The snow continued to fall, threatening to engulf the entire world. Winter had arrived, and temperatures across Westeros were dropping. However, the further one traveled from the North, the less intense the cold became. The North was the hardest-hit area, with the chill dissipating as it spread outward.
Winter had arrived, and the dragons did not care for the cold air in King's Landing; they preferred to return to Dragonstone.
"Let's go! Partners!" Rhaegar steered the silver dragon, with the black dragon and purple dragon following behind. The dragon group took flight from Dragonstone, heading toward King's Landing. Since the weather had turned cold, King's Landing had also been enveloped by the chill, and the place the dragons liked best was the Dragonmont of Dragonstone. Rhaegar needed to take them back to Dragonstone from time to time so they could feel the warmth of the volcano.
"Volcanic terrain like this is truly hard to find! Could it be that apart from Dragonstone and the ruined Smoking Sea, no volcanoes exist in other regions?" Rhaegar thought to himself. Volcanoes were the dragons' favorite environment to live in; to make the dragons roar, the more volcanic resources he controlled, the better. Old Valyria had controlled the Fourteen Flames, the largest known volcanoes in the world. It seemed he would need to search other continents in the future. For example, Sothoryos, or the entirety of Essos.
"Dragonflame!" The dragon group soared across the high sky above the sea, the sea breeze brushing past Rhaegar's hair as the weather slowly grew colder. In an uninhabited area, the dragons roared in excitement, opening their fearsome maws. Bright fireballs appeared—gold and silver, black and red, purple and copper-foil colored. The fireballs landed on the sea surface, exploding rapidly upon contact. The flames surged and spread, difficult to extinguish for a long time, erupting with immense power that caused ripples to expand continuously and the seawater to steam.
"Compressed Dragonflame bombs! Stronger power, greater concentration!" Rhaegar was very satisfied. Flame attacks were the dragons' strongest offensive, and by going all-in on fire, the firepower concentration and range increased, and increased even further. Currently, he could choose between flamethrowers and compressed fire bombs. "Most of the time, the color of the Dragonflame is almost identical to the dragon itself, usually one primary color with other colors as accents. The Silver Emperor's color is a mix of gold and silver, Balerion's Dragonflame color is black and red, and Balerion's is purple mixed with copper-foil. But it requires careful identification," Rhaegar thought.
The dragon group soared through the high sky, diving straight toward King's Landing. Rhaegar guided the dragon, circling above King's Landing. He first arrived at the southern bank of the Blackwater Rush, where the Royal Military Academy of King's Landing had already begun recruitment. There were many young faces in the academy, many of whom were Kingsguard royal escort soldiers undergoing training, as well as the Narrow Sea Garrison and crabfeeders men. Currently, they were conducting a six-month training program, focusing on knightly education and command training, followed by three years of formal training before being deployed on horseback. Rhaegar even considered bringing vassals from across the Narrow Sea, letting the Dothraki come here to raise a batch of young warriors.
"Near the military academy, in the future, there will be the University of King's Landing, and villas to host the lords!" Rhaegar had many plans for the south bank.
The dragon group left the south bank of the Blackwater Rush and flew toward King's Landing again. After winter arrived, King's Landing was also affected, and now some homeless people had begun coming to King's Landing to escape the cold. Wandering knights, the impoverished, and landless younger sons. This was indeed a problem for the security of King's Landing. The more refugees there were, the greater the pressure on the peacekeepers, and Simon was overwhelmed.
"It's truly rare! But the Gold Cloaks are indeed lazy and undisciplined." Rhaegar saw the Gold Cloaks patrolling through the biting wind. The Gold Cloaks were conducting their daily patrols on the streets of King's Landing, mainly to prevent robberies, thefts, and other vicious incidents. In truth, this bunch of spoiled men didn't want to do it, but they couldn't resist because it was a strict order, not a simple job like guarding the city gates. The results, however, were passable, and they were known as the "Simon Assault Team."
The dragon group circled King's Landing a few times, passing over the Red Keep and the Dragonpit Camp, then Rhaegar flew toward the dragon factory, where many people were already waiting. It was currently the dead of winter, and it was the perfect time for cheap labor; the construction of the Kingsroad could also take advantage of this favorable wind.
"Prince Rhaegar!" Joffrey Arryn, who was guarding the secret black factory, saw Rhaegar. Cesar, Barristan, and several of Rhaegar's attendants were all present as well.
"Everyone, let's push hard! Our production capacity has increased, and soon we will be able to pave the way to Harrenhal!" Rhaegar encouraged, looking full of vigor. The Kingsguard soldiers were also in high spirits; they were participants in this super project and came in rotations. Currently, the factory was guarded by the Kingsguard, but many farmers and laborers were already involved in the transport and paving. For Prince Rhaegar's project, there was plenty of food, and the wages were good, with no one skimming off the top.
For the Kingsroad project, the Prince was hands-on, manufacturing the black bricks, and sometimes even managing transportation and construction. As his subordinates, what could they possibly complain about?
"Come on, partners!" Hearing Rhaegar's command, the dragon group began to breathe fire onto the black brick molds below the factory. After the dragons were strengthened, the production rate of the black bricks had also greatly improved. Once the large black bricks were produced and cooled, they could be transported to the front, paving the way to Harrenhal first. The dragons were feeling a bit restless; they hadn't roasted any living people or engaged in war for a while. In the dead of winter, they could only contribute their flames inside this factory, like beasts of burden.
The silver dragon, the black dragon, and the purple dragon were all casting flames. It wasn't until enough bricks had been forged that Rhaegar left the place. The dragons' work came to an end, and they neighed happily, circling above the factory.
"Roose, are you satisfied with this job? If you find it unbearable, you can go back!" Professional soldiers transported the large bricks that had already cooled. Now that the weather was cold, the black bricks cooled quickly. Roose Bolton had now become one of the brick-moving laborers.
"I am a sturdy man of the North; I will not give up easily," Roose said through gritted teeth, continuing the heavy manual labor alongside the other soldiers. It was indeed very tiring here, but Roose had managed to get in touch with a bit of the core technology. He only knew that this thing was most likely made from Dragonflame and soil; it was simply perfect.
"This kid has quite the eye." Roose had come to King's Landing to travel with Rhaegar. Rhaegar thought he was going to apply for a crash course at the Royal Military Academy of King's Landing, but he hadn't expected him to apply for a spot to move bricks at the dragon factory, working there alongside the Kingsguard royal escort soldiers.
Roose, just like an ordinary soldier, exerted himself to move the large black bricks onto the rolling logs, which were then hauled forward by horse-drawn carriages. In the factory, besides the rolling log slopes, there were ready-to-go horse-drawn and ox-drawn carriages.
"Prince! Will the North also be paved with this kind of road?" Roose asked.
"It will, Roose," Rhaegar said with a smile, watching the people working hard.
"With this road, the North will be much better off. It is snowing in the North!" Roose said, full of worry. Every winter was a disaster for the North. The homeless or the elderly would go out to hunt, and if they couldn't catch anything, they would freeze to death outside to save rations.
Outside the factory, a cavalry unit of about thirty men was preparing to escort the convoy of carriages transporting the black bricks forward. The leaders of the cavalry were Myles Mooton and Jaime Lannister.
"What beautiful and powerful knights; they are worthy of being Prince Rhaegar's subordinates!" the laborers exclaimed and praised.
"I've always wanted to be like that in my life, riding a spirited horse in armor, looking majestic!" said an envious laborer. Knights were also a respected profession, especially those in Prince Rhaegar's retinue.
"Be careful on the road, safety is paramount, and pay attention to the horses and men! On the way, there will be supplies at Rosby, and House Whent will also provide assistance," Ser Barristan instructed the two.
"Don't worry, old knight!" Jaime said enthusiastically.
"As you command, my lord. I will manage the entire team well," Myles also replied.
"It's strange to say, but back when I lived in luxury, I never felt such joy! I feel a great sense of accomplishment from this ordinary labor, because of the people's praise for me!" Jaime said happily.
"Very good, Jaime. You have understood what virtue is. Knights hold swords not for slaughter, but to protect civilization and the happiness of the people. Jaime, you must remember this. This is the sense of honor of a knight. If a knight lacks morality and a sense of honor, we are no different from murderers!" Ser Barristan reminded Jaime.
Jaime was lost in thought, and the entire knight troop was as well.
By the time Rhaegar came out, the team of Jaime and Myles transporting the black bricks had already traveled far away.
"Everyone, according to the current progress, our project is moving along quite quickly!" Rhaegar said to Ser Barristan, Cesar, and Jeff.
"Yes, Prince, and the project costs are well controlled." Jeff was full of praise; Prince Rhaegar was meticulous, almost like an Arryn merchant from Seagull Town.
"We must hurry. After reaching Harrenhal, we still need to head to the North! This is a truly major project!" Rhaegar said.
"As you command, Prince!" everyone promised. From Harrenhal to the North—that was the truly difficult part of the project.
The situation waits for no one. The cold winter might bring the clouds of war again, so everything must move forward.
"Cesar, Ser Barristan, what buildings have we added to King's Landing?" Rhaegar asked the knights beside him.
"A road, a black brick factory, and a Royal Military Academy!" Cesar listed.
"Currently, we are doing this to get through the winter, but in the long run, we still need many more buildings!" Rhaegar said to the two. "We need culture; King's Landing needs a University. We need art; King's Landing needs a grand theater. We need knowledge; King's Landing needs a library." He suddenly understood the feeling of Aegon the Conqueror. This was conquest and construction—to cast aside the old and bring in the new, to create everything from nothing. He wanted to present new gifts to the people of King's Landing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics