Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 1 Prologue: The Wizard and the Princess

"That supreme, great, and largest kingdom was forged of fire and dragons."

The blazing sun scorched the city with no end in sight. Countless ships hoisted sails of different colors, crowded like sardines in the harbor, which also had no end in sight. The broad River Rhoyne flowed quietly. Above the river, a long bridge that could accommodate two four-wheeled carriages passed side by side ran through the estuary. The black stone-carved sphinxes, dragons, and manticores stared coldly at the crowded people on the long bridge.

The agile falcon flew across the sky like lightning. The feathers fell and were carefully picked up by the slaves with maggot tattoos and put into the simple basket behind them. The man with tiger tattoos waved the whip and directed a long line of slaves to clean the wide street.

The falcon flew over the bustling port area, which was mixed with the strong smell of fish, flowers, feces, and decay, flew over merchants and sailors from all over the world, flew over slaves with tattoos all over their bodies, flew past the nobles wearing silk tokar robes and sitting on golden chairs on the backs of dwarf elephants, and left behind a string of indistinct curses. Flying over the two-hundred-foot-high black city wall.

Finally, the falcon landed on a strangely shaped black stone pillar, on which was carved a coat of arms of a fire-breathing dragon surrounded by laurel leaves. It was made of pure silver and shone brightly in the sun. In the room opposite the stone pillar, an old man in gray clothes was holding a heavy book, leaning against a fountain decorated with dragons and manticores, and reading calmly.

The handsome silver-haired boy looked up with some joy and quietly glanced at the falcon.

"Rei, please listen carefully." The old man in gray reached out and pulled the necklace on his chest which was made of a dozen different metal rings, and spoke slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just miss 'Flame Wings' too much, Master Vesalius, please don't tell my brother." The 12-year-old Rey quickly retracted his gaze and looked at Dr. Vesalius who was staring at him quietly with pleading eyes. This learned scholar came from the far west, a place called the Land of Sunset by the people in the Black Wall. But the boy Rey knew that the real name of that place was Westeros. His deceased father and mother often mentioned it.

That is the hometown that my mother longs for and hates.

"Your brother Longzel would not give up learning just because of a falcon." The old scholar turned to the next page with a serious expression. "Unless it was a baby dragon."

"But we no longer have dragons."

The boy lowered his head, thinking, as the old voice in his ear continued to recite the history in High Valyrian.

"The dawn shines on a seemingly eternal kingdom. The son of light and darkness, fire and ice, rules the land and the sea. His rule lasts for ten thousand years until the destined moment. The Pearl Emperor sits on the throne, the Tourmaline Emperor sews precious clothes, the Onyx Emperor forges armor, the Topaz Emperor compiles books, and the Opal Emperor sews wounds. Order disappears, the world is in chaos, and then the brothers and sisters kill each other, the night is long, the heroes draw their swords, and the night lions grieve."

"An old-fashioned myth." Lei's mind had already flown to the hunting falcon "Flame Wing". "But my brother likes it very much. Is it because the Amethyst Queen also has purple eyes? He thinks it may be related to our ancestors?" The boy blinked his beautiful violet eyes and pretended to listen carefully.

"Your ancestors rose from the rolling mountains of the Fourteen Fire Peaks. They were the children of the mountains, and they were brave warriors, outstanding scholars, mysterious magicians, and excellent craftsmen."

"Legends are just legends. Our ancestors are descendants of shepherds." Lei said quietly in his heart. "We are still clear about this."

"They awakened the children of the Fourteen Fire Peaks." Visari suddenly lowered his voice. "Thus the greatest nation was born. The Valyrians rode on dragons and launched a great conquest. The ancient Ghiscari Empire, the darling of the harpy, was burned by dragon flames into a salt marsh where crops could never grow. And the Rhoynar, who had water magic that could drown dragons, and their brave Prince Galen, also died in hatred in the rage of three hundred dragons."

"Now it's getting interesting." Lei Yi put his hand back into his sleeve made of purple silk. A silver dragon statue appeared in his hand. The boy rubbed the statue gently, and his mind finally returned to the thick book.

"At the height of the Valyrian Freehold, forty dragonlord families tamed thousands of dragons."

"It's a pity that there is only one Dragon King family left that raises giant dragons. No, rather than a Dragon King, it's more like a lucky exile." Rey continued to stroke the statue, recalling the noble courses he had taken before.

"The dragon kings are scheming against each other in the high towers of Valyria, the dragons are roaring wantonly on the volcanoes, and beneath the volcanoes, millions of slaves are working hard for the dragon kings in the mines. Looking around the known world, the Andals are fleeing like rats, the tall men of Sarnor are crawling on their knees, the ancient Ghis are slaves of the dragon kings, and the proud Prince of Yit-land considers it a great honor to marry a silver-haired lady." The old scholar's voice gradually became louder, as if he was chanting a poem.

"The wise dreamer Daenys Targaryen foresaw the brewing disaster, so the failed family brought the dragon to the west. Then came the doomsday catastrophe that destroyed everything. The dragon kings turned to ashes, and the dragons fell from the sky. The powerful country was annihilated into dust overnight."

The old scholar cleared his throat and continued, "Your ancestor, the last Valyrian Emperor Orion Vareses, was staying in Qohor with his dragon. The proud Dragon King thought this was a great opportunity, and greed devoured his reason, so he spent all his wealth and recruited an army of 30,000. Among them were free mercenaries and farmers who were eager for wealth, Valyrian wandering warriors who were eager to return home, and Qohor's black goat riders. They obtained supplies in Volantis, and the Dragon King also left offspring here."

The old scholar looked at Rey. As wise as he was, he had already seen that the boy was absent-minded. "That is your direct ancestor, 'The Lost Dragon' Lingol Vareses." "I know him." Rey's violet eyes lit up, and finally came to his favorite family anecdote. "In order to avoid assassination by someone with ulterior motives, his mother, a noblewoman who was also from the Dragon King family but had no dragon, broke the dragon egg left by the Orion Dragon King for her son. Of course, he failed to hatch a dragon." The boy said in his heart.

"The army disappeared in Valyria, and no one has ever seen Dragon King Orion and his red dragon since then. As a result, the Vareses family, which once ranked seventh among the forty dragon kings and had 150 adult dragons at its peak, declined." The old scholar sighed, turned to the next page of the big book, and continued to tell the history of the Vareses family after they moved to the Black Wall of Volantis.

".When Guymon Vareses died, the Vareses family had accumulated a huge fortune. Not only did they own a large area of ​​fertile land between the Rhoyne River and the Varanna River, they also owned twelve beetroot farms, twenty-five wine farms, six silk workshops, two privately owned forests, one gold mine, two silver mines, and seven rich iron mines."

The old scholar turned to the last page of the book.

"Cleolius Vareses, the most legendary patriarch in the family's history. Some people say he is a madman, some say he is a genius, and some say he is a terrifying wizard. In the first twenty years, he was a playboy who squandered two-thirds of the family's wealth. In the middle twenty years, he was a miracle worker who tripled the Vareses family's wealth on the basis of Gaimon. The glass he made was crystal clear and sold far and wide to Slaver's Bay and the nine free trade cities. The silver wine he brewed was mellow and sweet, even Dothraki The horse king of Khor was also fascinated by him. He increased the output of silk by three times. The luxurious silk with silver dragon and laurel leaf patterns was even sold as far as the Elysium. The output of wheat, rice, beets, and saffron increased year by year. The smelting method he designed doubled the output of gold and silver mines. The metal smelting process he improved could forge steel second only to Valyrian steel and Qohor blood steel. The shipbuilding method he designed could build ships that were even as good as the purple sails of Braavos and the swan ships of the Summer Isles. "

“If I had not witnessed the old master’s glory with my own eyes, I would not have believed that a noble who had never received an education in the Citadel could do all this,” said old Dr. Visari in his mind as he spoke.

"He organized great voyages to Asshai and Westeros, and earned countless gold in sea trade. He freed the slaves of his family and promoted them to indentured workers and servants. He selected 6,000 brave boys from among them. From that day on, the 'Silver Blood Army' and 'Weepers' of Volantis were born. The nobles in the Black Wall said that he conducted magic experiments semi-publicly. The Shadowbinders, Cloud Wizards, Pyromancers, Blood Wizards of Asshai, the Warlocks of Qarth, the Moonsingers of Jogsnai, and the Red Monks of the Great Temple all came and went in his palace. No one knew what your father wanted to do until he rushed out of the palace like crazy and rushed into a notorious brothel in Volantis with treasures that could only be carried by nine elephants."

"He married our mother." Ray stared into the old scholar's eyes and said to himself, "The mother who died when I was born."

"In my hometown, people call her the 'Prostitute Princess'. Her name is Senera Targaryen." Dr. Visari paused, with regret in his eyes.

"She is the ninth daughter of my late king, the 'Old King' Jaehaerys I. In her absurd first half of life, she had more men around her than her silver hair."

"I know." Rey had never respected his mother. When he was young, he often felt sad because of his mother's past. "Beside my brother alone, there are several descendants of my mother. And there is also the silver-haired bastard from the former governor's family." The boy complained.

"23 years ago, the princess ended her dissolute life in Lys and settled in Volantis. A year later, she established her own brothel, the infamous 'House of Dragon Bastards'. No one understood why your father wanted to marry a prostitute, even though she had the blood of the only dragon family in the world. No one understood why the princess agreed to your father's request and imprisoned herself for two years after marriage to purify her bloodline."

Dr. Vesalius closed the book. "I can't understand it either, but history happened just like that. In the third year of your marriage, your elder brothers, Longzier Vareses and Valar Vareses, were born. The birth of twins almost killed the elderly princess, who has been bedridden ever since. The old master seemed to have reduced his enthusiasm for his wife and turned his attention to your elder brother who was wise. Master Longzier was as wise as the old master. When he was seven years old, he was in charge of all the family's industries and affairs, and when he was nine years old, he independently completed trade with Braavos and Lys. In the last days of his life, the old master passed all his wisdom to your elder brother until he died in his own laboratory. Hmm? Where are you going?"

The old scholar's voice stopped abruptly, and the silver-haired boy suddenly jumped up like a monkey and ran towards the main courtyard regardless of anything.

The silver dragon statue in his sleeve suddenly became hot, as if it was burning, and Rey immediately realized what had happened. "My brother is back, I'll go see him, Master Visali, today's lesson will be made up tomorrow." Rey's clear voice echoed in the corridor where stone pillars and vines intertwined.

The old scholar smiled bitterly and shook his head. He whispered, "But your class for today is over." He adjusted his gray robe and necklace. Longzel Vareses was his master, so he naturally had to go and greet him.

The silver dragon statue in his sleeve was getting hotter and hotter, but Rey didn't feel any pain. Instead, he felt very comfortable.

The boy ran through the corridor and just as he turned around the giant dragon statue carved from dragon crystal, a round object rolled to the boy's feet.

Rei's heart seemed to be grasped by a pair of large hands. He raised his hands involuntarily to cover his mouth, forcing down the scream that had already reached his throat.

It was a human head.

I am a newcomer writing a book and lack experience, so please give me more criticism and suggestions.



(End of this chapter)