Stone Drum Tower
The castle gates were tightly closed, and armor-clad Dragonkeepers patrolled the perimeter.
Top Floor of the Attic
The dim corridor was silent, with candles hanging one meter apart, casting a faint glow.
A sharp blade slashed through the silence, and a stream of blood sprayed the dark roof like a fountain.
"Prince, you can't do this..." Grand Maester Mellos cried out, his body paralyzed on the black stone floor, shakily trying to move.
In front of him, Rhaegar, dressed in black robes, wore a grim expression as he casually flicked his blood-splattered sword. The corridor was littered with the corpses of maesters.
Farther down, in front of the king's bedroom door, lay a plump woman in a green dress, her black hair soaked in blood, her severed head lying grotesquely nearby. It was the ill-intentioned Alys Rivers.
This vicious woman, despised by Daemon, had sneaked out to steal the dragon eggs of Baela and Rhaena. Fortunately, Rhaenyra had been with her adopted daughters, thwarting Alys's plan. When Rhaegar entered the Stone Drum Tower, he found Alys trying to flee empty-handed and swiftly decapitated her.
Before she died, she claimed she could cure the king's curse with the sacrifice of a dragon seed. Rhaegar dismissed her words entirely, knowing Bracken had recently died in a blood sacrifice.
Rhaegar exhaled, "Grand Maester, your student is quite foolish."
He stepped on Mellos' robe, his eyes fixed on the maester's hand hidden in his sleeve.
Having just killed Alys Rivers, Mellos had emerged from the next room with several young maesters in tow. Mellos shook his head repeatedly, his voice trembling with fear, "Prince, it was the Queen who instructed me to use the Milk of the Poppy. You cannot be reckless."
"Not reckless at all. I've long wanted to kill you," Rhaegar replied lightly.
With those words, he swung Truefyre, beheading the old maester. The head rolled to the ground, its eyes filled with disbelief.
"With Father absent and you falling into my hands, it would be a shame not to kill you."
Rhaegar grinned, picking up the crumpled letter clutched in the headless corpse's hand.
Dangang!
The tip of the Truefyre Sword struck the black stone floor with a resounding clang as Rhaegar flattened the letter paper, reading it silently word by word.
The note did not contain the expected phrases from a man suspected of deliberately worsening his father's injuries. Instead, its contents were chilling.
"The King wants to tame a dragon ... Targaryen Revival ... World Without Magic ..."
The lines, written in small, precise script, alarmed Rhaegar more with each word he read. The note detailed the father's thoughts on dragon taming, expressing a strong resistance to and unease with the practice among the Targaryens.
At the end, there was a reference to the Citadel's pursuit of truth and the belief that magic did not exist.
Rhaegar's eyes darkened as he glanced at the headless corpse, spitting, "You didn't die unjustly."
It was well known that the Targaryens had always been at odds with the Seven Gods' beliefs and the philosophy of the Citadel. However, Rhaegar had not expected the Grand Maester to harbor such severe prejudices.
The Conqueror had relied on three dragons to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. Without dragons, was a Targaryen truly a Targaryen?
"Alys Rivers! Get out here!"
A rush of footsteps followed, accompanied by Daemon's exasperated growl.
Rhaegar turned to see Daemon, wearing only a white lining, huffing and puffing, his silver hair disheveled, a clear sign of his anger.
Many within the Stone Drum Tower were startled. Rhaenyra, her face worried, came quickly, holding her adopted daughter's hand.
Aegon, Helaena, Lyonel...
Even the timid Alicent emerged, accompanied by her father, Otto.
"Alys Rivers, you bitch!" Daemon's eyes were fierce as he muttered invectives under his breath.
Rhaegar glanced at him and said calmly, "Stop yelling; they've been gone for a while."
Daemon's gaze landed on the headless corpse, his anger gradually subsiding. He had wanted to leave Dragonstone before dealing with this traitor. Instead, she had escaped while he was sleeping.
Rhaenyra, surprised by the scene, asked, "Rhaegar, didn't you go back to King's Landing?"
"I'm back again," Rhaegar shrugged, turning to look at Alicent, who had just stepped outside. He wanted to see how this so-called Queen handled herself in such situations.
Alicent appeared apprehensive, biting her lower lip.
Otto stepped forward, shielding his daughter. "Prince, you killed the Grand Maester," he said solemnly.
"Didn't you see it when you were hiding behind the door?" Rhaegar replied blandly, holding the Truefyre sword thrust into the floor. He had come for Mellos and Alys Rivers and had accomplished his purpose.
Lyonel and the others arrived shortly after, shocked by the scene in the corridor.
Rhaegar handed Lyonel the note left by Mellos. The note, combined with the Grand Maester's previous lack of dedication to treatment, was enough to convict Mellos of treason.
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar, as fierce as a war drum, echoed through the night and reverberated within the castle walls.
A flash of realization struck Rhaegar, and he quickly ran out of the corridor, rushing to an open-air balcony.
Under the night sky, dark clouds shrouded the moon, hiding the stars. In the direction of the towering Dragonmont, a massive dragon soared into the sky, spewing brilliant golden Dragonfire.
"Roar!"
The giant dragon hovered in the night sky, its violent roars unceasing, and the dark sky frequently lit up with dazzling fire.
As Rhaegar moved, the rest of the group followed, looking out at the rioting dragon together.
Rhaenyra's almond eyes widened, and she covered her small mouth, "Vermithor! Who is it?"
The massive dragon could only be Vermithor, but it was unclear who was attempting to tame it.
Rhaegar's expression was grave, "Father, or Aemond."
Soaring into the sky with a dragon marked the near completion of a successful taming, a crucial part of bonding with a masterless dragon. There were no weak cowards on the back of any adult dragon.
"Roar!"
In full view of everyone, Vermithor, far from Dragonmont, suddenly stormed out, spewing Dragonfire chaotically, drawing closer to the castle.
The castle, built on a rock wall near the sea, was not far from Dragonmont. At Vermithor's speed, it would take only a few minutes to shower the crowd with golden Dragonfire.
"Roar!"
"Roar..."
Sensing the approach of the furious adult dragon, the dragons resting around the castle were startled, shrieking and flapping their wings to rise into the air.
First, Syrax spread its wings in the back garden, followed by Dreamfyre and Sunfyre, resting on the cliffside, and finally Tessarion, curled up on the beach. Four dragons in all, they flew over the castle, roaring restlessly at each other, a clash imminent.
"Oh no, Vermithor has triggered a dragon riot!" Rhaenyra exclaimed, trying to communicate with Syrax.
But all four dragons were on high alert, miles away, occasionally glancing at the frenzied Vermithor in the night sky.
Rhaegar frowned slightly, sensing the location of the Cannibal. The Cannibal hadn't left Dragonstone Island and was wandering around the east coast. He suspected that Vermithor's riot was somehow connected to the Cannibal, given their long-standing grudge.
The chaos lasted for a few moments before a massive silhouette crossed the night sky.
"Roar..."
Under the cover of darkness, the Cannibal appeared silently over the castle, letting out a muffled, thunderous roar. It sensed the provocation of its old rival and returned at top speed.
"Cannibal, come here!" Rhaegar shouted from the balcony, his voice carrying over the tumult.
The rioting dragons had to be dispersed quickly, or disaster might strike.
"Roar..."
The Cannibal let out a low roar, its green vertical pupils searching for its rider as it closed its wings and landed.
The stone drum tower was large, and the spacious back garden provided just enough room for the pitch-black dragon to temporarily land.
"Communicate with your dragons as best you can. Don't go out and run around," Rhaegar instructed, then, without looking back, leapt forward and landed on the Cannibal's spine.
Plop—
When the Cannibal stretched its neck, it aligned perfectly with the height of the stone drum tower, allowing Rhaegar to easily leap onto the dragon's back.
Without bothering to sit in the saddle, Rhaegar urgently shouted, "Cannibal, let's go!"
"Roar!"
With a thunderous roar, the Cannibal flapped its pitch-black wings and soared into the air, unleashing a stream of ethereal green Dragonfire towards the four dragons.
"Roar..."
The four dragons, already on high alert due to the Cannibal's presence, scattered in all directions as the ghostly green dragonfire erupted.
Sunfyre and Tessarion fled the fastest, driven by fear. One had already been punished by the Cannibal, and the other was too small to pose a real threat.
Dreamfyre, the oldest and nearly two-thirds the Cannibal's size, roared defiantly.
"Roar..."
The Cannibal turned its head in indignation, spitting dragonfire directly at Dreamfyre and revealing its sharp hind claws, ready to pounce.
"Cannibal, ignore it!" Rhaegar commanded calmly. Now was not the time for fighting.
"Roar..."
Dreamfyre, caught off guard by the sudden onslaught, flapped its light blue wings in panic. A familiar putrid odor triggered its memories.
In its youth, there had been only two young dragons on Dragonstone Island: Dreamfyre and Quicksilver. The arrival of the Cannibal had shattered their peace.
Dreamfyre had been hunted by the Cannibal a dozen times, each encounter ending with a narrow escape and weeks of recovery in Dragonmont.
"Roar..."
Recollecting these memories, Dreamfyre shrieked and fled, abandoning its defiance midway through the Cannibal's charge, rolling awkwardly in its haste to escape.
"Roar..."
Glaring at the retreating Dreamfyre, the Cannibal let out a frustrated low roar, its green vertical pupils filled with annoyance.
It hadn't had a proper meal in a while, and if this continued, it might have to hunt that ugly spiky dragon for food.
"Don't be too hasty, Cannibal."
Rhaegar's eyes flickered as he spoke soothingly, "Let's deal with Vermithor first. We still have two pieces of sea monster meat left from last time."
Having spent years together, Rhaegar and the Cannibal shared a deep bond. Now, he knew the Cannibal's predation on young dragons was not about controlling their numbers but purely for the taste of dragon meat.
A murderous cannibal dragon through and through.
(Word count: 1,722)