The sky was azure, and the boiling seawater was filled with volcanoes and smoking reefs.
The ruins of the Smoking Sea were not suitable for humans, nor for ships. The seawater boiled, and small volcanic eruptions occurred from time to time. When the smoke filled the air, the sulfur smell of the volcanoes was piercing and stinging; human vision and breathing would also be restricted. This sulfur smell and the dust itself were toxic.
"Fire!" Rhaegar stood on a reef, his whole body glowing with a faint azure light, as did the dragon group. There was too much sulfur and dust here; without a protective shield, it was impossible to see anything. Rhaegar watched the charred remains of the blood sea monsters. The dragon group seemed to be venting, tearing the sea monsters to pieces. The Silver Emperor gnawed on the monster's head, while the other two dragons chewed on the tentacles; they were eating happily. Rhaegar watched the sea surface vigilantly; fortunately, no more sea monsters appeared. Perhaps the dragon group was truly hungry. There was another reason, too: water and fire were incompatible, and the dragons hated this atmosphere. The sea monsters came from the sea and were messengers of the Drowned God, representing deep-sea elements.
"These sea monsters are not ordinary ones; they have magic!" Rhaegar estimated. The Drowned God relied on sea monsters, while the god of cold relied on White Walkers and the Ice Dragon to spread faith. Sea monsters mainly relied on tyrannical physical attacks; they likely only had two types of magic: one was deathly gray mist, and the other was summoning wind and waves. The sea monsters before him might still be considered small fry, not that powerful. After the dragons had finished their meal, Rhaegar decided to take the dragon group further south to see the large landmass.
Rhaegar flew south and saw a large area of broken ruins. He saw a spectacular black, ruined structure. The material of the building was still the most common obsidian dragonglass! Most of the buildings had been completely destroyed, but the foundations could still be seen. The buildings should have been square, somewhat similar to a library. Valyria was famous for the giant stone towers where Dragonlord families and dragons lived; they used stone, and very little wood. Valyria at its peak was also a lover of wonders; black towers stood like a forest, and the beautiful, wide Valyrian Road continued to stretch south. If the south had not been destroyed, this would certainly be the most beautiful road in the world.
"Is this Tyria?" Rhaegar thought. Tyria was located in the southern part of the Smoking Sea and once possessed the largest and most famous library, the Tyria Library. Of course, these things had all dissipated in the Doom. This library was as large as a town; if it still existed, it would surely be a man-made wonder.
Rhaegar wandered through Tyria. It looked like the library had been burned to nothing, similar to the Library of Alexandria being burned down by a fire. Traces of obsidian dragonglass could be seen on the ground, and the lake water had turned into a pool of acid. Rumor had it that people still lived here, but it was unknown whether it was true or false.
Rhaegar looked at the Great Library of Tyria in the ruins, with broken walls and ruins under his feet and before his eyes, and weeds growing wildly. In places not occupied by obsidian, there were still lush green trees. Swallows returned, but there was no nest to live in. However, these were all dragonglass, such a waste. Unfortunately, he could not take them away himself, and he sighed with regret. There must be treasures in the ruins of Valyria; better not to move these most common things first.
"Who is there?" Rhaegar suddenly spoke, using the purest ancient Valyrian language. "If you don't come out, I'm going to set fire!"
"It's a Dragonlord from House Targaryen!" "A Dragonlord!" A group of ragged people, with both blonde and silver hair, appeared from a corner of the Tyria Library, their eyes full of excitement. The people of Valyria were known for having silver-gold hair and purple eyes, but this group living in the ruins was truly too destitute and impoverished. They were pale and bloodless, like savages. However, their information would not be too blocked. After the fall of Valyria, the only remaining Dragonlords in the world were House Targaryen, a weak Dragonlord family from the middle and lower reaches that had fled from Valyria to Dragonstone in advance.
Rhaegar couldn't help but be moved; human vitality was truly paramount. In such terrible ruins, there were actually still people. The descendants of ancient Valyria knelt at his feet. After many years, they saw dragons and a Dragonlord again. The people of Tyria were the last of the Valyrian descendants and were respectful to the True Dragon.
"This is where we live!" the descendants of Tyria said, and even led Rhaegar to the place where they lived. It was a semi-destroyed tower in the middle of the black library that was still well-preserved. They had also dug shallow burrows near the tower. Those old, weak, sick, and disabled looked at the silver-haired, purple-eyed Dragonlord with surprised eyes.
"City Lord, a Dragonlord has come!" Surrounded by the crowd, Rhaegar saw a white-haired, middle-aged man come out of the tower. The middle-aged man was wearing somewhat dilapidated dragonglass armor; this might be one of the more valuable treasures of the Tyria people. Rhaegar felt that the newcomer was not very old; it seemed that in such a harsh environment, human life expectancy was also dropping sharply! The City Lord of Tyria bowed respectfully to Rhaegar.
"In this environment, how did you survive?" Rhaegar asked.
"We hide underground in the ruins. When thirsty, we filter rainwater; when hungry, we still need to fish!" the City Lord of Tyria said. "Of course, we still have the flow of magic!"
"Fishing, that's a dangerous job!" Rhaegar looked at these descendants.
"Everything else is fine, mainly because the air at sea is too suffocating, and there are those terrifying sea monsters! Before the fall of Valyria, there were never these rampant sea monsters." The Tyria people were also very afraid of sea monsters. The Tyria people led Rhaegar into the tower, where they had even planted flowers and plants. Regarding beauty, they had never abandoned it.
"This is?" Rhaegar saw the dome of the Tyria tower; there were beautiful murals there, towering black towers of Valyria, the black towers had the heat of flames, and dragons flew back and forth. Now, many gems were embedded on it, and the red gems emitted a warm light, illuminating this part of the tower! It was just that perhaps they had been used for a long time, and some gems had dimmed. If the gems were to dim completely, then the end of these Tyria descendants would also arrive.
"This map comes from the heyday of Valyria and is very helpful to you. It's just that time has changed, mountains and valleys have shifted, and the terrain is too large, so it may not be very effective!" Rhaegar moved his hands to copy this drawing. As he imagined, large Dragonlord families like the Baelarys family possessed the core, tallest black towers. Then came the middle-ranking Dragonlords, and at the very edge were the small Dragonlord families.
"These gems once came from the Dragonlord's flames, ensuring the operation of the Tyria Library. Some ensure the flow of wind, some purify the air, so we can still linger on here!" the City Lord of Tyria said. He trusted Rhaegar. If he were a violent Dragonlord, he would have started looting directly.
"Ancient Valyrian civilization!" Rhaegar stepped forward. He touched the red gem in the center. The red gem shone brightly, and a little more light appeared. This was also a rare bit of kindness to the Tyria descendants.
"Dragonlord!" "Dragonlord!" The Tyria descendants knelt down and shouted. They were grateful. These gems had no one to maintain them, and perhaps they would collapse sooner or later. The descendants shed tears in the dust.
"When you continue south, you must be careful. In addition to the intermittent volcanic eruptions and the air thick with the smell of sulfur, there are also those terrifying fire worms and man-faced insects. They feed on flesh and blood and hate all humans." The City Lord said to Rhaegar, who was about to leave. "Continuing forward is too dangerous; we dare not enter!"
"Many years ago, the Dragonlord Orion Colean also led a large army here." The descendants of Tyria said cautiously. "They encountered storms and sea monsters at sea and lost many men. Then they headed to the ruins and never returned!"
Rhaegar said goodbye to the Tyria descendants and continued forward. The azure light covered the dragons and the people. They rushed into the area of thick sulfur and fire. The volcanoes erupted continuously without a fixed pattern. Those fumes were toxic particulate matter, and the radiation was high. The sky over Valyria was always blood red.
Rhaegar saw a volcano; the volcano was slightly calmer. Halfway up the mountain, there was a row of buildings built with broken black stones, protected by walls built from crushed dragonglass. It looked like an army barracks. Rhaegar entered the barracks. The first thing he stepped on was gray ash. Weeds and waste wood continued. He saw a large area of black houses, which looked like they had been abandoned for a long time.
"This is?" On the side of the big road, Rhaegar saw some black, broken dragonglass armor, and the bones inside had completely vanished.
The dragons suddenly roared, and Rhaegar drove the dragons to rise. The ground began to ripple, and soil flew. Those fiery red monsters appeared. They looked like insects with faces and snakes with hands. Those twisted, slimy, unspeakable creatures were squirming, struggling, and rolling.
"Fire worms?" Rhaegar looked at these monsters appearing from the ground, but perhaps they were different from earthworms; they were just free-roaming man-faced insects. The monsters grew from blood and fire. They belonged to heat and fire, hated ice, and wanted to burrow into Rhaegar's body.
The man-faced insects varied in size; the large ones were as thick as an adult's arm, and the small ones were like fingers. The man-faced insects, like a dark cloud, shrouded toward Rhaegar!
"Go to hell!" Blue flames appeared in Rhaegar's palm. The lines of blue flames instantly penetrated the bodies of those man-faced insects. Although the plunder of fire was vicious, it was just right for dealing with these little insects that only had the desire to kill! The sparks danced in the sky, evolving into the appearance of those man-faced insects!
The man-faced insects didn't seem to know fear, and a cloud of red smoke shrouded over. From the ground, from those black barracks. If this was Orion's main force, it seemed that the entire army was wiped out.
"Dracarys!" Dracarys bombs began to explode in the sky. Those standing black barracks were also blown open. They were built of abandoned stones before, exposed to wind and sun, and could not be considered stable.
The azure flames were lush, and the lines of fire poured crazily into the insect swarm. Rhaegar even took out the Great River Staff, barely summoning the movement of water droplets. Large swaths of insects were destroyed and annihilated, leaving only the sparks symbolizing blood and fire. Having exterminated the man-faced insects here, he finally felt a trace of calm.
In the dust and flames, in the center of the ruins, Rhaegar saw a suit of armor. The armor was as black as smoke and as light as a thin silk shirt when worn. The edges of the scales were crimson gold, flashing when moving. The metal was decorated with patterns—spirals, runes, and mysterious symbols. The human bones in the armor had been completely destroyed by the storm, leaving only the beautiful armor.
Valyrian steel armor, Orion's legacy.
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