301 AC, Island of Aegon…
Targaryen Islands, a place discovered by Elissa Farman in 56 AC. The islands were located several weeks' travel away from Oldtown, slightly farther south than the latitude of the Summer Isles, and at a longitude farther west than even Lonely Light. The islands were very small, with a combined land area no larger than Dragonstone; the largest of the islands, Island of Aegon was no more than a third the size of Dragonstone itself.
The islands had a varying degree of wildlife, including wild pigs and huge, sluggish grey lizards as big as deer, whose bite could cause severe infections. The trees were adorned with unknown fruits which were never seen in the Known World and everywhere the eye could see was painted green with trees.
The islands were discovered nearly two centuries earlier but no people were living on them until three years ago. Though no one knew, it was the Prophet who claimed the islands for himself. This place was where he was doing his dirty works and ships were constantly patrolling the seas for any foreign ships.
If people had known what sort of things were kept at this place, then they would have stopped believing him as he was doing things he preached against. This was the place where the Prophet sent the dragons of the Targaryen girl and the nephew of Eddard Stark. Though he had different plans for the boy, everything changed after the experiments done on the little dragons.
The Prophet was currently in a room with a few individuals who were informing him of the recent developments since he did not know anything as he was on a ship for two moons.
"So he is going to the Vale to solve this clansmen problem… Hmm, send word to Lurs to help them to exterminate the mountain clansmen population in the Vale. Also, ship their children to Essos to the training centres. I'm sure none of the lords would complain about their disappearances. Anything else, Second?" Gerold spoke while looking at one of the shadows.
The shadow named Second answered with a frown on his face, "There had been a little rebellion in the Oldtown. One of the septons declared himself the new High Septon but he was quickly executed on treason against the Crown. Except for that little problem, nothing is happening in the Seven Kingdoms. However, the sightings of the Others had been continuously increasing since the death of the King-Beyond-Wall. There had been a vote to seal the gates and it had passed. The Night's Watch is sending ravens to all the lords they can about the Others."
Gerold hardened his glare as he gazed at the stained glass. This development was not good for his plans as he was expecting them to move at least a year later. From the looks of it, he needed to accelerate his plans as he needed more power to defeat this foe which has been a thorn to his ambitions since he came to this world.
He even changed their story in the holy book and introduced them as mindless beasts instead of another race to his believers. He needed to destroy them completely and banish their god to fulfil his ambitions.
"Send word to Sargoso to advance the plans and begin preaching about the real god. We can't stay idle anymore. The enemy is moving and my powers are waning after the spectacle I have done in Ibben." Gerold touched the runes on his bracelet. The bracelet looked like a normal iron one but it had powers even Gods would envy. It was given to Gerold by Dagon, the god of seas when he was in Ibben. It was able to hide him from the sight of all the gods, even from his own. Though Gerold later learned that it was also blocking the power he was receiving from God but it was necessary for Gerold's plans. "I can't be seen by people anymore as His eyes will be on me when we start. Also, we need to move the veteran temple guards to the Wall in case of an unfortunate accident. The Wall will provide us with a great defence and I will be going there soon to end this once for all." Gerold sighed for the last time and looked at Second, "If there is nothing else, you can leave."
Second nodded his head and left the room, swiftly. Only then did Gerold turn towards the other men who were sitting at the table. There were two of them and they were wearing blue robes made of a weird material.
These two men were the head researchers of the island and they were responsible for the main project of Gerold. They were zealous in their belief in Gerold as he was the one who funded all of their personal projects and provided them with even the rarest and most forbidden materials.
The older one amongst them whose name was Dick began speaking as Gerold indicated for him to start, "Ahem, the experiments are giving great results, Your Holiness. Before starting I would like to tell you the names of the dragons as it will be easier to describe the processes we went through."
Dick shuffled throughout the scrolls on the table and finally found the one he needed. "The biggest one is named Chad, the middle one is Virgin, and the youngest one is Karen."
Gerold facepalmed at their names but still waved his hand for them to continue.
Dick nodded his head and extended a scroll to Gerold as begin telling the experiments' results, "When the dragons were first put to the room with the black stone, they showed no reaction for two weeks. However, we observed that their growth was accelerated and they began showing signs of intelligence. After two weeks, their flames begin turning black and black spots were sighted in their eyes."
"Were there any signs of madness or violence?" Gerold asked.
Dick nodded his head, "Yes, they attacked one of their caretakers but their violence was only limited to others as their bond with each other grew each day. We changed their diets from lamb meat to human meat after the attacks. After they got used to it, we reduced the amount of food just enough for one. Then, Chad began oppressing the others. It stopped sharing its food and began hoarding it. As a result, Virgin and Karen starved for a few days and then they tried to eat the only thing in the room, the black stone." Gerold raised an eyebrow as Dick continued, "Surprisingly, their hunger was sated and they began growing more than Chad. However, it was obvious that their eyes were still on the meat we were giving. Thus, a few weeks later, after the black stone exhausted, they attacked Chad. They ate one of his legs and the other one was ripped from his body."
"Is it alive?" Gerold asked with a frown on his face.
"Yes, we kept him alive thanks to the local priest's powers. We transferred Chad to a separate room and placed another black stone with him. A few moons later, his leg which was eaten began growing again. We contributed it to the powers of the black stone. On the other hand, Virgin and Karen's black stone caused different reactions. Two more hands grew out from Virgin's body and Karen's body began spurting a poisonous miasma. We were able to contain it until nine moons ago but the miasma began evolving and affected other researchers." Dick began sweating at this point, "The black stones were draining too quickly so we took them out of the rooms to observe the lack of its presence. Their initial response was violence but as time passed, they began growing weak. We had to put the black stones back into their rooms but they were draining too quickly. We were lucky that the new energy source came with the dragon boy."
"I heard there were some… complications on restraining Trios?" Gerold asked.
"Yes, we did as per you instructed and sealed him in a ritual room by tricking him. However, the sealing process done by the priests was not strong enough so we have to reseal him every moon. A drop of blood from him was enough to recharge two black stones so we were able to have a constant supply of black stones." Gerold nodded his head as Dick extended another scroll, "The dragon boy, Jon Snow, has been a great boon for our experiments. We put him in the same room with Chad but did not give any food to him. At first, the boy was wary of Chad but after a few weeks, he repeated what Chad did and stayed close to the black stone to sate his hunger when he realized its divine powers."
"It was a moon later, the boy showed signs of power when he, accidentally, healed his old scars. Then, we took the black stone away and began giving him real food. Of course, the energy source's blood was added to his meals."
Gerold straightened on his seat as this was what he was expecting.
"In time, his powers grew more powerful than the priests so we stopped giving him blood, lest he gets the idea of escaping."
Gerold put his elbows on the table and played with the bracelet on his arm. "Correct me if I'm wrong, the black stone gave him gods' power but a drop of a god's blood allowed him to gain more powers because of its potency."
Dick nodded his head and continued, "Yes, Your Holiness. With more time, I'm sure we can…"
However, Gerold interjected before he can say more, "There will be no need for more experiments. Get rid of the boy. Prepare a bowl of blood and a few black stones for me. We will do it in two moon's time."
Dick's and his companion's eyebrows raised high into the sky, "But the danger…"
"Enough," Gerold said, "Say no more, my decision is final!"
Gerold rose from his seat and went to see Kobo before going to bed. It was going to become a long moon as he was going to fulfil the first step of his plans.
…
A moon later in a tavern in Lys…
The tavern was the most popular place for the common folk of Lys. However, only those who were believers were able to enter this tavern as it was also in the most sacred place in the Known World.
The tavern was lively today as people were chatting with each other while laughing. However, an interesting conversation began in the tavern as people's chuckling cut short and all ears turned towards that direction.
"I fuckin' knew it, no one could do something like that." said one of the men.
Another spoke with confidence on his face, "The priests were right, he is the real God. I was there when he destroyed the Black Wall in Volantis. A mortal can't do something like that."
A man from another table joined their conversation, "Aye, you are right. As the priests said, the Prophet is the real god and we were lucky to serve him. I lost my eyes during the war but he healed them when none could. I tell you, only a real god could do things like him."
...
A moon and a day later…
The Known World quaked as a pillar of light rose to the sky. All of this happened in an instant and many thought it was just an illusion. However, the gods knew what this pillar of light meant. It was something that had not happened since the fall of the Empire of Dawn.
Birth of a new god...