"Valyrian steel?" Rhaegar muttered, planting Dragon Claw on the ground as he bent down to pick up the heavy sword.
The water ripple pattern on the blade was unmistakable—a hallmark of Valyrian steel. This sword's ability to slice through iron with ease meant he had stumbled upon a valuable treasure.
"The quest mission is activated. The target is the Valyrian Steel Sword - Brightroar," a system beep announced in his ears as soon as he touched the hilt.
Rhaegar's eyes widened in astonishment. "Brightroar?"
He had heard tales of Brightroar's legendary past. This Valyrian steel greatsword had once been the ancestral weapon of House Lannister.
Before Aegon's Conquest, Westeros was divided among seven warring kingdoms. A century before the Doom of Valyria, House Lannister purchased Brightroar at an immense cost. It was said the gold spent on the sword could have raised an army.
King Tommen II later led a fleet of golden ships on an expedition to the ruined Valyria, taking with him the famed Brightroar. The fleet vanished after resupplying at Volantis, never to be seen again. Despite numerous attempts to locate them, neither Tommen II nor Brightroar was ever found.
"Tsk, a long-lost Valyrian steel greatsword, now mine," Rhaegar mused, a smile curling his lips as he admired the sword.
He activated the system panel.
[Brightroar]
Exploration Progress: 0.3%
Sheathing the heavy sword, Rhaegar secured it with a rope and slung it over his back, ensuring that nothing would interrupt his exploration.
Thump...
He patted the sword, unable to suppress his grin. The Lannisters had long sought to reclaim Brightroar, hoping it would restore their family's former glory. But now, the sword belonged to him.
Rhaegar glanced at the lion's head carved into the hilt and mused, "I'll have the blacksmiths of Qohor reforge it."
Though Brightroar had once belonged to the Lannisters, it was now his.
And now, it bore the name Targaryen.
"My lord, there's something wrong with the Shadowbinder."
Two mercenaries approached, dragging the limp body of the Shadowbinder, their faces etched with fear.
Rhaegar's smile faded. "Let me see."
The Shadowbinder had taken an arrow to the chest, and his black robe was soaked with blood, which dripped steadily onto the floor. Amercenary, suppressing his revulsion, pulled back the hood, revealing the man's face.
Rhaegar recoiled slightly. The Shadowbinder's face was stripped of skin, exposing raw, bloody tissue beneath. His eye sockets held tethered, blood-covered eyeballs, which twitched grotesquely. Despite his horrific condition, the Shadowbinder was still alive, his throat emitting a ghastly, rasping sound as he drooled.
"My lord, he seems to have gone mad," the mercenary said hesitantly.
Rhaegar looked away after a moment, then ordered, "Give me the dragon egg and theparchment book."
The Shadowbinder was no longer of any use for interrogation. This grotesque state was likely the price of summoning the shadow. Such darksorcery would undoubtedly come with a terrible curse.
The mercenaries dragged the incapacitatedShadowbinder away and handed over the green dragon egg and the parchment book.
Rhaegar's eyes gleamed as he held the dragonegg. He examined it closely, his mind racing.
"It's alive!" he thought, his heart pounding. "This dragon egg is still viable."
The egg was green, covered in scale patterns, and stained with dragon dung. Outwardly, it seemed no different from the fossilized eggs he had found earlier. But Rhaegar had touched many dragon eggs, and with his Pyromancer talent, he could sense its potential for hatching.
Blowing off the dragon dung, Rhaegar felt a surge of excitement. The Targaryens had plenty of dragon eggs, many unhatched and hidden on Dragonstone Island. However, this green egg from the Belaerys family, retrieved from theSmoking Sea, was special.
"Maybe it can hatch," he thought, determined to incubate it at high temperature back at the dragon's nest.
He carefully tore a piece of fabric from his coat, wrapped the egg, and tied it to his belt. An active dragon egg couldn't be stored in his space bracelet; he had to keep it with him.
Suppressing his excitement, Rhaegar turned his attention to the stone wall while leafing through the parchment book.
The walls were adorned with various patterns and inscriptions in High Valyrian. Rhaegar studied the designs, which depicted the rise of Valyria and the history of the Belaerys family. But the mostvaluable part was the text on the front stone wall.
"The Dragonpit ... The Art of Taming Dragons ... Flying ..."
Rhaegar translated the inscriptions on the stone wall with great care. He was certain now—this relic was indeed a Dragonpit of the Belaerysfamily.
According to the text, this Dragonpit was a private property of the Belaerys family in the Land of the Long Summer, used to temporarily housedragons. There were two significant magicalelements associated with the Dragonpit.
The first was the broken stone tablet at theentrance of the ruins. This tablet was a magical monolith, inscribed with a spell to pacify thedragons and prevent agitation. The second was the stone wall before him, which did not possess inherent magic but recorded a "binding spell"specialized in taming dragons—or rather, a part of it.
This binding spell originated with the first families of dragonlords. The sages had used the Valyrianlanguage and blood sorcery to create a spell that would better control dragons. The stone wall documented three crucial keywords of thebinding spell, paired with various techniques formastering dragons.
"Forbidden Magic Spell..." Rhaegar murmured,eyes gleaming with desire as he swept the dustfrom the stone wall. The three keywords were "flying," "dragon flame," and "forbidden," symbolizing the taming, commanding, andpacifying of dragons, respectively.
The Fly spell helped the tamer reach and tame the dragon. The Dragon Flame spell containedoffensive techniques used in war and dragon combat. The Forbidding spell, which could also be translated as "Landing," "Silence," or"Submission," had the effect of calming thedragon, ensuring obedience, and fostering a bond.
The stone wall featured keywords for the "Forbidding" spell, essential for every Belaerys family member to skillfully use to guard theirdragons. This was why the forbidden spell was engraved on the stone wall of the Dragonpit.
"Now it's mine," Rhaegar thought joyfully,committing the spell to memory.
He had risked exploring the Smoking Sea precisely for this inherited knowledge. With the forbidden magic spell, the Targaryens would better manage their dragons, avoiding the dangers of losing control.
After memorizing the spell, Rhaegar turned hisattention to the parchment book. It was filled with a dense script and strange scribbles. On the last page, he found text in High Valyrian.
Recognizing it as a replication of the forbiddenmagic spells from the stone wall, he tore the page out and burned it to ashes with a torch. He then stowed the parchment book in his space bracelet, suspecting it contained other valuable knowledge.
"Too bad there wasn't time to figure out how the Shadowbinders found the ruins," Rhaegar thought, his eyes flashing with resolve. He instructed the mercenaries, "Kill the Shadowbinders and burn the bodies."
It didn't matter if he couldn't discover their methods; he needed to eliminate the threat completely. The Shadowbinder's magic was toodangerous to leave any traces.
"Yes, my lord," the mercenaries responded,swiftly slitting the Shadowbinder's throat andigniting the bodies with torches and kerosene.
Without a backward glance, Rhaegar drew the Valyrian steel sword Brightroar from his back,twirling it skillfully.
Dangkang--
The heavy sword struck the stone wall, scattering small pieces of carvings. Rhaegar's eyes weresharp and focused as he swung the sword tirelessly, erasing the parts of the text that described the binding spell. This dragon-taming magic was a secret the Targaryens alone should possess. There was no need to leave any trace for others to discover.
After several powerful swings, Rhaegar stopped. The Shadowbinder's body had burned to a crisp.
"Let us move. We have a hard fight ahead of us!"
Rhaegar secured Brightroar and left the greathall, carrying his torch and Dragon Claw. He hadn't forgotten the Stone men waiting outside.
...
The group exited the great hall, traversed the underground cavern, and re-entered the cavethey had come from. No one noticed the thick, smoke-like substance seeping from the charred corpse of the Shadowbinder. It burrowed into the floor, moving like an inconspicuous mouse, and eventually dived into the pool of water in theunderground cave.
Clatter...
The pool of water trembled violently, splashing in all directions like boiling water before calming down.
...
At the same time, Rhaegar's shout echoed through the ruins, "Charge, don't get stuck in the fight!"
His Dragon Claw wrapped in flames, Rhaegar led the charge. The stone men were quickly dispersed, roaring as they chased the mercenaries. A ray of light shone ahead—the exit was close.
Rhaegar licked his dry lips and shouted, "The exit is just around the corner!"
He stomped on the cave wall under the exit and, with a powerful leap, emerged from the ruins.The dimness vanished, replaced by the foggy sky.
Rhaegar looked up, gasping slightly. Soon, mercenaries followed, emerging from the cave as stone men roared and tugged below. After about a dozen mercenaries had escaped, the stone men blocked the hole, pouncing on the remaininglaggards.
"Roar..."
A pitch-black dragon hovered in midair, landing slowly. It spewed ghostly green dragon flame into the cave entrance, where screams echoed.
"Ah..."
The dragon flame spread rapidly, enveloping the ruins in a ghostly green hue. Screams and hisses filled the air. The surrounding rocks melted into magma, sealing the cave entrance completely.
"Well done, Cannibal," Rhaegar said, sitting down heavily and letting out a long breath.
(Word count: 1,583)