Chapter 168: The Gift of the Old Man of the River
Above the mast was the sun, and the figures of three dragons flew high in the sky, turning into faint light.
Rhaegar could see large turtles on the riverbank, some so big they could pull people, seemingly capable of biting a person in half. The Rhoynar people called them "Bonebreakers." But these were not the fiercest giant turtles; the most wondrous was the Old Man of the River.
The Old Man of the River is a lesser god under the main deity, Mother Rhoyne. It is the son of Mother Rhoyne, appearing as a giant turtle. It defeated the "Crab King" and gained dominion over the creatures beneath the waters.
Rhaegar stood at the bow of the boat, a small skiff crossing the great river. He felt a sense of exhilaration and warmth. When the great river surged and a small boat drifted downstream, it was a very sweet and heroic feeling. After all, Rhaegar also carried Rhoynar blood, and water dragons are also dragons. A spirit of grandeur, a thousand li of pleasant wind.
Thousands of years have passed, and the grievances between the Valyrian dragonlords and the Rhoynar civilization have become history. The Rhoyne should no longer decline. This scarred land has suffered multiple devastations from the Rhoynar Wars and the great conquest of Volantis during the Century of Blood!
"The Prince does not seem like someone coming to the Rhoyne for the first time; you feel very close and familiar with it," Lord Merrell said.
"You are right, I am fond of this great river. I have some Rhoynar blood, stemming from my distant ancestor King Daeron marrying a Princess of Dorne, traceable back to Queen Nymeria. When I see this great river, I always feel a sense of kinship." Rhaegar looked at the surging river water, which was slowly widening. Downstream, the Rhoyne gathers all its tributaries; its vastness will overshadow all other rivers.
"A thousand years ago, it was the Valyrian dragonlords leading three hundred dragons who utterly destroyed the Rhoynar civilization. But now, a new dragonlord, our half-blood Prince, sails on the Rhoyne. This is a marvelous gift; you possess the blood of dragons and also the blood of Mother Rhoyne!" Chester added.
"And the blood of House Arryn, House Velaryon, House Dayne, and House Blackwood!" Rhaegar spoke of dragon blood as if enumerating his family treasures. The Valyrian dragonlords had many internal marriages, but also quite a few external alliances. In fact, as Rhaegar said, different alliances also represented the dilution of the Valyrian dragonlords' bloodline and the uncertainty of the main line's Targaryen kingship.
After all, only House Targaryen of the Valyrian dragonlords remained. If House Targaryen did not have suitable internal marriages, they could only marry externally. After all, past Targaryen princes could still die young or prematurely, and there was also the need to win over great lords. However, some of these were merely symbolic, such as King Maekar's alliance with House Dayne, and King Maekar's fourth son Aegon's alliance with House Blackwood. If King Maekar and his son had not been so low in the line of succession back then, neither generation would likely have become king, and they would not have married the daughters of lesser lords.
"Look at the river flowing, yet there are so few boats on it. Both banks are covered in ruins and weeds, and the river is full of driftwood and reefs. How dazzling the great river was when the Rhoynar civilization flourished, with towns on both banks like a string of pearls. Speaking of which, the humans along the riverbanks are the unfilial children of the Rhoyne." Rhaegar pointed to the surging river, as golden sunlight shone on its surface.
"Many years ago, after the destruction of the Valyrian Freehold, there were still city-states that wanted to unify the eastern continent, to turn the Rhoyne into their internal river. They tried to unify the Nine Free Cities, tried to dominate the Rhoyne," Chester said.
"Are you talking about Volantis, the First Daughter?" Rhaegar knew which city-state Chester was referring to. The oldest of the Nine Free Cities, the First Daughter of Valyria, densely populated, controlling the fertile lands at the mouth of the Rhoyne and several rich towns. Although it is now weakened, it still has a large population and is one of the most powerful Free Cities, not to mention its golden age. Volantis, after the Doom of Valyria, split into two factions: the Tiger Party of the old nobility believed in military force, while merchants and moneylenders formed the Elephant Party, advocating peace.
"Yes, Volantis was too proud and too arrogant, thinking itself the sole heir of Valyria. Unfortunately, their power could not contend with half a continent, and without the aid of dragons, they relied entirely on human wave tactics. In the century following the Doom, the Tiger Party led Volantis's great conquest, first attacking the Three Daughters. Volantis's fleet captured Lys, and its army occupied Myr. For two entire generations, these three city-states simultaneously obeyed orders from within the Black Walls." Chester fell into a historical recollection; that was Volantis's proudest moment, but unfortunately, it only lasted for a century.
"The turning point occurred when the Tiger Party attempted to annex Pentos, sparking the anger of everyone. No one could tolerate Volantis dominating the eastern continent, not even my ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror, who ruled from Dragonstone. Pentos was the first to ally with Tyrosh, followed by the Storm King of Storm's End joining the alliance. The Braavosi provided a hundred warships to a Lysene exile, while the Conqueror flew from Dragonstone on Balerion the Black Dread to assist. Seeing this, Myr and Lys rebelled, and the war ultimately turned the Disputed Lands into scorched earth, with the two city-states regaining their independence," Rhaegar agreed.
"Not just the Disputed Lands, Volantis made many mistakes in the war. They were too greedy and had no restraint, even making the foolish decision to divide their forces on multiple fronts. The Volantene fleet sent to reclaim Valyria disappeared into the Smoking Sea; in the battle of fire ships on Dagger Lake, Qohor and Norvos united to crush Volantis's power on the Rhoyne; the Dothraki surged from the east, and farmers in the fields and nobles in their estates all fled, resulting in a vast territory from the Qohor Forest in the north to the source of the Sarne River in the south, with nothing left but grass and ruins." Volantis overextended itself, and eventually, even the Tiger Party was almost completely ousted due to the disastrous defeat, barely managing to retain a single seat. Chester had a very detailed understanding of that period of history.
"Therefore, Your Highness, overestimating one's strength and fighting against multiple enemies is a very dangerous thing. The conquest of the eastern continent is a mad game! We could have remained low-key, but by freeing the slaves, you will incur the wrath of most city-states and the slaver cities; war will come early! Your ancestor, the Conqueror, did not have such great ambition. If you use the Narrow Sea as a springboard for eastward expansion, those Free Cities will certainly go mad," Chester whispered a reminder.
"Great achievements stem from hardship!" Rhaegar exclaimed, then looked at Chester. "Nothing is absolute; this game of chess also depends on the player. If I were to play, perhaps I could win by half a move against fate?" Recalling the past, Braavos lacked courage, only daring to pressure Pentos without changing the overall situation. Volantis lacked strategy; its greedy conquest ultimately led to its ruin!
"Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss the coin into the air, and the world holds its breath to see how it will land." Chester looked at Rhaegar and thought of this saying. A young dragon is still a dragon. Rhaegar's ambition seemed to far surpass his predecessors; he actually wanted to challenge all Nine Free Cities.
"Life is difficult, my friend. But to achieve great things, one must first gain people. Without capable helpers, all conquests are but sand between the fingers." Rhaegar looked at Chester; this was an invitation.
"You truly are a mad Targaryen, but your plan is very attractive to me. I've had enough of earning a living under the Fat Man!" Chester laughed heartily.
"Very well, but if you do this, my Fat Man will be sad!"
"The Fat Man gives me a lot, naturally! Besides gold and jewels, there are women. He likes all sorts of strange people and events. He thinks gold can buy everything, but at least it cannot buy respect; that's how the khals treat him. He is ultimately a mediocre official who only needs to sit in the council, while I still want to experience something new and exciting," Chester complained.
"Welcome to my great endeavor!" Rhaegar and Chester shook hands. Conquest is a game of thrones; he did not intend to swallow everything at once, but the expansion of the Iron Throne's power meant the weakening of other powers, and ultimately, war was inevitable.
After a while, time began to pass slowly.
Lord Merrell said to Rhaegar, "Prince, Norvos is almost in sight! The river will become even wider!"
Rhaegar saw dense reeds and called out to his dragon.
Norvos—this was a place tied to the lands of the Rhoyne and the history of the region.
The dragon roared, and Rhaegar soared forward at great speed.
Rhaegar saw a silver ribbon shimmering with the glow of the setting sun—a new great river flowing into the Rhoyne—this was the Noyne River. Norvos controlled the entire Noyne north of its junction. After the two rivers converged, no river in the Seven Kingdoms could compare in width. Not to mention, the Rhoyne would continue downstream to receive other tributaries: the Selhoru, the Volaena, and the Valyrian canals. At the meeting of rivers stood the ancient ruins of Ny Sar, now called the Sorrows.
Rhaegar saw the peninsula at the confluence of the two rivers, with a colossal ruined city upon it, many times the size of Qohor. He saw a great palace of pink and green marble at the tip; its domes and spires had long since collapsed, but the ruins still towered above a series of arches. The waterside docks, once capable of holding fifty ships, were now home to the "Bonebreakers." Yet once, this had been the beautiful city of Ny Sar, the home of Princess Nymeria.
"Dance for me, great river!" Rhaegar thought, summoning his Crown of Fire.
The silver dragon swooped low over the river, and a mighty wall of water, three zhang high, rose before Rhaegar, then crashed down.
A thousand years ago, the Rhoynar used water magic—water walls and waterspouts—to fight dragons.
Black flames ignited in Rhaegar's hand once more, and a waterspout swept across the desolate banks, washing away old traces.
"Beautiful Rhoyne, beautiful Mother Rhoyne, how can I soothe your pain?" Rhaegar murmured.
On the water before him, ripples suddenly spread. A giant turtle surfaced—horned, massive, with a dark green shell speckled with brown, covered in moss and clinging mollusks. Its roar shook the air. The creature showed no fear of the dragon and swam toward Rhaegar.
"It's the Old Man of the River!" Rhaegar recalled the ancient legends. The turtle spat out a staff toward him, then slowly sank back beneath the waters.
Rhaegar took the staff, accepting the blessing of the Old Man of the River.
It was a silver staff, crowned with a large blue gemstone, like the flowing river.
The staff was entirely silver, inlaid with blue gems forming the shape of the Rhoyne's currents. Along its length were carvings of fish, turtles, crabs, fountains, and the great river itself—symbols of the Rhoynar gods, their homeland, and their faith.
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