22.) The Ice Dragon

An: hey guys. Hope you're all doing well. Here we are again. We get the intro of the ice dragon to the war. If you've read my other fics you know this will follow more or less the same storyline. I have the idea in place, just needed a character I liked to fit into the story. I believe I've found it in Harald Stark. Hope you enjoy!

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Rhaenys Pov

As I flew atop meleys, I remembered standing above the painted table mapping out my flight on the way to Rooks Rest. While many believe the conqueror to have made the table to show his unified kingdom in detail in truth it was for dragon riders navigation. It allowed for a rider to see important peeks, rivers, and roads from the view they would on dragon back.

The Hightower princes had sent a force to besiege their Allies, and I was all too happy to go burn the force of the men who sent my sweet Luke to a watery grave. Getting the queen to allow me to go was an effort in my willpower. But all things be told I needed this. My time in driftmark has shaken my belief in my marriage. And I need to let the fires of rage wash over me. To submit to the monster inside every dragon lord. 'Even if only for a time.'

It was these thoughts that ran through my mind as i tried to remember the pre-planned route to take to rooks rest.

I needn't have bothered with preparations.

The usurpers army had cut a bloody swath across the land. While on the ground it would look horrid, from my point of view In the sky it looked as if the army had cut through the land like a sword. Following the path of destruction and smoke, I steeled my nerves for the upcoming battle. Getting a shriek from meleys that I understood as much as any words ever spoken to me. She was ready as well.

I also thought about the foolishness of this war. How many innocent lives had been taken thanks to Otto Hightower's ambition? How many lords and ladies lost kin and loyal guards because the lords of the Hightower wished to play the game of thrones? Were my cousins wishes not clear? While I harbored Ill feelings for Viserys being chosen over myself, now that was all rectified with Baela and Jace to sit the throne after Rhaenyra. My blood would sit the iron throne for a thousand years.

Many harsh, foolish whispers at court tried to call my grandsons bastards. A vile lie spun by the hightowers to prop up Aegon as the true heir. Yet my late cousin had stayed consistent, for him to tell Alicent and only Alicent makes no sense. For two and ten years he had stayed steadfast in his appointment of Rhaenyra as his heir. And the Hightowers took that wish and spat on it when they usurped her all because they claimed her sons were bastards.

I never believed it. While they had dark hair so did I myself in my youth. Were there any out there that would dare say I wasn't the blood of old Valyria? No. I had seen Laenor and the way he looked at the children, how he'd sneak into their chambers when the castle was abed and admire them. No man could look upon a child like that unless it's their own.

And while I may have ignored those whispers of bastards and blacks and greens others clearly had not. Upon the shoulders of a thousand broken oaths, Cristin Cole crowned aegon in the dragon pit with the conquerors crown while the sniveling Hightower prince held blackfyre, pronouncing him king aegon second of his name.

It seems that oaths were nothing but wind. Among Those who had sworn to follow rhaenyra were my own kin and aiders of my grandsons murder. All of those who broke their oaths to king viserys would be made to answer for such folly. And this was the first true step to that.

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Hours later

As I rounded the last cliff separating myself and meleys from Rooks Rest, the sight before me took my breath away. I'd expected to see siege towers and trenches to be built as the keep was besieged by an army within a sea of tents. I expected the sky to be free of smoke and enemy alike.

I was utterly wrong.

Trenches had been dug. Siege towers built. Around all four sides of the keep they stood. Huge towers of wood. trenches built while the keep was surrounded

Yet those same towers were covered in a crystal substance, letting cool smoke into the early dawn sky. The trenches that had been dug out were now mountains of the same material as well on three sides. The last one was still untouched.

Above all the chaos, I saw three great beasts battling. Circling about in a dance of fire and blood. The great bronze dragon was known to all, Vhagar, the last of the three dragons the conqueror used to forge the seven kingdoms. Aged though she was, the she dragon was a force to be reckoned with, however it seems that she could not catch her quarry.

The beautiful golden dragon of the usurper was spinning and letting out golden flames. But the third dragon….. i didn't know the third. That was impossible. I knew every single dragon that had spread its wings over westerosi skies. I'd even seen most of them throughout my life as well. With only a few that had passed before my birth excluded. But who was this? The white beast was massive. About the size of vhagar, but it was incredibly swift, Moving like a dragon it's size had no right too, unleashing torrents of Snow White.

I watched the albino dragon roll out of the engagement with the two other dragons and make a swift movement. It Ducked under sunfyres golden flames falling towards the other side of the keep where the moat had been left unharmed and swiftly rectified that.

I saw tents and men turn to snow alike as the white dragon made a pass over, it was a beautiful thing. Much like I imagined the black dread would've looked like In his prime conquering westeros.

Smokey columns we're all that was left in the great black beasts wake as it flew upwards again towards the sky, dodging Vhagars searching teeth. The two Hightower dragons desperately trying to catch the white one. But failing miserably when it picked up speed.

As the white dragon broke through the clouds, it whirled about to face its hunters and unleashed a torrent of white snow upon aegon and sunfyre when they followed him through the smoke screen. The golden dragon screeched and writhed in agony and swerved away, trying to protect itself from the unknown beast.

Time seemed to stop as the black dragon went higher into the clouds while Vhagar followed behind. Roaring it's own challenge.

After breaking from my stupor at seeing another dragon lord I made my way towards the golden dragon of the usurper. If the white flames of the white dragon were as deadly to dragons as I think they are, then sunfyre will be incredibly weakened.

This gives me the perfect opportunity to kill Aegon. All the usurpers dogs would surely scatter if their king died.

As for kinslaying? The Hightower branch of the Targaryen tree has started it by strangling a sapling of our Velaryon branch, proving what we all knew; Otto hightowers seed is as poisonous as he is.

As Meleys gets closer to sunfyre I can see Aegon notice our approach. When I finally get in hearing distance he's shouting at his golden drake. But he's doing it in the common tongue.

'Hah! What dragon lord doesn't speak to their companion in their tongue?' Even in such a serious situation a smile breaks out across my face as I've just confirmed what I always believed, the Hightowers were not true dragons.

'They're just andal serpents with aspirations of growing wings,' and it's the At thought that spurs me onward.

The two drakes bellowed challenges at eachother before meeting in a dance of teeth and claws. Magic and sinew combining into one being. Dragons. Beautiful and deadly.

Never was such a thing more apparent.

As the two broke off I could see my guess was right. Sunfyres scales were cut and frozen in places from the breath of the white beast. And meeting Meleys' claws had scored many more deep cuts along his body. Burning blood fell to the earth below like brutal acidic rain.

Circling eachother in the sky again I readied from the next engagement, another roar from each dragon and we were off towards one another again. And once again Meleys came out in better shape. Although the red queen did take some damage, it was not nearly as bad as the usuerpers mount.

I could hear the panic in Aegons screams. The fear. No doubt the same fear lucerys felt before Vhagar took his life. I reveled in his cries.

My joy turned to ash in my mouth when I heard the roar of Vhagar.

Looking over I saw the great bronze,blue beast heading towards me. Quickly getting Meleys to dodge and roll Just as a torrent of flame passed by where I was barely a breath ago.

Had meleys not rolled I'd have died. And I knew the kinslayer was smirking that damn smirk as he and his mount passed.

Meleys had taken some of the flame to her stomach. Making her even weaker than sunfyre. As a dragons stomach scales were far less dense than the back.

I turned hearing sunfyres roar, seeing the golden beast open it's mouth to deliver firey vengeance upon meleys and I. While Vhagar had banked around to meet me from the bottom.

I was surrounded.

As my doom was approaching , i found my thoughts on Rhaena and Baela. Who would miss me the most. Even more than sweet Corlys or brave Jace.

I knew Baela and Jace would rule this land well. But I worried about Rhaena. The looks the court gives her are getting out of hand. I do not like Daemon Targaryen in any way, shape, or form, but I know he at least is a great father to my grandchildren.

I know he would already have burnt the keeps of the lords who dared look at his daughter like that. Just like the two Hightower princes looked at them when they were younger and just coming into manhood.

My thoughts stayed on Rhaena though. As beautiful as she was kind. As smart and considerate as she was patient and loving. She would miss me most of all. The thought of what the one eye and usurper would do should they get their hands on her steeled my resolve.

If I would die today, someone was coming with me. Sending my prayers to any god who would listen that my husband and the rest of my family would be okay after my demise. 'I'd give my life gladly for yours. Usurper'

I say to myself as I turn towards sunfyre.

That's when I saw it. Like a falcon diving toward its prey, the white dragon from earlier pounced on the golden drake.

It was like a star falling towards the earth. It's forelimbs and wings dug into the brittle scales of sunfyre. Making the golden dragon writhe and screech in agony.

Trying to dislodge its attacker seemed ineffective against the much larger dragon, who controlled sunfyre in the air like a master. Using this winged limbs to point the golden dragons head away from its rider, the white dragon quickly sunk huge needle like teeth into the neck of the golden dragon where the wing and body met.

With a gut wrenching sound, the beast tore the flesh from sunfyres bones, effectively destroying its wing. As it let go of the now falling golden dragon, the white beast landed a killing blow. A breath right to the back of sunfyre. And then unleashing a torrent of white toward the golden dragon. Freezing the good wing like water in the coldest winter making it completely ineffective and heavy.

As the dragon fell, the world around me seemed to become eerily still and quiet.

Sunfyre, said to be the most beautiful dragon ever, plummeted towards the earth. With one wing barely frozen to its body and the other barely attached, flailing about and spraying blood, it looked like a puppets string had been cut.

After hitting the ground the sound seemed to return to my ears. And with it, a roar unlike any I've ever heard a dragon utter from the white one.

A roar that spoke of dominance. Of dominion. Of conquerors.

I also heard the one eyed dragon screech in the distance as it headed towards kings landing. The thought of chasing them never crossed my mind. Too engrossed was I in the now huge white dragon eating the flesh of sunfyre.

I hadn't been able to see who was on the back of such a beast, and as I look upon the being standing beside the dragon in a weirdly styled armour, I was intrigued.

(Image)

I fought with myself over whether or not to approach the person. Afterall, he was eating a dragon. While normally that would force me into action I keep my head. This dragon had earned the meal, and it had also fought with both of them alone before i arrived. Which means it was far more formidable than the few moments I saw it in action.

Deciding to risk it I get meleys attention with a flick of the reigns and we're off towards the unknown dragon and it's rider.

After landing i dismount and as I'm walking towards the man I see many dead bodies. Again my anger at the hightowers ignited. How many innocent people died because they couldn't let go of petty greed?

Seeing the now man face as i takes off the helmet and turns to me I see in his hands are blackfyre and the crown of the conqueror. I chuckle.

'Of course the pretentious Hightower prince would think himself worthy of the conquerors crown.'

The man now speaks and pulls his hood off. What I'd thought was comely from a distance became beautiful up close. Brown hair down to his shoulders. The shape of face long and chiseled, all though his face was a little longer than normal.

And last but not least his eyes….. 'HIS EYES'

My mind raced as I saw the two orbs that glowed in an ethereal light in the sunset hours of the night.

Two orbs I'd heard described to me since my youngest granddaughter was just a girl learning how to express herself. She said she always saw eyes like a moon in her dreams. I'd always indulged her of course. But I never truly believed them.

Two orbs of pure platinum silver, with black overtaking the whites of the eye. The pupil also glowed in the near darkness.

I was so caught off guard. I didn't know what to say. I, someone who sought to be queen of the seven kingdoms was speechless.

He opened his beautiful mouth to speak before I could, only for a shooting pain to go through my shoulder.

Suddenly the world is spinning and I'm caught by the arms of the beautiful young man who killed the usurper.

Looking to my left I see Cristin cole with a bow. His Face Is filled with hate and blood. His breathing is deep as he pulls out the famous Morningstar and strides over towards me and the unknown dragon lord holding me in his arms.

I try to speak to him. To beg him to move. My voice doesn't work, and it seems he knew what I was trying to say. But his smile remains and he doesn't even look at the kingmaker.

Next what happens shocks me. Out of nowhere a huge white blur tackled cole to the ground.

It all happens to fast. And as I lose consciousness I see it's a huge lion who has Cole's hand in his mouth while he screams.

The most melodious voice I've ever heard breaks my attention from the brutalizing of the kingmaker.

(Sleep princess. For we have a lot to discuss you and I.)

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An: I know I took a bit to post. Sorry. People got shit to do. Here we go. Getting straight into the intro of the ice dragon. Hope you enjoy. You'll notice it's a bit different from other dragon battles in my other fics but I wanted to get this out of the way as it's a major plot point in the story I'm trying to tell.

Hope you enjoy reading. See ya!