[THIRD’S PERSON POV]
Another month had passed by since Aelor had first discovered his incredible gift as a skinchanger.
He had thoroughly enjoyed an entire month of soaring through the skies from the perspective of Ancalagon, relishing every single moment of the magical experience.
Being completely immersed inside the mind of the dragon made Aelor feel wonderfully free and unattached from his physical limits.
Speaking of Ancalagon, the black dragon had been growing at a rapid rate that was vastly faster than how normal hatchlings would typically develop.
Princess Rhaena had certainly noticed this miraculous physical change.
Normally, a one-month-old hatchling would have been the size of a large dog or a fat cat at the absolute maximum, but Ancalagon was already reaching the impressive size of a fully grown adult wolf.
Added to the magical effects of the frequent skin-changing bond, the young dragon was becoming vastly smarter every single day.
The beast was naturally taking upon the distinct personality of his human master, becoming just as relentlessly curious and deeply intelligent as Aelor himself.
Ancalagon was also becoming an incredibly agile flyer due to the repeated acrobatics that Aelor would purposefully practice during his long skin-changing sessions.
Aelor wanted to boldly try all the thrilling maneuvers that he fondly remembered Hiccup performing with Toothless from the popular fictional stories of his past life.
To his great delight, a lot of those wild aerial maneuvers were not completely impossible to replicate with a real dragon body.
Aelor also happily noticed that the entire household of Harrenhal had finally been cleansed of any lingering kind of dark curse that had been haunting the gloomy castle halls for decades.
This glorious purification was due to the active and constant use of Aelor channeling his healing powers.
He had managed to place a permanent magical field entirely around the vast territory of Harrenhal, completely covering the ancient Godswood and the shimmering waters of the Gods Eye.
Exactly like the text of the Essence of the Healer had promised him, this magical aura highly accelerated the repopulation of the local wildlife and the surrounding plant life.
The livestock belonging to their entire household had begun to show a massive amount of unnatural growth.
This was especially true for the ducks and chickens, which were naturally quick to repopulate on their own.
Meanwhile, there were countless successful pregnancies among the other larger livestock animals, including the sturdy horses, plump pigs, grazing cows, wooly sheep, lively goats, and heavy oxen.
The sheer amount of fresh milk and large eggs that the animal keepers had been able to collect over the period of just a single month was more than enough to generously feed all the growing household servants.
They even had plenty of excess goods left over to use for lucrative trades and market selling.
Princess Rhaena, the one actively managing all the current daily affairs of her bustling household, had been absolutely astonished by this sudden agricultural bounty.
However, she was mostly stuck in a state of deep preparation.
She knew perfectly well that the grand royal progress of King Jaehaerys was rapidly nearing its scheduled date of arrival.
She had spent all her waking days making absolutely sure that her noble house could adequately feed and host the entire royal retinue.
Much to her pleasant surprise, she and her loyal maester, the trusted man who had been diligently helping her manage the state affairs of House Towers, found that divine luck finally seemed to be firmly standing on their side.
Even the ordinary smallfolk could easily notice the miraculous changes that had been sweeping across the entire territory of Harrenhal.
It was naturally even more apparent to those ancient beings who are deeply attuned to the delicate balance of nature.
The elusive Green Men, the secretive order that had been living in profound isolation upon the mysterious Isle of Faces for thousands of years, had already taken keen notice of exactly what was happening across the lake ever since little Prince Aelor had been born.
“The very earth sings of rebirth and miraculous revival ever since the sudden arrival of the new young lord. It is almost as if the Old Gods themselves had finally decided to physically manifest within the mortal body of that young prince,” one of the ancient Green Men said softly to his quiet companion.
Both of these mysterious guardians wore robes woven from dark green leaves and spun moss.
However, one of them wore a heavy wooden helm decorated with towering elk antlers, while the other man actually possessed true, organic horns growing directly out from his own skull. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
“The Old Gods have finally decided to intervene in the bloody affairs of men,” replied the guardian with the true horns.
As they spoke in hushed voices, both of them reached out their hands and gently touched the smooth bark of the massive weirwood tree standing proudly in front of them.
It had a deeply carved, weeping face etched perfectly along its pale trunk.
Both of them could physically feel their ancient spiritual connection with the sacred heart tree slowly strengthening by the minute.
They could vividly sense that the ancient tree in front of them was slowly gaining a vibrant new burst of life and magical power.
“Should we travel across the waters and properly greet the young lord now? Or shall we patiently wait until he is fully grown?” the guardian wearing the elk antler helm asked his horned companion, noticing the deep contemplation resting upon his weathered face.
“We shall greet him later, when he is fully grown and his magical prowess has finally reached its absolute peak,” the horned guardian answered firmly.
He slowly pulled his hand away from the pale heart tree and started walking silently away into the deep fog of the island forest.
He was immediately followed by the helmed guardian.
This isolated island was not the only location where the ancient weirwood trees were slowly gaining back their lost life.
All across the vast territory surrounding Harrenhal, and especially within its own overgrown Godswood, the magical weirwoods were now beginning to naturally repopulate themselves once again.
New white saplings with blood-red leaves were rapidly sprouting from the fertile soil, eagerly planting the magical seeds for a much brighter future.
After another long week of travel, a massive crowd of commoners gathered tightly along the busy streets of Harrentown.
The eager smallfolk all watched in awe as the grand parade of the royal family slowly approached the towering stone walls of Harrenhal.
Countless armored riders carrying the proud symbols of House Targaryen led the vast procession.
They held high the towering black flags decorated with the fierce three-headed red dragon sigil, letting them flutter wildly in the wind.
Riding at the very front with the mounted guards was the current monarch, King Jaehaerys the First Targaryen.
He was flanked closely by his trusted Kingsguard knights.
The royal protectors were all extremely alert, their sharp eyes constantly observing the cheering crowds for any signs of a potential attack, while other loyal guards heavily protected the large wooden carriage carrying the rest of the royal family.
King Jaehaerys had his massive bronze dragon, Vermithor, flying slowly in the sky right above them.
The great beast was guarding the air and casting a huge shadow, which easily earned both deep admiration and sheer terror from the ordinary people gathered below.
The dragon of the Queen was also noticeably present, with the beautiful Silverwing flying gracefully alongside Vermithor.
Inside the safety of the royal carriage sat the six-year-old heir to the Iron Throne, Prince Aemon.
He was looking out through the small window at the huge gathering of crowds with extreme curiosity.
Sitting right beside him was his younger brother, the four-year-old Prince Baelon.
“Aemon, do you think we will see ghosts hiding in the castle? I heard from the guards that the castle of Harrenhal is horribly cursed and haunted by the dead family of House Hoare. They were the kings who were burned alive by Aegon the Conqueror,” Baelon asked curiously, turning toward his older brother.
Prince Aemon just smiled mischievously at him.
“Yes, they will absolutely haunt you and eat you whole if you continue to wander around by yourself, exactly like you always do back within the Red Keep,” Prince Aemon answered.
He was clearly trying to scare his little brother, but his threatening words seemed to have the complete opposite effect. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
The bright eyes of Prince Baelon only shone brighter with thrill.
“Really? I would actually get eaten by a terrifying ghost? That would be a truly glorious way to die in battle,” Prince Baelon said with absolute excitement.
His bold childish statement immediately earned warm laughter from both his older brother and his mother.
Meanwhile, Queen Alysanne just gently nursed her swollen stomach.
Her original plan to fly ahead toward Harrenhal had been completely interrupted when her pregnancy became much too heavy.
She was strictly forbidden by the Grand Maester to fly on the back of her dragon, a medical decree that her husband, the King, had also firmly supported.
She then looked over at the loyal wet nurse sitting quietly beside her.
The woman was carefully holding her currently youngest-born child, Princess Alyssa, who was sleeping peacefully in the arms of her caretaker.
After a few more minutes of bumpy riding, the royal procession finally entered the massive iron gates of Harrenhal.
The very moment they crossed the threshold, Queen Alysanne felt something truly incredible wash over her.
Her constant stomach pain and pregnancy aches immediately began to subside, and her tired spirit began to feel remarkably lifted.
‘What exactly is happening here?
‘Queen Alysanne,’ she thought to herself in pure wonder.
She was certainly not the only one who felt the miraculous changes in the air.
Everyone from the massive retinue of the royal family, especially the guards and servants who had felt the deepest physical fatigue from their long journey, had slowly felt their exhaustion lift away completely.
When they fully entered the castle grounds, they reached the vast outer yard of Harrenhal.
Princess Rhaena was already waiting there to receive them, standing alongside her resident maester, her household guards, and absolutely everyone who was under the employ of House Towers.
King Jaehaerys smoothly dismounted from his warhorse and approached his older sister.
She was respectfully kneeling on the stone ground along with all of her servants to welcome the monarch.
“Stand,” King Jaehaerys commanded in a clear voice.
Princess Rhaena and the others immediately stood up at his royal word.
“My King, please meet Lord Aelor Towers, my newborn son,” Princess Rhaena said proudly.
She presented the infant Aelor for the king to see.
The child had fine platinum white hair and the absolute clearest blue eyes that King Jaehaerys had ever seen in his life.
His eyes looked exactly like a flawless pair of sapphire gemstones.
However, the striking physical appearance of the boy was not what made King Jaehaerys the most curious.
The very moment King Jaehaerys laid his eyes upon little Aelor, something deep within his soul suddenly felt entirely at peace.
It was an incredibly strange feeling to experience, especially considering the heavy political burden of the entire realm that constantly rested upon his royal shoulders.
But as he continued to stare down at baby Aelor, that suffocating feeling of burden slowly came completely undone.
Princess Rhaena simply looked at her younger brother with a knowing smile.
She knew completely what he was feeling right now, as she felt this exact same magical peace every single moment she spent with her son Aelor.