In the mountains, the war was thoroughly over. The army shone like stars, morale high and spirits refreshed.
Rhaegar had left in secret, but now he returned in glory.
Rhaegar and Lord Jon rode side by side along the high road, sweeping past the paths of the Mountains of the Moon, their companions following behind.
The mountain clans had completely lost their courage; no one dared to surround or block them.
Ser Joffrey thought this normal; Prince Rhaegar had fought so heroically, inevitably reminding people of those young men in the Riverlands during the Dance of the Dragons.
The only difference was that Prince Rhaegar's status was nobler and more dazzling.
Amidst fluttering banners, the crowd celebrated their triumphant return.
In the center of the great army stood a massive black dragon skeleton. On the flat ground, soldiers placed rollers beneath the skeleton, forcing barbarian captives and horses to pull it forward. Dragging the dragon skeleton down from the mountains required immense physical effort. Fortunately, dragonbone was as tough as steel yet incredibly light, or it would have been impossible to move.
But this also displayed the remarkable military achievement of Prince Rhaegar and Lord Jon—they had utterly destroyed the Holy Land of the Burned Men.
The Battle of the High Road was a total victory; the Prince and the Lord had destroyed the Burned Men coalition and inflicted heavy casualties on the wildling main force. The mountain clans were terrified out of their wits by Rhaegar and his companions; one battle was enough to bring lasting peace.
Rhaegar kept the news of the Silver Dragon Egg a secret. For now, only Rhaegar, Sessa, Barristan, and Brynden knew.
The army saw fortifications appearing on the horizon, extending piece by piece, winding along the mountains.
The Bloody Gate—they had finally arrived.
Leaving the battlefield and the smell of blood in the Mountains of the Moon, Rhaegar now had time to properly admire this magnificent fortress.
Grey was the dominant color here: grey watchtowers, grey stone bridges, and battlements. Only the blue-and-white moon-and-falcon banners of House Arryn flew high, adding a splash of color to the grey environment.
The mountain road narrowed, allowing only four men to ride abreast. Multiple battlements were built on the steep cliffs on both sides, and two watchtowers overlooked the area, connected by a grey, enclosed arch bridge.
One man guarding the pass, and ten thousand could not break it open.
Controlling the spine of the world, dominating the fate of all things.
Lord Jon introduced the place to Rhaegar with great pride. "Countless armies have attacked the Vale, but their spears all broke here, dying at the Bloody Gate."
Rhaegar sighed deeply. If the Bloody Gate were closed, enemies simply couldn't enter the Vale. The Bloody Gate was the throat of the Vale, yet solid as gold. Merely five hundred soldiers could hold off thousands of enemies.
After losing dragons, the lords' geographical advantages became even more prominent. Fortresses like Casterly Rock, the Eyrie, and Storm's End were nearly impossible to take easily. Not to mention remote border regions like the North, the Iron Islands, and Dorne, where the climate was the greatest enemy. The North had severe winters, Dorne had golden dunes and scorching sun, and the Iron Islands suffered from gale-force winds.
The Knight of the Gate galloped out from the Bloody Gate. His grey armor was striking, and his sky-blue cloak was reassuring.
"Welcome, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East, Jon Arryn. Welcome, Victor of the Battle of the High Road, Breaker of Spears, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen! Through the Bloody Gate, we salute your great victory and your guardianship of the Vale's peace!"
Lord Jon signaled the knight, and the main force began to pass through the shadow of the Bloody Gate.
The only difficulty was probably the massive dragon skeleton, which took tremendous effort to move. Rhaegar truly wished he had a dragon now, so he could just fly it to the Eyrie.
Unfortunately, without a dragon, natural barriers like the Mountains of the Moon were almost impossible to cross.
Rhaegar called Sessa again and whispered a few words to him.
"Lord Jon, I will give you a gift too," Rhaegar said to the Lord. He wore a mysterious smile, and Lord Jon had no idea what the Prince would present.
Rhaegar noticed Ser Matt Arryn was missing from the retinue. Likely, he had already hurried back to the Gates of the Moon on Lord Jon's orders.
Regarding the intelligence leak, Lord Jon would act even if Rhaegar said nothing.
Leaving the gloomy Bloody Gate area, boundless beauty unfolded before their eyes.
Green fields, blue skies, snow-capped peaks reflecting against majestic mountains. Rhaegar thought patrolling on dragonback would be an even more wonderful experience.
The mountains isolated the Vale from the world but also protected it, ensuring the residents were well-fed and clothed.
Rhaegar found that despite being surrounded by mountains, the Vale's interior possessed fertile black soil, winding rivers, and thousands of lakes. The environment was peaceful, people lived and worked in contentment, happy and satisfied. Perhaps because of this, the Vale residents lacked strong ambition. Agriculture and maritime trade were the Vale's two pillar industries.
The road gradually widened. When the troops reached the plain, Lord Jon ordered them to speed up the march.
The standard-bearer ran at the front, his silver lance flying the blue-and-white moon-and-falcon and the red dragon on black.
This massive army was indeed too conspicuous. Aside from Prince Rhaegar, Lord Jon, and the group of heroic knights, the giant dragon skeleton awed everyone, including the mountain wildlings enslaved in various ways.
Peasant carts, merchant caravans, and some lesser noble riders paid their respects and gave way, but none forgot to steal a few extra glances at the procession—truly a strange group.
The group woke sleepy villages and disturbed beautiful orchards.
"That handsome young man with short silver hair, he must be the Son of the Dragon?"
"Look at Lord Jon's beautiful armor and cloak—it seems they've won another great victory."
"He's so young. If the Dragon Prince wore silver armor, he'd be even more striking."
Before the Gates of the Moon, the drawbridge was down, and Ser Matt had been waiting there for a long time.
But Elbert Arryn was nowhere to be seen.
Rhaegar didn't ask further and rode into the castle. Poor Elbert; Rhaegar didn't want to inquire about such things either.
After tonight's feast at the Gates of the Moon, Rhaegar would still return to the military camp.
Lord Jon and Rhaegar parted ways at the Gates of the Moon; Lord Jon had a complete break with Elbert.
After a long time, Lord Jon entered Rhaegar's room again for a secret talk.
"The wildlings didn't act on a whim," Lord Jon said bluntly, still carrying a faint scent of blood.
"Some mad merchants colluded with the wildlings, plotting to divide the profits. Merchants are always like this, valuing profit over their lives. Unfortunately, my nephew was also tempted by these people. Once the wildlings killed us, Elbert would immediately become the Guardian. As for my child, with the Vale's wealth, Raynal wouldn't live long—poisoned wine and assassins are everywhere across the Narrow Sea. We would die of natural causes, like many Arryn lords."
"It's not your fault, My Lord," Rhaegar comforted him. Before power, fathers and sons, brothers fight, let alone nephews. According to original history, reconciliation between him and his father Aerys was also impossible.
Youth is the best time for dreams. Back then, the uncrowned prince rode a small dragon to challenge the cruel Maegor, only to be killed alive.
The struggle for the throne is cruel, and all great lords face the same situation. Even if not as dazzling as the Iron Throne, a local lord's throne is enough to drive men mad.
In the North, Old Wolf Cregan Stark once gathered an army to imprison his uncle and his uncle's three sons. Later, in the "Years of the Widows," five Stark widows fought for their children's inheritance, known as the She-Wolves of Winterfell. In the Westerlands, the Golden Lion Gerold was deeply shadowed by imprisonment.
In the Vale, Lord Ronnel Arryn, the first to submit to the Dragon Kings, was later thrown directly from the Moon Door by his brother. There was also the Maiden of the Vale, Jeyne, whose inheritance issues caused decades of turmoil in the Vale.
"Elbert didn't give the order, but the people around him were more impatient than he was; he couldn't control his subordinates at all. One of Elbert's stewards came from across the Narrow Sea, having served Elbert and his father, and was now impatient. Once their dream came true, they could hold a secret to threaten Elbert into handing over the Vale's financial power," Lord Jon said through gritted teeth.
"Twenty people have died at the Gates of the Moon, and Gulltown is hunting down the rest of the conspirators; they will all be hanged." Lord Jon declared. This was a manifesto. The Prince was attacked, he himself was attacked, and these people plotted to harm Raynal. The Lord's rage was enough to make rivers of blood flow. He had to act before the Iron Throne knew.
Rhaegar understood Lord Jon's meaning: everyone around his nephew would be executed, but Elbert would be spared. Elbert had no wife or children then, making him practically a lamb for slaughter to Lord Jon.
"I don't want to bear the shame of kinslaying! Those around Elbert have been executed by me; he will be exiled across the Narrow Sea. If he dares return to Westeros, anyone can kill him." A look of pain appeared on Lord Jon's face. Elbert and his father, two generations, were his heirs, waiting decades until Jon's son was born.
In this incident, although Elbert didn't participate directly, his weakness and inability to control his subordinates were serious problems.
"The people across the Narrow Sea are truly bold," Rhaegar thought. The Daughter Kingdoms, even Braavos, were practically ruled by merchants and bankers—ambitious and profit-driven. They wouldn't confront the Dragon Kings directly but preferred using schemes to extract maximum profit.
Rhaegar didn't know how to evaluate Lord Jon's family tragedy; power easily makes people lose their way.
Rhaegar hated Elbert, but he hated those treacherous villains even more. These behemoths lurking across the Narrow Sea constantly coveted House Targaryen. I must hatch the dragon, then destroy those bastards' plots and arrogance.
Exiling Elbert Arryn across the Narrow Sea was also to save Lord Jon's face. Otherwise, once this became public, the kinslaying scandal exposed, people would curse Elbert for stupidity and Lord Jon for cruelty and viciousness, driving his spare heir to death just after having a son.
Elbert Arryn had been spoiled since childhood. Becoming the Young Falcon King, the Heir to the Vale, the Darling of the Vale—these halos, dreams, and fantasies intoxicated him. He climbed too high, too young, and ended up battered and bruised. If Lord Jon lived to seventy or eighty, the torment of waiting would have been even harder to bear.
However, Rhaegar felt that since responsibility was being pushed around, he was partly to blame. If not for his "butterfly effect," Elbert's position as heir would never have wavered.
"Rest assured, Lord Jon, Elbert will cross the Narrow Sea safely. As for what happens after, let the heavens decide." Rhaegar said. He could grant Lord Jon this request now; if Elbert died mysteriously across the Narrow Sea, Rhaegar wouldn't be blamed.
"I won't consider a second heir for now; I only hope Raynal stays healthy," Lord Jon said. His nephew's exile revitalized him. He had to pave the way for his son, and Prince Rhaegar was part of his plan.
The next heir to the Vale would be the child of Lord Jon's sister. Lord Jon would raise them, but he wouldn't allow them any improper thoughts, nor arrange for them to live at the Gates of the Moon.
The two reached an understanding, and the matter was resolved.
Rhaegar would not reveal Elbert's involvement in the wildling attack, nor execute Elbert in the Vale. In return, Lord Jon would support Rhaegar in training and expanding the Eagle Guard.
Without Lord Jon's approval, recruiting in the Vale would be very difficult. Lord Jon had ruled the Vale for decades, his power extremely solid.
This is politics—we compromise with each other, we yield to each other.
The stronger we are, the more terrified our enemies become!
Let them fear! This is the friendship between Eagle and Dragon!
Rhaegar looked out the window at the vast sky and drifting clouds, a throb in his heart.
Even crossing green mountains, one does not age; the scenery here alone is magnificent.