One month later, a raven brought the grim news of the fall of King’s Landing.
Tywin Lannister, the Warden of the West, arrived at King’s Landing with an army under the guise of answering the crown’s call to arms.
After tricking them into opening the gates, twenty thousand western soldiers poured into the city like a tidal wave and began a massive slaughter.
Deep within the Red Keep, the longsword of Jaime Lannister, a member of the Kingsguard, pierced The Mad King Aerys from behind.
From that moment on, the white-cloak knight bore the stigma of the “Kingslayer”.
Princess Elia Martell and Prince Aegon did not escape unscathed either; they were killed by the western rebels while attempting to flee.
After the turmoil subsided, Lord Tywin wrapped their remains in Lannister banners and presented them to Robert Baratheon.
When the grim news reached Dragonstone, Queen Rhaella was by the window making clothes for the unborn child in her belly.
After the maester finished reporting the tragedy of King’s Landing in a low voice, the silver needle in her hand suddenly fell to the ground, making a crisp sound on the flagstones.
“Aerys…
Elia…
little Aegon…”
She chanted these names over and over, her gaze gradually growing unfocused, her body swaying involuntarily.
Viserys hurried forward to support his mother, feeling her frail body trembling slightly.
Fortunately, three-year-old Rhaenys did not yet fully understand the meaning of death.
However, the solemn expressions on everyone’s faces made her feel somewhat timid.
Ashara gently pulled the little girl into her arms, and Rhaenys immediately buried her face in the folds of her dress, her small hands tightly clutching the soft fabric.
The entire hall was shrouded in a heavy silence, broken only by the sound of waves crashing against the shore outside the window.
“We must make preparations early.”
Viserys turned around, his voice surprisingly calm, “Robert’s fleet will soon come to Dragonstone.”
Arthur tightened his grip on the hilt of Dawn: “We can hold our ground against the terrain; the castle at Dragonstone is easy to defend and hard to attack.”
“We cannot hold it.”
Viserys interrupted him, “Our numbers are too few, and we lack complete logistical supplies.
Staying behind on an isolated island is just waiting to die.”
Arthur gazed at Viserys, inwardly startled.
The calmness and foresight displayed by this child, not yet eight years old, made him dazedly catch a glimpse of Rhaegar’s shadow from years past—the same wisdom, the same insight.
Just as they were debating, Ser Alliser Thorne strode into the hall: “Your Grace, a fleet has been spotted outside the harbor!”
Everyone hurried up to the highest tower of the castle.
On the gloomy sea surface, hundreds of warships were parting the grey mist as they sailed toward Dragonstone.
“It is the fleet of Dragonstone.”
Jonothor Darry recognized the style of the flagship: “Before the war, they were dispatched to blockade the ports of the Vale and the North.”
After a short while, everyone could clearly see the banners of the fleet; it was indeed the Three-headed dragon banner.
“We cannot lower our guard,” Viserys swept his gaze over the sea surface with a heavy look, “If Robert truly wishes to exterminate us completely, he might very well forge banners to lure and deceive us.”
Viserys turned to Jonothor Darry: “Ser Jonothor, you are most familiar with Dragonstone.
Would you please take a squad of soldiers to confirm whether they are truly our fleet?”
Ser Jonothor immediately acknowledged the order and strode away with several soldiers.
He looked again at Arthur Dayne: “Ser Arthur, please order the garrison to make defensive preparations, just in case.”
Arthur gave Viserys a deep look, then bowed solemnly and turned away to deploy the defenses.
Viserys gazed at the distant fleet, pondering inwardly.
According to the original trajectory, the Dragonstone garrison only developed rebellious intentions after the storm on the day of Daenerys’s birth destroyed the fleet and the queen passed away.
However, with the current situation unclear, being cautious for the sake of his own little life could never be wrong.
After a while, Ser Jonothor brought a middle-aged knight into the castle.
“Your Grace, this is the commander of the Dragonstone fleet, Ser Willem Darry.”
Viserys was slightly startled when he heard this name.
So this was the person in the original work who escorted Viserys and his sister into exile in Essos.
He had always thought it was the older Jonothor Darry; he could only blame the fact that both belonged to House Darry.
The armor of Ser Willem before him still carried the salty stench of the sea, and his cloak was half-soaked by seawater, yet those eyes radiated a resolute light.
“Ser Willem, it is truly gratifying to see your fleet return safely.”
Ser Willem knelt on one knee, his voice ringing loud and clear: “Your Grace, the Dragonstone fleet awaits your command.”
Viserys pondered slightly, “Ser Willem, normally you should be given a proper rest.
However, the current situation is rather critical.
Please divide the fleet into three parts to stand watch in rotation, and tightly blockade the waters surrounding Dragonstone.”
“At the same time, you must closely monitor the movements of The Stormlands fleet and the Lannister fleet, and also pay attention to the Arbor Fleet and the Iron Islands fleet, whose stances are unclear.”
“As you command, Your Grace.”
With that, Ser Willem turned and left to direct the fleet.
It was time to find an opportunity to go to Dragonmount.
Early the next morning, Viserys found Arthur Dayne in the sitting room.
“Ser Arthur, I must ask you to accompany me to Dragonmount today.”
“Why go to Dragonmount now?” Arthur asked, somewhat puzzled with a slight frown, “Given the current situation, it is safer to stay in the castle.”
“No, last night I had a dream.
The prophecy in the dream guided me to Dragonmount; there is something of mine there, and this concerns the future of House Targaryen.”
Viserys continued to bluff, “You should have heard that members of House Targaryen occasionally awaken a gift called ‘Dreamwalker’.
“Now that House Targaryen faces difficult times, I believe this is precisely the guidance bestowed by our ancestors.”
In truth, his real purpose was simply to go and retrieve Blackfyre, along with the two dragon eggs he had discovered as soon as he arrived at Dragonstone.
On the very first night he arrived at Dragonstone, he had already searched the island thoroughly using the Greensight.
As a result, he discovered the fluctuations of two dragon eggs on the island, both located in Dragonmount.
After all, this was the dragon-rearing place of House Targaryen, and quite a few wild dragons had lived here previously, so it was completely normal for two undiscovered dragon eggs to exist here.
Because Arthur had sensed recently that Viserys was somewhat extraordinary, he chose to trust him once and took dozens of guards to go to Dragonmount with Viserys.
Viserys led the crowd deep into a cavern, then pretended to find Blackfyre, which he had hidden in advance, within a concealed rock fissure.
This Valyrian steel sword gleamed with a dull luster.
“This is…”
Arthur drew in a sharp breath.
Viserys feigned surprise as he scrutinized the sword blade: “Could this be the family’s lost Blackfyre?”
Arthur was truly shocked this time.
It seemed Viserys genuinely possessed some peculiar gift, and the gaze with which he looked at Viserys gained a few more shades of respect.
“The guidance of fate is not yet over.”
As Viserys spoke, he led the group to turn deeper into the volcano.
The deeper they walked, the heavier the scent of sulfur became, and the air grew scorching hot.
“It is too hot here, Your Grace, we must mind the danger,” Arthur said as he wiped the sweat beads from his forehead.
Viserys, however, remained unmoved and continued walking forward.
Turning a bend, a small magma spring appeared before their eyes, where dark red lava flowed slowly in the pit, emitting a suffocating wave of heat.
Yet Viserys felt no heat; from beginning to end, what he felt was only warmth.
“Your Grace!” Arthur hurried forward to stop him, but Viserys had already extended his hands and plunged them without hesitation into the scorching magma.
Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, Viserys calmly withdrew two dragon eggs from the magma.
The eggshells gleamed with a bizarre luster under the reflection of the magma.
One was deep red like blood, with a rough eggshell surface tightly entwined with crimson and dark grey spiral patterns, creating a stark color contrast.
The other had a bronze-like base color, its surface covered with smoky, scorched dark-green patches and patterns.
“A True Dragon’s blood does not fear fire,” Viserys said calmly, his hands completely unharmed.
Arthur knelt on one knee, and the accompanying soldiers also dropped to their knees one after another.
At this moment, it was as if they saw ancient legends being reenacted before their eyes.
This was a True Dragon.