"Excellent. A truly remarkable sword!"
King Jaehaerys held Sweet Widow in his hands, examining it closely. The Valyrian sword was much like House Targaryen's Dark Sister in size and shape, but far more lavishly decorated.
Its ornate scabbard and hilt were studded with precious gems and inlaid with gold wire, and a ruby the size of a quail's egg adorned the pommel.
Others might not have noticed, but Danyla could sense faint fluctuations of magical energy within that ruby as well.
"Great-grandfather, look at the Old Valyrian inscriptions on the blade. Those must be the words of some dragonlord house from the days of Old Valyria, mustn't they?"
Danyla asked with seeming casualness, but her gaze remained fixed on King Jaehaerys's face, afraid of missing even the slightest change in his expression or reaction.
"With the Gods!"
Softly murmuring the words on the blade, King Jaehaerys gradually sank into deep thought. His clouded eyes seemed to lose focus, yet their gaze grew all the more profound.
"Ah, now I remember! Those are the words of House Iperian."
"House Iperian, House Belaerys, and House Augustus were firmly established as the three greatest of the forty dragonlord houses."
"House Iperian produced more sorcerers and smiths than any other, so they were always responsible for forging the Valyria Freehold's Valyrian steel weapons."
At this, Danyla immediately pressed him.
"House Iperian? How come I've never seen any mention of these dragonlord houses in our family's books?"
King Jaehaerys looked fondly at Danyla.
"Oh? Is little Danyla interested in Old Valyria too?"
Danyla nodded earnestly.
"Who wouldn't be interested in such a great and wondrous realm?"
"Hahaha! If it's only curiosity, there are plenty of stories about Old Valyria in both Westeros and Essos. Those bards could probably keep telling them for hundreds of years