Valyrian steel

Today, the elder brother beat up the younger.

Prince Daemon had been beaten black and blue. He had not even had time to change his clothes or wash his hair, both soaked by the cup of Dragonfire Wine Viserys had thrown at him, before returning to the banquet hall with guilt written all over his face.

Everyone present, however, pretended not to notice, maintaining their graceful manners and amiable expressions as they chatted and laughed.

But they could not conceal the gloating in their eyes.

"Danyla, congratulations! You actually gained the upper hand against Cannibal. Remarkable!"

Always carefree and unrestrained, Daemon naturally paid no heed to what others thought.

He simply dragged over a chair and sat down beside Viserys at the head of the table.

Then, looking rather pleased with himself, he took two Valyrian steel necklaces from inside his clothes and addressed Rhaenyra and Danyla.

"These are little gifts I brought back from Pentos for you. Princesses of House Targaryen ought to wear jewelry made of Valyrian steel!"

"I had meant to give them to you on your birthdays, but after everything that happened today, consider them early gifts to soothe your nerves!"

Valyrian steel was a wondrous alloy forged by the people of Old Valyria. Its raw material was nothing magical or rare, merely ordinary steel.

Its marvel lay in the special process used to make it. Magic and spells were added during smelting, and dragonfire aided the forging, giving the steel its unique properties and making it lighter and tougher than ordinary steel.

Precisely because the wonder of Valyrian steel lay in its production process, no one in the world could forge new steel after the Doom of Valyria, when those techniques were lost.

Weapons made of Valyrian steel were lighter, harder, and sharper than even the finest Fine Steel weapons forged in castles.

The surface of Valyrian steel bore rippling patterns, much like Damascus steel in the real world. With the smelting techniques lost, the surviving Valyrian steel had become exceedingly precious and rare.

Several thousand Valyrian steel swords had survived to the present day, with roughly three hundred in Westeros. Most of those in Westeros were held by ancient noble houses, and each had its own name and history.

Tableware made of Valyrian steel and ornaments collected by the wealthy were more numerous.

As the only surviving Dragonriding house of the ancient Valyrian Free Cities, House Targaryen possessed only two Valyrian steel swords, Blackfyre and Dark Sister, along with a Valyrian steel dagger and the Ruby Crown, also fashioned from Valyrian steel.

Thus, the two Valyrian steel necklaces Daemon had produced for Rhaenyra and Danyla were indeed rare and precious gifts.

At last, a faint smile of satisfaction appeared on Viserys's face, though he had already given Daemon a thorough beating.

He even supplied an explanation for Daemon himself.

"Have you been traveling so often between Dragonstone and the Free Cities lately to have these two Valyria Necklaces made?"

"But even that is not enough to make up for what you have done! Had the gods not blessed us today, and had two Great Dragons not come to our aid, who knows what might have happened?"

"If you behave so irresponsibly again, I will personally break those restless legs of yours."

Although Viserys was still making threats, everyone who knew him understood that his anger had already dissipated entirely.

Valyrian steel necklaces were precious, but to those present, they were merely uncommon.

Few people had attended the banquet that evening, but almost all came from great noble houses, nearly all of which possessed Valyria steel weapons.

House Celtigar of Claw Isle, to which Ser Samwell Celtigar, the tax collector of White Sheep Town, belonged, owned not only numerous Valyrian steel ornaments but also a battle axe forged from Valyrian steel.

Even the families of Danyla's two personal guards—House Tarth of Tarth, to which Cameron belonged, and House Darklyn, to which Harold belonged—treasured Valyrian weapons, though theirs were little known.

Even the families of Danyla's four personal maids all possessed some Valyrian steel objects.

And House Velaryon, currently the richest house in Westeros, had a great many Valyrian steel objects in its treasury.

A very small portion had been brought with them when they fled Old Valyria, while most had been collected by Lord Corlys, the Sea Snake, during his Nine Great Voyages.

As the lady of House Velaryon, Princess Rhaenys often visited its treasury, so she merely glanced up before returning to the delicious food before her.

Only Danyla's elder sister, Rhaenyra, seemed especially excited. She rose from her seat, approached their uncle Daemon, and spoke happily.

"Thank you, Uncle Daemon!"

"Sorry for the trouble, but would you put it on for me yourself?"

While Daemon was putting the Valyria Necklace on Rhaenyra, Danyla gave her personal maid Anne a meaningful glance.

Anne understood at once. She rose, took a tray from a nearby maid, and spread her silk handkerchief over it, then carried it gracefully over to Daemon.

Daemon had just finished fastening Rhaenyra's Valyria Necklace with a smile when his expression abruptly darkened. With one hand, he carelessly tossed the remaining necklace onto the tray Anne held.

Only when Anne returned to Danyla with the Valyria Necklace on the tray did Danyla set down her knife and fork and address her uncle Daemon with a smile.

"Thank you, Cousin Daemon!"

"This necklace is very distinctive. I like it very much!"

"Then I suppose I can reluctantly give Cousin Daemon a chance to make amends!"

Danyla's words made everyone pause, watching curiously to see what she intended.

Danyla continued at an unhurried pace.

"His Majesty the King left you to hold Dragonstone because he hoped your Great Dragon, Quicksilver, would work with Dreamfyre to drive Cannibal away and protect the three young dragons."

"But when trouble struck today, you happened to be absent. Fortunately, the gods blessed us, and the matter of Cannibal was resolved satisfactorily! Unfortunately, Cousin, you missed it and took no part."

"So in a sense, Cousin, you neglected your duty!"

"That means you will have to hurry and repay the million gold dragons I provided to support you. Dragonstone no longer needs Quicksilver's protection."

Daemon's expression darkened further at her words, while everyone seated around them looked increasingly delighted by his misfortune.

"Of course, we could settle this another way!"

Changing tack, Danyla continued with a proposal.

"To make up for your regret at missing this battle between Great Dragons, I have a suggestion. Or rather, I only need a promise from you, Cousin."

"Not only can we forget about that million gold dragons, but I can also cover all your expenses whenever you visit Dragonstone in the future!"

Daemon's gloomy expression eased a little, though his voice remained cold.

"Speak!"

Danyla looked her cousin Daemon straight in the eyes and spoke firmly.

"All Danyla asks is that you promise to ride your Great Dragon into action for me five times in the days to come, without conditions."

Everyone had expected Danyla to demand something more. That was all?!

Out of habit, they all assumed Danyla wanted Daemon to ride Quicksilver and join her in fighting other Great Dragons.

Now that Cannibal, the most ferocious wild Great Dragon on Dragonstone, had been restrained, and with Viserys's Vhagar and Danyla's Dreamfyre there, what need was there for Quicksilver to act?

Little Balerion