Outside Raventree Hall, a group of dozens of people waited in silence.
"Are you sure the dragon is coming?" Roderick, who had gotten out of bed far too early, asked in a slightly sleepy tone. He had been waiting for an hour, and there was still no sign of the dragon.
"You can go back to the arms of your beautiful wife, uncle," Maekar replied impatiently; it was the tenth time Roderick had asked the same thing. He was like a child constantly asking if they were there yet during a long trip.
Maekar wasn’t a father, yet he was already having this terrible experience, and he wasn’t enjoying it one bit. Roderick was simply being far too impatient.
Suddenly, his heart began to beat extremely fast. Maekar raised his head and whispered with a smile.
"It’s coming."
Maekar could feel it; the sensation was stronger than ever. If he reached out his hand, it felt as though he could touch his dragon.
Though it was a whisper, Roderick heard it and looked up. Originally, he thought his nephew was delusional, but his gaze narrowed as he saw a small black dot on the horizon. The dot began to grow rapidly, and he saw something akin to a creature flapping its wings like a bird.
Maekar was smiling, but his smile froze when he saw that the dragon didn’t seem to be slowing down—it was accelerating even more toward him!
"Holy shit!!!" Without any hesitation, Maekar began to run toward the open field; he felt that the dragon would truly collide with the castle!
Before running, Maekar shouted to his uncle and sprinted with all his might. "Uncle, the dragon isn’t going to slow down! To stop it from destroying the castle, I’m running to the meadow behind it!!!"
There was an excited smile on Maekar’s lips; he truly felt like a normal teenager at that moment. Behind him, he could hear a majestic, long roar.
Seeing his nephew running, Roderick’s expression froze; without hesitation, he made everyone run back into the castle.
Witnessing Maekar’s excited smile, Roderick couldn’t help but be speechless, but there was also a smile on the Lord of Raventree Hall’s face. It had been a long time since he had seen Maekar acting like a normal teenager.
Maekar, having reached the meadow behind the castle, saw a massive shadow pass beneath him and looked up. Although the sun was in the way, the platinum scales with touches of gold reflected perfectly under the light.
In the next moment, a loud crash echoed, and the earth seemed to tremble. Maekar managed to keep his balance and held his breath.
It was a massive creature, eighty meters long with a wingspan of two hundred and twenty meters, featuring two short hind legs and two large wings as forearms, with a hideous triangular face covered in scales.
Atop its head, pale golden horns formed a majestic crown of menacing spikes. Along its spine, terrifyingly sharp points projected upward, looking especially fierce and intimidating.
The enormous, strong, and muscular body displayed the prestige of the planet’s greatest predator, a dragon!
The massive dragon was covered in shimmering platinum-colored scales with golden hues at the edges, glowing with a metallic sheen similar to metal plates, yet unlike metal that could be pierced. The scales of adult dragons had the same hardness and resistance as Valyrian steel, making adult dragons true war machines.
(Photo of the dragon >)
Its eyes blinked, the double eyelids revealing a pair of majestic and cold golden eyes; the dragon’s gaze seemed to reflect Maekar’s smiling face.
Suddenly, the dragon’s head lunged forward, gently nudging Maekar, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. The dragon showed a humanized expression of disdain with a touch of sarcasm.
Maekar was speechless at the dragon’s petty personality; at the same time, he felt as though he had been claimed by the dragon and not the other way around, as it should be. For a moment, he felt like a Pokémon while the dragon was the trainer.
[You have tamed a human; do you wish to name it?]
Ignoring the strange thoughts in his mind, Maekar stood up with a calm expression. He approached the dragon and, without any hesitation, touched the massive creature’s snout.
The prince could feel the hot wind coming from the dragon’s nostrils; the scent of sulfur, which should have been strong and extremely unpleasant, made his entire body feel comfortable.
Looking at the beautiful creature before him, Maekar smiled. Although it wasn’t Vermithor or the Cannibal, it was an extremely large adult dragon and could grow even more before the Dance of the Dragons truly began.
"You are beautiful; look at those platinum scales with a touch of gold. Is there a more beautiful and majestic dragon?" Using the voice one would use with a cat or dog, Maekar said with a smile as he touched the scales, which were warm to the touch.
"Bahamut." Maekar chose the name with a smile. "Don’t tarnish this name, or the Dragon God of Justice will be angry."
Bahamut’s response was to raise its head and open its mouth; a platinum flame with golden threads gushed out. The hot, fierce winds swept through the area, including Maekar himself, who was forced to step back a few paces.
"It seems you liked the name," Maekar said with a laugh. Now, he felt he could arrive in King’s Landing with an entrance worthy of a true Targaryen. He wanted to see Jaehaerys’s arrogant face when he saw Bahamut.
The old man hadn’t allowed an egg to be placed in his cradle, but he had still managed to get an extremely powerful, wild adult dragon.
"Let’s go to Raventree," Maekar said as he stroked the scales on the dragon’s face. Although the dragon didn’t know High Valyrian, being a wild dragon, the extraordinary bond between rider and dragon allowed it to understand Maekar’s intentions.
Bahamut took flight as it advanced toward the beautiful castle of House Blackwood. The gigantic platinum and gold creature flew through the sky as if it were a bird, shocking anyone with even a shred of biological knowledge.
When Roderick saw Bahamut, his expression was one of surprise; he had expected a young, small dragon, but the monster before him was anything but young and small. He wondered how a beast of that size had gone unnoticed until now.
As for the surprise of seeing a dragon, there was none; he had already seen other dragons like Silverwing and Vermithor, as well as Caraxes and Vhagar. During the processions of the Old King and the Good Queen, Raventree was a quite pleasant location, and the queen enjoyed the fresh air of Raventree.
Roderick looked at Bahamut and couldn’t help but smile. From that moment on, Prince Maekar of House Targaryen was a Dragonrider and was no longer someone even the king could ignore. He was a dragonrider mounting an adult dragon, a powerful dragon!
"Are you sure he won’t eat the servants trying to put the saddle on him?" Roderick asked Maekar, who was beside him. The teenager didn’t take his eyes off the dragon, as if it would disappear if he blinked.
"Don’t worry, no one will die." Maekar was confident in his words; Bahamut had a somewhat cruel temperament, but he was quite approachable and loved being the center of attention. In other words, he was a narcissist who thought he was the most beautiful dragon.
At Maekar’s words, the servants gathered their courage and, surprisingly, the dragon was quite cooperative while they placed the saddle, secured around its neck by long cables, iron nets, and reinforced leather straps.
The saddle Maekar had chosen was entirely red to match Vermithor or the Cannibal, but it looked even better on Bahamut; the beautiful platinum and gold dragon looked very good with a red saddle.
As for riding Bahamut without a saddle, sorry, Maekar wasn’t stupid. He still found it hard to believe that Daenerys would truly dare to ride a dragon as large as Drogon without a proper saddle. The mere recoil when the dragon took flight should have sent Daenerys flying backward.
Not to mention long-distance flights and the saddle’s ability to help control the dragon during flight. It was simply insane to fly without any protection atop a giant dragon. He was always confused as to why the show’s producers didn’t put a saddle on Drogon.
Roderick, seeing that the saddle was almost fully ready for the rider to mount, asked in a calm tone: "When are you leaving for King’s Landing?"
"Today." Maekar didn’t want to delay his departure for King’s Landing any longer; he truly feared that if he lingered, Daemon, riding Caraxes, would arrive at any moment. He really didn’t trust himself to hold back from driving a dagger into Daemon’s heart.
At the same time, he truly wanted to see King Jaehaerys, who didn’t like him. In the Old King’s eyes, he was an uncontrollable element, just as Maegor had been, the man who had left the Old King with severe trauma and extreme caution.
Just imagining the king seeing his dragon made Maekar want to greet his grandfather with an innocent smile. Don’t call him vindative; when you’re excluded from your own family because of a paranoid old man, you’d hold a grudge too.
"Take care, and remember that House Blackwood will always be your home." Roderick looked at the teenager before him and spoke in a gentle but solemn tone.
"I know." It was exactly because Roderick had treated him like a son that he wanted to strengthen House Blackwood. It was his way of saying thank you for all the care, education, food, clothing, money, and love he had received in these thirteen years.
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/GOTSW
Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Jujutsu Kaisen: The True King
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard