Location: Qarth - Xaro's Palace Gardens
The morning sun filtered through the lattice leaves of the Qartheen gardens. Daenerys sat on a stone bench, watching her dragons learn to fly. They fluttered like bats, snapping at insects.
Ren stood nearby, arms crossed.
Drogon, the black dragon, landed on the grass. He hissed at a passing servant, smoke curling from his nostrils.
Ren made a low, guttural sound in his throat—a vibration he learned from the Fire Wyrm.
Drogon's head snapped toward Ren. The dragon hesitated, then lowered his head, submitting to the command.
"You control him," Daenerys observed, a hint of jealousy in her voice. "He listens to you more than me."
"He loves you, Daenerys," Ren said. "But he respects power. You are his mother. I am his general."
Ren looked up. The sky was turning a strange shade of violet.
"Pyat Pree is making his move," Ren noted.
As if on cue, Xaro Xhoan Daxos walked into the garden, followed by the warlock Pyat Pree.
"Mother of Dragons," Pyat Pree smiled, his blue lips stretching too wide. "The Undying Ones request an audience. They wish to teach you how to care for your children."
Daenerys looked at Ren.
"We accept," Ren answered for her.
"Excellent," Pyat Pree's eyes flickered to Ren. "And the... Sovereign... is invited as well. The House of the Undying has many doors."
The Tower of No Doors
The House of the Undying was a monolithic stone tower with no visible windows or doors. It radiated a sickly magical aura that made the air taste like metal.
Ren stood before it with Daenerys, Jorah, and his Harem Squad (Saeko, Saya, Maggie, there is no need for others).
"Jorah, stay here," Ren ordered. "Guard the perimeter. If we aren't out in an hour, burn the garden."
"You can't go in there," Jorah warned. "It's a trap."
"I know," Ren said.
He looked at Daenerys. "Keep your dragons close. Do not let them leave your person."
They walked toward the wall.
"How do we get in?" Daenerys asked.
"Magic," Ren said. "Just walk."
He stepped through the solid stone wall like it was mist. Daenerys followed, gasping.
The Hall of Illusions
Inside, reality bent. The corridors stretched into infinity. Torches burned with blue fire.
"Don't separate!" Ren ordered.
But the House didn't listen. The floor tilted. Daenerys slid down a chute, screaming.
"Ren!"
"Let her go," Ren told Saeko, who tried to chase. "She has her own trial. She needs to face the Iron Throne and Drogo to reject them."
Ren turned to his group.
"The Warlocks are going to try to separate us. Mental Fortress is active on me, but you guys are vulnerable."
Suddenly, the hallway changed.
Saya Takagi saw her parents, alive, disappointed in her.
Saeko saw herself drowning in blood, turning into a monster.
Maggie saw herself dying over and over again.
"It's fake!" Ren's voice boomed, cutting through the hallucinations. "
Use the Valkyrie Link! Focus on my voice!"
Ren activated his Incubus Charisma not to seduce, but to anchor. His presence acted like a lighthouse in the storm.
The illusions shattered like glass. The harem gasped, returning to the dark corridor.
"That was... unpleasant," Saya shivered, adjusting her glasses.
"We're getting close," Ren said. "I can smell the ozone."
They reached a massive circular chamber. Floating in the center was a pulsating, anatomical heart. It was huge, violet, and beating with a wet, heavy rhythm.
Standing around it were the Warlocks. Pyat Pree multiplied, dozens of copies stepping out of the shadows.
"Welcome," the Pree clones spoke in unison. "We have been waiting. Your magic... it is delicious."
Chains of blue energy shot out from the walls, aiming to bind Ren.
Ren didn't dodge. He let the chains wrap around his arms.
"You want my magic?" Ren smirked.
The chains glowed bright blue as the Warlocks tried to drain him.
But Ren's mana pool was connected to a Sovereign Titan. It wasn't a cup of water; it was an ocean.
"You can't drink the ocean through a straw," Ren whispered.
He reversed the flow.
[Skill: Elementalist - Lightning Overload.]
Ren pushed his energy into the chains.
ZZZ-ZAP!
The blue energy turned jagged yellow. The Pree clones screamed as they were overloaded with Titan energy. They exploded one by one into blue dust.
Only the real Pyat Pree remained, cowering near the Heart.
"Impossible!" Pree shrieked. "You are... a god?"
"No," Ren said, breaking the chains. "Just a better Warlock."
Ren walked up to Pree. Saeko stepped forward, the Murasame drawn.
"Yours," Ren said.
Saeko didn't hesitate. Slash. Pyat Pree's head rolled across the floor.
The Hatching
Ren turned to the floating Heart of the Undying. This was the source of all magic in Qarth.
"Daenerys is fighting her own battle in the next room," Ren said. "While she burns the Undying Ones with Drogon... we're going to use this."
Ren summoned the chest from his inventory.
He placed the three eggs—Obsidian, Cobalt, Bone-White—directly onto the pulsating violet Heart.
"Maggie, pour the oil," Ren ordered.
They doused the eggs and the Heart in lamp oil.
"Saeko, Saya... blood."
Ren cut his own palm. He dripped his Titan-infused blood onto the eggs. Saeko cut her hand. Saya cut hers.
"Blood of the Sovereign. Blood of the Warrior. Blood of the Queen," Ren chanted. (#showoff)
He placed his hand on the Heart.
[Skill: Flame of the Sovereign.]
Ren superheated his hand.
He touched the oil.
WHOOSH.
The fire ignited. But it wasn't orange. Fueled by the magic of the Warlock's Heart, the fire turned a deep, violent purple.
The Heart screamed as it burned, releasing centuries of stored mana into the eggs.
Ren stood in the fire, immune. He held the eggs as they cracked.
CRACK. SNAP. HISS.
The Heart dissolved into ash. The fire died down.
Ren stood there, holding three new lives.
The Obsidian Dragon: Pure black with red eyes. It looked at Ren and crawled up his arm to his shoulder. Name: Typhon.
The Cobalt Dragon: Sleek, blue scales with frost-like patterns. It looked at Saeko, sensing her sharpness. It hissed at her. Saeko reached out, unafraid. It climbed onto her sword hilt. Name: Raijin.
The Bone-White Dragon: Pale, skeletal-looking, with pink eyes. It looked at Saya. It seemed intelligent, watching her carefully. Saya extended a trembling finger. It nuzzled her. Name: Wraith.
[System Notification]
[Quest Completed: The Warlock's Tower.]
[Reward: 3x Sovereign Dragons Hatched.]
[Bonus: Warlock Magic Absorbed (Ren's Mana Capacity Increased).]
The tower began to collapse. Daenerys's dragons had burned the Undying Ones in the throne room illusion, and Ren had destroyed the Heart.
"Move!" Ren shouted.
They ran.
They burst out of the tower just as it crumbled into dust.
Daenerys was already outside, hugging Jorah. Her dragons were smoking.
She looked up and saw Ren emerge.
She saw the black dragon on his shoulder. She saw the blue dragon on Saeko's shoulder. She saw the white dragon in Saya's arms.
Daenerys's eyes widened. "You... you have them too?"
Ren walked up to her.
"We are the last of the Valyrians, Daenerys," Ren lied (he wasn't Valyrian). "We are the Pack."
Xaro Xhoan Daxos tried to flee.
Ren pointed at him.
"Dracarys," Ren whispered to Typhon.
The baby dragon opened its mouth. A jet of black fire—small but intense—set Xaro's silk robes ablaze.
"Loot the vault," Ren ordered his team. "Then we leave Qarth. We need a ship."
"To Westeros?" Daenerys asked, hope rising.
"No," Ren said, looking at a map Saya handed him. "We need an army first. We're going to Astapor."