Chapter 235: Dark Sister Acquired
Large snowflakes drifted down, and Rhaegar, Coldhands, and the Child of the Forest looked at each other. Three individuals, three species. The Dragon group let out roars like thunder, their eyes fixed on the two with unfriendly gazes, for the origin of their magic was different. Both carried a magical aura. Coldhands, the revived Ranger of death, and the Children of the Forest's songs and magical elements all originated from the earth and the weirwood heart tree, representing vitality and ancientness. The magic Dragons, however, were of blood and fire, representing passion and conquest.
"Prince, your Dragon group has killing intent toward us! Ultimately, it's because our magic is different; we come from the earth, and you come from blood and fire. It's a reenactment of the ancient Valyrian path of flame," the Child of the Forest's large eyes looked at the magic Dragons, showing no fear.
"Aren't you afraid of the magic Dragons directly breathing fire? If a magic Dragon loses control, I can only call it a technical error!" Rhaegar asked. Both of them seemed very confident in themselves!
"A Dragonlord who cannot control magic Dragons with incantations is not worthy of being a true Valyrian Dragonlord! I've seen the foolish incidents of your ancestors losing control of their magic Dragons, with fumbling Dragonriders and Dragons making things worse. You are different from them; you are more cunning, and your body is filled with a trembling will of magic!" The Child of the Forest recalled some past events. They could live for many years and had witnessed many sudden deaths of Dragons and Dragonriders. A large part of this was due to Dragons losing control and Dragonriders being unable to react.
"With my current strength, can I defeat the Night King?" Rhaegar curiously threw out a question!
"Perhaps! But the Night King hasn't awakened in a long time, so we can't be sure what he's like. However, the Night King's strength will not be weak; he is a creation of ice, and ice is his breeding ground. We only know that he is a solidified mass of ice, a dead fire, a blade that destroys civilizations!" Coldhands said. "He must be accompanied by a large army, with the White Walkers moving out frantically, turning anyone they touch into wights!"
"Is the Night King a Stark? Is there only one Night King, or do different people appear in a cycle?" Rhaegar asked a second question.
"We don't really know that! Perhaps only the Three-Eyed Crow can understand; having seen such a long river of time, he should know the cause of things!" The Child of the Forest also didn't know the specific details. "But he might be a Northerner, perhaps a Stark? But I can't guarantee it."
"Then I'd better prepare well! The stronger I am, the more confident I'll be!" Rhaegar looked at the two. Coldhands had been killed by the White Walkers a long time ago, but now he was a normal living dead. It must be a peculiar method of a Greenseer or the Children of the Forest.
"Prepare diligently! In the Song of Ice and Fire, the Night King is slowly awakening. Winter is coming, the Night King awakens, and the White Walkers march south. The one he hates most isn't us, but you. You are the greatest fire, and the magic Dragons are also the greatest fire." A trace of fear reappeared on the Child of the Forest's face. The iron hooves of war were about to arrive.
"Is the Three-Eyed Crow really not going to see me? No matter what, he is an elder of the clan and has been kind to House Targaryen, once treading on thin ice for the Iron Throne." Rhaegar thought about it; since he was already here, a meeting might be better.
"At this time, he indeed doesn't want to see you. He used to have many names, but now he is just Brynden, just the Greenseer, just the Three-Eyed Crow." Coldhands said. "What do those past honors—Hand of the King, Prime Minister, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch—even count for? Before history, before time, they are merely a small interlude."
"Fates come and go and cannot be forced!" Rhaegar no longer dwelled on it. After Bloodraven became the Greenseer, he would comprehend the vastness and infinity of time. House Targaryen was merely a node in time. The Three-Eyed Crow might be able to peek into the past, but predicting the future was difficult. And ever since he left, he had not favored the True Dragon bloodline.
"You are different now. You are a Dragonlord, and he is a Greenseer. Dragonlords are born for destruction and conquest; they are fire, blades, and great builders. While a Greenseer is a tree rooted in the earth, representing dreams and retrospection, the primal civilization. Because of this, the Three-Eyed Crow doesn't want to meet you directly for now!" The Child of the Forest explained. Her voice did not match her appearance; it was the voice of an adult woman, sweet and high-pitched, carrying an unfamiliar rhythm Rhaegar had never heard before and a trace of sadness that struck deep into his heart.
"Alright, I know a meeting cannot be forced!" Rhaegar said. "Is he afraid I might harm him?"
"No one trusts someone they cannot see through. The Silver Dragon cut off the Greenseer's line of sight; you are a void in the long river of past time. Perhaps you are a violent True Dragon like those of Old Valyria? No one can say for sure. Iron humans are the most destructive, and you are a Valyrian fire human above iron humans, with a burning sensation all over. In the world created by humans, there is no living space for other beings. Giants are almost extinct; they are both our enemies and our fellow sufferers. The great lions in the western mountains have been slaughtered, unicorns are on the brink, and Mammoths number only a few hundred. Direwolves will last longer than us, but they too will eventually become extinct." The Child of the Forest fell into a state of sadness.
"The Three-Eyed Crow asked us to give this to you!" Coldhands threw something to Rhaegar—a sword.
"This is!" Rhaegar's heart leaped with joy. This sword was Dark Sister. Fire appeared in Rhaegar's hand, and silver flames slowly swept over the longsword. He was still wary of the Three-Eyed Crow, and both sides were cautious of each other. Rhaegar drew the sword; its blade was slender, the tip had golden flame patterns, the hilt was like golden waves, with a red gem in the middle. This sword was a family heirloom of House Targaryen, originally designed for female wielders, but later became a weapon for many True Dragon warriors, such as Daemon the Rogue Prince, Prince Aemon, and Brynden Bloodraven. Bloodraven was its last wielder.
"This is the last thing he can leave you! Those weirwood longbows are still in his cave. The weirwood longbows mark him as one of the First Men, while this sword reminds him of the Targaryens." Coldhands' words sounded like an ultimatum. "Time is almost up, Prince. Go back; we don't want to be discovered by the White Walkers!"
Rhaegar held Dark Sister, feeling a surge of excitement. This was an ancestral sword. As for the weirwood longbows, if the Three-Eyed Crow didn't want to give them, then so be it; after all, they were Bloodraven's beloved possessions. Back then, Brynden owned both Dark Sister and the weirwood longbows, and he preferred the weirwood longbows first. Weirwood was strange wood; what if it still held magic?
"House Targaryen, our grievances are settled!" The Three-Eyed Crow's action of returning the sword to Rhaegar still conveyed such an attitude. But it didn't matter anymore; they weren't even human, so what was the point of empathy? Rhaegar couldn't tell if the Three-Eyed Crow was friend or foe. If Rhaegar found the Three-Eyed Crow to be a threat, he wouldn't mind burning the Children of the Forest and the Three-Eyed Crow. The ultimate interpretation rights of magic belonged to him; such a powerful Greenseer was not allowed to exist. Relying on past ties with House Targaryen to win him over was a fool's dream. The Three-Eyed Crow had already become a weirwood tree-man; what did that bit of connection to House Targaryen matter? All the kindness, assisting three or four generations, had long been repaid; now they were even. Dragons and Bloodraven were both creatures of power, dictating the fates of thousands of people; would they be soft-hearted? "Golden cups we'll drink together, but no blades will cross between us!"
"Goodbye! I hope to see you again and have a good talk with Lord Brynden." Rhaegar controlled the magic Dragons and turned back. Snowflakes landed on his silver short hair and then evaporated. Rhaegar put away Dark Sister and left the place.
"He's terrifying!" The Child of the Forest watched the Dragon group fly away with lingering fear.
"He is the King of Fire. The Valyrian Dragonlords, relying on fire and magic Dragons, looked down upon any gods, deeming themselves gods! If they hadn't been limited by lifespan, these Dragonlords would have turned the world into an eternal purgatory." Coldhands continued.
"I wonder what Brynden truly thinks. With the emergence of True Dragons, is it good or bad for the world?"
"Let's go! Otherwise, we really will be discovered by the Others and White Walkers!" The two voices grew softer and softer.
In the flames, Rhaegar also saw the two figures leaving. I also have Fire Sight, but I can only use a telephoto lens, as I'm afraid of being discovered.
"I still have to rely on myself!" Rhaegar drew Dark Sister. In the known world, he could probably be called the biggest collector of Valyrian steel: Dark Sister, Orphan-Maker, Shadow Cleaver, and the True Dragon Spear. He would take this sword back to King's Landing.
[Collector: The greatest collector of Valyrian steel in the known world, collector of the Rhoynar civilization, and ancient Balerion family relics!]
Rhaegar saw his profile rapidly expanding.
"What else am I missing?" Rhaegar thought. "I'm missing Blackfyre, a set of Valyrian steel armor, and Aegon the Conqueror's Crown! But these things should be far away. The crown might be in Dorne, Blackfyre in the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea, and Valyrian steel armor can only be found in coastal ruins. Acquiring them would be a good thing."
Blue flames slowly began to entwine Dark Sister. The Valyrian steel blade was heat-resistant, but the hilt was not. Rhaegar's flames were magical, and he was probing the longsword for its magical aura.
Dark Sister struggled within the flames, as if responding to Rhaegar's anticipation. Rhaegar recalled his ancient ancestors, back in the Valyrian Freehold. A black image of a Dragonrider appeared in the blue flames, then vanished. Rhaegar couldn't clearly see their faces, but they shared the same origin and blood, all having once owned Dark Sister. Black fire then returned from the blade to Rhaegar's blue flames, into Rhaegar's body.
[Explorer: Congratulations on discovering one of the Dragonlord family's ancestral swords, Dark Sister. Only the True Dragon bloodline is worthy of possessing it!]
[Blood of Fire (Special Grade): Congratulations on acquiring the Dragonlord's sword, Dark Sister. With the blessings of ancestral spirits, your Blood of Fire has once again been enhanced, reaching Special Grade Blood of Fire. This is already a rarity among the ancient Valyrian Dragonlords, just one step away from greatness. Fire Affinity, Fire Sharpness, and Fire Resistance have increased!]
[Mandate of Heaven Proclamation: Westeros (Special Grade), you have obtained the True Dragon clan sword, further increasing your Mandate of Heaven aura. You are an undeniable favored child of destiny!]
"I've never felt so wonderful!" Rhaegar's silver short hair shone brightly, and flames seemed to burn in his purple eyes. He was the King of Fire, a True Dragon of fire, a favored child of fire. He had once again received a new round of strengthening and stat allocation. Rhaegar retracted Dark Sister, and flames condensed into a crown in his hand—the most magnificent flame crown. The flames then dispersed and merged into the magic Dragons' bodies. If he acquired Blackfyre and then found a set of Valyrian steel armor, he might truly become a great Dragonlord!
"Dragonflame!" Rhaegar said. With the strengthening of the Dragonrider, Rhaegar also further enhanced Dragonflame through the Blood and Fire Chain. Dragonflame, as it was called, was faster, fiercer, stronger, and more abundant. It was not just plentiful but also astonishingly powerful. Silver, purple, and black flames swirled and roared. The viscous Dragonflame was like bright fireballs, rapidly exploding into a rain of fire. The flames clung like maggots to a corpse, inextinguishable like wildfire, while also possessing immense power. The explosive and scorching effects of the flames were also beyond what ordinary Dragonflame could achieve. The flames from the Dragon group's mouths began to burn on the snow, quickly melting large patches. The texture, speed, and power of the Dragonflame were once again enhanced, just one step away from greatness. Rhaegar couldn't even imagine how terrifying the Dragonflame of a great Blood of Fire, an ancient Dragonlord, would be. Within the flames were trembling currents of magic and will, carrying the powerful force of runes. If Rhaegar wished, he could also add the nameless curses from the Iron Throne and Harrenhal.
The Dragon group sliced through the northern sky, their roars echoing far and wide.
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