Chapter 64 The Silver Dragon Egg
The dragon's den was dark and vast, and with the entrance protected by fierce flames, it was so hot that no one could enter.
The cave was filled with various bones, showing the dragon's astonishing appetite.
Most of these bones were from sheep, with a small portion from ponies, and even some from shadowcats and unknown beasts.
Sheepstealer only ate sheep, but the Cannibal, back then, even ate the corpses of its own kind and dragon eggs.
Rhaegar stepped on the broken bones and walked straight ahead.
Cesar, Barristan, Brynden, and others followed behind him. Joffrey Arryn had been called away by Lord Jon Arryn, for reasons unknown.
Cesar and the others held torches, scanning their surroundings like hawks, protecting the prince.
Rhaegar saw simple, crude murals on the cave walls, depicting wildlings carrying gifts to worship the Fire Priestess and the giant dragons. The wildlings offered gifts and food to the Fire Priestess, who then had the dragons breathe fire to test the children's courage.
"I see it!" Rhaegar cheered. The mountains were majestic and towering, just like in his dream. The Silver Dragon should also appear.
Venturing through mountains and seas, enduring bloody battles, his wish was finally granted today.
The skeleton of a giant black dragon slowly filled Rhaegar's vision. One could imagine the dragon's magnificent appearance in its prime, soaring through the blue sky, dominating the heavens.
Only, the empty, blind eye sockets had lost their flickering flames.
I have found the mountains of my dreams, when will the giant dragon fly?
Rhaegar thought.
Among all dragons, the largest were Balerion the Black Dread and the two purple dragons Rhaegar had seen in his dream. They could swallow an entire wild ox or a mammoth in one gulp, with the most enormous and formidable physiques.
Rhaegar felt that perhaps the growth environment and bloodline influenced the dragons' size. The later Targaryen dragons never surpassed the Black Dread, and dragons kept in dragonpits were often smaller than wild dragons.
However, in Valyria, there were towering spires for dragons to roost. Many Valyrian dragonlord families even let their dragons roam freely on mountaintops or in abandoned castles, sounding horns during wartime. Some dragonlords even possessed fire-related sorceries, which would surely be effective if used on dragons. As for the Black Dread, that could only be attributed to exceptional talent.
The dragon skeleton before him was not that enormous, but it could certainly swallow a horse.
However, at this size, it should be Sheepstealer's limit. Dragons grow continuously until they are near death, at which point they also become sluggish, heavy, and fond of sleep.
Beside the dragon skeleton, there was also the small skeleton of a woman, Nettles' corpse.
"There's something else next to the woman's body!" Ser Brynden exclaimed.
Rhaegar and the others walked over. The woman's skeleton seemed to have been coated with some oily substance by the Mountain Clansmen, preventing it from falling apart.
At the woman's remains, her right hand bone tightly clutched a corner of a black and red sleeve, which was covered in writing.
The black and red sleeve was a man's, faintly bearing the mark of a red dragon on a black field, the sigil of House Targaryen.
It was left behind by Prince Daemon Targaryen.
Ser Brynden wiped away the dust, and the handwriting was still vaguely visible. But Ser Brynden dared not look closely and handed it to the prince. In terms of seniority, Prince Daemon was Prince Rhaegar's direct ancestor.
The rumors about Nettles and Prince Daemon back then changed the course of the war, even causing the Blacks to lose two dragonriders and accelerating the downfall of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. Even though people later romanticized this love, saying Prince Daemon lived in seclusion with Nettles in the Pale Mountains.
But for the royal family, the story of Daemon and Nettles was too bitter, too embarrassing. Prince Daemon betrayed his lawful wife to choose a lowly bastard. Nettles was said to be a prostitute's daughter, ugly and crude. One was high above, the other as low as dirt.
Rhaegar took the black and red sleeve.
"I stood too high, loved too fiercely, hated too wildly. I presumptuously loved every rose, only to fall from grace. Finally, I love you." Rhaegar silently read the words. Prince Daemon truly lived up to his reputation as a Casanova. He was very promiscuous, yet sometimes cared about inexplicable things.
Almost all of the current Targaryen bloodline were descendants of Prince Daemon. For Rhaegar, this was a true ancestor.
Prince Daemon had many women throughout his life. According to Targaryen tradition, he was both a great man and a monster. He was charming, cruel, yet very passionate. He had many women: Rhea Royce of the Vale, Mysaria, Laena Velaryon, Queen Rhaenyra, and finally the shepherdess Nettles.
Speaking of which, Rhaegar felt that this last pair might have been a better fit. Both were uninhibited and marched to the beat of their own drum. But alas, he was born too late; Daemon was not a rogue, but the commander of the Blacks, a Targaryen prince, and had two sons with the queen. If he had lived, he would not have been able to face the emotionally unstable queen.
At Maidenpool, Prince Daemon had Nettles ride a dragon away. They said nothing to each other, and he went alone to Harrenhal, awaiting Prince Aemond Targaryen's arrival. From then on, they were separated by vast distances, lovers forever parted.
Before the Battle Above the Gods Eye, Rhaegar speculated that Daemon no longer wished to live, feeling he had had enough of his wife, Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra was cruel, easily angered, and ruthless. Daemon perhaps could not tolerate his wife's madness; he had placed her on the throne, yet brought more violence, bloodshed, and fanaticism to the realm.
Rhaegar quietly put away the sleeve. Where was the dragon egg?
He began searching near the dragon bones with the others.
Finally, as the torchlight faded in the cave, beneath Nettles' skeleton, Rhaegar at last discovered a silver gleam. Everyone began to dig, revealing a silver dragon egg.
The dragon egg was silver, symbolizing mystery and nobility, with vibrant golden waves and swirls. As the angle changed, and with the faint torchlight in the cave, the dragon egg shimmered with a metallic luster as Rhaegar's fingers prodded it.
Rhaegar picked up the silver dragon egg; fortunately, it had not yet fossilized.
A dragon egg was still priceless, especially one that hadn't turned to stone.
The dragon egg looked like a luxurious artifact, like fine ceramic, glazed pottery, or glass, but it was much heavier. Moreover, as an artifact, a dragon egg could be considered the most expensive. Rubies, diamonds, and crystals were merely stones, but a dragon egg was far more noble.
A live dragon egg could easily buy a small army.
"Prince Daemon also gave Nettles a dragon egg?" Everyone was astonished.
"Yes, according to Targaryen tradition, a dragon egg can be placed in every newborn's cradle," Rhaegar said, playing with the dragon egg. Dragon eggs symbolized royal power.
Many things Rhaegar did not say aloud were his predictions.
Prince Daemon giving a dragon egg was traceable. When Prince Daemon's mistress, Mysaria, became pregnant, he gave her a dragon egg, which King Viserys I Targaryen, his brother, later had retrieved. Mysaria miscarried on her way back to Lys, further exacerbating the discord between the prince and the king.
Nettles probably wasn't pregnant; Prince Daemon used this dragon egg to symbolize love. Once, Daemon had taken a dragon egg for power, and now he had the ability to give a dragon egg to his beloved.
Rhaegar gazed at the skeletons of Sheepstealer and Nettles. The dragon bones and dragon egg would be taken, but Nettles would be buried here. It was better for her to be interred here.
However, with the dragon bones and the silver dragon egg, this adventure was well worth it.
Rhaegar carefully examined the dragon egg; it seemed to still be alive and pulsing with life.
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