Chapter 66

Solomon. The Narrow Sea.

Two months later.

- "Master", Lavena addressed me, sitting across from me at a small table.

- "Yes?" I smiled.

- "Why are we going there by ship if you can just... dump us in Valyria, just thinking?" She continued, "We could save a lot of time and effort, couldn't we?"

- "Your claims are pointless," Kinvara spoke up, "My king protects the ship from prying eyes and the vagaries of the sea, and provides us with water and food of the highest quality. It is difficult for me to understand your thinking."

- "I don't doubt it," Lavena rolled her eyes, and Kinvara wanted to continue to rebuke her, but instead remained silent and sighed tiredly when she saw the soft smile addressed to her.

Yes, this time I gave up trivial teleportation in favor of a full-blown sea journey. The ship we sailed on was created by me and propelled by my magic, so the disadvantages for ordinary people were completely absent. No seasickness due to rocking, no need for wind and current, no worries about water and food. Just the vast sea and the three of us.

- "A personal whim," I replied, "I wanted to experience seafaring, which I was satisfied with, apparently."

- "But not me," objected Lavena.

- "Unfortunately," I nodded, "I thought you would be as excited as I was, since you never had to leave Braavos."

- "All the pictures that could be painted, I've already painted," Lavena said, "There is nothing else here but us and the water, unlike Braavos, with its varied vistas and people I trust."

- "I suppose you'll have to accept that, since we'll be here indefinitely," I smiled, "Look on the bright side, because there's bound to be plenty of places in Valyria that you'll like."

- "Tsk," Lavena said, but said nothing, for she could not deny my words.

- "My king, may I ask a question?" Kinvara began.

- "Don't be shy."

- "What do you plan to do when we arrive?"

- "Hm?" I raised an eyebrow, "Explore the Doom of Valyria, like I said earlier. Or is that not what you meant?"

- "What I meant was, why don't you build your own kingdom in place of Valyria?" Kinvara suddenly asked me, "Yes, it has fallen, but its greatness is still intact. You were thinking of settling down somewhere, weren't you? I think Valyria would be perfect for you."

I've been thinking.

- "You could rebuild it, make it like the Israel you ruled, but better. Make your country what you would like it to be, not the god you served, if you will," she continued, "There are tens of thousands of lost souls throughout Essos, and not just in Essos, who live out their days hoping for a crust of bread or a drop of water to quench their hunger or thirst, if only for today. And you, as king of the new country, will give them not only that, but also the hope of living in happiness and prosperity."

- "Are you suggesting he get more victims like you?" Lavena grinned, "How disgusting."

- "Lavena," Kinvara suddenly turned to her seriously and without offense, causing her surprise, "Think about it. These souls are of no use to anyone. They die in the streets from hunger, thirst, or a random passerby, simply because they have nowhere to go and nothing to hope for. And my king will give them both. A better life than they ever dreamed of."

- "In that case, why don't your 'great' faith in the Lord of Light accept them, since you feel so sorry for them? That way you'll get more slaves for your purposes," Lavena asked, regaining her usual expression.

- "We can't do that," Kinvara shook her head, "We are not forcing them to join us. It should be their choice, not ours."

- "And yet you use magic to expand your faith," Lavena parried, "The hypocrisy on your part is astounding."

- "We are merely opening a path for them and reinforcing their existing desires, but no more. The final choice is always theirs."

- "Yes, of course," Lavena grinned, "And yet, back on topic, do you really think all these people will come to him? Or will your faith 'open' the way for them?"

- "If need be," Kinvara replied calmly, "My king is the one in whose power to grant salvation. The true salvation that every man dreams of deep in his heart. Wouldn't you like to live in a country where everyone smiles and knows that they can live a happy life and see their children or grandchildren?"

- "I don't care about that," Lavena waved it away, "So what if he was a king once? It doesn't change the fact of what he's doing now."

- "You just haven't seen what I've seen, and so you refuse to recognize the truth."

- "Just as you do. Your blind faith in him is just to pad his ego and nothing more," Lavena said, "People's lives are worth nothing to him. He would sell a baby to get what he wants. Or do you think he cured Shireen for nothing?"

- "We've arrived," I said suddenly, cutting off all conversation but making a note in my head of the topic at hand, and looked up.

In the distance, in the thick fog that hid the land from the sunlight, I could see tall stone towers and mountain spires piercing the sky. The rest of the entire island was hidden behind them all, and to get a glimpse of them, I decided to continue through the air. The next thing I knew, the three of us were hovering above the mist, and the ship was a blue dust as soon as our feet were off the deck.

- "I can't see anything," Lavena frowned.

- "Patience," I said, and continued toward what I could sense was the strongest source of mana that the entire land of ancient Valyria was imbued with.

At one point we stopped, and I covered us with a closed field and gently swept my palm in front of me, so that the fog beneath us slowly dissipated, opening the way to the sun's rays. And the first thing that caught my eyes were the half-destroyed, scorched remains of towers and majestic stone dragons placed almost everywhere.

The huge city, once vibrant and grandiose, was now in ruins, awash in lava that had solidified long ago. Layers of ash and dust covered every millimeter of the land of the old dragon empire, and not a single soul or vegetation could be felt around due to the virtual absence of sunlight, wind, insects, or animals.

With one exception.

It was a ghost town, dead and abandoned, but nevertheless it had not lost its grandeur.

- "So this is Old Valyria..." whispered Kinvara, mesmerized, "I never thought I would see it in person and from a bird's eye view..."

- "Yes, it looks amazing. The capital of an empire founded 5,000 years ago and destroyed overnight. I hope I can find a reason for that event," I agreed, "What do you think, Lavena?"

My answer was silence.

Fire danced naturally in her emerald eyes, and the magical circuits in her body activated at will. It was as if she was frozen in time, as her gaze never took her eyes off the ruined capital of Valyria for a second, her mouth remained open, goosebumps ran through her body, and her mana, like a waterfall, spilled in all directions in a thin layer, as if she was looking for something.

And in an instant, she seemed to have found it.

Her gaze shifted to the dilapidated palace in the center of the city. And coincidentally, it was from there that I could sense the source of mana. Living mana.

Lavena wanted to move there, but after a couple of attempts and the realization that she was hovering thanks to me, she turned in my direction for a second and then turned away abruptly. A struggle was written on Lavena's face, as if she didn't want to ask for my help but realized the need.

- "When are we going down?" She asked, "Didn't you want to explore Valyria? Now would be a good time."

- "Of course," I said, unable to hold back a smile at her manner of speech, "I suggest we start with that castle, what do you think, Kinvara, Lavena?"

- "As my king wishes," Kinvara replied obediently.

- "That's fine with me," Lavena said neutrally as her gaze stayed on the palace.

- "Good, then let's get on our way."

We descended to the base of the castle, or rather, almost the center of it, where there was a solid rubble of stone, dust, and mushrooms that had grown in these terrible conditions for plants. The remaining parts of the high walls towered above us, but we needed what was below, right beneath our feet.

I snapped my fingers, and the pile of stones in front of us glowed softly and began to rise into the air until a very wide drop down into the basement of the palace was before our eyes. It was a little affected and the distance from its floor to its ceiling was about ten meters, and about the same width.

There were still torches hanging along the sides of the passageway, albeit tentatively, which I lit, lighting our way, and we headed inside.

The path was relatively long, and eventually our group found ourselves in a very vast space where there was only darkness and silence. But in all of it, I could definitely sense an extremely faint but life. Right in the depths of this room.

- "What are we looking for?" Kinvara asked.

- "Hmm... We're about to find out," I mumbled thoughtfully and raised my hand palm up. After a couple of seconds, a golden ball of mana appeared above it, which slowly flew forward, and then it abruptly released a wave of light, instantly illuminating the room.

- "It's..." Kinvara's eyes widened.

- "...Dragons..." Lavena continued.

- "Their bones, to be exact," I finished.

Indeed. Three dragon skeletons could be seen at the end of the room, each of them not small, but enough to pass through the passage here. And their posture...

- "Interesting," I said, and walked down the short staircase to get closer, "Their bones are intertwined, their paws seem to be holding something, and judging by their heads..."

- "...they were protecting something..." whispered Lavena and tore her dress from the side and then walked straight towards the skeletons and began to climb through their sharp fangs and claws. Slowly, but eagerly, she found herself right underneath the dragon skeletons, where a small pile of trash or something lay, and then froze as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

- "What is it?" Kinvara asked, also interested in the find, and I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The only thing that could be there, making logical conclusions, is...

- "It's an egg... A dragon egg..." Lavena said in a whisper, barely audible even to Kinvara and me, and gently reached down, and when she stood up, in her hands lay a small egg, about the size of a newborn lamb.

- "How is that possible...?" Kinvara couldn't believe it, "Nearly two hundred years had passed, and..."

- "It's alive," I continued for her, which shocked both of my companions, "And an unusual one at that. Local dragon eggs should be about half the size, but not this one. It seems we've managed to find a treasure."

Though the strangeness is nowhere to be done. Daenerys had eggs too, but not like this one. And a living one at that.

- "What do we do?" Gently and gently hugging the egg, Lavena asked, "Is it possible to hatch a cub?"

- "Perhaps. Even I don't know for sure," I said with a wistful expression, pulling back the dragon bones with magic and walking over to Lavena, "It absorbs the surrounding mana and that of the dragon bones, thus keeping itself alive, and only the dragons I was familiar with were capable of that. How interesting."

- "How... how... how can we hatch it... Master Solomon?" Lavena repeated her question, causing me to look up, for I did not hear the mockery in her address to me. I was met by Lavena's hopeful, pleading gaze, which surprised me.

- "So that's what that painting in the Pearl shore meant, huh?" I smiled, "The girl wasn't reaching for the sun or even for Valyria as such, but for dragons, wasn't she?"

A dream of a dragon of her own. Lavena longed for just that, for she could soar high in the clouds and, I believe, have a friend, an extremely close soul, with whom she could share her thoughts.

And it only manifested itself here, when we found ourselves inside Valyria after its demise. I suppose Lavena didn't believe me until the very end, and not that she hoped or even dreamed of finding a living dragon egg here.

- "Master Solomon..." began Lavena, "This time I'm really asking for your help... How do I hatch it? How do I... get a dragon...?"

- "Hmm... Okay," I let out a chuckle, "This little guy is very voracious and if you follow the logic of my places, he needs mana."

- "Okay!" Lavena nodded decisively and was about to infuse her mana when I stopped her.

- "Your amount won't be enough. You're good, but your reserves aren't that great," I said and walked around Lavena and put my hand on her back, causing the tattoos on her body to glow with a pure golden light, "It will be enough now. You may begin."

Lavena looked up at me and nodded gratefully, a sincere nod that surprised and amused me, and began pumping her mana into the egg. The egg lit up with a soft green glow, fiercely absorbing the energy provided, but not for long.

After about a minute, Lavena's eyes rolled back and she began to fall, unconscious but not letting go of the egg and the tattoos went out. I gently picked her up and shook my head, for it was a natural outcome.

Although she was receiving a steady stream of mana from me, her body still had limits. Emotional strain, fatigue from traveling, even extremely comfortably, and adrenaline had done their job, no longer keeping both Lavena and her magical circuits in the necessary state for the procedure.

I sighed tiredly and, after making the unconscious Lavena hover beside me, turned back to Kinvara, who was silently watching the whole thing.

- "Is she okay?" She asked with a note of concern, which also surprised me.

- "Yes, she just needs to rest," I smiled and held out my hand to her, "Let's go. We need to find a suitable place to sleep. Today was a productive day. Perhaps we can relax a little."

- "As you wish," Kinvara said, returning my smile, and, holding hands, we headed back to the surface.

Well, a good day. A very good day...

-0-

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