The council chamber in Oldtown was smaller than the one in the Red Keep, but it was no less tense.
The long oak table was already occupied when Jaehaerys entered.
Lord Rogar Baratheon stood near the head of it, broad-shouldered, hands resting on the carved wood. Grand Maester Benifer sat to one side, chains glinting faintly in the light. Two Hightower men observed in silence.
When Jaehaerys entered, all rose.
When Vaelaris entered behind him, fewer eyes returned to their seats.
Rogar watched him openly.
Grand Maester Benifer spoke first.
"Stokeworth has not sent word."
Rogar did not look surprised.
"Nor Massey," he added. "Darklyn delays. Harte remains silent. Bar Emmon claims illness."
Jaehaerys frowned slightly.
"They have had weeks."
"They had Maegor," Rogar replied. "And they prospered under him."
Benifer folded his hands.
"They wait to see which brother the realm settles behind."
Silence.
Vaelaris did not move.
Rogar continued.
"They have not bent the knee because they believe uncertainty favors them."
"And what uncertainty?" Jaehaerys asked.
Rogar did not hesitate.
"Andal law favors the eldest son."
The words settled heavily.
"They will not proclaim it openly," Benifer added. "Not yet. But they will whisper it in halls and markets. They will say the gods returned the firstborn."
Vaelaris' gaze shifted to Rogar.
"I will not be their excuse."
"You do not need to be willing," Rogar replied. "Only present."
That landed harder.
Jaehaerys spoke before the silence hardened.
"They will bend."
"They will test first," Rogar said. "If unrest stirs in the streets—if the Faith questions—if smallfolk begin to murmur that the wrong son wears the crown—those houses will move."
Vaelaris leaned back slightly.
"Then we do not allow murmuring to grow."
Rogar's eyes narrowed faintly.
"You propose what?"
enifer shifted uneasily.
"There is another concern."
Jaehaerys already knew which.
"The dragon."
"He is not of our line," Benifer said carefully. "He was not hatched under Targaryen care. He was never housed, never trained, never handled by Dragonkeepers."
Vaelaris did not interrupt.
Rogar continued.
"Vermithor, Silverwing, Dreamfyre — they were raised among us. They recognize stable, rider, scent, order."
"And?" Jaehaerys asked.
"And this one does not," Rogar said. "If he approaches the others, we do not know how they will respond. Dragons are not horses. They do not welcome rivals."
"He is not their rival," Vaelaris said.
"They do not know that," Rogar replied evenly.
That was the heart of it.
Not size.
Not feeding.
Instinct.
Territory.
Dominance.
"Balerion remains in the capital. Vhagar as well. Both are old, powerful, and accustomed to their place."
Rogar took up the thought. "They have long been the largest beasts in the sky. Dragons are not blind to hierarchy. If the Cannibal approaches them, neither side may yield."
The image needed no embellishment. Three colossal dragons over King's Landing would mean ruin before a single command could be given.
Vaelaris remained still while they spoke.
"Balerion is no stable hatchling," Rogar continued. "He has survived wars. If he perceives a challenger—"
"He will not challenge him," Vaelaris said.
Rogar's eyes turned to him. "You cannot know that."
"I know him."
"And if he decides otherwise?" Rogar pressed.
Vaelaris held his gaze without raising his voice. "Then I will answer for it."
Jaehaerys watched them both.
Rogar shifted his stance. "This is not about doubt in you, my prince. It is about uncertainty. Balerion and vhagar both are riderless now and they will be hard to manage in the presence of another new dragon, whereas Cannibal answers only to you. If something goes wrong, we have no second hand upon him."
"He does not need one," Vaelaris replied.
Vaelaris stepped forward slightly.
"When we reach King's Landing, he will remain beyond the Blackwater. I will go ahead of him."
"Go where?" Rogar asked.
"To Balerion. And to Vhagar."
The chamber fell quiet.
Jaehaerys watched him closely.
"I will see how they respond," Vaelaris continued. "If there is agitation, he will not approach. If they accept his presence, he will remain beyond the walls. No closer."
Rogar studied him.
"You would present yourself to Balerion alone?"
"Yes."
Rogar's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And if Balerion does not recognize him as strength but as threat?"
"Then I will know before the city does."
The words were not spoken dramatically. They were simple fact.
Silence followed.
Jaehaerys rose from his seat.
"We depart for King's Landing within three days," he said. "The court will not linger in Oldtown while lords hesitate."
Orders began to move through the chamber. Messengers were summoned. Ships prepared in harbor. Riders instructed.
As the council broke, Rogar stepped close to the king and lowered his voice.
"Strength must be seen, Your Grace. Not only in dragons."
Jaehaerys answered evenly, "It will be."
Behind them, Vaelaris moved toward the door.
The harbor bells rang before dawn.
Oldtown gathered to watch them leave.
Jaehaerys stood in the outer field beyond the city walls, Vermithor behind him, bronze scales catching the first pale light of morning. Silverwing and Dreamfyre waited farther down the rise. Vaelkarax stood apart from them, beyond a line of low stone walls, vast and motionless.
The dragons did not approach one another.
They held their distance.
Vaelaris mounted first.
Vaelkarax rose in a measured sweep of wings, climbing high above the city rather than circling it.
Only after he had gained altitude did Jaehaerys mount Vermithor.
The bronze dragon answered with a roar that rolled across the fields. Silverwing followed, then Dreamfyre.
Four dragons lifted into the morning sky.
They did not fly as a single formation.
Vaelkarax remained ahead and higher, keeping distance from the others.
Oldtown shrank beneath them.
The Hightower became a pale spear against the sea.
Then cloud swallowed the coast.
King's Landing
The city saw them before the city heard them.
The first to see the shadow was a boy on the eastern wall.
He dropped his spear.
By the time the horns sounded, the shape had already crossed the Blackwater.
Vaelkarax did not fly over the city.
He banked wide and descended beyond the river, settling in the open fields east of the walls. Dust rose in a thick cloud as his talons struck earth.
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