Wylit wanted to shout a warning, but his throat felt as if something was choking it. He wanted to sound the alarm bell, but his legs were too weak to move. He stood frozen in place, watching helplessly as the golden three-headed dragon descended onto the open ground before Whisperfell.
"Dragon!" someone finally cried out, and others began ringing the alarm bells, but chaos erupted within the castle.
Soldiers, hearing the alarm, rushed from their barracks. Some hadn't even fastened their trousers, others had lost their helmets, and some held spears but didn't know where to point them. They had not experienced war for a long time, having lost too many men since the War of the Usurper.
When they rushed in a disorderly mass to the stone walls and saw the scene outside, everyone stopped.
The golden dragon stood just outside the city, its three heads slowly turning, its six eyes sweeping over the castle. Wherever its gaze fell, the soldiers felt a chill run down their spines.
"Look there," a comrade beside Wylit said, pointing towards the distant sea.
Wylit's gaze also reluctantly tore away from the dragon and settled on the horizon.
There, dense clusters of black dots appeared. Those countless black specks slowly grew larger, revealing the shapes of sails and masts. They stretched across the sea, as if covering the entire surface.
"By the Seven..." Wylit was shocked once more, the words escaping his lips in a murmur.
The comrade beside him reacted faster, dashing down the wall to report to the castle's lord. But as he ran out of the port and saw the dragons gathered on the open ground ahead, he belatedly skidded to a halt.
Wylit, however, remained standing there, staring blankly at the approaching fleet. But he knew that the Crabs Claw Peninsula, from
this day forward, would never know peace again.
The lord of Whisperfell is House Cleaver.
This family has lived on the Crabs Claw Peninsula since the Andal invasion, their bloodline a mix of the First Men and the andals. Even if other nobles of the Seven Kingdoms view them as half-savages, they don't care. After all, they never intended to have much interaction with those outside the peninsula.
However, it is precisely this history that House Cleaver takes pride in. The families of the Crabs Claw Peninsula have repeatedly joined forces to repel invasions from outsiders, such as House Darklyn of Crows Landing, House Mooton of Maidenpool, and even House Celtigar of Claw Isle, the peninsula's current nominal overlord.
Even when Aegon conquered Westeros, the families of the Crabs Claw Peninsula did not kneel directly to the iron throne like other Crownland nobles. They resisted, they fought, until Queen Visenya Targaryen herself descended upon the peninsula riding her dragon Vhagar, and only then did they declare their fealty to the Targaryens.
"We are not vassals of the iron throne," the old Lord Cleaver often told his son. "We are vassals of the true dragon. What does it matter to us if the family ruling the iron throne changes? They never conquered us."
But now, the true dragon had returned.
"Men of House Cleaver, come forth and speak," a voice called from outside the castle, yet it was so clear it seemed spoken right beside the ear.
When the old Lord Cleaver hurried to the low wall, he saw the several dragons that had landed outside the city, and upon the back of the three-headed dragon, a silver-haired, purple-eyed young man clad in black-and-red armor with two swords at his waist.
He quickly turned and said to the guards beside him, "Open the gates quickly. Let us go down at once. It is the Targaryen family returning."
"Father," his heir, Ilyn Cleaver, his mind still blank and uncomprehending, stood dumbfounded, murmuring.
"I said open the gates," the old Lord Cleaver's voice finally snapped Ilyn out of his shock. "Can't you see what that is? That is a dragon. Our ancestors knelt to Queen Visenya, and that is how our family gained its later honors. Now the dragons have returned. What are you all standing around for?"
Having said that, he paid them no further mind and directly turned to leave with his guards.
The gates of Whisperfell slowly opened.
The old Lord Cleaver walked out of the city gate with several guards and household knights, approaching the dragons. Only when he was thirty paces from the dragons did he reach the limit of their oppressive aura, going down on one knee and bowing his head, revealing his pale scalp.
"House Cleaver kneels to the true dragon," his voice boomed, echoing across the open ground outside the city. "From this day forth, all of Whisperfell belongs to the true dragon."
Viserys leapt down from Ghidorah's back, walked up to the old Lord Cleaver, and reached out to help him up.
"Rise, Lord Cleaver. I remember your family. I am Viserys Targaryen. I believe you have heard that name."
The old Lord Cleaver looked up, a flash of pleasant surprise in his eyes. Of course he had heard the name. Prince Rhaegar's younger brother. During the War of the Usurper, they had followed Rhaegar.
"I still remember the Battle of the Trident. Knights of House Cleaver followed my brother Rhaegar and fell with him on the Ruby Ford," Viserys continued. "The Targaryens do not forget your loyalty."
The old Lord Cleaver's eyes grew slightly red. Their family had suffered heavy losses in that war. And Viserys should have been only eight or nine years old at the time. He never expected him to remember the existence of such a minor house.
"Prince Viserys..." the old Lord Cleaver's voice choked slightly.
Viserys patted his shoulder. "Ser Cleaver, I have already established a kingdom in Valyria. And I need your men. I intend to set up a camp on the Crabs Claw Peninsula to await the rest of my forces before we retake the iron throne together. Your soldiers know the terrain here well and can serve as guides for the army. Are you willing?"
The old Lord Cleaver nodded without hesitation.
"Willing, of course willing. The three hundred soldiers of House Cleaver are His Majesty's soldiers from this day forth. And my heir, Ilyn Cleaver—I hope he may have the opportunity to serve under Your Majesty." He turned and called to the young man who had just arrived behind him, "Come here quickly, and pay your respects to His Majesty Viserys."
The young man stepped forward and knelt on one knee. He looked to be in his early twenties, tall and sturdy, with the same grey eyes as his father.
"Ilyn Cleaver, at Your Majesty's service."
Viserys nodded.
"Good. You and your men will join my forces shortly. After we take King's Landing, you shall receive the rewards you deserve."
The news of Viserys's arrival with dragons quickly spread across the Crabs Claw Peninsula. It was the old Lord Cleaver who released the ravens, notifying the other families of the peninsula.
Soon, the peninsula's nobles—House Boggs, House Cave, House Hardy, House Payne, and House Brune of the Dyre Den—all responded and sent people to verify the truth of the news.
Only one family did not respond: House Brune of the Dreadfort, a rival power roughly equal in strength to House Cleaver.
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