The spring breeze, carrying moisture, swept across the Gods Eye. The lake's surface shimmered with fine light, reflecting the dark silhouette of Harrenhal.
The appearance of the Red Dragon was like a thunderclap, shattering the originally quiet opening ceremony.
Caraxes' massive wings created a whistling wind as it descended slowly under Daeron's control, finally coming to a halt in the center of the tourney grounds.
Dust rose everywhere, blowing across the entire field.
Daeron leaned forward, his hand resting on the dragon saddle.
In contrast, Rhaegar clamped his legs tightly against the Unicorn's belly, straining to keep his mount from losing control.
Ser Arthur held the reins for him.
"Screee—!"
Caraxes' massive body emerged from the dust, its giant wings occupying half the tourney grounds, its slender neck hovering over the crowd.
Thump!
Accompanied by a series of dull thuds, dozens of Cragmen were scared out of their wits, their knees buckling involuntarily.
Close! Too close!
Looking up at the Red Dragon overhead felt as if a butcher's knife were hanging at their throats.
Every deep breath was a trial of blood.
As soon as Caraxes landed, it greedily eyed Rhaegar at the front of the crowd, extending its snake-like neck and snorting hot air from its nostrils.
Rhaegar's pupils suddenly constricted...
Inside the tourney grounds, the noble lords were forced into the corners by Caraxes. The first row of nobles pressed against the walls in fear, drenched in sweat.
The dragon's appearance instantly shattered their original pride.
Fear of the dragon filled their hearts, and their mental defenses were near collapse.
Just then, a steady voice rang out, sounding like heavenly music.
"Caraxes, be quiet!"
"Screee—!"
Caraxes screeched once, seemingly in response to its rider.
Then it raised its head, no longer paying attention to the group of little insects, slowly backed away, and lowered its body to the ground.
Only then did the noble lords see the face of the dragon rider.
The standard silver-gold hair of the House Targaryen and violet-like eyes.
Upon closer inspection, the man had a handsome face and a sunny temperament. Dressed in silver armor with a purple cloak over his shoulders, he was as unforgettable as the giant dragon beneath him.
"It's Prince Daeron!"
Someone recognized Daeron and cried out in surprise.
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately swept through the crowd.
Who in the Seven Kingdoms didn't know that "Daeron the Daring" had hatched a young dragon and brought dragons back to the world?
In their moment of terror, they had actually forgotten this.
"It's His Highness Daeron!"
"He's riding... a dragon?"
"How can there be such a large dragon—"
The people present discussed animatedly, yet they did not forget their fear, still crowding together and not daring to approach even an inch... Rhaegar's body was tense, his brain almost shutting down.
He truly hadn't expected the newborn young dragon to grow so quickly.
In less than a year, it was already capable of intimidating everyone.
Daeron smiled and said, "Long time no see, big brother."
He wondered if the other would be very surprised to see him make such an entrance.
Rhaegar's throat was dry, and he couldn't make a sound.
"I thought you'd miss me."
Daeron joked, feeling very pleased.
Without waiting for an answer, he calmly stepped down from the dragon's back and headed toward the spectator stands.
The fact had already told everyone.
Who was the true dragon!
"Second brother!"
Jaehaerys and Viserys were bold enough to wave frantically at their brother.
Caraxes gave Rhaegar one last glance, its broad wings flapping suddenly as its hind legs worked with its slender waist to propel it into the air.
Once the dragon left, Rhaegar breathed a sigh of relief.
Aerys suddenly stood up and clapped wildly: "Good!"
He didn't care about his eldest son's life or death.
He only cared about dragons, the Targaryens' strongest weapon.
"Clap clap clap—"
Hearing the King speak, the atmosphere eased slightly. The noble lords began to clap, their gazes locked firmly on Daeron.
The shock brought by the man and the dragon was incomparable to anything else.
This was the first dragon rider of the House Targaryen since the Dance of the Dragons.
Riding a real, genuine "dragon."
Elia sat in the row below the King. Seeing Daeron's composed posture, she subconsciously pressed her hand to her chest to steady her pounding heart.
Caraxes had put too much pressure on her, and with her weak heart, an unnatural flush appeared on her face.
"Princess."
Ashara wasn't doing much better; her beautiful purple eyes were wide, her heart filled with shock and radiance.
Had she not noticed the princess's difficulty breathing, she wouldn't have been able to look away at all.
In another row, Cersei was even worse off.
"A dragon! Did you see that? It's a real dragon!"
Her face was flushed, she bit her lower lip hard, and she tugged violently at Jaime's cloak.
Jaime was completely stunned, the scene from just now lingering in his mind.
Who could have imagined that a dragon would appear?
Even more unexpected was the world of difference between a Targaryen with a dragon and a Targaryen without one.
Was this still that gentle and kind prince?
"Second brother, sit here quickly!"
Jaehaerys cheered, pushing his younger brother aside to make room for his older brother.
Viserys: ———
Daeron was in no hurry to sit down; instead, he went to the left side of the same row.
Barristan, Ser Jon, and others were already waiting there.
With a complex expression, Rhaegar walked up to the spectator stands with Ser Arthur and was welcomed to his seat by Oswell and the others.
A second son and an eldest son, one on the left and one on the right.
The people originally in the spectator stands quietly noticed the change in seating.
The most obvious ones were people like Elia, who was helped up and walked to her husband's side.
Shaena led her two younger brothers and silently moved to Daeron's side.
The two sides were clearly demarcated... The tourney continued.
Count Haran brought out a blonde girl in a wheelchair and announced that his daughter would serve as the "Queen of Love and Beauty" for this tourney.
His sons, dressed in armor, stood guard by their sister's side, ready to accept challenges from the contestants.
If someone could defeat them, they could claim the "crown of love and beauty."
The tourney was divided into three parts.
Jousting, archery, and the melee—
Count Haran had set very high prize money.
40,000 Gold Dragons for the jousting champion, 10,000 for the archery champion, and 10,000 to be split among the melee winners.
The prize money for the three events totaled 60,000 Gold Dragons.
Looking across the Seven Kingdoms, this was an extremely high amount of prize money.
Hundreds of knights were eager, wanting to win the championship and become famous throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
Daeron turned his head: "Ser, do you want to participate?"
Ser Jon shook his head, indicating he would wait.
Barristan was more perceptive; he glanced toward Rhaegar's side and saw several Kingsguard brothers communicating, immediately understanding the Prince's deeper meaning.
"I'll take the first round."
Daeron handed over a deep blue longsword and reminded him, "Ser, remember the breathing frequency I told you."
Barristan took the deep blue longsword and drew the blade with a swish.
It was the neptune greatsword that Daeron had phased out.
Barristan showed an air of determination and affirmed, "Don't worry, I will do my absolute best."
Hearing this, Daeron nodded with satisfaction.
Through his research, he had found that Life Force was strongly correlated with special items.
By exploring the Life Force of special items, one could compare it with their own Life Force and combine them into a unique breathing method to further control Life Force.
He called it "Life Frequency."
Among all the special items, weapons had the best effect.
He gave the neptune greatsword to Barristan, hoping he would figure out the Life Frequency and help him perfect the subsequent path of Life Force.
Clang clang clang!
The referee struck the gong and drum, announcing the start of the first joust.
The noble lords had just recovered from the intimidation of Caraxes and turned their attention to the tourney grounds.
Two Kingsguard in silver armor and white cloaks mounted their warhorses, picked up their specialized lances, and circled the tourney grounds to observe their opponents.
"Everyone, the contestant on the left is our Barristan the Bold, and the contestant on the right is the 'sword of the morning' Arthur Dayne. Both are legendary Kingsguard, and they are about to begin an intense duel."
The referee was very eloquent, easily stirring the crowd's emotions.
Barristan versus Arthur Dayne.
This was a match between two top-tier knights, and it immediately received a lot of attention.
Inside the tourney grounds.
Barristan raised his lance and pointed it at the squire holding his sword below the field.
"A one-on-one duel?"
Ser Arthur was wearing a full-protection helmet, and through a slit, he saw his Kingsguard brother's intention, instantly becoming interested.
When the referee struck the gong, a dramatic scene occurred.
Both Kingsguard simultaneously dropped their lances, dismounted, and called for their squires to bring their swords.
One was as blue as the sea, the other as milky white as glazed glass.
Barristan held the neptune greatsword and said in a deep voice, "Arthur, watch my breathing, watch my sword."
Ser Arthur was slightly curious and raised the door-like greatsword "Dawn" with one hand, planning to wait for the opponent to strike.
Clang!
The longswords collided, sending sparks flying.
Barristan's breathing was steady, his entire attention focused on the neptune greatsword, exploring the Life Force of this special weapon and trying to integrate his own breathing into it.
Ser Arthur was a good knight.
With one move, he discerned that his Kingsguard brother was honing his skills and using him as a whetstone.
"Then let me see what you can figure out."
Ser Arthur didn't mind at all, willing to serve as a sparring partner.
Barristan attacked repeatedly, sometimes steady and powerful, sometimes aggressive and violent, as unpredictable as the sea.
With his talent and Daeron's guidance, fighting with the neptune greatsword, he soon grasped the "Life Frequency" and quickly became familiar with it.
Hum—
Barristan's eyes lit up as an inconspicuous glimmer appeared on the greatsword in his hand.
The massive Life Force accumulated over more than a decade resonated with the neptune greatsword, immediately erupting with powerful strength.
"Arthur, watch out!"
With one slash, he released an unparalleled and terrifying aura.
Ser Arthur's expression turned solemn, and he had to use twelve-tenths of his caution to carefully deal with this move.
Clang!
With one collision, the greatsword "Dawn" almost flew out of his hand.
Ser Arthur was not shocked but delighted, admiringly saying, "Barristan, you're truly a genius!"
He had already seen that the other was changing his breathing frequency and attaching Life Force to the blade.
Although he hadn't seen what material that peculiar blue greatsword was made of or what craftsmanship it came from, his family's ancestral sword was no ordinary item either.
With a thought, his own massive Life Force, also accumulated for over a decade, began to flow slowly, as if a long-sealed lock had been broken, continuously pouring into the greatsword "Dawn."
Hum—
Ser Arthur's breathing deepened, and the greatsword "Dawn," which was already milky white like glazed glass, underwent a change, blooming with light as bright as the stars.
If Barristan was a genius, who wasn't?
"It really works!"
Daeron remained calm, clearly having expected this.
Ever since he took the first stardrop, he had been constantly trying and familiarizing himself with Life Frequency.
He had wanted to teach it to Ser Jon, but the other couldn't grasp it.
It seemed that to learn Life Frequency, one not only had to master Life Force but also possess a mature "medium."
The neptune greatsword could do it, and the greatsword "Dawn" made from a Star Core could also do it.