The Battle of Shipbreaker Bay

Drizzle...

The torrential rain blanketed the deep, dark night.

"Siga!"

The little trickster soared through the air, leaving the sea behind for a craggy cliff. Its smaller body darted freely between the rocks.

Aemon wiped the rain from his face and looked up at the night sky.

Crack—

A flash of lightning and peal of thunder revealed the silhouette of a colossal dragon among the dark clouds.

It was enormous and slender, four times the size of a young dragon.

"Turn back, little trickster."

Aemon spotted a bend in the cliff and immediately tugged the reins.

The rocky cliff was like a narrow maze at sea, and the overcast sky blurred the boundaries between sea and sky.

But he could remember the way.

The little trickster narrowed its pupils, craned its neck, then leaned back and inverted its wings to turn around.

Its powerful body was remarkably agile, with excellent reflexes.

Boom—

Scalding, ghastly-white dragonflame suddenly crashed down ahead of where they had just been.

"Faster! See if we can shake it."

Aemon couldn't help but smile, wondering how likely it was that turning back now would keep them from being followed.

King's Landing had two dragons, Vermithor and Syrax.

But his grandfather and mother were both poor dragonriders, and it was quite a distance from King's Landing to the Dragonpit.

"Is Melyas at the Gullet?"

Aemon's thoughts wandered to his great-aunt Rhaenys, who patrolled the Gullet regularly.

The cold rain slapped his face, quickly bringing him back to his senses.

In such a torrential downpour, even Melyas, reputed to be the fastest dragon, wouldn't fly.

Heading for Driftmark didn't seem like a viable option either.

Besides...

"Grr... gaa..."

The Pale Wild Dragon suddenly emerged from the clouds, its nostrils flaring as it searched around with its crimson slit pupils