on the dragon's back, finally controlled dragon Vhagar.
Neither Lady Laena Velaryon on Vhagar's back, nor Princess Rhaenys, Princess Gael, or Laenor Velaryon, soaring on their dragons nearby, were aware of it.
However, this attempt also drained Daemon of his last ounce of strength.
When Daemon's soul left Vhagar's ancient and massive body and returned to his own, Daemon's face was pale, and his head felt as if a great earthquake had occurred.
Magic comes at a price, and Daemon didn't know if his next attempt to control Vhagar would succeed.
A few days later, the dragons flew over Dragonstone.
Grey Ghost, the wild dragon lurking on Dragonmont, was scared and hid back in its lair.
Sheepstealer chose to fly out to sea to avoid them, while Cannibal stared at the dragons in the sky with emerald green eyes, letting out roars.
According to the Dragon Guard's generations-old accounts, when House Targaryen first arrived at Dragonstone, Cannibal was already living there.
Cannibal might even be older than Balerion, though some maesters consider this claim quite absurd, as dragons were brought to Westeros by House Targaryen from Valyria.
Cannibal was enormous, even larger than the Bronze Fury Vermithor, and only smaller than Vhagar.
Cannibal was very cunning.
Among the many wild dragons on Dragonstone, Sheepstealer preferred to eat sheep and goats, Grey Ghost had a preference for wild boars, while Cannibal liked to eat its own kind.
It was said that whenever Cannibal saw a dragon smaller than itself, it would consider it part of its menu and attack.
Many wild hatchlings died in Cannibal's maw this way.
Cannibal would even steal dragon eggs from Dragonmont, crushing the shells and sipping the yolk.
In the future, if Daemon's Shapeshifter skill became strong enough, he might attempt to control Cannibal.
If he could subdue this dangerous and massive dragon, Daemon's dragon legion would gain another formidable warrior.
For now, Daemon could only dream of it.
Controlling Vhagar in the Stormlands had already exhausted Daemon's strength.
Daemon was now emotionally and physically drained; he no longer had the energy to attempt more magic.
The dragons stayed on Dragonstone for a day, then went to nearby Driftmark the next day, and then flew to King's Landing.
When Caraxes, Dreamfyre, the Red Queen, Seasmoke, and other dragons appeared above King's Landing, people in Flea Bottom, Silk Street, and Eel Alley pointed to the sky, slowly cheering.
When Vhagar appeared above King's Landing, the entire city began to stir and scream.
Everyone ran around, spreading the news, "Vhagar is back!"
There were too many dragons, so they could only land in the Dragonpit plaza on Rhaenys' Hill.
Dreamfyre, Caraxes, Seasmoke, and the Red Queen landed successively in the Dragonpit plaza.
The Dragon Guard came to greet Daemon.
Daemon said, "Prepare a warhorse for me.
I will go to the Red Keep and visit my brother, King Viserys."
The Dragon Guard apologized, "Prince Daemon, His Majesty is not in the Red Keep.
He is currently gathered with the Small Council at the Great Sept of Baelor."
Did Viserys go to the Great Sept of Baelor to pray especially for their arrival?
Daemon frowned, "What is His Majesty doing at the Great Sept of Baelor?"
The Dragon Guard said, "Attending a funeral.
Ser Ryam Redwyne has passed away."
Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Ryam Redwyne was one of the greatest knights in the history of the Kingsguard.
He served as King Jaehaerys's Kingsguard for decades.
When Daemon went on campaign, the old knight not only sincerely wished Daemon well but also once hoped to follow Daemon into battle, but he had to guard the King and could only remain in King's Landing.
In the plaza in front of the Great Sept, tens of thousands of nobles and commoners gathered.
Daemon, Princess Gael, Princess Rhaenys, the Sea Snake, and others, protected by the Kingsguard, passed through the crowd and came before King Viserys.
Viserys and Daemon embraced, exchanged a few words, and then attended Ser Ryam Redwyne's funeral together.
King Viserys said, "The kingdom has lost a great knight.
Ser Harrold Westerling has taken over the position of Lord Commander of the Kingsguard left by Ser Ryam."
Daemon greatly admired Ser Harrold Westerling; he was an upright and good knight.
However, Daemon had no good feelings for King Viserys's new Kingsguard appointment; Ser Criston Cole had donned the white cloak.
However, since Viserys had already appointed Ser Criston Cole, Daemon couldn't object.
Ser Criston Cole guarded Princess Rhaenyra.
King Viserys smiled, "Life is like this; there is sorrow, and there is joy.
The Citadel has sent white ravens; winter has ended, and spring has arrived.
Queen Aemma will soon give birth to the son I have long awaited.
Spring has arrived, and I have decided to name my son after my father.
Yes, he will be called Baelon.
'Prince of Spring' Baelon was also born in the spring; there is no more fitting name."
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