FVN Chapter 462: The Birth of a Young Dragon
Chapter 462: The Birth of a Young Dragon
Chapter 462: The Birth of a Young Dragon
Nightfall, Oldtown.
Starry Sept.
Rhaegar lay on his back in the center of the Seven Gods' sculpture, his eyes slightly closed, breathing steadily and powerfully.
The great sword Dawn lay beside him, its blade like transparent crystal, reflecting the starlight and moonlight.
Outside, the holy sisters knelt in prayer, undisturbed by the sight before them.
After seven days and nights of observation, they had become convinced that the handsome Prince before them was a manifestation of the gods. How else could he have remained so vibrant for seven days and nights without food or drink?
Every night, he summoned the light of the stars to shine on him, enhancing the brilliance of his silvery-gold hair.
These phenomena defied conventional explanation.
No outsider would know.
At this moment, Rhaegar drifted into a deep sleep and into dreamland.
In his dreams, war and fire intertwined, dragons and disasters surged together.
Rhaegar's vision blurred as he was drawn into a battlefield thick with smoke.
He looked down to see himself wearing a helmet of Valyrian steel, as dark as night and shrouded in black mist.
He raised his hands, one holding the sword Truefyre, the other the Lost dragon Claw.
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
An inexplicable horn sounded, and he felt a burning sensation throughout his body, as if his blood was boiling.
Rhaegar listened intently, reverting to his Dragonborn state, his purple eyes transforming into vertical pupils.
The sound of the horn changed, piercing through the fog.
Ancient, heavy, and hot...
"This is not my battlefield."
Half-conscious, Rhaegar realized this was a dream.
Like the recurring nightmares that had haunted him since childhood.
Pop!
With this realization, the world before him shattered like a spider web.
The scene changed, his perspective split in two.
One view was of the Red Keep in King's Landing, the other a Dragonpit resembling King's Landing.
Rhaegar thought he had woken from the dream and stood there, confused, as a bystander.
The Red Keep was shrouded in white mist, obscuring everything.
The Dragonpit was clear.
It was called the Dragonpit because there were three dragon eggs in a straw nest within a closed space.
The eggs' shells were scaly and varied in color.
One was bright red like a flame, another blue like the sea.
The last egg was black on the upper third and red on the lower two-thirds, resembling a black egg sitting on a flame.
"Roar..."
A faint snorting sound came from the last dragon egg, and cracks began to appear on its surface.
Crack!
The shell split open, and a small head began to emerge.
Rhaegar sensed something was amiss.
He heard a distant voice whisper in his ear.
"Congratulations, the Heart of the Stars has been activated. You have obtained..."
The voice faded, and the dream collapsed.
Starry Sept.
Rhaegar opened his eyes and sat up abruptly, as if resurrected.
"A dream!"
Rhaegar's face paled, and he pressed his fingers together, letting out a long sigh of relief.
It had been a long time since he'd had such a vivid dream, especially since the war began.
At that moment, murmurs drifted from afar.
With his keen senses, Rhaegar turned his head towards the altar where the holy sisters were gathered.
"The Son of God has awakened. His hair glows like a silver-gold star..."
"The dragon outside the temple sleeps soundly, capable of swallowing ten goats at a time..."
"Shh, keep your voice down. Pray to the Seven Gods..."
Rhaegar overheard fragments of their conversation but paid it no further attention.
Although the Faith of the Seven seemed brilliant and glorious, it had many doctrinal holes.
Rhaegar identified these gaps and modified the content to appeal to both nobles and commoners.
He wanted tp make sure it resonated with everyone.
For example, the power of the Stranger.
It was said the Stranger was the god of death, taking the souls of the dead.
But where did the souls go? Heaven or hell?
Rhaegar could say, "The good go to heaven, the bad to hell."
The doctrine did not describe heaven, only that it was beautiful.
Similarly, hell was vaguely depicted, only meant to instill fear.
Rhaegar wanted to introduce visualizations of heaven and hell, embedding these concepts deeply in people's minds, creating an inherent ideology.
Compared to the ambiguous beliefs of the Seven, the teachings of Protestantism were much clearer.
As heir prince, Rhaegar would build a great cathedral and recruit followers.
This new path would directly challenge the old Starry Sept of the Faith of the Seven.
In time, it would change the minds of the people from the divine right of the Septon to the divine right of Kings.
A new Protestant Bible would be written, with the final interpretation left to the Targaryen dynasty.
This new doctrine would allow Rhaegar to marry as many women as he wanted, minimizing the power of the gods.
The king's commands would be the word of God, and the Targaryens would be above the common people.
Would the High Septon object? He has dragons! They were all holed up in their chambers now, but if they dared to interfere...
"Cannibal, return to King's Landing at full speed!"
Rhaegar mounted his saddle and rode his dragon into the night.
"Roar!"
Cannibal let out a roar, shook its massive body, flapped its wings, and soared into the night sky.
Rhaegar looked down at the shrinking Oldtown and thought to himself, "I'll be back!"
Next time, he wouldn't give them so many chances.
...
At the same time, within the confines of the Princess's chamber in the Red Keep.
A strained groan pierced the tense air, followed by a series of labored breaths.
The midwife and maids scurried about, carrying basins of hot water and fresh towels in preparation for the impending birth.
Creak—
The door swung open abruptly as a figure clad in a red and white dragon-riding outfit burst into the room.
Laena, eyes wide with concern, scanned the room for her friend.
The cries of labor filled the room, echoing off the stone walls.
Rhaenyra lay on the bed, her body slick with sweat, gripping the sheets tightly.
Laena rushed to her side. "Rhaenyra, I heard your cries from across the hall. How are you holding up?"
She quickly assessed the situation.
Rhaenyra's white gown was hitched up, stained a vivid red from the labor. Her face, contorted with pain, was flushed as another cry of agony escaped her lips. "I can't give birth yet. Neither of my children wants to be the elder brother."
Laena paused, realizing the gravity of the moment was no time for jests.
She turned her gaze sharply towards Grand Maester Orwyle. "She's been in labor for hours. Isn’t there anything you can do to help?"
Orwyle’s expression was grave as he pondered the complexities of childbirth. It was a perilous and unpredictable process, varying dramatically from one woman to another.
"Ah!"
Rhaenyra screamed again, her eyes brimming with tears as her body arched in torment.
"Rhaenyra, are you alright?" Laena's voice was laced with concern as she grasped her friend's hand, eyes darting to the activity beneath the skirts.
Despite having experienced childbirth herself, Laena felt overwhelmed. If not for Rhaegar's intervention during her second pregnancy, she might not have survived.
"I can’t bear this any longer!" Rhaenyra gasped out in despair.
"What's wrong?" Laena asked, her face blanching.
Rhaenyra clenched her teeth, determination flickering across her face. "It’s time. The little ones can’t wait any longer."
A pained wail escalated into a crescendo, and then, piercing the tense atmosphere, the cry of a newborn resonated through the chamber.
"Wa wa wa~~"
"Rhaegar, you wretched man!" Rhaenyra cursed through gritted teeth.
No sooner had the first cry ebbed than a second, equally vigorous wail filled the room.
"Wa wa wa~~"
The room, once tense with anticipation and fear, now echoed with the cries of new life, marking the arrival of not one, but two heirs into the tumultuous world of the Red Keep.