Not far behind the king were the White Knights, guards, and squires who followed him.
"Balerion," Gendry called the dragon's name.
A winged black shadow appeared in the sky. Balerion flew out of his dragonpit and circled beside Gendry.
Balerion was the color of black jade, with blood-red eyes, spines, and horns, and breathed flames of mingled black and red.
Compared with the others of his kind, Balerion was the wildest, and the best vessel for Gendry's rune experiments.
The black dragon had now claimed a dragonpit of his own, staying here occasionally rather than in the courtyard. This dragonpit had originally belonged to the Cannibal, high up on Dragonmont, where the concentration of fire was very high.
"Come on, good fellow." Gendry felt the heat around him. Fire elements gathered at his fingertips, condensing into the shapes of runes, shields or chains.
Gendry carefully inscribed the runes on the black dragon's body. It was a warm flame, and the black dragon roared, sensing its goodwill.
The runes would protect the dragon, chiefly his eyes and other vulnerable places.
Chapter 382: Crow's Eye's Expedition
Strong winds blew as the Ironborn fleet first sailed west from Old Wyk, answering the call of their new king, Euron Greyjoy, to follow the Old Way and slaughter.
Throughout their long voyage, the winds remained favorable to the Ironborn. They headed west into the open sea, sailing a great distance.
"You should not have been so rash, Your Grace," Lord Rodrik the Reader had warned Crow's Eye when the fleet departed. "Those islands of Highgarden are nothing but a pile of rocks, but you have brought down the wrath of the roses and the anger of the stag. Some roses have thorns, and some stags have very foul tempers."
Harlaw was not the largest of