Chapter 287

"It's growing fast" his aunt commented as he fed a piece of roasted deer to Acnologia who had grown to the size of a dog if you don't count his tail or wings.

He pet Acnologia's head and the dragon purred in contentment before it laid down on his leg to take a nap.

"It does." He said "That is a good thing, considering what we're about to face."

A loud screech disturbed his attention and he saw a 30 feet long Wyvern fly above the canopy of trees surrounding them.

Acnologia kept his eyes on the Wyvern until it flew away before giving a huff and lying down on his lap once again like a particularly lazy dog.

"How many of those things are flying out there right now?" his aunt asked. She had a bit of an accident when she saw a Wyvern for the first time.

She had gained a great dislike for them since then.

"3." He replied "Controlling a Wyvern is very difficult. And only 3 of my wargs have succeeded so far. Briar also managed to gain control of a Basilisk. It has become surprisingly lazy under her care."

"What will you do the rest?" his aunt asked.

He shrugged. "I'll keep one or two smaller Wyverns for any warg who might want to test his luck. As for the others. They'll make for good ingredients for potions and magical ink. Their meat would also be good for Acnologia's growth and health."

His aunt remained silent for a long moment before she spoke "You know, you won't be able to hide them for very long. Sooner or later, someone will see them flying in the air and mistake them for dragons. And then the rumors will start."

"Very few people live in these hills." He said. And that was true. The land in Lonely Hills was barren and not fit for farming. It was only good for hunting, timber gathering and grazing the farm animals. "Even if these people do see the Wyverns, no one would really believe their rumors. And by the time someone does… it would be too late."

"Are you not afraid of what King Robert might do if he found out about your dragon?" his aunt asked as she fearfully put her hand on Acnologia's head. When it didn't react, she started petting it's head and it purred in response.

"Not really." He replied "I've already gained all the power that I needed."

"Have you?" she raised an eyebrow "Or are you just being arrogant and over confident like your usual self."

"Very funny." He deadpanned "But no. I'm not being over confident this time. With the Wyverns, we finally have air superiority over everyone else."

"Not much of a superiority when they can't breathe fire and will go down under an arrow barrage." She said "These are Wyverns Domeric not dragons. What you going to do, throw rocks from them at the enemy."

"Something similar." He said and pointed at the bottomless pouch he had given her as a gift "You can fill the bottomless pouch with thousands of rocks and continue to throw them at an army. Thrown from sufficient heights, the rocks would crush anyone under their weight. If the Wyvern riders continued to do so then sooner or later the army's morale will break and they'll make a run for it."

His aunt thought about words and nodded "I can see where you're coming from. Anything kept inside a bottomless pouch become weightless so you can fill one of these with thousands of rocks and the Wyvern won't have any problem carrying it." She said "But they're still not as effective as dragons."

"Perhaps. But what if you change the rocks with mudballs filled with wildfire?"

His aunt looked horrified at the suggestion before she closed her mouth and thought about the implications of what he just said.

"That would… that would practically make you the Aegon Targaryen of this generation." She said before her own words registered to herself and she gaped in shock "You can… practically defeat a few armies and become the King of the 7 kingdoms at this point. And with your Valyrian looks, I doubt many would protest you rule either."