At dusk,
Aemon hurried to Runestone City to meet with his mother, Lady Rhea.
"Did you know I was back?"
Lady Rhea was arrogant and refused to see her son, whom she had not seen in months.
"I never visit you for no reason."
Aemon shrugged; he was already immune to his mother's sharp words.
To his surprise, there was a familiar guest in the hall.
"Prince, was your journey smooth?"
Jansif, wearing a light green dress, handed him a glass of sake.
Aemon asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"
They had just met in River Valley Town at noon and traveled to Runestone City that afternoon.
"She didn't arrive much earlier than you."
Lady Rhea took over the conversation, saying disappointedly, "I heard that you ran to Seagull Town and Iron Oak City. I really don't know how to evaluate it."
The rivalry between Runestone City and Seagull Town has continued from the Age of Heroes to the present day.
Red Waywood is also a greedy old fox who doesn't release his eagle until he sees the rabbit.
Seeking help from these two parties is like hitting a wall.
Aemon nodded slightly and looked at the red-haired girl beside him.
Jansif lowered her head shyly and said softly, "Lord Waywood is not an easy person to deal with. I think you will go to Runestone City after this trip."
What should you do in Runestone City? Fight the Iron Oak City or the pirates of the Three Women's Kingdom.
Aemon pursed his lips and suddenly realized how smart the women around him were.
Except for Rhaenyra.
It was the hardships of being a woman that honed her skills.
The two women, one big and one small, were both from the valley and knew the neighbors' situations better than he did.
"You still have a lot to learn."
Lady Rhea looked proud.
How could the daughter-in-law she chose be ordinary?
"Then I have to thank you."
Aemon was thick-skinned.
Jansif buried her head in her chest, not daring to take credit.
She stared at her mother and bent down to Jansif's ear, whispering, "Did you settle it?"
"Yeah."
Jansif nodded slightly and generously admitted it.
He hurried from River Valley Town to do some ideological work on Lady Rhea.
She wanted to be the princess of River Valley Town, so she couldn't let her mother and her son fight or avoid each other because of her.
Only by playing the role of mediator can we win at the starting line.
"Very good."
Aemon quietly gave a thumbs up.
It saved him a lot of effort.
"You guys chat. I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare dinner."
Jansif glanced back at Lady Rhea and left the mother and son alone.
Aemon was stunned by her well-behaved and sensible appearance again and again.
She's too smart.
The ability to control people's hearts is wonderful—just short of getting into their stomachs like a worm.
The hall fell silent.
Lady Rhea took a sip of sake and said casually, "What a good girl. But she overdid it, and her acting skills aren't that great."
Aemon was surprised and said, "You know everything?"
His mother's level is indeed higher.
"I said her shortcoming is that she still has room for growth."
Lady Rhea put down her wine glass, pointed at the untouched wine, and said,
"For example, you don't like to drink, but you occasionally drink sweet wine or sake to pretend. When she prepared wine for you, she forgot to prepare a portion of strong wine for me."
The sake in her wine glass tasted like horse urine and was unpalatable.
Looking at his mother, who was speaking freely, Aemon guessed, "She's probably met you no more than three times."
"Yes, she was a guest at the Red Fort once, and today is the second time."
Seeing that her son was not stupid, Lady Rhea preached: "You should give her more opportunities to get to know you. She will make your second half of life very comfortable."
Not to mention the valley.
Even among the seven kingdoms, it's hard to find an unmarried daughter who can help her husband.
As early as a few years ago, she had taken a fancy to Jansif at the Red Fort banquet.
At that time, Jansif was just a little girl, but she could arrange a banquet for her father, Lord Redwyne, and entertain the guests.
"Mom, I have a sweetheart."
Aemon repeated this sentence for the second time today.
"One?"
Lady Rhea's eyes were sharp.
Aemon lowered his head to think.
"So that means you're involved with both of them."
Lady Rhea's eyelids jumped, and she remarked, "Your ability to commit suicide is even better than that of your bastard father."
Hope there won't be a substantial breakthrough before you're exposed.
Otherwise, the king and the sea snake will not let it go easily.
They are the two most cunning people in the seven kingdoms.
Aemon looked down at the brown floor helplessly.
This floor is too hard.
"Okay, don't play dumb with me."
Lady Rhea rolled her eyes.
From childhood to adulthood, he pretended to be confused when he made a mistake.
If you didn't know better, you might think he was the spitting image of his uncle, the king.
"Hehe."
Aemon smiled sheepishly.
The conqueror still has two wives.
What's wrong with him having two sweethearts?
"I don't object if you want to summon vassals. If someone blocks your way, step over them," Lady Rhea said seriously.
Lady Rhea said seriously.
Aemon put away his smile, indicating that his opponent this time was the pirates of the Three Women's Kingdom.
"The Three Women's Kingdom is in turmoil, so it's a good place to train."
Lady Rhea took out the clan sword, Sorrow, that she had prepared in advance and placed it on the table. She stood up and said, "But you have to think clearly. Besides the enemies on the battlefield, who are your real enemies?"
"I understand."
Aemon stepped forward and pressed the cross-shaped Valyrian steel sword, Lament.
The panel prompt sounded.
"Discover a magical weapon, gain +10 magic essence."
It was ordinary and could not stir his heart.
Lady Rhea stared at him, picked up the wine glass, and drank it all. Her tone softened. "You should know that you have an easier way to invisibly eliminate those hostile to you."
A Targaryen had returned to his roots in the Vale, making the nobles feel more pressured.
The marriage between Runestone City and Red Fort, plus the newly developed River Town.
The nobles at the bottom of the valley will not only let go of their grudges, but the Runestone City family will also rise to the pinnacle of power in the Vale.
There are only so many ancient noble families in the Vale.
The Arryn family should also consider whether they have the courage to go to war.
"Mom, I'm more than just a Royce."
Aemon held the Lament and said, "I'm a Targaryen too."
After marrying Jansif, he belonged completely to the Vale.
The royal inheritance had nothing to do with him anymore.
His only relative in Runestone City was his mother, Rhea.
In the Red Castle in King's Landing, however, they were all blood relatives with the same surname as him.
Targaryens cannot perish, and dragons cannot die at the hands of despicable people.
What he did in the past was far from enough to prevent the "Dance of the Dragons" from happening.
Lady Rhea was stunned and stared at her son.
She suddenly couldn't understand.
"I was born of bronze and fire!"
Aemon's eyes brightened as he said in High Valyrian, "The Vale is suitable for eagles, but the wider sky is for flying dragons."
Lady Rhea's pupils shrank slightly, and her face contorted.
She understood.
Her son's ambition lay not in the Vale but in the Iron Throne in King's Landing.
Maybe.
Aemon didn't explain much more and walked out of the hall with the Lament.
He was actually quite happy.
His mother was indeed an extraordinary person. She had secretly learned Valyrian.
I just don't know if she did it to communicate with Aemon or to prevent his father, Daemon, from using his native language to mock her.
That night,
Flocks of ravens flew out of a remote attic in Runestone City, delivering information in all directions.
The vassals must be summoned urgently.
...
The next day,
Early in the morning, someone saw His Royal Highness forging iron in the blacksmith shop.
The fire burned, illuminating his red, muscular arms.
Jansif was guarding outside and secretly noticed the Valyrian steel sword, Lament, hanging on the wall.
Why was His Royal Highness forging weapons when he already had such a good sword?
Aemon lowered his head and said nothing, concentrating on hammering the sword blank.
No matter how good the family sword, Lament, is, it's just a borrowed token.
As long as he doesn't inherit Runestone City, it probably won't be passed on to him.
Besides, war is imminent.
He needs to find a reasonable way to relieve his restlessness.
War is not as simple as it is described in books.
War kills people; many people will die.
If you are not careful, you will be cursed for all eternity.
This is especially true of a shocking war that he has devoted his heart and soul to, participated in, and profited from. This war is enough to change the world.
Even if he has a dragon under his crotch, if he fails, he is just a dragon rider.
Victory will be his chance to rule the valley.
He can't help but pay attention.
Clank! Clank!
The hammer falls again and again, gradually shaping two bronze swords engraved with runes.
Aemon did not stop, continuing to forge steel swords and armor.
Not for his own use, but for those who need them.
Day by day, time passed with each freshly forged tool.
Runestone City changed every day.
On the second day,
Gunthor led his deputy, William, and 800 longbowmen to Runestone City.
On the fourth day,
Gerald Royce integrated Runestone City's troops with 800 valley knights, 1,000 longbowmen, and 1,200 infantrymen who trained daily.
On the seventh day,
Seagull Knight Ryan Shett arrived from Seagull Town.
He was accompanied by his cousin and eldest son, both of whom were knights.
There were also seven hired knights.
Each knight had three squires, forming a team of thirty cavalrymen.
The remaining archers totaled five hundred.
Aemon remained in the blacksmith shop, guarding the furnace and hammering equipment.
The only difference was that he had switched to a larger, heavier hammer.
Every time he hit the tool, fierce sparks flew out.
On the tenth day,
Members of the Royce family arrived one after another.
There were more than fifty branches of the Royce family in total, each of which was a wealthy knight family.
Each family had three to five fathers, sons, and brothers.
Including knight squires and archers, there were five hundred cavalry and three thousand archers in total.
All the direct troops of the Royce family were present at this point.
However, the vassals of Runestone City were far from all present.
On the fourteenth day,
An unfamiliar flag entered Runestone City.
It had a zigzag pattern of black and gray.
It belonged to the Tollett family of Greydale.
They were a secondary noble family under the Royce family and were headed by Lord Addison Tollett, also known as the "Grey Fox."
One of his descendants would become commander of the Night's Watch.
Addison Tollett came with his brother and two nephews, as well as fourteen hired knights.
Including the knights' squires and the valley knights, there were a total of five hundred cavalry.
There were also seven hundred longbowmen and one thousand infantrymen.
The total force amounted to two thousand three hundred.
For a secondary noble in a remote area, this was a significant expenditure of the family's assets.
On the twenty-third day,
A team carrying a flag embroidered with the family emblem—"a blue 'Y' with a white border on a red background"—came in a mighty manner.
It was the Cowart family of Coldwater.
They were one of the oldest noble families in the valley and one of the secondary noble families under the Royce family.
The leader was Wald Cowart, the thirty-year-old eldest son and heir of the current Lord of Coldwater.
Sir Wald brought an uncle and a half-brother with him, as well as more than thirty hired knights.
Including the five hundred powerful knights of the valley, there were more than six hundred cavalrymen in total:
Eighteen hundred longbowmen and three hundred infantrymen.
The total force reached 2,700.
Clang!
Aemon swung his hammer down and sparks flew everywhere.
In front of many vassals, a piece of high-quality, full-body plate armor was assembled.
Jansif immediately stepped forward and handed him a dry towel.
Aemon wiped his sweat. His strong muscles were visible, and his face was clear against the fire. He said, "You have all come from afar. Thank you for your hard work."
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