As expected, the news reached King's Landing and immediately enraged King Jaehaerys. He immediately halted the Valyrian armor appreciation event and recalled all Dragon Knights of House Targaryen.
Because Viserys and the others were still tracking Mond Hightower, who had stolen the Dragon Eggs, they couldn't return immediately.
The Old King, disregarding his health, personally rushed to Dragonstone and once again mounted his massive dragon, Bronze Fury—Vermithor.
Three days later, on the afternoon of the fifth day since Daenerys's disappearance, five great dragons and their riders simultaneously arrived at Bear Island.
Besides King Jaehaerys and his Vermithor, Viserys, riding Vhagar, Daemon, riding Caraxes, Princess Rhaenys, riding Meleys, and even Rhaenyra, riding Syrax, had all come together.
After learning from Lady Mormont the approximate location where Daenerys might have gone, they wasted no time and immediately rode their dragons to search north of the Ice Bay.
Watching them leave, Lady Mormont's entire back was drenched in cold sweat. The trouble they had caused this time was immense, as Princess Daenerys had gone missing while helping them hunt.
This responsibility was not something the poor and sparsely populated Mormont Family could bear. And from the attitudes of King Jaehaerys and the other royal family members, the Old King knew that if Princess Daenerys was not safe and sound, the Mormont Family might not even be able to keep their barren territory of Bear Island.
Since Princess Daenerys's disappearance, Lord Mormont had taken all the adult men of Bear Island on longships to the Frozen Coast and the northern Ice Bay.
However, the small longships struggled like leaves in an autumn gale amidst the strong winds and blizzards; it was already a miracle that they didn't encounter any accidents. So there was no harvest at all; five days had passed, but no news had come back.
And since the day the Princess disappeared, a heavy snowfall had begun in the North and showed no signs of stopping. The sky grew darker and darker, and all the old people said that the Long Night was coming.
King Jaehaerys and the others hadn't flown far before they were startled by the violent blizzard over the coastal bay. The cold wind, heavy snow, and dim sky made it almost impossible for them to see their direction.
Even when the dragons breathed Dragonflame, it could only illuminate a very short distance. And the scorching Dragonflame would quickly be blown away by the cold wind.
The young Syrax was almost unable to fly due to the strong winds. King Jaehaerys's health, which had improved, had rapidly deteriorated again over these past few days. So in such strong winds, even if he gritted his teeth and persevered, he felt somewhat powerless.
Finally, at the persuasion of everyone, the Old King had no choice but to return to Bear Island with Princess Rhaenys and Rhaenyra.
Meanwhile, Viserys and Daemon continued to search northward, braving the blizzard.
However, the wind and snow over the Ice Bay were truly too strong, and within that cold wind, there was an energy that made even the grandmother dragon Vhagar and the Bloodworm Caraxes feel very uneasy and anxious.
So they had to lower their altitude and fly close to the sea. But in such a violent blizzard, they couldn't discern their direction at all. By the time their strength reached its limit, they found that they had severely veered off course and arrived at The Wall.
So they had no choice but to spend the night at the nearby Shadow Tower. Accustomed to a life of luxury, they felt no emotion even while gnawing on the cold food of the Night's Watch. At this moment, their minds were entirely focused on the missing Daenerys.
In just five days, the weather in the North had become extremely harsh; the heavy snowstorm had expanded to the vicinity of Winterfell. Everyone believed that Winter had arrived early.
Therefore, all the great lords of the North returned to their territories to prepare to lead their people through this Winter. Because every Winter is a huge challenge for the various families of the North.
However, each family still dispatched their most elite warriors, organizing a search and rescue team of four to five hundred people who continuously searched near the coastal bay.
Another week passed, but the blizzard showed no signs of stopping, and its scope had already affected the entire North. Even the temperatures in the Riverlands, the West, and King's Landing began to drop.
Furthermore, the entire Westeros was shrouded in darkness; to be precise, the sun had not risen again since the tenth day.
The Long Night had fallen!
The Seven Kingdoms immediately fell into panic, and King Jaehaerys had no choice but to return to King's Landing to preside over the affairs of the Seven Kingdoms.
During this time, Viserys and Daemon suffered greatly while searching for Daenerys's whereabouts, both inside and outside The Wall. The normally robust Viserys, worried about his daughter, could not eat, and in just half a month, he had become almost emaciated.
Even the strong Daemon looked haggard, his cheekbones prominently protruding, clearly having lost a significant amount of weight. However, they continued to persevere, gritting their teeth, until King Jaehaerys's order came, and they reluctantly returned to King's Landing.
Now the Seven Kingdoms were already in chaos, the Long Night had fallen, and blizzards continued to come; Westeros was clearly facing an unprecedented crisis.
King Jaehaerys directly appointed Viserys as the new Hand of the King, Daemon as the Commander of the King's Landing City Watch, and Lord Redwyne as the new Minister of Maritime Affairs.
The first task of the newly appointed Minister of Maritime Affairs was to lead the fleet to the continent of Essos in the east to purchase unlimited amounts of grain.
After all, the longest legendary Long Night was said to have lasted a full century, and along with the blizzards, an army of Others would also descend. Although these people would not take those legends seriously, the Long Night and severe cold would cause crop failures, thus creating a devastating disaster and turmoil for the Seven Kingdoms.
The first thing Daemon did upon taking office was to gather the second sons of nobles and wandering knights he had recruited earlier, forming a King's Landing City Watch of over two thousand men.
Because Daemon had provided them all with exquisite armor and golden cloaks, they were known as the Gold Cloaks.
The population of King's Landing was truly too large; even in normal times, many people went hungry, let alone in the current situation. So, after obtaining the approval of the Small Council, Daemon began to evict the vagrants from Flea Bottom. This naturally caused public outrage, but facing the powerful Gold Cloaks, they were helpless.
However, although these vagrants were driven out of King's Landing, they refused to leave and simply set up tents outside the city.
After Daenerys's disappearance, all matters concerning the Holy Flame were decided by Samwell, Mederick, and Annie, among others.
They knew that the entire Westeros would soon face a food crisis, so they decisively stopped brewing alcohol. All the grain on the island was stored away.
And they quickly contacted Cameron to lead the Holy Flame fleet to the Summer Isles and further east in Essos to purchase grain and livestock.
Because they knew that the great lords of the Seven Kingdoms would also rush to the Free Trade Cities in western Essos to buy grain at the first opportunity, which would certainly cause food prices to be inflated.
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