"My loyalty shall be as mellow as summer red. With Mother Rhoyne as my witness, I am willing to be loyal to the Prince and your cause; all the orphans of the Greenblood River will be your friends." Gaelin offered a cup of summer red to Rhaegar, then knelt on one knee beside the Prince.
This cup of summer red was aged for many years, enough to intoxicate anyone; it was a high-quality red wine of Dorne, with a sweet taste and rich fruity aroma. This was one of the few flagship products of Dorne.
Rhaegar drank the summer red, hoping that Gaelin's loyalty and ability would not disappoint him. Aside from the surprising Water Magic, Rhaegar recalled the rebellion of Daemon Blackfyre. It was a bastard's war that, except for the North, engulfed most of the country; in reality, it was also a revenge and provocation by second-tier Lords against the great Lords. The Black Dragon had almost no support from the great Lords, but many second-tier Lords invested in it—some exhausted their family fortunes, such as House Peake and the Brackens, while others hedged their bets, like the Hightowers, Butterwells, Oakhearts, and Tarbecks, and some even defected at the last moment. After the first Blackfyre Rebellions, King Daeron was stern and ruthless; many Lords and knights who supported the Black Dragon were stripped of their lands, privileges, and castles. King Daeron had loved his bastard brothers and them equally, yet these people returned kindness with enmity.
"However, I have a question. Back then, House Yronwood fought for the Black Dragon banner three times; was there no punishment after the war?" Rhaegar asked.
"Prince, you are young and might not fully understand the situation back then. I have some friendship with House Yronwood and know a little of the inside story. For great ruling Lords like the Tyrells, Lannisters, and Martells, they already possessed immense wealth and power and had no reason to risk it all for a Black Dragon, especially since the heir to the Iron Throne also carried Martell blood. But for second-tier Lords and minor Lords, the Black Dragon was their opportunity. On the surface, they were defying the Iron Throne, but in reality, they were defying the great ruling Lords even more. That is why the red lion House Reyne of the Westerlands, the Lord of three castles House Peake of The Reach, House Sunderland of the Three Sisters in the Vale, the Bracken family of the Riverlands, and our own House Yronwood of Dorne all joined the blackfyre cause. The Bracken family did it because of Bittersteel, while House Yronwood simply had a large family and wanted to overthrow House Martell."
Rhaegar did not expect to hear about acquaintances at this time; they were indeed historically restless. House Reyne escaped the purge after the Blackfyre Rebellions, only to die out completely in the rains of Castamere. And House Peake, which was cut down from three castles to one, was the most miserable victim.
Gaelin continued, "House Yronwood remained die-hard loyalists to the Black Dragon, not the kind of opportunists. Why was there no strong punishment? It was because of Dorne's harsh climate and sparse population; if the war continued, Dorne would surely be left scarred and battered. The Prince of Martell also pleaded with the Iron Throne, but it seemed to have little effect, so the King could not take harsh measures and only demanded hostages. Furthermore, although the blackfyre line is dead, the Lord and the Golden Company still have intricate connections."
Rhaegar listened quietly. This House Yronwood was previously an absolute die-hard loyalist to the Black Dragon, just like the Brackens and House Peake, being prominent supporters of the blackfyre cause and fighting alongside Bittersteel three times. It seemed that, except for House Peake, none of the others had their castles razed or privileges stripped, which was indeed somewhat outrageous. Now it seemed that House Yronwood was the biggest source of instability within Dorne, and they would likely launch another challenge.
"Keep a close eye on their information. The Black Dragon is dead, but the Golden Company remains!" Rhaegar said. Rhaegar was not worried for House Martell; the Martells' political schemes were up to par. He was only considering how to deal with the Golden Company, and more importantly, whether there was any news about the blackfyre sword. The Golden Company had bastards like Flowers, Rivers, Hills, and Stones, as well as illustrious surnames like Strong, Peake, and Lothston. The Golden Company was an alliance of losers and exiles, but it was also an army of ten thousand men. These people had been in exile for a hundred years, yet they still gazed westward, dreaming of returning to the sunset kingdom.
"As you command, Prince," Gaelin said respectfully.
Rhaegar rode the Silver Emperor, skimming over the sea surface not far from the mouth of the Greenblood River. The other two dragons followed behind.
Rhaegar took all the ship hull fragments with runes from Gaelin, along with a good amount of fine summer red, and left Plank Town.
Rhaegar was very excited to have the last traces of Water Magic in his hands; even on the Rhoyne River, it was difficult to see traces of Water Magic. The festival city of Qarth had now become Sorrows End, surrounded by mist, with stone men infected with greyscale roaming the ruins. Many say the mysterious Shrouded Lord rules this mist.
Rhaegar fiddled with the ship hull fragments in his hands, which were inscribed with obscure and blurry runes. These fragments varied in shape and size, barely salvaged as defective goods. Actually, it would have been best to engrave them on turtle shells, but turtles were also a faith of the rhoynar people, so there was no way around it.
Back then, the rhoynar people worshipped Mother Rhoyne and those lesser deities like the Crab King and the giant turtle Old Man of the River, and they also possessed a lot of Water Magic. The cause of the century-long war between the rhoynar and the Valyrians was that a Valyrian vassal killed a giant turtle worshipped by the rhoynar people. However, the rhoynar water wizards were still completely crushed by Old Valyria in terms of technology. The dance of three hundred dragons directly wiped out Prince Gaelen's army.
"Will Water Magic reappear in the world?" Rhaegar looked at the turtle shell, thinking he might give it a try. He not only had Targaryen blood but also some lineage inherited from Nymeria. Among his recent ancestors, Rhaegar's grandfather Jaehaerys II's grandfather, King Maekar, married Dyanna Dayne, and Jaehaerys II's great-grandfather, King Daeron, married a Martell princess.
Rhaegar carefully examined these ship hull fragments, looking at the runes and marks on them.
Rhaegar gently dripped his blood into the blue flame in his palm. The Fountain of Youth was a gentle fire, also coming from the sacred spring of the rhoynar people. He also possessed the blood of the rhoynar people, so by extension, he could be considered to have some right of inheritance to Water Magic.
All the ship hull fragments were gathered together by Rhaegar and began to emit a faint light in the flame.
Rhaegar saw a picture in the fire: a great river, so wide that no river in the Seven Kingdoms could compare to it; some of its tributaries could rival the Mander. Those sailing on the river could not see the banks on either side. The river had wide waves, and the rhoynar people lived on both sides of the river, worshipping the river and praying devoutly. The most excellent rhoynar people even learned to borrow power from the great river; Mother Rhoyne blessed them, and they became water wizards, summoning the great river to raise tornadoes and causing the river to surge into walls of water.
In the ethereal realm, that great river thousands of miles away seemed to be right before his eyes, and Rhaegar had a faint connection with it. The scarred Mother Rhoyne was also blessing him.
[Explorer: Congratulations on discovering the remnants of the great rhoynar Water Magic, fragments of ancient magic, but they are precious nonetheless.]
[Awaken Blood of the Water: All things grow from fire, all things are nourished by water; the sweetness of water nurtures countless living beings. You have the blood of Mother Rhoyne, and Mother Rhoyne blesses you. The gentleness of water can nurture all things. The ruthlessness of water can destroy all living beings.]
[Blood of the Water: Low-tier. You will gain water affinity, water resistance, and water power. Gaining water resistance allows you to resist diseases of the world and also briefly endure being underwater. You can briefly gain the power to summon water in great rivers and oceans; in Mother Rhoyne, your power will be even more prominent.]
Rhaegar felt his body being moistened by cool water sprays, moistening every part of his body, making his senses sharp and his body reaching a perfect state. Rhaegar was overjoyed; brief underwater endurance was a powerful tool for naval warfare. An unprecedented innovation, the fusion of water and fire; back then, the Valyrian Dragonlords lived on mountain peaks and naturally would not look down on the rhoynar people's little Water Magic, as three hundred dragons could destroy everything. But times had changed, and no one would have thought of the marriage of water and fire.
Rhaegar raised his palm, and the blue flame danced. The blue seawater below began to gather together, and a small water tornado three or four meters high swirled up. Rhaegar breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that Water Magic did not reject him when executed. He had originally worried that the Blood of Fire and the Blood of the Water would conflict. Now it seemed that water and fire advanced together, even more fiercely.
The dragon saw the water tornado and chirped happily, breathing fire to make the tornado steam up completely.
"You wasteful brat!" Rhaegar wanted to scold the Silver Emperor, but he was still very happy inside.
The world's magic is mainly divided into: Blood Magic: Blood Magic from the Shadow Lands is considered the most evil and darkest, and possibly the most powerful type. The Valyrian Dragonlords also believed that magic originated from blood and fire; they could control dragons with binding spells, cut stone with fire, and watch distant places with obsidian candles. Elemental control, such as Valyrians controlling fire and rhoynar people calling upon the great river. Prophecy and divination, the dragon dreams that Rhaegar's family is obsessed with are also a type.
Warging: An ability to intrude into an animal's consciousness and control its behavior. This ability seems particularly prominent in the first men, such as House Stark, the wildlings beyond the Wall, and the maternal family of Bloodraven, the Blackwoods; it is said that the Iron Islands also have such people. Resurrection: Priests of the red god can summon the dead. But these resurrected people often lose some of their memories from before death. Glamour: Changing one's appearance or that of others through the intertwining of light and shadow.
However, these are not comprehensive, as many magics have vanished and weakened along with the Greenseers and Old Valyria, becoming unknown. Even Water Magic had been thoroughly ruined by the ancient Valyrians back then.
Rhaegar has currently mastered three major categories of magic. He knows only a little about Blood Magic, the obsessive dragon dreams appear irregularly, and only the control of water and fire elements is considered proficient.
Although it is somewhat terrain-dependent, Water Magic is an overpowered function in naval battles and water warfare. Especially when he is near the Rhoyne River, the effect is doubled.
Rhaegar was full of joy, starting to summon small water walls and water tornadoes on the sea surface. The little dragon happily steamed the water sprays, and one man and three dragons were having a great time.
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