Of course, while the King and council were being shocked all of a sudden during their supposedly special occasion... Lady Rhea was not spared from the same fate.
As of the moment, she's actively resisting the urge to make a fool of herself... unlike the many others who were staring mouth-wide at the sight of the frosty dragon.
Currently being hauled by the Order into the beach.
Some of them even had to thaw on the ice that was forming, so it should take some while.
More so when it should be quite heavy.
Given that it truly was quite big. Very much so. Many times the size of that Syrax, which had been helping itself to the livestock.
With all that in mind... it should be enough for every smallfolk, fisherfolk, and timely visitors to be given a chance to just gape at the dead beast.
Until such time that Ronan does whatever he plans with it.
With that as a reminder, she really needed to give this son of hers some talking to.
Maybe give him a piece of her mind... but that was still a bit shaken. Due to this newest mind-boggling thing he's added to those many priors.
Still, she said. "I should be saying welcome back... but with what you've brought back, it's all that I can wonder."
"It's not like you've never seen a dragon before, mother." Ronan simply shrugged. "This one just breathes ice instead of fire."
"That's what makes it stand out." Lady Rhea emphasized and also doubted. "Besides, isn't it said that when an Ice Dragon is killed, it will melt into the elements that it is made of?"
But Ronan reasoned that. "Some also say that the Ice Dragon is just that constellation used to spot north during the night... with many considering Ice Dragons as just mere anomalous acts of the weather in the Shivering Sea..."
"Personally, I believed that Ice Dragons are fire dragons turned by White Walkers into icy undead." He suspiciously added. "Then again, I also theorized that the Wall itself is made of reformed Ice Dragons... with the runed Horn of Winter being something that'll awaken them and make gone that entire thing entirely."
"Regardless... as you're seeing before you... it can be pretty sure that those dragon-melting claims are just lies from boastful people that haven't actually killed any of them." Was what he then conclusively reassured.
Especially with the very real corpse being hauled before them.
Then again, Lady Rhea had the feeling that her son knew more than he rambled on. Specifically that one about White Walkers.
Still, she was curious. "How'd you even come across this thing of myths and rumors? Those woods walkers, squisher Deep Ones, and demons I've already accepted... but these dragons of frost are another matter. Which makes even I wonder if those overblown assertions of your runed compass might actually have some truth to them."
"I didn't "desire" an Ice Dragon with the compass, mother. We just came across one by accident." He said and reasoned. "As I've already told you from my writings, I speculated that there isn't just one Cannibal Bay. Maybe the Cannibal Bay that someone reported to have escaped from wasn't the same as what the others came across. And with how chaotic most of the bookkeeping in Essos is, I wouldn't be surprised by the misunderstanding."
"Also, given how wide that Sea of Shivering is... there's bound to be other ship-stranding ice formations. Case in point was the small batches we found... and the latest one we charted might actually be the one that backs that Maester Margate's claims."
Consequently, Lady Rhea has read of that, so she muttered. "A bay of frozen ships that actually relates to Ice Dragon activity."
"Yep... even I was blindsided. When I really should have expected it." Ronan sighed as he went on. "After seeing all those Aurora Borealis that folks exaggeratedly considered as the demon mother of ice giants... I let my guard down. And after avoiding so many of those insta-frost blue mist, I kinda wrote that down to be the only other Cannibal Bay maker as well. It also didn't help that those mermaids were being very siren-esque and distracted me some more."
Of course, as he listed out those Shivering Sea aberrations like they were nothing... the unfortunate mother could only sigh as well.
From having a son bold enough to skirt around those terrors and live to talk such tales as if they were day-to-day.
An apt name, his new moniker truly was. Though the Bold Bronze's mother felt that there was some credence to the crazy madness that poor Willam have been complaining about.
Still, Ronan continued. "In any case, had I known better, I could have prepared properly. Instead of just killing it with a Scorpion bolt, which is such a waste, with all that magical blood turning crystal. Though I suppose they could function as gems of enchantment."
Making Lady Rhea wonder. "Were you actually thinking of taming this creature?"
"I tried. Even when the fire in my blood should be quite opposing of it." He admitted. "So, warging was the option I went with... but its blue eyes weren't keen on turning white and its mind had exhibited quite the resistance. And before it could nearly freeze Santa Ma-Rhea Tertia whole... I could only pull the trigger."
And at that retelling, Lady Rhea looked towards the dead Ice Dragon again. And the bronze spike that poked at where its eye should have been.
Since such an eye rejected warging and its mind wasn't keen on changing... Ronan must have just taken one out and ended the thoughts of resistance it had.
Which made the Lady of Runestone sigh once again...
At such a reaction, Ronan then said. "Don't be too sad, mother. You just need to look at the bright side... like I am now."
"Aside from saving my manhood from very cold saddling experiences... the bay it considered its territory had become opened for access. And yes, there might have been quite the layers of ice to break through this time around... but it had loots aplenty."
"With another Valyrian steel weapon at that... a spear one... with the same steel as its entire pole as well. So it's really quite nice." He grinned happily.
But, aside from a manhood that her son might have inherited from that craven Daemon… Rhea still worried about another certain detail, so she pried. "And dare I ask... what have you named this spear?"
"Uhm... well... it's not like Gut Spiller and Cutlery or something along those lines... but I did use it to pick on the ice once I found it." He sheepishly muttered. "So, Ice Pick should still be fine, right?"
And at that, Lady Rhea could only shake her head... at her son's sense of naming that was simply out of this world.
From the boomerang... to those isles he renamed 300... and then there's this new Valyrian spear, to be henceforth styled as Ice Pick.