Dragonking Family

280 AC.

Westeros, Riverlands, Stone Hedge.

Morning light had just broken, and the snow was melting.

The lord's study.

A handsome silver-haired, purple-eyed boy of about eleven or twelve, dressed in fitted black winter clothes, held a sheet of paper in one hand and a pen in the other.

He thought, observed, and put pen to paper.

The charcoal pencil moved lightly and unhurriedly, and an excellently composed sketch emerged on the page.

It depicted three oval eggs.

"Dragon Eggs!"

Setting down his tools, Daeron Targaryen looked toward the fresh ivy shoots outside the window and could not help sighing.

In the blink of an eye, eleven years had passed.

He had been reborn in Westeros. Everything had been normal before he turned four, until one day his Past-life memories awakened and he recalled his previous life's memories.

His father was the "Mad King," Aerys II, the seventeenth and final king of House Targaryen.

His mother was Rhaella Targaryen, the current queen.

Together, they had borne four sons and one daughter.

Daeron was the second son, third among his siblings.

He had an older brother and sister above him, and two younger brothers below.

It was different.

Very different.

In his previous life, Daeron had been a graduate student at an agricultural university. He usually farmed and watered crops with his advisor, occasionally watching shows to pass the time.

He had watched the American series Game of Thrones.

From the scant bits of information in the show, he knew that the Mad King had only two sons and one daughter.

The rest of his children had either been miscarried or died young.

The only surviving children had been the eldest son Rhaegar, the youngest son Viserys, and the daughter Daenerys.

Now, Daenerys was not even on the horizon.

Yet Daeron already had a whole pile of brothers and sisters.

And all these changes had begun with a Red Comet that arrived ahead of time.

Back in 267 AC, before Shayani, Daeron's sister who was two years older than him, was born, his father Aerys and his mother Rhaella, nine months pregnant, had been at Casterly Rock in the Westerlands.

Ordinarily, with his wife so far along, he should not have left King's Landing.

But Aerys had been blinded by lust. He had set his sights on Lady Joanna, wife of Tywin Lannister, Warden of the Westerlands. Failing to spy on her in King's Landing, he had even followed her to the Westerlands to continue harassing her.

In the original story, Rhaella had miscarried.

This time, a Red Comet streaked across the sky. Taking it as an auspicious omen while in the Westerlands, Aerys summoned maesters to care for Rhaella and ensure a safe delivery as they awaited the child's birth.

Half a month later, mother and daughter were both safe.

Two years later, Daeron was born crying in the Red Keep. Aside from a high fever when he was four, he had grown up healthy ever since.

That was when Daeron's Past-life memories had awakened, and he realized there was something suspicious about his illness.

As everyone knew, beyond their silver hair, purple eyes, and inhuman beauty, members of House Targaryen possessed certain lesser-known advantages.

First, they had greater resistance to high temperatures.

Second, Targaryens never caught colds.

From then on, Daeron paid close attention to the people around him.

He usually acted like a child, eating and drinking as he pleased. Whenever he had time, he read and learned to write, studying both the Common Tongue and High Valyrian.

As his knowledge expanded, he discovered several things that were deeply unsettling upon reflection.

After his birth, his mother Rhaella became pregnant twice in succession.

One was a boy named Aegon, who died shortly after birth. The other was an unnamed fetus miscarried unexpectedly just before delivery.

Someone had deliberately targeted them!

That had been Daeron's first thought at the time.

He had read books and learned about his family's history.

One book, titled The Dance of the Dragons Chronicle, mentioned a major turning point in House Targaryen's decline from prosperity.

The fifth king to sit the Iron Throne in that book, Viserys I, known as the "Young King," had experienced something similar to Daeron's father Aerys.

Both had normally produced their first child with their wives, only for every child thereafter to die young for one reason or another.

The difference was that Viserys I had fathered a daughter, while Aerys had fathered a son.

One had suffered from a lack of male heirs, while the other had no worries about succession.

As the saying went, there was nothing new under the sun.

Desperate for a male heir, Viserys I's queen ultimately died in childbirth. He could only name his daughter as heir, planting the seeds of the family civil war known as the "Dance of the Dragons."

Later, he married a new queen.

The new queen bore him several children, three of them boys.

After he died, his sons fought his daughter, whom he had named heir beforehand, for the Iron Throne, nearly wiping out every dragon in the family.

"Our family has fallen into decline." Thinking of this, Daeron sighed regretfully.

More than a century had passed, and the analyses and judgments of successive kings and maesters held that Viserys I bore half the blame for the civil war of the "Dance of the Dragons."

Had he not been so indecisive, wanting everything at once, he would not have allowed the tragedy to brew.

Of course, Daeron's father Aerys was not much better.

His children were harmed, yet he could not even control his own court.

After noticing the signs, Daeron could not simply turn a blind eye.

Before and after his third brother Jaeherys was born, he had remained by his mother Rhaella's side under all kinds of excuses, even after the delivery went smoothly.

At night, whenever the Red Keep's wet nurse fed the baby, he checked on him as well.

Only after his brother safely passed his first Name Day did he finally stop.

His determination seemed to make the enemy wary. When his mother Rhaella became pregnant with and gave birth to his youngest brother Viserys, there was not the slightest disturbance, and the family gained another bloodline.

With four sons and one daughter, his father Aerys's desire to reproduce had been satisfied.

He kept mistresses and no longer paid attention to his wife.

That was not the only change.

The Red Comet's early arrival had brought earth-shaking changes to Westeros and even the world itself.

The depleted tide of magic began to stir once more.

The clearest sign was that the Glass Candles of the Citadel had lit again, giving off a hazy glow.

Wizards and Pyromancers rejoiced, claiming they could feel magic.

Daeron had personally seen a Pyromancer named Rosart, recruited by his father, ignite a ball of flame in his palm.

Without any special wildfire or protection, he had kindled fire with his bare hand.

Daeron could accept all that calmly.

After all, magic clearly existed in the original story.

In another dozen years or so, the Targaryens would hatch three dragons again.

But for some reason, the magical tide brought by this Red Comet was even more intense.

A strange substance named "Life Force" appeared across the continent, existing within crops, Wild Plants, and livestock products.

"Life Force" was not magic.

Nor was it like the heavenly treasures in the novels Daeron remembered, which could raise one's cultivation and transform one into something transcendent after being eaten.

At their core, crops, Wild Plants, and other things containing "Life Force" were still what they had always been.

Eating them would not make anyone stronger.

Only knights who were already highly skilled and extraordinarily powerful could sense and activate their own Life Force by consuming them.

Knights who mastered their own Life Force could better unleash their strength in battle.

Their speed, strength, and stamina could all reach the peak of their own potential.

His eldest brother Rhaegar had mastered Life Force and stood at the pinnacle of the continent's warriors.

Ordinary people could also gain some benefit from consuming it.

The Grand Maesters believed that, if consumed over a long period, it could improve one's constitution and prolong one's life.

Thus, crops and Wild Plants containing Life Force became sought-after luxuries across the continent.

Many nobles were willing to pay high prices for them.

Knock, knock, knock!

A series of knocks interrupted Daeron's thoughts.

"Prince, King's Landing has sent someone to urge you again." Outside the door stood a young knight in Silver Armor and White Robe, his face stern and upright.

Daeron froze for a moment, then lifted the drawing and crumpled it into a ball. Glancing sideways, he asked, "Ser Jon, who came this time?"

The study was an important place, and ordinary people were not allowed to disturb it. The man was a Kingsguard assigned by his father Aerys to protect him.

"It is Lord Owen. The White Bull has come as well," Ser Jon said solemnly.

Daeron understood. Pushing open the door, he waved a hand. "It is time to return. We cannot make Uncle Tytos too uncomfortable."

Owen Merryweather, Lord of Longtable in the Reach.

"White Bull" Gerold Hightower, the current Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

One was the King's lackey, the other the commander of the King's royal guard. Both were among his closest confidants.

Though he had been mentally prepared, Daeron was still a little surprised.

It seemed his father's determination to bring him back was truly firm.

This was Stone Hedge, the fief of the Bracken Family.

At the beginning of the year, his eldest brother Rhaegar had married Princess Elia Martell of Dorne and moved to Dragonstone after the wedding.

His father Aerys had flown into a rage, publicly declaring that Rhaegar was an ungrateful wretch unworthy of being his son.

He had even intended to strip him of his status as heir.

The father-son conflict had become an openly acknowledged scandal.

By contrast, Daeron had shown himself to be precocious. He cared for his sister and younger brothers, while treating his father with closeness and respect. To keep Aerys from becoming quite so mad, a little stroking of his ego was necessary.

Aerys greatly favored this second son and often kept young Daeron by his side.

Thus, Daeron had naturally been regarded as the most likely candidate to replace Rhaegar as heir to the Iron Throne.

This was a good thing!

However, his eldest brother Rhaegar had already grown powerful enough that he did not fear losing his position as heir.

His father Aerys was even more outrageous; his mind had become somewhat deranged.

Caught between two lunatics, Daeron chose to step aside.

Finding an excuse, he came to the Riverlands and became Lord Tytos Blackwood's retainer.

Being a retainer was a necessary path for a knight.

Daeron had originally intended to use it to hide for a while.

Yet in less than two months, his father Aerys, far away in King's Landing, had already sent people to summon him several times.

The intervals grew shorter each time.

Clearly, he could not delay any longer.

Raventree Hall.

The moment Daeron entered, he saw a Kingsguard wearing a horned helmet and Silver Armor and White Robe.

The man was "White Bull" Gerold Hightower.

Gerold was over forty and ordinary-looking, but he was exceptionally tall and broad. His battle-hardened presence was imposing without anger; standing there, he resembled a high wall.

At that moment, Lord Tytos was receiving the envoys.

"Prince, you have finally shown yourself."

Standing beside the White Bull was Lord Owen. The moment he saw Daeron's silver hair at the hall entrance, his eyes lit up, and he nearly broke into a run as he approached.

Lord Owen was about to speak.

"My lord, I know why you have come."

Daeron raised a hand, giving him no chance.