Aegon's lips curled upward. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he gave the sword a couple of experimental swings.
The blade whistled through the gathering dusk.
But a moment later, he frowned slightly-the hand-and-a-half sword really was a little too heavy for his current build.
Though the system's enhancements had given his eight-year-old body strength and endurance superior to those of some ordinary adults, his size still imposed its limits.
Wielding it with both hands was manageable, but in a prolonged fight, his arms and shoulders would soon give out.
For now, it seemed Nightfall could only serve as a secret weapon for self-defense. For close combat against enemies off dragonback, he would still have to rely on that Valyrian steel dagger with its dragonbone hilt.
None of that dampened Aegon's exhilaration at acquiring such a fine sword. He hefted Nightfall in his hands, then suddenly turned and pointed toward Johanna, who stood on the deck with her skirt torn to shreds.
"Take good care of this girl." Aegon looked at Johanna, suddenly feeling that she was nothing short of his lucky charm.
She had survived being abducted by pirates, stepped forward at the crucial moment to kill one herself, and even pinpointed the location of the Valyrian steel sword-
Without her today, Nightfall would probably have sunk to the seabed along with the burned pirate ship.
"If any of you are unhappy with my uncle's arrangements, you can come back to King's Landing with me," he told them.
This slave ship had brought him the sword.
He would do what he could to help these poor, homeless people. Failing that, he could send them to Driftmark-even if he could not take them all back to King's Landing, he could at least ensure that Daemon's arrangements gave them somewhere safe