Late at night, beside the Gates of the Moon, in the Eagle Guard camp.
Lord Jon ordered the stewards of the Moon Gate to prepare a lavish dinner for the triumphant soldiers.
The soldiers enjoyed roast lamb, roast beef, fruit, fruit tea, lemon cakes, and roast goose.
After the banquet, Rhaegar returned to the camp with Barristan, the others, and the escort soldiers.
The massive dragon skeleton was placed in the center of the camp, becoming an exquisite decoration.
Morale was high; only iron and fire could forge fine steel.
Only victory could grant a warrior courage.
These young men didn't lack training; they only lacked a fire to temper their will into steel.
They also represented the first batch of investors Rhaegar had attracted: the Gulltown faction.
Currently, there were too many sons of nobles and wealthy merchants in the Eagle Guard, but there was no other way. Apart from a few lords who could afford standing armies, most military forces were knights and levies called up in wartime. If you had neither money nor status, why bother being a knight?
These men are my iron fist, my sharp sword, my seeds, Rhaegar thought with joy. Quality over quantity; he would train every soldier strictly.
Once the dragon hatched, hostile forces would surge from the abyss. Lys, Myr, and even Braavos had previously held deep hostility toward dragons.
Rhaegar needed such a force, whether to clear dissidents in King's Landing, wipe out pirates in the Stepstones and savages in the Mountains of the Moon, or even to confront the Sealords of Braavos, Lys, Myr, and other Free Cities in the future. If he wanted to restore the glory of the Dragonlords, time waited for no one.
King's Landing, a great city of four or five hundred thousand people, incredibly had only three or four thousand Gold Cloaks; it was baffling. Though a metropolis by population, its planning and layout were chaotic and lacked order.
With Lord Jon's tacit approval and investment from Gulltown merchants, the ranks of the Eagle Guard would grow further.
Rhaegar watched the soldiers return to their tents, then signaled those around him to rest.
Eating, living, and training together—it wouldn't take long for this group to become Rhaegar's sharp sword.
Rhaegar's tent was in the center of the camp, next to those of Barristan, Brynden, and the others.
In the simple tent, Rhaegar wiped the Dragonlord Ring several times.
The camp environment was crude; no velvet beds like in King's Landing, no squires or maids, and certainly no sycophants surrounding him.
But Rhaegar felt very at ease. In this camp, he was unbound; he was the sole king. He didn't miss the stench of King's Landing, perhaps only regretting leaving his family.
Rhaegar recalled an old saying: I would rather be a king in a remote, poor place than a subordinate in King's Landing.
After the Battle of the High Road, Rhaegar's strength had increased again. He couldn't help wondering what benefits the Dragonlord Ring would reveal this time.
Filled with anticipation, Rhaegar activated the Dragonlord Ring again.
He would consider devouring Fire Seeds later; his immediate concern was expanding the ring's space.
In the dim light, the Fire Seed dispelled Rhaegar's darkness, and the space inside the ring expanded by another grid.
A fascinating purple light flashed, and a dragon egg suddenly appeared before Rhaegar.
"It's a Purple Dragon Egg!" Rhaegar's eyes went wide.
It was a deep purple dragon egg, its scales radiating a crystalline violet glow. It was truly beautiful—charming purple, pure purple.
Purple symbolized nobility and splendor, yet in Westeros' history, no trace of a purple dragon had ever been found.
House Targaryen had black, gold, blue, copper, silver, and red dragons, but purple dragons had never appeared.
Rhaegar's knowledge of purple dragons was limited to their origin in House Belaerys, and it seemed only House Belaerys could tame them; other dragonlord families either dared not or could not tame them.
Rhaegar picked up the purple dragon egg excitedly. Being near it made his blood burn within him, making him feel stronger and braver.
As Rhaegar turned the egg with his fingers, it emitted a metallic luster, tiny purple specks moving slowly.
"What is that?" Rhaegar noticed the purple egg was sitting in a round stone dragon nest.
The stone dragon nest also emitted a dazzling purple light.
The nest was about half the height of an adult man, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, looking much like an oversized goblet.
Rhaegar observed it carefully. The Stone Dragon Nest was carved from a single block of black stone, appearing to be shaped after melting stone with dragonflame.
However, the nest was inlaid with countless purple gems, crystals, and amethysts, shining with purple light that outshone all else. Purple dragons coiled around the nest, as if ready to break free at any moment.
The Black Stone looked like obsidian but felt hard, heavy, and warm to the touch.
Rhaegar thought this normal. The Valyrian Dragonlords not only controlled dragons but developed advanced technologies like the fused stone of the Black Walls.
The Book of Artificers of House Belaerys should record this method, but Rhaegar hadn't seen that book yet.
The interior of the Purple Dragon Nest was carved with purple dragon motifs everywhere, traces of fire faintly visible. The dragons soaring in the sky were lifelike, exquisite, and magnificent, displaying House Belaerys' ambition to conquer continents and seas.
This might be the smallest dragon nest in the world, but its luxury and craftsmanship were unparalleled.
Looking at the dense purple gems before him, Rhaegar felt he had struck it rich again; House Belaerys was indeed wealthy enough to rival nations. However, the dragon nest's purpose might not just be decorative; it might have other functions.
Rhaegar wiped the Stone Dragon Nest gently and found it could hold five dragon eggs simultaneously, each with a groove.
Inside the nest, at the bottom of each incubation groove, a pebble-sized red gem was embedded, very beautiful.
Rhaegar noticed these red gems seemed to have lost their vitality; their red was dull and lackluster.
"Heart of Fire!" Rhaegar found a line of Ancient Valyrian text on one of the red gems.
Could fire magic be sealed inside these rubies? Rhaegar wondered.
Just then, the Tree of Life template lit up again:
(Explorer: Congratulations on discovering a great relic of House Belaerys—the Core of the Fire Dragon Nest. Dragons love fire and heat. Use this item to hatch dragon eggs for twice the result with half the effort, and the hatchlings will be outstanding.)
(Explorer: Congratulations on discovering the Fire Heart Gem. The Heart of Fire has slept for a long time; it craves all fire.)
Rhaegar explored the Purple Dragon Nest carefully; it was truly a magnificent and advanced work of art.
In terms of craftsmanship, those hillbillies of House Targaryen couldn't compare.
Rhaegar first lit a small cluster of flames; the gem absorbed all the sparks, but nothing changed.
A thought flashed through Rhaegar's mind: "All fire." It shouldn't be limited to natural fire; the fire of life is also fire.
According to House Belaerys' philosophy, all species are driven by fire.
Plants, animals, rivers, and human lives are all Seeds of Fire. Dragonlords possess the strongest Fire of Life, hence they can control fire and dragons.
Speaking of fire, do I need to use Dragonlord blood? Rhaegar pondered. For now, perhaps his own Blood of Fire was enough. The fire seeds in other living beings were too weak to be useful.
Ordinary blood couldn't activate this gem, but Dragonlords possessed the Blood of Fire, and the Fire Heart Gem should appreciate this lineage.
Rhaegar gritted his teeth and let a drop of blood fall onto the Fire Heart Gem.
After the blood seeped in, the Fire Heart Gem still didn't react.
Is this a fake?
Rhaegar mused for a moment, and when he touched it with his finger again, his finger stuck tight to the ruby.
Rhaegar felt the blood and fire of life within his body draining away. Finally, the Heart of Fire emitted a faint glow and scorching heat. The gem's heat was so intense it was unbearable.
"Terrifying." Rhaegar quickly bandaged his finger. He looked at his face in the mirror—frighteningly pale. He felt the exhaustion of excessive blood loss, harder to bear than fighting on the battlefield.
Rhaegar looked at the Purple Dragon Nest, a trace of fear lingering in his heart.
It felt like an electric shock; he had been drained of almost all strength, paralyzed. Best to stay away from that thing.
House Belaerys not only mastered fire magic but also had deep research into blood magic.
Rhaegar felt the Purple Dragon Nest was like a fire dragon incubation accelerator.
The Fire Heart Gem was crafted by Dragonlords using concentrated heat of flames. It first absorbs heat from fire, then transfers it to the dragon egg. The Fourteen Flames never lacked fire.
In times of crisis, Dragonlords could even use their own Life Seeds of Fire to nourish the gem.
"Can't waste it!" Rhaegar quickly placed his Silver Dragon Egg into the nest to absorb more heat.
As for the Purple Dragon Egg, it would have to wait patiently.
Rhaegar looked at the Silver Dragon Egg with anticipation. Though it showed no reaction yet, he would eventually hatch it himself.
Dragons like fire, heat, and the smell of sulfur and smoke.
Ancient Valyria had the Fourteen Flames, and Dragonstone barely met the conditions for hatching dragons.
Rhaegar looked at the beautiful Dragon Nest, thinking if there was a chance, he should go to the Dragonmont on Dragonstone.
As far as he knew, the only volcanic environment suitable for hatching dragon eggs was Dragonstone.