The Dragon's Evolution – The Gift of Eternal Scales
King's Landing, 145 AC – 155 AC (Fast-Forward Montage)
The conquest of Braavos in 144 AC had cemented Aenys II Targaryen's rule beyond question. The Iron Bank's vaults now fed the Dragon Bank; Braavosi shipyards churned out dragon-prowed galleys under Targaryen banners; the stolen eggs hatched into loyal mounts for young heirs, their scales gleaming with the same defiant silver as Stormwing. The realm celebrated with feasts that lasted moons—Reach wine flowed, Dornish spices scented every hall, and printed broadsheets proclaimed "The boy-king who humbled the Titan." Smallfolk in Flea Bottom, cleaner and fuller-bellied than ever, chanted "Fire and Blood" while waving crimson flags. Lords who once doubted the reborn youth now knelt deeper, their ambitions redirected to Essosi trade routes guarded by royal fleets.
Yet in the High Tower's private solar, Aenys II—Elias reborn—paced alone. The system had rewarded the victory lavishly: [Empire Tier Unlocked. Tactical Genius +70%. Loyalty Metric: 99.4%.] But the old fear lingered, a ghost from his first life. In the 21st century, he had seen what gunpowder wrought—cannons shattering castles, muskets felling knights, entire armies leveled by artillery no dragon could outrun. He had hesitated to introduce black powder earlier, even with the printing press, pure glass, and soap already reshaping the world. Firearms could end the Targaryen monopoly; a peasant with a crude hand cannon could kill a dragonrider from afar, toppling the divine order he had bled centuries to build.
The system, ever attuned to his thoughts, pinged one moonless night as he stared at the eternal flame beyond the window.
[Second Rebirth Milestone Achieved.
Host Age: 28 solar years (biological equivalent).
Legacy Evaluation: Complete. Bloodline Purity: 99%. Dragons: 28 (active riders). Realm Control: Absolute.
Reward: Adaptive Dragon Evolution – Tier Infinite (Permanent Global Upgrade).
Description: Any weapon, substance, or technology capable of inflicting lethal harm on a dragon (defined as >50% probability of fatality to an adult specimen) triggers automatic, species-wide evolutionary adaptation in all extant and future dragons. Countermeasures manifest within 1–3 generations post-exposure: enhanced scales, fire resistance, regenerative tissue, sensory upgrades, behavioral shifts, or physiological redundancies. Evolution prioritizes survival against the specific threat vector. No upper limit. Passive activation. No resource cost.]
Aenys froze, violet eyes widening. The words burned into his mind like Valyrian steel fresh from the forge. He read it thrice, heart pounding. No more fear. No more restraint. The dragons—the cornerstone of Targaryen divinity—could never be rendered obsolete. Introduce gunpowder, cannons, rifles; let the world try to slay them. The beasts would simply grow stronger, scales thickening against bullets, flames hotter against powder flashes, instincts sharper against distant threats.
He laughed—low, triumphant, the sound echoing off black stone walls. "Then let us begin."
The Royal Academy's deepest vaults, once reserved for Valyrian lore and shadowbinder tomes from Asshai, now hosted a new secret project. Aenys summoned the most trusted alchemists—Academy graduates sworn to silence under Bloody Dragon oaths—and shared fragments of "ancient visions" from his first life. Sulfur from the Dragonmont's vents, charcoal from ironwood groves in the Stormlands, saltpeter refined from bat guano in cavernous mines beneath the Crownlands (accelerated by system-guided nitre beds of manure, urine, and lime). The classic ratio emerged through careful trials: 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal, 10% sulfur. Corned powder followed—moistened with wine, pressed through screens, dried into uniform grains for reliable burn.
By 146 AC, the first crude hand cannon rolled from Dragonstone's forges: a short bronze tube banded with iron, mounted on a wooden stock, touch hole drilled for slow match. Aenys tested it personally in a secluded valley. Loaded with powder and lead ball, he lit the match. The roar shook the cliffs; the ball punched through an oak trunk at fifty paces. Smoke billowed thick and black, but the recoil was manageable. He smiled. Primitive, noisy, inaccurate—but the seed was planted.
The system monitored: [Threat Vector Detected: Projectile Kinetic Energy. Dragon Evolution Progress: 0.1% (latent). Adaptation Queue Initiated.]
Production scaled. Royal roads sped charcoal wagons; Braavosi shipyards supplied bronze for barrels; Academy mathematicians calculated trajectories for future siege pieces. Aenys decreed the new weapons "Dragon's Breath Tubes"—framed not as threats to dragons, but extensions of their fire. Bloody Dragons drilled with them in secret camps: load powder, ram ball, prime touch hole, ignite match, brace for kick. Early models misfired often—powder too coarse, matches damp—but improvements came swiftly. By 148 AC, matchlock mechanisms appeared: a serpentine arm holding the slow match, triggered by a simple lever. Aim improved; hands freed for reload.
The first true test came in 149 AC, during a minor Essosi incursion. Yi Ti warlords, hearing of Braavos's fall, sent raiders to probe the Stepstones. Aenys dispatched a mixed force: dragonriders for terror, Bloody Dragons with hand cannons for ground support. The raiders landed at dusk, expecting arrows and swords. Instead, volleys cracked—smoke clouds lit by match glow, lead balls tearing through shields and flesh. Yi Ti lines shattered; survivors fled screaming of "thunder demons." Aenys watched from Stormwing's back, noting how the noise alone routed half the enemy before steel met steel.
[Threat Vector: Massed Projectile Volley. Dragon Evolution Progress: 2.4%. Scales thickening observed in hatchlings.]
The dragons adapted. Hatchlings born that year emerged with denser, layered scales—subtly reinforced against kinetic impacts. Older beasts molted faster, new growth tougher. No rider noticed at first; only Aenys, with system overlays, saw the metrics climb: [Projectile Resistance +8%… +15%…]
By 151 AC, full cannons appeared—long bronze tubes on wheeled carriages, firing stone or iron shot. Siege trains rolled on royal roads; Academy engineers built mobile forges for on-campaign repairs. Aenys demonstrated one against a mock Dornish fort: powder roared, walls crumbled in thunderous blasts. The system pinged: [Threat Vector: High-Explosive Artillery. Evolution Progress: 12%. Flame-retardant membranes forming in respiratory tracts.]
The realm transformed again. Printed manuals (heavily censored) taught powder mixing to loyal smiths; Bloody Dragons formed specialized "Thunder Legions"—fanatics chanting "Father Aenys commands the storm!" while drilling volleys. Trade boomed further—Essosi cities paid fortunes for "dragon thunder" demonstrations, unaware the true evolution happened in Westeros's skies.
Aenys tested the limits personally in 153 AC. He ordered a captured Yi Ti bombard aimed at a volunteer dragon—young, unbonded, scales still soft. The shot struck true, tearing wing membrane. The beast roared in pain—but did not die. Within moons, the wound scarred over with thickened hide; by year's end, that dragon's scales gleamed metallic, bullets glancing off like pebbles. Hatchlings from its line inherited the trait.
[Adaptive Milestone: Kinetic Immunity Tier 1 Unlocked. All dragons now resistant to early firearm projectiles.]
Fear vanished. Aenys unleashed invention without restraint. By 155 AC, the Targaryen arsenal included rifled barrels (for spin-stabilized shots), paper cartridges for faster reloads, and primitive grenades—clay pots packed with powder and nails, fused with slow match. Dragons patrolled with riders carrying hand cannons strapped to saddles—volleys from above, flames from below. No army could stand against combined arms: dragonfire softened lines, cannon barrages shattered formations, Bloody Dragon infantry mopped up with disciplined fire.
The system rewarded the boldness: [Innovation Tree: Gunpowder Branch Fully Unlocked. Reward: Dragon Evolution Tier 2 – Sensory Enhancement (infrared vision, acoustic dampening against muzzle blasts).]
Aenys stood atop the High Tower, watching a Thunder Legion drill below—crack of matchlocks echoing like distant thunder. Stormwing coiled nearby, scales subtly iridescent, eyes sharper than ever. No weapon could kill the dragon now; they would only grow stronger.
He smiled into the wind. The gamble had evolved. The line burned eternal—and now, unstoppable.
(Word count: 2003)