-Chapter 116-
Sitting quietly cross-legged, I began to meditate not to empty my mind but to reflect on my situation.
I am convinced that taking time to think before reacting to a situation can offer certain additional benefits, so that's exactly what I did.
This day was so full of twists and turns that I didn't know where to start. First, there was Oberyn's challenge, then Marwyn and Qyburn became increasingly dangerous and delved deeper into magic.
These two rats even had the audacity to try to recreate the formula for Shade of the Evening behind my back, I thought, annoyed by the implicit challenge it represented.
Previously, I wouldn't have thought twice; I would have simply beheaded them both. But as a future emperor, I must become the supreme authority of my empire and not just another dictator ruling by terror over my people.
Although they have tested my limits, these two grey rats haven't yet crossed them, and having such madmen by my side reminds me that mages from Asshai and priests from R'hllor will soon awaken with the rebirth of dragons in the world.
These evil geniuses might well prove to be major assets for my future empire, I thought to myself as I objectively assessed their respective qualities.
I must be prepared for what will come, not forgetting that if I am afraid of old Marwyn, I should tremble at the thought of facing the army of the White Walkers.
I opened my eyes and turned my attention to Rhaegal, who was resting near the bisected weirwood.
When I studied ritual magic, I managed to develop several types of rituals, but only in theory.
The problem with rituals is that you can never know how the target will react before testing it, and if the bloody rituals don't have enough sacrifices, the caster's vitality will be drained to make up the difference.
'I've hesitated for far too long, but it's time to bond with Rhaegal, as with Ghost. I can only imagine the surge in power I will have once we are bonded, once he is grown, my physical and magical abilities will be multiplied,' I thought to myself.
'There remains the question of what I will do with Oberyn.'
It's clear that he's banking on the "affection" I have for Arianne and, incidentally, for the child she carries, hoping I'll retract and spare that Blackfyre cur, who was just a puppet for the true puppet master who, even at this hour, eluded the network of assassins and spies I had sent after him.
Dorne isn't important, but for me to be crowned Emperor of Westeros, I needed to have the entire continent under my control.
Killing or having Oberyn killed by one of my royal guards would bring me the enmity not only of all Dornians but also of Arianne, and although killing her wouldn't really bother me, she carries my child, which makes the situation much more complicated.
'There aren't 36 solutions: the first is that I kill Oberyn; the second, that I lose my authority by releasing the last Blackfyre; and the last, that I abolish trial by combat law, which would become an even bigger problem because nearly all the lords use it to settle certain disputes instead of starting random territorial wars.'
I sighed in annoyance because that bastard was forcing me to make a choice that I didn't... I stopped thinking instantly because a thought had just split my skull in one go, a brilliant idea had just emerged.
-POV Marwyn-
When the king called us tonight to attend the bonding ritual, I was extremely surprised. For a while, I thought he was going to show us how to do magic but, once we arrived at the site, with the distance between us and the lodges, I realized it was nothing more than a way to bait us and keep our hunger under control.
'Giving us a bone to chew on,' I thought, annoyed by this hunger that only grew.
I said nothing and kept patience as I had been doing since Jon Snow first approached me a few years ago.
'The little wolf to whom I taught some of my knowledge had grown well, the grey rats must be biting their fingers, they had trained the one who would end their monopoly on knowledge,' I thought to myself.
The king whispered a few phrases before lighting the pyre of the four sorcerers from whom we had extracted all we could.
Moments later, he cut his hand with his Valyrian steel dagger and did the same with his dragon.
'Without incantation, it means nothing,' I thought, frustrated as I watched the end of the ritual.