Chapter 62: Rebirth of dragons

"Has there been any word about the whereabouts of Cersei?" Genna asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid not. All we know is that Cersei escaped Storm's End with Myrcella by sea. We don't know who helped her or where she is going. Hopefully, whoever is helping her is bringing her to Lannisport." Kevan answered as truthfully as he could while keeping silent on another possibility.

It was entirely possible that Cersei and Princess Myrcella could be kept hostages in Essos or a sailing pirate ship for ransom. No such demands have been made so far, but the possibility still exists. It was an unfortunate reality, and his brother was aware of the uncertainty regarding Cersei's survival. The only reason Tywin had refused to act so far was because of the war looming on the horizon. If they get distracted and chase after Cersei, they'd end up diverting valuable resources from the battlefronts. They were already strapped for gold as they had spent millions of gold dragons on that accursed Stark boy who was nothing but trouble.

'Perhaps Cersei was right to be wary of House Stark.' he thought.

Kevan could only shake his head at the thought of agreeing with Cersei. How was he supposed to know something like this was being planned by the Starks? He'd have never assumed Eddard Stark capable of such underhanded tactics to steal the throne from them. And to think he spent a fortune on the High Septon on behalf of the Stark boy…

Kevan sighed while holding his head. It was a bad investment of gold and political favours.

Kevan could only curse himself for not seeing the treachery that was carefully masqueraded in the form of a Valyrian weapon. The thought made him sit up straight and eye the sword secured on his brother's hip, who had so far been silent while staring into the fire. He wondered what sort of curse the Stark boy set on the sword. Perhaps, it'd be better to keep the sword far away from the Rock just to be on the safe side. He made a mental note to broach the subject with Tywin once they were in a private setting. He didn't want to alarm others with his suspicions when they were already worried about the impending conflict.

"What about Jaime? Is there any word from him?" Genna asked, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Unfortunately, no. There were rumours that he managed to escape, but all our spies have confirmed Jaime and Prince Joffrey are held prisoner in Storm's End."  Tygett informed them as he was the one in charge of their informants.

"We should immediately gather the banners, my lord. We must strike at the Baratheons before they gather their armies." said Ser Harrys Swift.

Kevan eyed his goodfather with a touch of disappointment.

"How exactly are we to strike at the Baratheons Ser? Leagues of Reach land lies in between us." Tygett mocked, making the knight of Cornfield sputter embarrassedly.

"Ser Swyft might not be entirely wrong to suggest we must attack, my lord. We must attack, but not at the Baratheons. We must take Highgarden as fast as possible. We must not allow the Reach lords to gather their army. We must burn their fields and deny the Baratheons the grain, men and gold of the Reach." Ser Addam Marbrand suggested.

Kevan eyed the knight of Ashemark, appreciating the sound advice the knight gave. That was the most sensible action they could take other than resolving the issue without bloodshed. He still believed he could somehow reach an agreement with Lord Arryn and avoid war. After all, King Robert was acting on the belief that his hammer was somehow correct to judge Prince Joffrey as not his son. In all the history of the Seven Kingdoms, not once had magic been used to determine the parenthood of children.

"Let me travel to King's Landing and meet with Jon Arryn. Surely, the Lord of the Vale sees the folly in allowing a hammer to judge Prince Joffrey's parenthood. Surely, the Old Falcon can see King Robert is overreacting." Kevan suggested, not liking the prospect of a war, especially one that'd see them with no allies.

His suggestion was not well received by anyone at the table, making everyone at the table squabble.

"Enough!" Tywin thundered, forcing everyone to stay silent. "They have my son and grandson. Our House is being shamed with these vile accusations against my daughter while you all are squabbling like children instead of giving me sound council."

Tywin turned his green eyes on them all, making them bow their heads.

"Leave. All of you." Tywin ordered. "Kevan, stay."

Kevan sat at his seat and stared into his hands while the rest of this impromptu council disbanded on the order of his older brother. The last to leave was Genna, who gave him a pointed stare before she took her leave. The moment the door to the chamber slammed shut behind his sister Kevan immediately stared at Tywin, knowing what was most likely going through his brother's mind.

"You cannot mean to go to war, Tywin. We must…"

"Our name is being dragged through the mud. From Dorne to the Wall, they are laughing at us, mocking the Lannister name. I'll not have anyone tarnish our name, brother. If I do not respond, they'll mock us more and think us weak." Tywin said coldly, his mind set on a course of action that Kevan feared would be the undoing of House Lannister.

"If we go to war, the rest of the kingdoms will turn against us. What will we even fight for? Prince Joffrey is in Robert's custody, and only the gods know the whereabouts of Myrcella. We have no clear goal in this war, while Robert Baratheon's allies are waiting to pounce on us. We are surrounded from all sides on land, and we lack a fleet to dominate the seas. I see no other alternative other than negotiate a peaceful settlement with Lord Arryn." Kevan desperately said, hoping Tywin would see the folly of pursuing war.

"Yes, you're right, Kevan. But tell me. What if Lord Arryn rejects our overtures of peace? If we don't strike now, we allow our enemies to gather their armies against us." Tywin said firmly, once again turning his back and staring into the fire.

It was at this moment Kevan realised his brother had already made up his mind. There was no chance he could move his brother from a decision. That much he knew.

Kevan let out a sigh and stood beside his older brother as he had always done. Tywin had never led their family astray. He had to believe in Tywin and hope for the best despite the enemies arrayed against them on the battlefield.

"So, where shall we strike? The capital or the Reach? The capital will give us legitimacy and force the Baratheons to rush at us to defend the Iron Throne. Attacking the Reach should knock out the Tyrells and the largest regional army from our borders." Kevan asked.

He saw Tywin go into deep thought before resolve gathered in his brother's eyes.

"Ser Addam was right to suggest we attack the Reach. We must defeat them before they can gather in greater numbers and take hostages from their principal Houses. We'll assimilate their armies, grain and gold to our strength before we strike at the next target."

'The next target?' Kevan frowned.

"King's Landing?" he asked curiously.

"No." Tywin looked at him with his cold green eyes, and in the light of the fire, he saw his brother's green eyes turning gold. "We'll be attacking the Riverlands. We'll teach those Starks a painful lesson for daring to challenge us."

XXXXXXX

Dany felt a sense of relief and safety inside the manse of Magister Vagor Tarmaeren. No place in the world would give her the safety of her former home in the Braavosi coastlands, but that home was gone just like Ser Willem Darry. Just thinking about the old knight brought tears to her eyes. With Ser Darry's passing, she and Viserys were thrown out into the street with very few possessions to their name. With the last few silver in Viserys' possession, they managed to travel to Nrovos, running away from the Usurper's assassins. In Norvos, Viserys appealed to many wealthy nobles to give them shelter in exchange for great rewards when they reclaimed the Iron Throne.

In the beginning, there was some interest among the Norvosi noble folk and merchants alike who entertained her brother. Some even offered them shelter out of respect and gratitude to Targaryen kings and princes of old. She learned more about her fallen family from some of the merchants who spoke fondly of King Aegon V or even her grandsire Jaehaerys II. It was said King Aegon V's court was friendly to the merchant folk from all cities and cultures, while Jaehaerys II put an end to the pirate menace of the Stepstones. It was good to know some people thought fondly of her family, even so far from King's Landing. It gave her hope that her brother was right to claim the people of Westeros were praying for their health and waiting for their return to dethrone the Usurper.

But all that goodwill didn't last long because of Viserys. In Norvos, they came to learn of one Harrion Stark, the second son of Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell. The Norvosi spoke of the great magical power of this Stark who supposedly unearthed the secrets to Valyrian steel. Some claimed the Valyrian gods entrusted their secrets to Harrion Stark, which her brother fiercely contested. It became an issue that'd set off her brother's temper leading to somehow offending their hosts, which resulted in their stay getting short. It reached a point where anyone of importance began to shut their doors on their faces because of her brother's temper.

At one point, Viserys tried to ignore the matter of the Starks gaining the secrets of Valyrian steel, but more and more rumours began to take the city by storm. There was talk of the Iron Bank selling off a Valyrian steel sword made by Harrion Stark at the staggering price of some four million gold dragons. The rumours didn't stop there. There were rumours of great feats of magical power that spread in the city such that it became a daily routine for her to hear something new every month about Harrion Stark. Unlike her brother, she loved to hear more of these rumours because she learned more about home. The breaking point, however, came when rumours of dragons reached her brother's ears. If the rumours were to be trusted, Harrion Stark made some dragons out of his magic that allowed him to fly. She could not even conceive how someone would go about making dragons out of magic when all the dragons were dead.

She made the mistake of asking her brother that very same question which predictably did not go well for her. She woke the dragon and earned herself a painful beating that left scars on her legs. It took her brother a few days to calm down, and when he did, he decided to leave the safety of Norvos. That was how they ended up in the Free City of Myr. How long their stay would continue was entirely dependent on her brother. Personally speaking, she was hoping she could stay longer in Myr as it was a city of elegance and beauty.

"You have our thanks, Magister Vagor. When I ascend the throne, I'll not forget those who helped me. You'll be rewarded most generously with great riches beyond your imagination, Magister." Viserys boasted.

"That is good to know, Prince Viserys. The recent tidings in Westeros suggest the gods seem to favour House Targaryen as Robert Baratheon has met some misfortune of late." said Magister Vagor, his beady eyes holding some mirth, but with the grey beard covering most of the Magister's face, Dany couldn't be sure.

Nonetheless, she was happy to accept a plate full of rare berries, most of which she had never seen, from the Magister's servant. She chanced a taste of one pink-coloured berry, and her mouth was filled with the sweet rich juice of the berry. She was only far too happy to pick out the pink berries from the silver platter most eagerly despite the disapproving look Viserys sent her way. The fact that her brother was not admonishing her spoke volumes of the good mood her brother was in. Mayhaps the woes of the accursed Usurper put her brother in a good mood. If that was the case, she prayed the gods took pity on her by heaping more trouble on the Usurper.

"Truly, Magister? We have been bereft of any new developments in my kingdom. Tell me, what misfortune has fallen on the head of the Usurper? Have the people risen against him and raised the Targaryen banners?" Viserys asked most eagerly, his amethyst eyes sparkling with glee while leaning forward in his cushioned chair.

"One would hope so, my prince. But not yet. However, the sailors inform me the capital is in shambles. The Great Sept, built by the pious king Baelor the Blessed, has fallen, killing the High Septon and many faithful amidst their prayer. The Sept's fall was followed by a devastating wave from the sea that swept away King's Landing's ports and ships. I'm told the loss of life and destruction was massive."

Dany looked at the Magister with wide eyes upon hearing the fate of their capital city. She looked at her brother to see Viserys positively glowing at the misfortune that befell the capital city. She wondered momentarily why her brother would celebrate any tragedy visited on the capital of their father's kingdom.

'Weren't the people of the seven kingdoms their staunchest supporters?' Dany thought confusedly.

'Maybe, only the supporters of the Usurper suffered.' Dany mused, going back to happily munching on the berries.

"This is good news Magister Vagor. Is it possible that the Usurper or his dogs met his end in the capital?" Viserys asked eagerly, happily accepting a chalice of green nectar wine, a famed local delicacy of the Free City of Myr, offered by the squinty-eyed Magister.

"I'm afraid not, Prince Viserys. It is said that Robert Baratheon fled his city in favour of his ancestral castle of Storm's End while his Hand held the city together in these trying times. Some of the sailors from Duskandale say the commoners are fleeing the city by the thousands."

Dany jerked her head as she heard Viserys laugh so loud. She looked at her brother with wide eyes seeing the genuine laughter on her brother's face. Her brother had laughed in the past as well, but it had always been faked after the passing of Ser Darry. Her brother only laughed to please their hosts, and it was always a fake one. But this laughter was genuine.

"You see, Dany. What have I told you about the Iron Throne? It'll only allow a true dragon to sit. Anyone else will get cursed because the Iron Throne was forged from the flames of Balerion the Black Dread." Viserys said happily, grinning from ear to ear.

Dany couldn't help but smile at her brother's happiness. She supposed it was nice to have something happening to warrant a laugh from her brother.

"Maybe, we can return home." Dany said hopefully, looking into her brother's eyes which shined with happiness and with a tenderness that her brother had been lacking recently.

"In due time, Princess Daenerys. Robert Baratheon still has many allies." Magister Vagar cautioned them, making Dany nod demurely.

"The Usurper's dogs! They'll suffer the most for betraying my father when I retake the throne." Viserys promised, his face darkening with rage, making Dany hide her face behind a curtain of her silver hair.

"Fear not, my prince. You are not the only one with a grudge against Robert Baratheon's allies. In Myr, you'll find many Magisters eager to see the fall of the Starks, for you see, we pride ourselves in our roots in Old Valyria. Since the time of the Freehold's dominion over our city, we Myrmen were the greatest makers of glass, lace, mirrors and carpets." Magister Vagar said with a sweeping gesture oozing great pride in his city folk. "It burns me to see uncouth barbarians like the Northerners gaining the knowledge of glassmaking and metals. Surely, they must be punished, my prince, for stealing the great works of Valyria."

"They'll be punished, Magister." Viserys promised, finishing the wine quickly. "I'll have their heads lined up on the walls of the Red Keep when I retake my throne."

"Very good, my prince. Here in Myr, I shall introduce you to influential Magisters and merchants who will doubtlessly support your claim to see the Starks laid low. If you consent, I shall arrange a ball to let you mingle with these Magisters."

"Do it, Magister Vagar. The sooner I claim the Iron Throne, the faster we can have the Starks and the Lannisters pay for their crimes."

"I'll be most honoured to host the ball, my prince." Magister Vagar smirked, pouring more wine into Viserys' cup.

Dany watched as her brother got drunk as the night progressed. She just hoped the Magister's words were not a jest. She longed for the home Viserys and Ser Darry fought for and promised.

'Mayhaps, brother will smile more at home.' she thought.

XXXXXXX

"Aim. Loose!"

Harry watched from a comfortable position by the window of one of the towers on his castle's wall as the ballista fired a bolt into the sea. He tracked the bolt's trajectory with a telescope and clicked his tongue when the bolt veered off target striking the seawater. A second later, the water exploded outwards as the bolt released the blasting charm carved on its bolthead upon contact.

"A miss. Reload and engage the target." Celos Poole ordered.

The men manning the ballista began swivelling the mounted weapon while the other two men carefully armed the ballista.

"Target in sight, Ser." the soldier controlling the trigger declared after taking aim.

"Aim. Loose!" Celos yelled.

Harry went back to tracking the bolt once again. Once again, the bolt failed to strike the target.

Harry let out a grunt of disappointment as he watched the small fishing boat remain floating despite the violent explosion beside it, blowing the boat further away from the coast.

"Your feats of magic are great, my lord, but if you don't have men with good aim, it'll do us no good." Marwyn commented.

"They'll learn with practice. Besides, the ballista's primary purpose is to attack enemy ships housing siege engines. Since ships will be much bigger in size compared with the boat down there, the men will have a better chance of striking the target." Celos Poole claimed, the harsh taskmaster of the archery range sighed as another bolt missed the target by a wider margin.

"Enough!" Harry ordered, putting a stop to the 'field testing' of the ballista. "Use normal bolts if you must instead of the rune-enhanced bolts. There are only so few in our armoury."

Celos nodded before going about replacing the rune-enhanced bolts from the ballista.

Harry eyed the men for a moment before he climbed down the flight of stairs, content to leave the testing in Celos Poole's capable hands.

"So, what do you think?"  Harry asked, eyeing Marwyn sideways.

"The weapon is impressive, but perhaps there is some magic that can enhance its aiming and releasing force." Marwyn suggested.

"Hmm. Perhaps, a mounted telescope might give proper aim to the men." Harry suggested, thinking of the sniper guns of his old world.

"That's a brilliant idea, my lord. Hmm…I'd have suggested it'd be too costly, but since you are the one spellforging the glass, the cost is not an issue." Marwyn muttered thoughtfully. "The problems I foresee will be training the men, arranging sufficient stocks of the telescope and altering the current design of the ballista to accommodate the mounting of another device."

"Hmm… Celos shall oversee the training. The man is a good archer." said Harry.

"A good archer may not necessarily make one a good trainer or a castellan. Are you sure it was wise to name Celos Poole as the Castellan of Avalon? Vayon Poole was far better, in my opinion."

"Vayon Poole is the castellan of Winterfell. Father only agreed to send the man to build up the household and position the guards in the castle. It was always a temporary arrangement." Harry shook his head as he, too, would have preferred to hold on to Vayon Poole. "Besides, I've known Celos most of my life. He trained me in Winterfell. He's a capable man."

"As you say, my lord." Marwyn dipped his head and let the matter drop.

"How are the Forrester siblings doing?" Harry asked suddenly.

"They are doing far better than I thought. They are very good at numbers than their letters."

"What about their magic?" Harry looked at the old maester curiously.

"Josera Snow does not show much potential other than his affinity with animals. Even your direwolf is calmer around the boy."

"A warg?" Harry frowned, as he had seen the same thing happen with his siblings. Fenris never allowed anyone to pet him except Harry and his siblings.

"Possibly. His sister Elsera on the other hand… " Marwyn trailed off thoughtfully before shaking his head. "She's something else. I can feel her magic as a tangible force. She lacks control over that power, but she is the most magically gifted creature I have ever set my eyes on after you, my lord."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before deciding to get into a hands-on approach with the natural-born children of Gregor Forrester. The only reason he had so far kept them at a distance was because of his focus on the Dragonstone issue and the ritual to restoring the dragons.

"I'll sit with them and take over their magical education myself after the dragons settle in." said Harry, reaching the base of the wardstone tower. "Meanwhile, keep everyone away from the tower tonight. I'll not be available till tomorrow morning."

"I understand, my lord." Marwyn bowed low as Harry climbed the steps into the tower with the door closing firmly shut behind him.

At the very top floor of the tower, he found his trusted Valkyrie prepping the room for the ritual. Rubbing his hands excitedly, he joined them most eagerly.

When night finally came, Harry finished warding the tower to withstand even a superstorm. The stone floor was painted with concentric circles and runes connecting them neatly to channel magical power in ways pertinent to his design. Anya, Adela and Kyla stood outside the runic circles with a large cylinder by their side.

"All right. Anya, you may begin." Harry said, commencing the ritual.

On his signal, Anya, aided by her fellow sisters, slowly poured the water in the container into the neat grooves they carved into the floor. The water slowly flowed through the channels until, finally, the grooves were filled to the brim. After making sure there was no spillage, Kyla and Adela activated the runes on the tower.

The roof of the tower lit up with runes and folded in on itself, exposing the ritual chamber to the silver light of the supermoon. The air came to a standstill for a moment before the runes started to activate, absorbing the moonlight. The green glow of the runes changed into silver-white as they transitioned into moon runes. The magic absorbed by the runes began extracting and combining with the magic in the five ice crystals Harry placed in small circles on the floor. The crystals turned into dust, and the magical power was absorbed into the water.

That was when Harry activated the runes near his feet by touching the tip of his wand against the floor. The water saturated with the power and magic of the moon from the ice crystals transmuted into a silver opaque fluid. The silver fluid jumped out of the channel of its own accord and began to fill up two separate vessels containing the two dragon eggs. Harry lit up a fire beneath the vessel carrying the fire dragon egg while he used an ice spell on the other vessel carrying the ice dragon egg.

The fire dragon egg ended up surrounded by boiling silver fluid, while the ice dragon egg became encased in a crystallised form of the silver fluid. The runes on the floor continued to draw dense magical energy into the two eggs while the moonlight continued to shine down on the two eggs.

'Now, the waiting game begins.' Harry thought, sitting down on the floor while keeping his eyes wide open.

Hours passed with only the magical fire beneath the fire dragon egg making any sort of noise. Harry was nearly ready to close his eyes and take a quick nap when the icy shell around the ice dragon egg cracked with a distinct chipping sound. Harry sat up straight and focused on the ice dragon egg. He was immediately forced to put a shield around himself and his Valkyrie as the ice dragon egg exploded outwards in a shower of ice pellets. The ice pellets harmlessly impinged on his shield and dissolved into dust, but the whole room was covered in a misty fog by that time. Even the magical flame he created was snuffed out.

But he didn't dare move as he heard the beating of wings. Harry banished the fog with a flick of his wand, and he saw a small ice dragon looking at him with small icy blue eyes. The little dragon tilted its head to the side and blinked confusedly.

"Hello. You are safe." Harry switched to Parseltongue.

The small ice dragon continued to eye him curiously without moving an inch. An idea popped into his head, and Harry fished out another ice dragon crystal from his pocket. Slowly placing it on the floor, Harry stepped back a few paces. The ice dragon hesitantly put its right hindleg forward and then looked at him. Harry stayed perfectly still, but he kept a tight grip on his wand.

The hatchling slowly moved closer, taking small cautious steps until, finally, it nudged the crystal with its snout. The hatchling sniffed around the crystal a few times until, finally, it just curled around the crystal. Seeing the dragon making itself comfortable, Harry slowly moved forward and reached out with his hand. He touched the hatchling behind its neck. The dragon was cold, but it was not an unbearable cold. Harry scratched the blue scales of the hatchling expecting the dragon to find some comfort in his actions, but the hatchling just stared at him unamused.

"It's going to be hard to please you, huh." Harry muttered.

So, he waved his wand and conjured a block of ice which garnered a reaction from the hatchling. The ice dragon crawled forward and spread its small wings wide, and tried to climb over the ice with his claws.

Harry snickered, watching the feeble attempts by the ice dragon to scale the block of ice with its claws and hindlegs. At the same time, he heard a trill coming from the other vessel. His eyes widened as he set his sights on a pair of yellow eyes peeking at him from the vessel. The little fire dragon crawled out of the vessel with some effort and spread its bronze-coloured wings while letting out a screech. At the same time, the ice dragon managed to climb atop the block of ice he conjured and let out a challenging screech as well.

Harry looked between the two dragons, and he realised the two opposing elemental magic were instinctually making the dragons perceive the other as a challenge.

'Hmm. Interesting. Probably a defence mechanism ingrained in their genetics.' Harry thought, studying the two dragons proudly spreading their wings and sizing each other up.