Chapter 66: The Friendship Between the Eagle and the Dragon
In the Vale, the war had completely ended. The army shone like stars, their morale was higher, and their spirits were invigorated.
Rhaegar had left secretly, but now he returned laden with glory.
Rhaegar and Lord Jon Arryn rode forward together along the Valley Road, sweeping past the scenery of the Pale Mountains' paths, with the rest of the company following behind them.
The Mountain Clansmen had completely lost their nerve, and no one dared to surround or block them.
Ser Joffrey thought this was normal; Prince Rhaegar fought so fiercely that it inevitably reminded people of those young men in the Riverlands during the Dance of the Dragons.
The only difference was that Prince Rhaegar's status was more noble and even more dazzling.
Amidst the fluttering of various flags, the crowd celebrated their triumphant return.
In the center of the large army was a massive black dragon skeleton. On the flat ground, soldiers placed rolling logs beneath the bones, forcing wildling prisoners and horses to pull the skeleton forward. Hauling the dragon skeleton down the mountain required immense physical effort. Fortunately, the dragon bone was tough as steel yet lighter, making it barely movable.
But this also showed the tremendous martial achievements of Prince Rhaegar and Lord Jon, who had completely leveled the sacred land of the Burned Men tribe.
The Battle of the Valley Road was a complete victory; the Prince and the Lord destroyed the Burned Men coalition army and inflicted heavy casualties on the wildlings' effective forces. The Mountain Clansmen were terrified by Rhaegar and his companions, and one battle was enough to bring about a long peace.
Rhaegar still kept the news of the Silver Dragon Egg a secret. Currently, only Rhaegar, Cesar, Barristan, and Brynden knew about it.
The large army spotted defensive fortifications appearing on the horizon, stretching piece by piece, climbing and winding along the mountain range.
The Bloody Gate—they had finally arrived.
Leaving the battlefield of the Pale Mountains and the stench of blood, Rhaegar now had the leisure to appreciate this great fortress.
Gray was the dominant color: gray watchtowers, gray stone bridges, and battlements. Only the blue-and-white falcon banner of House Arryn flew high, adding vibrancy to the gray surroundings.
The mountain path narrowed, allowing only four people to ride abreast. Multiple battlements were built on the dangerous cliffs on both sides, with two watchtowers overlooking the area, connected by a sealed arch bridge of gray stone.
One man guarding the pass, ten thousand cannot open it.
Controlling the spine of the world, commanding the fate of all living things.
Lord Jon was very proud and introduced it to Rhaegar. "Innumerable armies have attacked the Vale, but they all broke their spears here, losing their lives at the Bloody Gate."
Rhaegar sighed deeply. If the Bloody Gate was closed, the enemy couldn't attack the Vale at all. The Bloody Gate was the throat of the Vale, yet it was impregnable. Only five hundred soldiers were needed to hold off thousands of troops.
After losing the dragons, the geographical advantages of the Lords became even more apparent. It was almost unrealistic to try and easily conquer strongholds like Casterly Rock, the Eyrie, and Storm's End. Not to mention remote border regions like the North, the Iron Islands, and Dorne, where the climate was the greatest enemy. The North had the cold winter, Dorne had the yellow sands and scorching sun, and the Iron Islands had the wild dance of the sea winds.
The Knight Commander galloped out from the Bloody Gate. The knight's gray armor was striking, and his sky-blue cloak made people feel even safer.
"Welcome, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East, Jon Arryn, and welcome the victor of the Battle of the Valley Road, the spearbreaker, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen! Through the Bloody Gate, we salute your great victory and your protection of the Vale's peace."
Lord Jon signaled to the knight, and the main force began to pass through the shadow of the Bloody Gate.
The only difficult thing was likely the giant dragon skeleton, which later took immense effort to move. Rhaegar wished he had a dragon now so he could just fly directly to the Eyrie.
Unfortunately, without a dragon, natural barriers like the Pale Mountains were almost impossible to cross.
Rhaegar called Cesar over again and whispered a few words to him.
"Lord Jon, I will also present you with a gift," Rhaegar said to the Lord. A mysterious smile was on his face, and Lord Jon had no idea what the Prince's gift would be.
Rhaegar noticed that Ser Matt Arryn was missing from the entourage. Most likely, he had received Lord Jon's orders and rushed back to the Gates of the Moon.
Regarding the matter of leaking information, even if Rhaegar hadn't spoken, Lord Jon would have taken action.
Leaving the gloomy area of the Bloody Gate, boundless beauty unfolded before their eyes.
Green fields, blue skies, and white snow accompanied the mountain peaks. Rhaegar thought that if he were patrolling on a dragon, it would be an even greater experience.
The mountains isolated the Vale, but they also protected it, ensuring the residents were well-fed and clothed.
Rhaegar discovered that although the Vale was surrounded by high mountains, the interior contained fertile black soil, gentle rivers, and thousands of lakes. The environment was peaceful and tranquil, and the people were happy and content. Perhaps because of this, the people of the Vale did not have a strong desire for advancement. Agriculture and maritime trade were the two main pillars of the Vale.
The road gradually widened. When the troops reached the plain, Lord Jon ordered them to speed up.
The standard-bearer ran at the very front, with symbols like the blue-and-white falcon and the black dragon on a red field fluttering from his silver spear.
This large force was indeed too eye-catching. Aside from Prince Rhaegar, Lord Jon, and the magnificent company of knights, the huge dragon skeleton made everyone look on with awe, as did the Mountain Clansmen who were enslaved in various ways.
Farmers' carts, merchant wagons, and minor noble riders all paid their respects and moved aside, not forgetting to steal a few extra glances at the procession as they left—truly a strange contingent.
This large group had awakened sleeping villages and startled beautiful orchards.
"That handsome young man with short silver hair, he must be the Dragon Prince?"
"Look at Lord Jon's beautiful armor and cloak—it looks like they won a great victory again."
"He's so young. If the Dragon Prince wore silver armor, he would be even more striking."
In front of the Gates of the Moon, the drawbridge was lowered, and Ser Matt was already waiting early.
But Albart Arryn was nowhere to be seen.
Rhaegar didn't ask further, riding his horse into the city. Poor Albart; Rhaegar didn't want to pry into such matters either.
After the banquet at the Gates of the Moon tonight, Rhaegar would still return to the military camp.
Lord Jon and Rhaegar separated at the Gates of the Moon; Lord Jon firmly and undeniably parted ways with Rhaegar.
After a long while, Lord Jon entered Rhaegar's room again for a secret conversation.
"The wildlings didn't just act on a whim," Lord Jon stated plainly, still carrying a faint scent of blood.
"Some merchant princes contacted the wildlings, and they conspired to divide the profits. Merchants are always like this; they value profit over their own lives. Unfortunately, my nephew was also tempted by these people. As soon as the wildlings killed us, Albart would immediately become the Defender. As for my child, with the wealth of the Vale, Rennal wouldn't live long—poisoned wine or assassins are plentiful across the Narrow Sea. We would die naturally, just like many Lords of the Eyrie."
"That is not your fault, my lord," Rhaegar consoled him. Before power, fathers and sons, brothers, would fight, let alone nephews. According to the original historical timeline, he would also be irreconcilable with his father, Aerys.
Being a teenager is the perfect time to dream. Back then, the Uncrowned King rode a small dragon to challenge Maegor the Cruel and was ultimately burned alive.
The struggle for the throne is quite bloody, and it is the same for all the great Lords. Even if it is not as dazzling as the Iron Throne, the seat of a regional Lord is enough to drive people mad.
In the North, the Old Wolf Cregan Stark once raised an army to imprison his uncle and his uncle's three sons. Later, during the Year of the Widow, five widows of House Stark fought for the succession of their children and were known as the She-Wolves of Winterfell. In the Westerlands, Gerold the Golden Lion was deeply shrouded in the shadow of kinslaying.
In the Vale, the first Lord Ronnel Arryn to submit to the Dragon King was later thrown directly off the Gates of the Moon by his younger brother. There was also Jeyne Arryn, the Maiden of the Vale, whose succession issue caused decades of turmoil in the Vale.
"Albart didn't send the message, but the people around him were more impatient than he was; he failed to control his subordinates. One of Albart's stewards came from across the Narrow Sea and had served Albart and his father, and now he was even more impatient. Once their dream came true, they would have a secret they could use to threaten Albart into handing over the Vale's financial authority," Lord Jon said through gritted teeth.
"Twenty people have already died at the Gates of the Moon, and Gulltown is now hunting down the remaining conspirators; these people will all be hanged," Lord Jon stated. This was a declaration. The Prince was attacked, he was attacked, and furthermore, these people tried to harm Rennal. The Lord's wrath was enough to cause rivers of blood. He had to take action before the Iron Throne found out.
Rhaegar understood Lord Jon's meaning: everyone around his nephew would be executed, sparing only Albart. Albart currently had no wife or children, making him essentially meat on Lord Jon's chopping block.
"I don't want to bear the infamy of kinslaying! The people around Albart have been executed by me; he will be exiled across the Narrow Sea. If he dares to return to Westeros, anyone can kill him." Lord Jon showed pain. Albart and his father, two generations, had been his heirs, and decades of waiting ended when Jon's son was born.
In this incident, although Albart did not directly participate, his weakness and inability to control his subordinates were already major problems.
"The people across the Narrow Sea, they are truly audacious," Rhaegar thought. The Free Cities, and even Braavos, were essentially ruled by merchants and bankers—people who were ambitious and purely profit-driven. Rather than confronting the Dragon King directly, they preferred to use schemes and tricks to extract maximum profit.
Rhaegar didn't know what to say about Lord Jon's family tragedy; power easily bewitches people.
Rhaegar hated Albart, but he hated those treacherous scoundrels even more. Those behemoths lurked across the Narrow Sea, constantly eyeing the Targaryens. I must hatch dragons, then destroy the schemes and arrogance of those bastards.
Albart Arryn's exile across the Narrow Sea was also to save Lord Jon's face. Otherwise, if the matter became public knowledge and the kinslaying scandal was exposed, people would curse Albart as foolish, and even more so curse his uncle, Lord Jon, as cruel and malicious for immediately forcing the death of his backup heir after having a son.
Albart Arryn was flattered since childhood. The bubbles, dreams, and fantasies of being the Young Eagle King, the Heir of the Vale, and the lucky one of the Vale were intoxicating. He climbed too high and was too young, leaving him battered and bruised. If Lord Jon lived to be seventy or eighty, waiting would have been even more torturous.
However, Rhaegar thought that as the blame was passed around, he also bore some responsibility. If it weren't for his Butterfly Effect, Albart's position as heir would never have been shaken.
"Rest assured, Lord Jon, Albart will arrive safely across the Narrow Sea. After that, let the heavens decide," Rhaegar conceded.
"I won't consider a second heir for now; I just hope Rennal stays healthy," Lord Jon said. His nephew's exile restored his energy. He had to pave the way for his son, and Prince Rhaegar was part of that plan.
The next heir to the Vale would be the child of Lord Jon's sister. Lord Jon would foster them, but he wouldn't allow them any improper thoughts, much less arrange for them to stay at the Gates of the Moon.
The two men reached an understanding, and the matter was thus settled.
Rhaegar would not reveal Albart's involvement in the wildling attack, nor would he execute Albart in the Vale. Lord Jon, in turn, would support Rhaegar's Eagle Guards training and expansion.
Recruiting people in the Vale would be very difficult without Lord Jon's approval. Lord Jon had governed the Vale for decades, and his power was extremely secure.
This is politics—we compromise and concede benefits to each other.
The stronger we are, the more terrified our enemies will be!
Let them be afraid! This is the friendship between the Eagle and the Dragon!
Rhaegar looked at the long sky and flowing clouds outside the window, his heart stirring.
Though one travels across green mountains, one remains young; the scenery here alone is magnificent.
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