The gate of Maegor’s Holdfast
Viserys watched as his nephew hugged the direwolf, which was the size of a full-grown pony.
The sight itself was less shocking than seeing the direwolf in the flesh before him.
Viserys had read of them, and if his memory served him right, then this wolf’s kind should be nowhere near this side of the Wall, much less in King’s Landing.
Beyond the surprise, Viserys was also jubilant; his nephew had tamed a beast that was spoken of only in tales and stories.
“So its name is Buri?” Viserys asked, taking a few steps toward the wolf and his nephew.
“Sounds like a northern name.
It’s fitting, I suppose, for Buri is from the far North.”
Before Viserys could raise his hand to touch the fur of Buri, Gaemon stood up.
“Please be careful, Uncle.
My bond with him is new; I don’t have much control over him, so if you come closer and he doesn’t like your presence, Buri can hurt you.”
The warning made Viserys slightly hesitant, but he shrugged off the threat and moved closer to Buri.
The wolf’s dark eyes landed on him, and Viserys understood where this beast stood in the ever-consuming cycle of nature.
Viserys had stared into the eyes of the fiercest lions of the west, and even then, he had not felt as unnerved as he did now.
There was no fear in him; he had stood tall under the searing gaze of Balerion the Black Dread.
Compared to his old mount, this direwolf’s warning stare was nothing.
But it was not fear that unnerved him.
It was the unknown.
The unexpected.
For the wolf looked back at him with almost man-like intelligence in its eyes.
It was fascinating and unsettling in equal measure.
Viserys stared back at the wolf without any hostility, and after a few moments the beast seemed satisfied, perhaps having decided that Viserys meant no harm.
So, with deliberate movement, Viserys placed his hand upon Buri’s giant head.
The first thing that came to his mind was softness.
The fur was softer and silkier than it looked.
The second thing was power.
Standing so close, Viserys, a veteran hunter, could feel the coiled strength within the animal beside him.
This was no ordinary wolf.
It was a creature that could rip a man apart with ease, more ease than bears in Kingswood could do at their best.
“WOLF!”
Rhaenyra’s shout from the other end of the bridge reached every ear present around the direwolf.
Viserys heard his nephew sigh.
Rhaenyra, that little bundle of energy, sprinted toward them.
Viserys’s daughter was intelligent and occasionally witty in her remarks, but that side of her rarely came forth.
It was this reckless and passionate part of her that ruled most of the time.
Though Viserys had only himself to blame for that.
Rhaenyra could not have inherited such recklessness from Aemma.
His kind wife did not possess a single bone of mischief in her.
“Whose is it?
Why is it so large?
Can all wolves grow this large?
Does it bite?
Can I pet it?
Does it have brothers and sisters?…”
Rhaenyra’s tide of questions did not stop as Gaemon held her back from getting too close to Buri, lest she be hurt by the direwolf.
Slowly, Gaemon wrapped his arms around Rhaenyra’s waist and held her in place, telling her all about Buri and why she should not go too close without first earning the beast’s trust.
Viserys would have loved to hear his nephew and daughter talk more, but his stomach grumbled loudly.
Fortunately, everyone was too occupied listening to the prince and princess to hear the woes of the King’s stomach.
“Rhaenyra, Gaemon, you two can talk during supper.
Let us go; it’s getting dark outside.”
Viserys commanded, signaling the King’s Guards to make way for him.
“Buri can stay in the kennels for the time being until we build something for him.
I’m thinking—”
“No, Uncle Viserys.
Buri will stay with me.
He will protect me, and this way I will also be able to ensure that he does not harm anybody unintentionally,” Gaemon argued.
Viserys saw the look of familiar stubbornness on his nephew’s face and knew immediately that arguing would be a waste of time—a luxury his hunger could no longer afford.
“Very well.
But you will make sure that Buri does not turn the whole Holdfast upside down.
And any damage done by the direwolf will earn you a punishment, since Buri is your responsibility.”
Without waiting for a reply, Viserys turned toward the Holdfast and made a straight beeline for the dining chamber.
A king could settle matters of direwolves and eyes that could see magic and also miraculously smell it, with a full stomach far better than on an empty one.
An hour and a half later,
Once his daughter left the chamber, Viserys was left with Aemma and Gaemon, sitting in the same places they had occupied before Buri’s arrival.
Speaking of the direwolf, once it had eaten its fill, Buri had made his way out on his own.
Viserys prayed that no knight would try to slay it and get himself killed by the direwolf for an honor he would never live to enjoy.
But that was a problem for the city guards, as Viserys had assigned them the duty of keeping an eye on Buri while the direwolf was away from Gaemon.
“Since when have you been able to see this magic in others, Gaemon?” Aemma asked, her voice bereft of its usual gentleness.
“Since a week or so after we talked about my eyes.”
“And you are telling us only now?
You do know that magic is not something children your age should hide and play around with, yes?
I thought you wise for your age.”
The disappointment was clear in Aemma’s voice, but more than that, Viserys could see the concern and fear of what might have happened urging her to utter these harsh words.
Gaemon lowered his head and remained silent.
“I was going to tell you once I could prove that I indeed could do something with it, so that you would believe what I was saying was the truth.”
“We would never have doubted you, nephew.
Your eyes, their nature, and their sudden appearance are reason enough for us to give you the benefit of the doubt had you told us.
Anyway, what is done is done.
But I hope you will learn from this mistake and not repeat it again.”
Viserys leaned forward in his chair.
Were you able to accomplish something?”
His voice carried curiosity and excitement in equal measure.
Magic was wonderful, but more than that, it was powerful.
Powerful beyond measure.
Dragons were proof of that.
His house’s dreams were evidence enough that magic, in whatever form, elevated one to a whole different world.
And now Targaryen blood had revealed one more secret hidden deep within it, and Viserys would make sure he learned everything about it, if only to sate the child inside him who loved magic more than anything.
It was only a boon that, in the process of achieving what he wanted, his nephew would be the one to benefit the most.
Together, Gaemon and Viserys would uncover everything there was to know about his eyes.
Gaemon raised his head and nodded.
His nephew launched into an explanation of how he had attempted to draw out his own mana, as he called it, and turn it into fire or one of the natural forces, to weaponize his magic.
Hearing that, Viserys could not help but compare Gaemon to Daemon.
Though he could see that things were not as they should be between father and son, both of them did share certain similarities.
Viserys’s brother, if ever he possessed magic, would think first of how to weaponize it and use it upon another, if only so that everyone might witness his superiority.
For a fleeting moment, the image of Daemon standing like a shadow behind Gaemon came into Viserys’s mind, and when he blinked, the image faded like mist.
Viserys knew it was merely his mind playing tricks on him, but even so, he vowed that he himself would pay attention to his nephew’s upbringing and see to it that Gaemon did not inherit or learn Daemon’s bloodthirsty and vain tendencies.
It took some time before Gaemon stopped speaking.
His nephew drew a deep breath and gazed at Viserys and Aemma from behind the black cloth wrapped around his eyes.
“With all you have told us, Gaemon, and the way you have told it, not to mention after two whole moons of trying, I can conclude that you found yourself at an impasse with no progress to speak of.
But since you are here and do not look downcast or lost for guidance, I think you have found something that could help you, and you need our aid in either obtaining it or helping you in one way or another.
Am I right?” Aemma asked, one eyebrow raised as she scrutinized the boy she loved as though he were her own son.
“Yes.”
It was the only meek reply Gaemon offered, his head lowering once again.
“What is it, nephew?
What have you thought of?
From all that you have said, I can see that you understand and perceive more about magic than most ever could.
So what is it that you need that we can provide?
Is it books?
Or is it…”
Viserys’s curiosity came to an abrupt halt as he reached the conclusion of why Gaemon had come to them.
“…Guidance.”
“Yes, it is guidance.
I need a mentor to learn the basics of this whole art.
And after my research in the library, the closest thing to such guidance lies beyond the Wall.”
Gaemon took a slow breath.
“The Children of the Forest.”
Silence descended upon the chamber.
“I need to go beyond the Wall, Uncle Viserys, or I will waste away the gift I was given by the heavens.”