Rhaegar gazed at the brilliant dragon egg, shining with silver light like a bright star, magnificent and beautiful.
Even as an art piece, a dragon egg was stunning. Silver, gold, white, and green eggs were all incredibly beautiful. However, dragon eggs were too precious; no one would be foolish enough to display them, for they only invited envy and thieves.
In the future, when I own the most dragon eggs in the world, I can build an underground Hall of Dragon Eggs! Rhaegar thought.
Rhaegar summoned Sessa and whispered a few words in his ear.
Sessa left the cave as instructed and soon reappeared, holding two small vials of blood—one from Tholim, the other from the unfortunate dead chief.
"These mountain clan chiefs can barely be called kings. I wonder if this blood is useful." Rhaegar took the vials and dripped blood onto the dragon egg, but nothing happened.
Rhaegar also dripped his own blood onto the egg, but it still did not react.
Neither the blood of "kings" nor his own Blood of Fire could wake the egg.
Does the dragon egg crave King's blood? Rhaegar wondered. But kings were not rare. It was said new Pirate Kings had appeared in the Narrow Sea and Stepstones. Should he cut their throats to see if their blood worked?
Whether in distant Essos or Tyrosh, Rhaegar was determined to wake the magical dragon.
He was perhaps the person with the purest Dragonlord blood in the world. Was activating the Blood of Fire really that hard?
Rhaegar was disappointed. In this era, dragon eggs were indeed hard to hatch.
Just as Rhaegar felt a trace of regret, he suddenly saw his panel flicker.
(Achievement: Awakening the Dragon Bond, the Union of Fire and Fire. The Dragonlord possesses the Blood of Fire; the magical dragon loves to create fire. This is a pact between man and dragon, with fire as the medium and blood as the witness. When your partner breaks free of its bonds, you will share glory and loyalty, honor and dreams, passion and courage.)
The magic dragon is fire, and fire flows in the blood of Targaryen dragonlords, enabling them to control dragons.
Rhaegar was dumbfounded. He seemed to hear a tiny flame beginning to surge inside the silver dragon egg.
That was the fire of life; the magic dragon was merely sleeping. This was a living dragon egg.
The dragon had not yet awakened, but Rhaegar had formed a Dragon Bond with the hatchling inside. The affinity between man and dragon rose rapidly, and Rhaegar's Blood of Fire would also be strengthened.
(Collection: Silver Dragon Egg. This dragon egg is extraordinary, originating from the ancient city-state of Valyria. Hatch it well; the future is bright.)
Rhaegar was ecstatic. The preciousness and rarity of the egg skyrocketed.
The journey, the war, the sacrifices—the precious dragon egg gained in the end was worth it all.
Rhaegar saw the message: this Silver Dragon Egg was not of the lineage bred later on Dragonstone or in the Dragonpit, but an egg brought back from Ancient Valyria. However, no one had hatched it for so many years; most probably assumed it was a dead egg and discarded it.
These ancient Valyrian eggs brought to Dragonstone had a much lower hatching success rate than the eggs of second and third-generation dragons, but their draconic power far exceeded those of the smaller dragons.
Dragons hatched from ancient Valyrian eggs grew larger and fiercer. Meraxes and Vhagar were such examples. As for Balerion, born in Valyria, he was a living fossil.
Throughout history, since coming to Westeros, House Targaryen's dragons had declined generation by generation, significantly weakening in size and combat power.
If this silver dragon hatched, it would undoubtedly be massive and powerful, potentially even surpassing the Black Dread Balerion.
Rhaegar stroked the egg, his heart filled with joy. This silver egg was priceless—an ancient Valyrian egg, peer to Meraxes and Vhagar, and it was alive.
A thought suddenly flashed through Rhaegar's mind: Could this be the egg Daemon gave to Mysaria, the one his brother intercepted? Later, when Daemon held high power, did he personally give this egg to Nettles?
If so, it would explain why King Viserys was so furious back then; there was a reason. Giving a precious ancient Valyrian egg to a Lysene whore was a massive insult to the Dragonlords.
Though dragonbone was rare, House Targaryen still possessed plenty.
Only dragon eggs, especially those sparking with life and not fossilized, were truly priceless.
Rhaegar carefully wrapped the egg, then led a few men to thoroughly search the cave, finding some unexpected gains.
Scattered at the back of the cave were gold and silver coins, jewelry, crystals, red coral, agate, and other valuables, along with some embroidered clothes that had long since rotted.
Rhaegar calculated and found the sum was substantial. For years, most of the wealth plundered by the Burned Men had been given to the Fire Priestess.
But this gold, silver, and jewelry lay far from Nettles, discarded carelessly deep in the cave. Legend had it Nettles disliked sparkling treasures; she was always ragged and refused to dress up.
These high mountain savages were indeed poor, but their faith was devout. They still offered all their plundered wealth when sacrificing to the Fire Priestess.
"My true first bucket of gold," Rhaegar thought with joy. Dragon egg, dragonbone, soldiers, and a vast fortune.
Without funds, one cannot manage an army or an intelligence network. Just as a man cannot get rich without a windfall, a horse cannot grow fat without night feed.
"Buddy, you are the best harvest; you can't let me down." Rhaegar patted the silver dragon egg and led the group out of the cave. They would bury Nettles' body and take Sheepstealer's bones and the treasure.
The Burned Men's settlement had long been swallowed by flames. Under Lord Jon's command, the Vale knights and Eagle Guard thoroughly destroyed the tribe, looting all property and food the savages hadn't taken, leaving only ruins.
The Eagle Guard and Vale Knights formed two dense ranks extending from the cave entrance to the village.
The blue-and-white moon-and-falcon banners and the black-and-red dragon banners fluttered in the wind.
Their armor shone in the sunlight, morale high.
Their spears, swords, and armor were sharp and gleaming, like clear spring water. Rhaegar saw the soldiers' smiles were as clean as razors.
Leading soldiers to any victory—this is the commander's only mission.
Treating soldiers like one's own, being strict or merciful, violent or gentle—these are just embellishments.
The soldiers watched Prince Rhaegar and his retinue emerge from the cave, looking triumphant; clearly, they had achieved their goal.
"Rhaegar the Victor!"
"Rhaegar, Breaker of Spears!" The soldiers cheered in unison, their voices resonating through the clouds.
Many years ago, Prince Baelor was known as "Breaker of Spears."
Today, the soldiers praised Rhaegar as the Breaker of Spears, a true warrior!
Lord Jon rode from the village to Rhaegar's side. "Prince, I brought a small gift from the Eyrie for you."
Lord Jon unbuckled his sword and presented it to Rhaegar. The sword was exquisite and sharp, the hilt a falcon's head with wings for a guard, the falcon's eyes set with sapphires. Though not as precious as a Valyrian steel sword, it was Lord Jon's most cherished treasure.
"Thank you, My Lord. But I cannot claim this victory alone. The victory belongs to me, to you, to Ser Barristan, to Master Sessa, to Ser Brynden, to Ser Matt, to Ser Joffrey, to all our brothers." Rhaegar accepted the sword, bowed to the Lord, then raised his hand, facing the crowd with Lord Jon.
Applause erupted like thunder again. The soldiers raised their weapons and cheered once more.
"Long live the Eyrie! Long live King's Landing!"
"Long live the Eyrie! Long live King's Landing!"
"Rhaegar is victorious! Jon is victorious!"
"Rhaegar, Breaker of Spears!"
Amidst the cheers, Rhaegar felt a little intoxicated.
Among the many truths in the world, power is one.
There will always be those who attempt to destroy peace and stability; swords and spears are indispensable.
Rhaegar looked at the soldiers and said, "I wield sword and spear in one hand, and pen and paper in the other."
Rhaegar opened his Tree of Life template, and new changes began to appear:
Warrior levels should be divided into Low, Medium, and High, and there should be higher levels. High-level warriors represent the frontline fighters of Westeros.
[Rhaegar Targaryen]
Identity: The Last Dragon, Blood of Fire (Mid-High; you have allied with a magical dragon, your Blood of Fire is deepening).
Titles: Son of Summerhall, Lucky Rhaegar, Silver Prince, The Victor (Derived from leading the unwavering Eagle Guard to a great victory in the Battle of the High Road. Victory outweighs all praise; a true dragon fears no battlefield!), Breaker of Spears (Derived from leading soldiers to break their spears and fight to the death against wildlings in the Battle of the High Road!).
Talents: Knightly Talent, Heart of Sword and Harp, Sleeping Dragon, Dragon Dreamer.
Charisma: Likable Dragon, Precocious, Triumphant General (The fire of the young dragon has erupted, invincible; you will become a true commander!)
Achievements: Igniter of the Devourer, Fate Changer, Awakening the Dragon Bond.
Game of Thrones: Player. Commander: New Commander. Warrior: Mid-High Warrior. Lucky One: Lucky Targaryen. Explorer.
Holy Sword: Silent Great Sound (Inherited from the swordsmanship of the Lysene Shadowdancer Sandoq).
Holy Sword: Novice (Inherited from Braavosi Water Dance, Inherited from Barristan Selmy).
Divine Archery: Precision and Distance (Inherited from Bloodraven / Brynden Rivers, via Brynden Tully).
Collection: Rhaegar Targaryen's Dragonlord Ring, Ancient Valyrian Silver Dragon Egg.