As soon as they met, Mad King immediately revealed his true intentions.
Daeron did not answer, observing the people beneath the iron throne as quickly as possible.
A Lord Commander of the Kingsguard with no subordinates.
To the left, the position of honor, Lord Hand Tywin's gaze was deep, followed by his brothers Kevan and Tygett.
On the right, the group was the largest: three Grand Maesters and a High Steward.
Additionally, there was a sorcerer dressed in grey-green robes, with a wretched air and a cunning, treacherous face.
"Wisdom Rossart."
Daeron recognized him at a glance.
Rossart was a member of the Alchemists' Guild. In the original story, he brewed wildfire for Father Aerys, helping him fill all of King's Landing with it, intending to put the entire city to the torch.
Lord Rickard Stark of the North and Brandon "The Wild Wolf" Stark, including the late Lord Colton, were all burned to death by wildfire under Father Aerys's orders by him.
He was a treacherous villain through and through.
The key point was, this fellow truly knew magic.
He had once gained Father Aerys's favor with his ability to release ordinary flames.
"One Pycelle dies, and an even more disgusting one arrives."
Daeron cursed his bad luck inwardly.
"Boy, have you gone mute?"
Aerys was impatient, his hands gripping the armrests of the iron throne. Blood flowed slowly, yet he seemed completely unaware.
Daeron had his own pace and suggested, "Father, why not meet the young dragons first?"
He specifically emphasized the plural "s" in "dragons."
Aerys's breath hitched, and he shouted repeatedly, "Yes! Quickly, bring out the young dragons!"
With the prince's nod, Davos set down three cages and uncovered the black cloths one by one.
"Skree!"
"Skree... krah..."
Three young dragons revealed themselves, lively and energetic as they bumped against the cages, trying to rush toward Daeron.
They knew who their father was.
!!!
In an instant, the sound of breathing stopped in the hall, and everyone's eyes were drawn to the three living young dragons.
"There really are dragons!"
Even Tywin was moved, subconsciously taking a step forward.
These were dragons!
Dragons, extinct for over a hundred and fifty years, appearing in the world once again.
Who wouldn't want to possess them?
Even a naturally stunted dwarf.
"Dragons! Real, genuine dragons!"
Aerys's eyes were bloodshot, and he whispered with heavy breaths, "I am the King, I am the true dragon..."
After everyone had finished admiring them.
Daeron blocked their view and said, "I hatched them, and I have named them."
"What are their names?"
Aerys asked urgently.
Daeron introduced them seriously.
First was the black young dragon.
Of the three young dragons, it had the most violent temper and was the most wild and untameable.
It was suspected to be a descendant of the wild dragon, The Devourer.
Daeron named it Toothless.
Firstly, the little fellow's teeth were very special; they could retract and extend, making him initially think it was a Toothless hatchling.
Secondly, Toothless was pitch-black like coal and had a pair of green vertical pupils, looking exactly like a certain fish-eating dragon from the movies of his past life.
The other two young dragons were named after the great dragons from the era of the Dance of the Dragons.
The red one was called Corlys, in memory of the "Blood Wyrm" Corlys.
The blue one was called Tessaerion, in memory of the "Blue Queen" Tessaerion.
Corlys was long and snake-like, with a pair of broad and powerful wings, but his hind legs were small and equipped with wing membranes, and even the tip of his tail was shaped like a flat crescent moon.
It was as if he was born for stable flight.
Tessaerion had cobalt-blue scales, with her jaw to her belly being the color of copper foil. Her temperament was gentle and well-behaved, and she was the most well-proportioned of the three young dragons.
Toothless was quite robust in build, clearly suited for ambushes and close-quarters combat.
He would be an excellent hunter in the future.
After hearing the introductions, Aerys could no longer contain himself and urged repeatedly, "Boy, bring them to me, and I will name you Prince of Dragonstone."
To hell with his eldest son, Rhaegar.
The moment he saw the dragons, his wife, children, and kingdom were all cast to the back of his mind.
He only wanted the dragons!
Daeron's expression remained unchanged as he said, "That is exactly why I have come."
Revealing the dragons was done precisely to expand his influence.
Being able to shake Rhaegar's position as heir would also be a great achievement.
Aerys didn't listen to anything before or after; he only heard that his Second Son was going to offer him the dragons. He laughed loudly, "The White Bull, quickly bring the dragons to your King."
Ser Gerold looked troubled but stepped forward out of duty.
He had never expected that as soon as he returned the dragon eggs to Prince Daeron, the boy would be able to hatch young dragons.
If his nephew, Leyton Hightower, were to find out, he would probably die of anger.
"Wait!"
Barristan stepped forward, blocking Ser Gerold's path.
Aerys's expression changed drastically. "Barristan, what are you doing?"
Barristan was fearless, looking directly at the King, and said with sincere emotion, "Your Majesty, the young dragons were hatched by Prince Daeron and see the Prince as their father."
"If the young dragons are separated from their father, they will die."
He knew his task clearly.
That was to protect the young dragons from being taken from the Prince's side at all costs.
Aerys was stunned, seemingly hitting a blind spot in his knowledge, unsure if this was the case.
"I believe Barristan is right."
Tywin suddenly spoke up.
Everyone was surprised.
Tywin resumed his usual majestic expression and said righteously, "The dragons were hatched by Daeron and should rightfully belong to him. If their ownership is seized arbitrarily, I fear it will anger The Seven."
This was a lie!
Ever since his wife, Joanna Lannister, died in childbirth, he no longer believed in the false Seven.
He said this entirely because he did not want Aerys to get the dragons.
What kind of disaster would occur if a madman controlled a dragon?
Besides, did Aerys even deserve to possess a dragon?
Tywin was dismissive.
These words indeed frightened Aerys.
Inwardly, he was madly desperate to possess the three young dragons.
But dragons had been extinct for too many years, and with the sudden appearance of newborn dragons, his remaining sanity made him not dare to be the slightest bit careless.
If even one were lost, he would rather trade his eldest son Rhaegar's life for it.
"That's not right!"
Just as he was in a dilemma, Wisdom Rossart jumped out and said flatteringly, "Your Majesty, the dragons were hatched by the Prince, but it is an iron law of your house that one person rides one dragon. How can the Prince possess three dragons all by himself?"
Aerys's eyes lit up, clearly swayed.
Tywin barked loudly, "Silence! Since when do you have a place to speak here?"
"You're the one who should shut up, Tywin!"
Aerys gave him no face at all.
Tywin's expression changed, the anger from being humiliated rising within him. He almost couldn't stop himself from rushing to the iron throne and punching the man twice.
"Lord Hand, let me speak instead."
Daeron spoke.
From the beginning, he had been observing Rossart's demeanor.
The Red Comet had arrived early, bringing magic to the world.
But the original story clearly stated that dragons were the source of magic; whoever controlled them was favored by magic.
When Daenerys was in Qarth, she was attacked by Warlocks for this very reason.
Rossart was also a sorcerer, so he naturally harbored the same covetous desires.
Sure enough, as soon as Rossart saw the three young dragons, the word greed was practically written on his face, his eyes full of cunning glints.
"If you want my dragons, you've miscalculated."
Daeron remained impassive, marking the man with a cross of death.
more chapter available in p@tréøñ(Atoki_29)