Runestone forest near the narrow sea.
101 AC
Aemon Targaryen
[Location image here]
I stare up at the clouds watching birds flee from Agaraxes as he flies after them. He's quicker and larger so it's only a matter of moments before he catches two with his flames and before they can hit the ground he eats them.
'Show off' I think and I think he can feel my annoyance as he lands on top of a nearby tree and screeches scaring more birds into the air. He says no real words with it just noise so they won't bother him. I sigh and look back down to see Ser Garold staring up at him just like I was. He tilts his head back down and sighs as well.
"Can't you tell him to leave my prince?" Ser Garold says turning to look at me for a solution. I freeze slightly realizing I could have done that the whole earlier and wasted hours of my time. Agaraxes has been scaring away most of our prey although Mother managed to get a deer on her own. Normally we would have been with her but my dragon is following me and has been this whole time. Well, I thought it'd be safer to have a dragon with me just in case we ran into some wildlings or something but the mountain tribes aren't that common in this area. Slightly embarrassed awkwardly turned to the tree my winged friend had landed on.
"Māzigon Agaraxos!" ("Come Agaraxes!") I shouted just loud enough to get his attention. The black drake looked down at me as he finished another burnt bird I didn't see him catch. Then he flapped his wings and came down to meet me. Once he came down he locked eyes with me again. He made a sound somewhere between a growl and a song which translated to.
Hisssss* gerr* hiss* seerr* armerrn* ("You called for me Aemon? Why?") He releases a series of subtle rumbles and growls to convey his message. He also tilted his head to convey confusion and curiosity as to why I disturbed his hunting.
"Aōha ruining īlva arghugon se scaring qrīdrughagon ry īlva prey." ( "Your ruining our hunt and scaring away all our prey, ") I said to him in Valyrian so that nobody would think that I literally understood what he was saying to me.
"Ruining your hunt? My hunt is going just fine. I've caught several birds already you see." He says excitedly pointing his nose at the burnt remains of his catches. He's been hunting and eating everything he can since we left home. I haven't said anything or asked but I'm fairly certain he is fairly excited about us hunting together for the first time. Well, I suppose it's not, we did hunt some of the rats in the red keep together, and some of the ones at home but those only ever provided a few points. Not enough to buy a new Dragon Warrior body like I wanted but I got pretty close to that as well. Af course I was practically forced to spend my time playing with Rhaenyra or the Velaryon twins or sometimes both. But to fair me and the little princes are two of only three dragon riders our age. Unfortunately, Laena's egg never hatched and I never had the chance to hatch it for her because it was left on driftmark but I wanted to hatch it anyway. I mean if I don't one day in the future she might claim the dragon Vhagar but for that to happen my grandfather Baelon will have to die.
". ("Well that's very nice for you but you're disturbing us so go and come back at night but keep an eye on us from a safe distance. Roar if there is any real trouble.") Regardless of my thoughts I ride forward trying to ignore his slightly upset face as he snorts and flies off. Soon he's already chasing another bird so I shift my attention back to riding atop my horse as I speak to Ser Gerold again. The older knight watches the still somewhat little black beast fly off into the air.
"There he'll leave us for now and return at nighttime unless we're in danger," I say as his gaze diverts back to me. He shoots me a look as if to say. Why didn't you just do that from the start? Seeing that look from him I shrug and smile before saying. " What? It's because I didn't think of that earlier." He chucked and then smiled at me and nodded and after a few moments were riding again.
" We should try and catch back to my mother!" I say as I begin to speed up and ride off on my new horse's back. "She's probably already caught something!" I call back over my shoulder as Ser Gerold speeds up to catch up to me. I keep my eyes on the forested road ahead of us just to make sure we don't get lost or ambushed or something.
Still, I let my mind wander back to thoughts of my grandfather Bealon and his impending death. He's probably off to find a sheep or something he always says how delicious they look but he normally only hunts at nighttime when all the other animals are asleep and easier to ambush. It was hell trying to convince him not to eat the horses inside the stables the first time he saw one. Still, he's a much nicer and less entitled dragon than all the others especially that old bitch Vhagar or that entitled child Syrax. He's more like his mother Silverwing in temperament in that he's rather friendly but from what I heard from her he's just as energetic as Vhermithor was when he was younger. I remember when I asked he r what Bellarion was like and she said that he was basically a living death for anything that tried to fight him. But towards the end, he was more like a really tough grandpa who despite being still buff was too old to move and was too busy having dementia to kick your ass even though he totally could.
Still, back to grandpa Baelon's death he wasn't that old but he wasn't that young either, and considering that most people in this world never make it past 21 and overall die fairly young. Still, 44 isn't that old by my old world standards but in this world, he was almost ancient, and sure maybe I'm exaggerating but you get my point. Most people in this world just don't make it that long unless their noble and he's a royal with a very large target on his back. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that reality but I'm not sure I could save him even if I wanted to. From what I remember he started having a stitch in his side and then died within five days. It takes about a week by land and half a week by ship to reach Kings Landing by ship from the vale and that's if you're rushing. Plus then you have to account for the time for the raven to be sent saying that he is even sick in the first place for us to find out. By the time I get there, he will likely already be dead by then.
Still more worried about what would happen to my great-grandmother. She's already lived longer than she was supposed to thanks to my help but I'm not sure how much more her heart can take. I gave her the Dragon Warrior body but she was already old by that point. Sure it enhances her health and other things basically making most people superhuman and for those with dragon or magical blood it does even more. Plus as a Targaryen and a first man I have several magical bloodlines like wargs, greenseers, and rune mages as well as dragon and wehaterver other blood and shadow magic stuff the old Valyrians were doing. I probably have the blood of the old Valyrian fire mages as well and can do whatever they could I do? Hmm, I wonder if I could do something with the volcano on Dragonstone.
Still despite all that magic blood the Queen is still just a woman. An old woman at that and if Grandpa Baelon dies she might not have the will to live anymore the grief could kill her. I honestly don't have a plan for that yet but I need to find something to help her. It was she her and mother who helped me get over the majority of the madness that plagued me when I came out of the womb. And it was she and my father who mainly helped me learn to speak Valyrian when I didn't trust the maesters fully to do so. It was she who helped me come to accept this new world and its people as my family. If she dies… I don't know what I'll do with myself.
But as I continued into the woods alongside Ser Gerold we eventually met with my mother Ser Willam and Ser Gunthor again. They were standing around something but it wasn't a deer or any other fallen animal but rather a trail of blood that led to a larger beast. As I dismounted and grew closer to them Ser Gerold followed only one step behind. Once I got close enough small cries filled my ears.
I walked closer and before me now were the corpses of not one but two animals. Both creatures were native to the Vale however they are farther east than normal. On the left is what appears to have been a shadowcat and on the right is what used to be a cave bear. Normally these creatures are found in the mountains of the moon however it appears that the two beasts met here and fought to the death.
[Image of a Shadow Cat Here]
[Image of a Cave Bear Here]
But what concerned me more was the small bear cubs next to the larger of the two corpses. The four little ones appeared confused as to why their mother wasn't moving anymore and were trying to wake her up. But on the other side that made me feel even more sorrow. A crow from a raven came from above and below a mewling sound. There I saw four small shadow cat cubs still attempting to nurse at the body of their fallen mother.
"This is… horrible," I said near speechless at the horrid sight. Sure I've seen blood and death before but never in person. Only through videos and movies in my last life. I had seen dead animals sure but mainly just rode kill or a corpse through the animal channel on TV. But the raw Grimm reality of it grounded me. Sure I was no true hunter but I had killed small animals before but this was too much. But as I stared at the two tragic corpses who had somehow managed to split each other open and spill their guts upon the soil. But seeing what I could only assume was a look of sorrow and horror on my face mother came to my side. Lightly she placed her bronze rune-covered gauntlet on my shoulder.
"Remember this sight sight this is life, my son. It is the way of things. Yes, the old gods can indeed be cruel but these beasts only revealed their true natures. They fought to protect what mattered to them above all else. Their own family. Just as we must protect ours even if it costs our lives. " She said firm but not scolding me but ensuring I would remember this moment. Little did she know that anything that happened after my transformation was quite hard to forget.
"You will be the lord of our house one day and as such you will be responsible for its protection and the family that will come after you. Just as it is my duty as your mother and the lady of our house to protect you and the future of our house." She continued moving to stand in front of me this time crouching down and brushing the pale gold hair away from my face. Her brown leather gauntlets brushed the side of my face this time before she continued talking. My mother isn't a woman of many words more actions but when she spoke I listened and she was as fierce as anyone else. One time when I was little I even saw her training in the yard while Great grandmother or grandma as I call her held me up so I could see.
"Promise me you will do everything in your power to protect our house my son and the ways of the first men." Her guantleted hands cupped my face and made me look into her bright brown eyes. It wasn't the first time but I hadn't had such a close look at them since I was a babe. They were a bright gold brown bordering on orange and her darker brown hair was still lighter than it was in the show. I had honestly noticed especially with my Targaryen family members that they looked more attractive than they should. Almost as if someone had not only used makeup on them but had also photoshopped their features to be damn near picture-perfect down to their pores.
"Yes, mother I will remember this and I will fight to protect our house I promise!" I said nodding as fast as I could. She smiled and stood back up ruffling my hair and stepping towards the carcasses.
"What are we going to do with the cubs, my lady?" One of my mother's huntsmen asked her. She turned to him and frowned her face turning grim slightly.
"Well have to kill them no use allowing them to grow up into threats. Besides the gods are cruel to take their mothers from them. Better a quick death than anything else." She said her voice was deeper but still even and smooth while mentioning the dark deed. She reached passed her sword and for the bronze-handled dagger on her belt.
"What! No! We can't do something so horrid and cruel!" I shouted quickly after she spoke. I didn't want to hurt them after all they were just babes and the world had already taken their mothers from them just like she said. How could they allow them to kill such innocent cubs?
[Quest received: Convince Lady Rhea to allow the shadow cat and cave bear cubs to live and become your new companions.]
[Reward: (x8) Animal companion bonds, (x1) Random Skill, (x8) Random Item, (x80) SP (Shop points)]
I was almost stunned I had received quests from the system before and none of them came with penalties or anything for failing but this one had the best rewards I had seen in a while and I hadn't gotten a real quest in over a month. Still, my momentary hesitation interrupted my rhythm and Mom spoke before I could.
"Aemon they—" She tried to talk but I cut her off. I needed to convince her quickly I could hear some of the other hunters' dogs growling around me. We didn't bring a large number with us but we weren't alone. This was mainly for security reasons sure mountain tribes were rare here but my grandfather died to wildings so it's always best to be careful out here. That aside the matter of the cubs acquired more of my attention. I decided I needed to lay my point on more thick to convince her.
"You just said that those two mothers fought with everything they could to protect their family. They sacrificed their very lives to protect their cubs. The gods have already been so cruel to them should we really end their lives for nothing?" I said with as much passion as I could summon from my new childhood body. I could see her face shifting but I still needed a little more to convince her.
"Their sacrifice was more than honorable mother and wouldn't you do the same for me?" I said my voice was still annoyingly high-pitched and questioning. Then as soon as I stopped talking she responded just as I expected.
"Yes of course without question!" She said quickly without hesitation. 'That's the love of a mother alright. Good for me I suppose.' My mother's love for me was famous so famous it granted me both more and fewer liberties than others have. Still looking at her serious face I could tell I needed to do just a little more to get what I want.
"Then tell me mother should their sacrifice be forgotten?" I said a bit louder this time. I had noticed from the moment I started speaking all the men around us had been listening to our conversation. Now was the time for me to use their loyalty to our ancient house against her. So before my mother could answer my question again I spoke before her. I grit my small hand into a fist larger than a normal child's and summon my courage to finish my words.
"Tell me my friends, my family, my house what are our house words?!" I said even louder again this time. I even slam my tiny balled hand against my chest Attack on Titan style.
"WE REMEMBER!" They all boomed back at me at full volume. Twenty huntsmen in bronze and brown leather armor covered in runes from one of the oldest houses in Vale no possibly in the world. After all House Royce has been around since at least before the long night and were maybe here in the dawn age as well or at least our ancestors were. But then she looked at me one more time still contemplating and I knew what I had to do. I used my ultimate move, a move so powerful it could shape the hearts and minds of all, but only had not worked on the king of Westeros himself and that was only one time out of five. I used my puppy dog eyes. A gaze of pure and concentrated childhood cuteness, hope, and of course Targaryen manliness.
"Pretty please can I keep them mother. Please." I said in the cutest but of course purely manly voice. She looked down at me stern expression cracking as quickly as a broken egg slammed on stone. Before she smirked hard at my words, a tendency she and my father shared begrudgingly.
Then Mother just smiles at me chuckles then she full-on laughs and then she says the words. "WE REMEMBER!" She shouts just as loud as all the others truly she was a strong woman with a will just as strong as any man's. She even does the hand symbol against her chest. 'I think I might have accidentally just started a trend in our house and maybe later the realm.' I thought to myself with a bit of amusement. I focus back on my mother as she smiles and nods at me and turns back to the cubs still wriggling by their mothers. She gestures for me to join her and so I do as quickly as I can.
"Very well my son we shall keep them. But they are your responsibility now do you understand? You will train them yourself, you feed them yourself, and if they die you will bury them yourself." She says as she crouches down to put one tiny bear cub in my hands as I smile at her familiar words. I lifted my head up to meet her gaze and I said with confidence.
"I'll be fine so long as I have the kennel master to help. I'll do fine I promise Mom." I responded to her looking steadily into her eyes. She smiled again and nodded looking down at the eight small animals.
"Very well then. You may keep them so long as you take good care of them." At those words, I jumped up slightly surprised that she let me keep. Then I looked back down at the infant bear in my arms to check its reaction. Surprisingly it didn't flinch but rather nuzzled against me and made a small sound already fast asleep in my embrace. An even wider grin spreads across my face. That settles it I'm keeping them nobody can stop me.
[Quest complete: Rewards Gained]
[Would you like to claim rewards]
[Yes] [No]
'I'll claim my rewards later' I thought quietly wondering what they could be. I subtly dismissed the window still smiling happily at the thought of my new animal companions.
"Careful lad you'll put an eye out spreading all that sunshine!" Ser Gunther laughs from beside me. I didn't even notice when the bronze giant got next to me. 'Wait what? Is he talking about my smile?' I had heard mother and grandma calling me a ray of sunshine before. So just like that my smile turns into a frown. Then men around me laugh and chuckle at his best and even my mother laughs at my reaction. I sigh because I can take a joke at my expense. Then I pick up another cub this time a shadow cat.
Mother chuckles one more time and says "Now let's keep going the day is still fresh and it appears we've gained more animals than killed some." She says and everyone laughs slightly again.
"Aye, cousin it appears the young lad here isn't on the same kind of hunt as the rest of us!" Ser Gerold says from behind me and the group laughs again and almost begins to leave when another voice comes.
" Still we need to take care of the bodies Shadow cat pelts go for quite a lot of gold and this one's big enough to make two of them." Ser Gunthor says standing next to two of their humsmen and some men-at-arms. I look down at the body and realize how truly big the shadow cat is. I imagine the size of a full-grown tiger to be about nine or ten feet long maybe even if you stretch it all the way out. Then I look to the cave bear an animal that's extinct on Earth but still alive here on Planetos. The cave bear is slightly bigger its shoulders are more than five feet wide but not six and it's also roughly eleven feet long which is quite large for a female I believe. I look down at the tiny ball of fur in my arms and realize what I've just gotten myself into. I realize that I can't hold all eight cubs at once obviously so I'll need some of them to help hold some of them.
"Here Ser Willam you can hold this one." I walk over and hand it to the young knight. He flinches in surprise and nearly stumbles as if just handed him live grenade. Is he scared of it? It's just a baby bearly as big as a full-grown house cat. It's really more of a kitten but its eyes are open so I feel it's more accurate to call it a cub like a lion cub.
"Relax Ser Willam it won't bite you. Probabl. And besides a knight should act with more honor isn't that right Ser Garold?" I say looking at the older man his beard is all brown now but in a few years I imagine I'll start seeing grey hairs.
"Aye, the prince is right. You're a knight now my son and I could not be more proud but a true Knight is not so afraid of kittens." He says chucking and looking at his son and the shadow cat in his arms. I chuckle as well at his accidental cowardly act.
"I am not afraid of anything!" He says lifting the cat up higher into the air. I laughed and so did Ser Gerold as did Ser Gunthor in the background who overheard it while talking to his fellow huntsmen.
"Then you still have much to learn boy!" Be calls as some of the other huntsmen chuckle at Ser Willam's expense. He frowns slightly but doesn't pout like a child but rather takes it like a man and moves on.
I laugh and say " Don't worry Ser Willam learning is a lifelong journey." I say trying to comfort him slightly as I begin to move on from the topic.
"Aye indeed it is my prince." Says Ser Gerold coming around to put a hand on Ser Willam's shoulder. Ser breathes out and calms slightly it seems to me and Ser Gunthor's words hurt him more deeply than expected.
"What would a boy of three name days know about life?" He mumbles under his breath. But my enhanced hearing picks it up. When I hear it I know I need to stomp down on that right away. I'm going to be lord of this house someday maybe even more so I will need the respect of the entire house for this. Even a minute shred of doubt like this must be immediately crushed without hesitation. But how is that the real question here?
"Is there a problem Ser Willam?!" I spin quickly around catching everyone's attention as I do. I stalk over towards him slightly heated by a strange feeling in my chest.
"N-no, my Prince." He says he dresses me more formally now than before. I get closer and speak in a voice he can hear. He looks up from the small cub he was grumbling at.
"If I hear you disrespecting me, your future Lord, behind my back again you will be in for far more than a harsh reprimand do you understand?" It hits him slightly as his face tightens that he must up but a threat by a three-year-old who looks like a five-year-old isn't quite enough to shake a knight no matter how young he may be. Still, I summon my anger, and just as I expected Agaraxes responds in kind to my emotions and roars loudly in the distance. All the men look up but see nothing as Agaraxes flies past. He's always been quite fast for a dragon his size and I imagine he'll be ready to ride quite soon as well. He hasn't grown as fast as Danny's dragons from the show but those were magically enhanced dragons not regular ones. Still, Agaraxes has grown faster than any other dragon his age. I haven't enhanced him yet but I have planted one of the dragon tree seeds not too far from our family weirwood tree. I imagine it has something to do with the fact that he's never been chained and that the Vale has all the room to grow that he could ever desire and maybe more. As for the tree, it's more like a bush and has only just started to grow some small berries and none of them are quite ripe yet.
"Never mock a prince of the blood again. Am I understood?" I say firmly but quietly so as not to fully embarrass him. I continue my intimidation of him though with the sternest look I can manage. Considering my age it's not that great but I try my best.
"Yes m-my Prince," He says stuttering slightly as he flinches from the black dragon's distant sound so far yet so loud. My dragon is pretty quiet overall and is nearly silent when he flies but he can be loud when he needs to be. Plus Agaraxes is far larger than Syrax is despite him being the younger dragon though not by that much though its not totally ridiculous has about around the size of sea smoke right now.
"Come Aemon join us it's time you learn to handle a carcass."I return my attention to my mother as she calls me back over to join her by the carcass. But I do notice how he gripped the cub tighter when he heard Agaraxes's roar. Perhaps this will work out after all.
[Chapter image]
XXX
Hey guys this chapter came out later than it was supposed to which was yesterday but I got busy and probably going to be very busy all week plus I had to give up my dog this week so writing about this made me very sad.
Anyway, I hope I portrayed all the characters in a way that you'll all start to understand their core personality traits and what they're like. Also, I'm probably going to make a chapter for the pet images later just like I did for the character images.
Anyway remember to drop some power stones and comment more comments means more motivation means more chapters also have a great day everybody.
P.S. I also kinda stopped editing towards the end so the quality might drop at some point sorry about that.