Dragons and the past

The trio, filled with an uncontrollable excitement, reached the large building they believed to be the dragon tower in a shorter time than yesterday, leaving the barrier where they had left Elenya behind. When they arrived in front of the building's massive 10-meter-high door, Taylan, unable to contain his excitement any longer, spoke:

"Friends, today will be the day Valyria rises from its ashes. And we will be its new founders. Our names will be written in history in golden letters!"

Once Taylan finished speaking, Sezayi turned to him and said:

"This is just the beginning, Vaelar. To build the true Valyria, we need not only dragons but also people. Even if we have everything, the Valyria we build will not be the same as the old one. The old Valyria fell because it became too confident in its power and succumbed to the intoxication of power. But the Valyria we will create will not be like that. We will choose simplicity over ornamentation and extravagance. And we will use the fall of the old Valyria as a lesson to remind ourselves that even dragons can face situations they cannot overcome."

Arda, impatiently, interjected:

"That's all well and good, but can't we say these things after we find our dragons? What are we waiting for? Let's go inside!"

Sezayi nodded and pushed the door. The heavy creak of the door filled the silence, and the trio stepped into the dark corridor. They quickly traversed the path and climbed the stairs they had taken slowly the day before. When they reached the corridor with the blacksmith and the warrior, they entered the dark passage where Sezayi had found the cat-sized dragon bones and the decayed dagger, with Sezayi leading, Arda in the middle, and Taylan at the back.

After walking for ten minutes in the narrow, dark passage, they arrived at a hall 100 meters wide, supported by dozens of columns that reached 50 meters high to the ceiling. The hall, like the entrance below, was illuminated by light falling from the stones in the ceiling.

Seeing the size of the hall, Taylan exclaimed:

"Vaegon, you came to such a place yesterday and didn't tell me. I was worried about you, you bastard."

Sezayi, slightly irritated, snapped:

"Enough already! You've been calling me a bastard since yesterday. If you don't stop, I'll cut you down!"

Arda, amused, intervened:

"Alright, alright, calm down, Vaegon. We won't call you a 'bastard' anymore. Let's forget about these words. Where are our dragons, Vaegon?"

Sezayi replied to Arda's question:

"I don't know either. When I came here yesterday, I only checked the doors near those columns. From what I understand, the rooms get larger as you go further in." He pointed to two 5-meter-high dark red doors near a column about ten meters ahead, which the other two hadn't noticed before.

As they moved toward the two large doors near the columns, Taylan excitedly rushed ahead:

"Then the bigger rooms must have bigger dragons! No need to waste time with the small ones, let's go straight to the farthest ones!"

Sezayi rolled his eyes at Taylan's impatience and calmly replied:

"We don't know what's ahead, Taylan. If we rush while unraveling the secrets of this place, we'll meet our end before even seeing a dragon."

Arda shrugged and interjected:

"Alright, alright, let's do as Sezayi says. But if I don't see a dragon within an hour, I'll break down the first door I find."

The trio carefully advanced along the columns. The echoing footsteps in the hall emphasized the vastness of the space.

Twenty minutes had passed since they first saw the doors, but they still hadn't come across any new ones. After walking for a few more minutes, they noticed two 10-meter-high doors next to a column ahead, larger than the ones they had seen before. These doors, like the previous ones, were a deep red color.

Upon seeing the door, the trio, just in case, stashed their bows into their carrying bags and drew the weapons at their belts. Before they could decide which door to enter, Taylan began walking toward the door on the right. Arda and Sezayi sighed in exasperation and followed him.

When the trio reached the door, Sezayi kicked it with all his strength. The door creaked heavily as it opened. Holding their weapons tightly, the three cautiously stepped inside. What they found was an empty room, 80 meters wide and 50 meters long. There was no dragon dung, no dragon bones, or anything else—just a thick layer of dust accumulated over the years.

Seeing the empty hall, the trio breathed a sigh of relief mixed with disappointment. They then exited the room and headed toward the one across from it. However, that room was also just as empty, covered in years of dust. Without wasting any more time, they continued forward to check the other halls. They inspected every room they came across, but each one was just as empty as the last, containing nothing but dust. And so, the trio spent over 40 minutes searching for their dragons.

As they moved between the columns, the silence of the hall pulsed strangely, like a heartbeat. The atmosphere felt as if it were filled with the breath of an unseen presence. This space seemed to make them feel the grandeur and magnificence of old Valyria.

Finally, the trio came across two massive 30-meter-high doors. As they had done with the previous rooms, they first began examining the door on the right. This door, unlike the ones they had seen before, had black dragon figures flying across a deep red background. Seeing these figures, Taylan exclaimed excitedly:

"It looks like we've finally found our dragons, brothers! Now we can leave this cursed city and rebuild Valyria!"

At Taylan's words, Sezayi replied:

"Calm down, Vaelar. Even if our dragons aren't here, they're close. But yes, as you said, we'll soon be dragonlords. Darion, prepare the bag with the rats we brought. When we wake the dragons, we don't want them to eat us out of hunger."

At Sezayi's words, Arda took off the bag on his back. He rummaged through it for a minute and found the bag containing the rats. Then he said:

"I've got the bag. Let's go and find our dragons as soon as possible."

After Arda's words, Sezayi, instead of kicking the door this time, pushed it open. As the door creaked heavily, the trio couldn't contain their excitement. But when the door fully opened, they froze in place. Inside the room were three massive white heads facing the door, each attached to a large, muscular body.

When Taylan saw the dragons, he shouted with joy and excitement:

"We've found the dragons! We are dragonlords now! We can finally leave this cursed place and build our own kingdom!"

Taylan's words snapped Arda and Sezayi out of their awe. Standing at the door, the trio exchanged a quick glance before sprinting toward the dragons.

Just as they were about to touch the dragons, Sezayi forced himself to stop and shouted:

"Wait, boys! First, take the rats out of the bag and place them in front of the dragons. If they wake up hungry, they'll eat us."

At Sezayi's warning, Arda and Taylan stopped in their tracks. All three began taking deep breaths to calm their excitement. After five minutes of regaining their composure, they started to act as Sezayi had instructed.

As Arda pulled the rats out of the bag, Sezayi and Taylan placed them in front of the dragons. Meanwhile, they couldn't help but carefully examine the dragons' heads.

The head of the dragon on the left had a strong and elegant structure, with prominent and menacing eye sockets. Two one-meter-long horns, marble-white in color, curved slightly backward from its head.

The head of the middle dragon was broad and sturdy, with a powerful jaw and pronounced bone protections around its eyes. Two horns, over a meter long, extended backward from its head, tapering to sharp points like spears. The golden-yellow veins running through the horns gave its head the appearance of wearing a crown. This head was significantly larger than those of the other dragons.

The dragon on the right had a rounder, more fluidly shaped head. It had a chin that tapered forward and slight bony protrusions around its eyes for protection. Its horns, which curved outward from its head and gradually turned gray toward the tips, were about a meter long. This dragon had a smaller head compared to the others.

When all the mice were placed in front of the dragons, the trio began to think about how to wake them up. While the others were pondering, Arda said, "What are we even thinking about? Let's just go over and hit the dragons on their heads to wake them up."

At Arda's words, Sezayi replied in a mocking tone, "Darion, sometimes I can't tell if you're smart or crazy, but you come up with brilliant ideas! Why don't you explain to us why the dragons won't attack us if we hit them on the heads to wake them up?"

Just as Arda was about to respond to Sezayi, Taylan interjected, "Vaegon, Darion might be right. We don't know the dragons' names or anything else about them... We really don't know any other way to wake them up."

Hearing Taylan's words, Sezayi shouted, "Have you lost your mind too, Vaelar? What if we do this and the dragons wake up and attack us? Are you going crazy like Darion? If so, tell us so we can find a solution to this mess!"

Sezayi's shouting had slightly frightened Taylan and Arda. However, Taylan still insisted, "Vaegon, this is the only way we can think of right now. Maybe if we knew the dragons' names, we could wake them more easily. But we don't know their names, and time is running out. You know Elenya is gathering the surviving self-proclaimed Lords today. If we want them to kneel before us, we need the dragons. Otherwise, how are the three of us going to make those Lords kneel?"

Hearing Taylan's words, Sezayi realized they truly had no other options. Reluctantly, he walked past Taylan and Arda toward the middle dragon, saying, "If we die, I'll find you both in hell and make you pay, just so you know."

Taylan and Arda, watching Sezayi walk toward the middle dragon, shouted in unison, "Hey, where are you going? Weren't you just mad at us for suggesting this idea? Who gave you the right to choose the dragon you want?"

Unfazed by their shouting, Sezayi replied, "I gave myself that right. If you had acted instead of standing still, you could have chosen the dragon you wanted."

Sezayi's words spurred the motionless duo into action. They started running toward the dragon on the left. Arda won the race, while Taylan had to settle for the smallest dragon on the right. When Taylan reached his dragon, Sezayi said, "Guys, let's hit them together. I'll count: 3... 2... 1... Hit it, brothers!" and struck the dragon's head with all his might.

Following Sezayi's countdown, Arda and Taylan also struck their dragons' heads with full force.

The moment the trio hit the dragons, they froze in place. Their heartbeats quickened, and when they opened their mouths in fear, they realized no sound came out. Before they could understand what was happening, their vision went dark, and they found themselves in another room.

When Sezayi tried to open his mouth to ask what had happened, he realized he couldn't speak. The others were in the same state. As they looked around in fear and confusion, they realized they were in the same room where the dragons had been. But something was different: instead of the three white dragons, the room was now filled with a massive blue dragon and a pregnant woman lying beside it. Around the woman were 20 maidservants with silver hair and purple eyes.

One of the maidservants said to the pregnant woman, "My lady, please let us move to the manor. It will be easier for you to give birth there."

The woman shouted at the maidservant, "No! I will give birth beside Aeksion. He has never left me since I was a child, and he won't leave me now. Tell me, where is my useless husband, Aelayrs? Does he not know I'm giving birth?"

As the woman shouted, the door to the room burst open, and two tall men with silver hair and gray eyes entered. One of them yelled, "Woman! Why are you giving birth to my children here? Don't you care about yourself at all?"

The other man said, "Aelayrs, calm down. Jaenara knows what she's doing. Don't get so angry."

Aelayrs shouted at him, "Aesen, you shut up! It's not your wife giving birth here, it's mine. And it's my children who are in danger!"

As Aesen was about to respond to Aelayrs, Jaenara suddenly let out a scream, drawing the attention of both men back to her. One of the maidservants said, "Push, my lady, push! Your child is about to be born. Push with all your strength!"

Jaenara, following the maid's words, began to push with all her might. While the trio was still trying to comprehend what was happening, Jaenara gave birth to her first child. The baby was immediately handed to its father, Aelayrs, as soon as it emerged from the womb. Just as the maidservants began to relax, Jaenara started pushing again.

Meanwhile, Aesen, looking at the baby boy in Aelayrs' arms, asked, "Brother, what will you name this child?"

Aelayrs, regaining his composure, replied, "I will name this child, my heir, my firstborn son, after my grandfather, Vaegon the Bloody Hammer."

As Aesen was about to congratulate his brother, the maidservants handed Aelayrs the second baby Jaenara had just delivered. This time, Aesen said, "Look, you've become the father of twins, just like our father! And both children are boys... House Belaegon has gained new heirs thanks to you."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Jaenara began pushing again. Aesen, watching in astonishment, exclaimed, "Aelayrs, the gods must have blessed you today! Look, you're having a third child. There's no other explanation for this!"

Aelayrs nodded in agreement with Aesen, as he was now busy tending to his newborn sons. At that moment, Jaenara's dragon, Aeksion, suddenly expelled something resembling excrement. However, it didn't quite look like excrement; it was more like a large, mucus-covered sphere. Aesen and Aelayrs were surprised by what Aeksion had done, as this was the method dragons used to lay their eggs.

Aesen left Aelayrs with his sons and quickly went to examine the mucus-covered sphere. When he broke through the layer with his hand, he discovered three white, one blue, and one black dragon egg. One of the white eggs had golden veins, another was covered in silver veins, and the third was plain white. The blue and black eggs were solid in color and identical in appearance.

Meanwhile, Jaenara gave birth to her third and final child. The maidservants brought the newborn to its father, Aelayrs. When he held the third child in his arms, Aelayrs was stunned; this child was also a boy. As Aelayrs pondered what names to give his two newest sons, five maidservants who had just assisted Jaenara carried the five eggs laid by Aeksion over to Aelayrs and Aesen.

Just as Aesen was about to speak to Aelayrs, the white eggs in the maidservants' hands began to crack. As the white shells broke, they fell to the ground. When all the shells had fallen away, three small dragon hatchlings emerged. Their weak cries announced their presence to everyone around.

This event left Aelayrs and Aesen speechless with astonishment. Finally, Aesen said, "Aelayrs, it seems your children are destined to become great men. But first, tell me what names you will give these two boys."

Hearing Aesen's words, Aelayrs snapped out of his daze. His shock gave way to joy. Smiling, he said, "Aesen, as you said, my sons seem destined for greatness. I will give them the names of great men." Then, lifting the child next to Vaegon, he declared, "I name this son after my wife Jaenara's great ancestor, Vaelar the Bloody Sword."

Next, pointing to the child in the maidservant's arms, he said, "And I name this son after our great ancestor, Darion the Iron Wrist, who killed a brown-bellied Wyvern with his bare hands." He then asked the maidservants to take the children and place them in their cradles. Once the children were settled, Aelayrs went to his wife's side.

Aesen, staying behind, turned to the maidservants who were still holding the dragon eggs. "Send these eggs to House Dracarysion. Inform Lord Dracarysion that his daughter, Lady Jaenara, has given birth to three healthy sons, and that with their birth, Aeksion has laid new eggs from which three dragons have hatched," he said.

At that moment, everything was engulfed in a bright white light. The trio found themselves back under the apple tree where they had encountered the mutant rat. Beneath the tree were three children, about five years old, three white dragons the size of two horses, and a wingless creature. The children were playing under the tree while the dragons were mockingly fighting the wingless Wyvern-like creature. The dragons seemed to be toying with it, biting and releasing it but not killing it.

Suddenly, Aelayrs emerged from behind the apple tree, furious, with three guards at his side. When he saw his children and the dragons playing with the creature, he stopped walking and began to run. The guards followed suit. The clanking of their armor caught the children's attention. When they turned their heads and saw their father and the guards running toward them, they tried to flee but were quickly caught.

Aelayrs grabbed the children and slapped each of them twice. Enraged, he shouted, "Didn't I tell you to leave that Wyvern alone? Do you know how much gold I spent to find it? Get your dragons off that Wyvern now!"

Tears and snot streaming down their faces, the trio tried to stifle their sobs as they called their dragons back. Just as the dragons were about to withdraw from the Wyvern, the creature suddenly lunged. Its white body adorned with golden veins and a small crown-like formation on its head, it attacked the largest dragon, the one with red eyes that had caused it the most harm.

The Wyvern's attack didn't do much damage, but it enraged the dragon. In response, the dragon unleashed a torrent of fire, something it hadn't done before. As the dragon spewed silver-white flames adorned with golden streaks, one of the children shouted, "Anogrion, stop! Don't do it!"

But Anogrion didn't listen. When the flames subsided, it attacked the dazed Wyvern, tearing off its head. Blood gushed from the Wyvern's neck like a fountain. Everyone froze in shock.

Aelayrs' eye twitched with anger as he barked at the guards, "Quick, take Anogrion away and chain that dragon in the tower!"

Hearing his father's command, the child who had called out to Anogrion pleaded, "Father, please don't chain Anogrion! You saw it, that sneaky Wyvern attacked first!" But his words were cut short by a slap from Aelayrs.

Furious, Aelayrs snapped, "Don't you dare speak, Vaegon, or I'll have you chained too! Look at what you've done. I brought this Wyvern alive for your uncle Vaenas' wedding feast. It took me three months to find this creature. But you turned it into a toy for your dragons! Actually, you're not the only one to blame, Vaegon." He then turned to the guards approaching to take Anogrion and ordered, "Leave Anogrion for now! Call more guards. We'll chain Aeloris and Vendieron too."

At Aelayrs' command, two guards hurried off to summon the others. Aelayrs, noticing Vaelar and Darion stirring to protest, struck their heads and growled, "Vaelar, even if you try to convince me not to chain Aeloris, and Darion, you with Vendieron, you won't save them from being chained. Now think about yourselves, not your dragons!"

As the trio awaited the next scene, everything was suddenly enveloped in white. When the whiteness faded, they found themselves in a massive blacksmith's forge. Looking around, they saw three young men, resembling their younger selves, entering through the door with an aged Aelayrs, Aesen, and a man they didn't recognize.

As Aelayrs entered, he said, "Children, you are now adults. Like every dragonrider of noble blood, just as House Belaegon has done, you must learn to forge Valyrian steel. You might even be married soon," he added, casting a mocking glance at Aesen.

Seeing Aelayrs' look, the man behind him began to laugh. But Aesen suddenly turned and slapped him, demanding, "What are you laughing at, Vaenas? Care to share with us?"

Instead of answering, Vaenas simply rubbed his head. Vaegon, Vaelar, and Darion, watching from behind, struggled to suppress their smiles.

When the group reached the forge, Aesen said, "Children, watch closely. Forging Valyrian steel is not as simple as you might think. It takes a long time to work alone, which is why it's usually done by two or more people."

Following Aesen's words, Aelayrs, Aesen, and Vaenas stepped up to the forge to demonstrate how Valyrian steel was made. Vaenas picked up a long, gray dragon bone and placed it on the anvil. Aelayrs explained, "Children, one reason Valyrian steel is so expensive is the dragon bone you see here. This bone is hammered by blacksmiths until it is reduced to powder," he said, and began striking it with a hammer.

Aesen and Vaenas joined in, hammering the bone until it turned to powder. They collected the bone dust into a wooden box. Then Vaenas took an iron ingot, placed it in the forge, and stoked the flames with the bellows.

While Vaenas was doing this, Aelayrs said, "Children, as you can see, we throw the ingot into the fire and wait until it turns red. Then, we repeatedly hammer it until it becomes thin. After heating the metal sheet in the fire, we will sprinkle the dragon bone powder we just made on it and place another thin, heated sheet on top before hammering again. This process will continue until we have six layers. Finally, we will cut the resulting sheet into equal-length pieces. Every three pieces will be braided together to forge the desired weapon. Lastly, the forged weapon will be heated once more with dragon fire and cooled in dragon blood."

Aelayrs followed all the steps he had described, except for heating with dragon fire and cooling in dragon blood.

Once Aelayrs, Aesen, and Vaenas finished their work, they handed the hammers to the young trio. The three of them worked together, forging woven pieces by hammering the iron rods. While Vaegon and Vaelar were forging swords, Darion was crafting an axe head. After inspecting the one-meter-long, one-handed sword Vaegon had forged, Aesen said:

"Well done, Vaegon! You seem to have a talent for this."

Vaenas, upon hearing Aesen's words, added:

"Aesen, your daughter Daenora has a good husband. Look at him—he's skilled in smithing and a talented dragon rider."

Vaenas's words surprised Vaegon and the others. Vaegon turned to his father, Aelayrs, and asked:

"Father, what does Uncle Vaenas mean? Why did he call me cousin Daenora's husband?"

Aelayrs turned to his son and said:

"My son, as you know, we dragonlords marry within our own family to keep our bloodline pure. Since you do not have a sister, we have betrothed you to your uncle Aesen's daughter, Daenora."

Just as Vaegon was about to protest, Aelayrs continued:

"This is how it must be, my son. In the end, you will marry, and this marriage will remain within the family. So do not object. If you bring up the marriage between your mother and me, know that it was arranged only to maintain peace with rival houses. Also, your cousin will be visiting next month. Treat her well, or you will face the consequences."

As the trio thought they would continue witnessing past events, everything suddenly turned white again. When the whiteness faded, they found themselves back in the first room where they had awakened. However, they were not alone this time; a twelve-year-old girl was with them.

Vaegon was sitting beside the girl, talking to her. She asked:

"Vaegon, will my dragon, Raeyes, grow as fast as your dragon, Anogrion?"

Vaegon turned to Daenora and said:

"Daenora, your dragon may not grow as fast as mine. You know that some dragons grow quickly, while others grow slowly."

After hearing Vaegon's answer, Daenora could no longer contain herself and decided to go see her dragon, Raeyes.

About five or six minutes after Daenora left the room, a painful roar echoed through the air. The people in the room rushed to the window to see what was happening, but they could see nothing. They could not spot the source of the sound, but suddenly, a transparent barrier rose from the ground and enveloped the entire mansion. As soon as the barrier appeared, the ground began to tremble, the sky darkened, and the screams of people could be heard from outside.

Looking down from the window, the trio suddenly lost consciousness.

Instead of white, this time everything turned black when they fainted. And at that moment, just as they had been watching everything from the sidelines, they suddenly found themselves being drawn inside. Before they could understand what was happening, they collapsed to their knees, clutching their heads in pain. It felt as if their skulls were splitting open.

The cause of this excruciating pain was the complete transfer of memories from the bodies they had taken over.

For more than half an hour, they writhed in agony beside their dragons as the memories settled. A single tear involuntarily rolled down each of their faces.

Vaegon was the first to recover. Still holding his head, he turned to the others, intending to speak to them, but he realized that he could only remember the names they had in this world. When he tried to recall his own name, he realized that not only his name but also the names of his family and the place where he had lived were gone from his memory.

He immediately turned to the others and asked:

"Children, have you also forgotten your past families and the places where you used to live, just like me?"

Vaegon's question snapped Vaelar and Darion out of their pain-induced daze. When they tried to recall their past lives, they realized they could remember almost nothing.

The trio became so absorbed in their thoughts that they failed to notice their dragons' eyelids slowly beginning to move.

Vaelar, uncomfortable from sitting for too long, tried to stand up—only to notice that the dragons' pupils were shifting. He excitedly shouted:

"Children, our dragons are waking up! Look, they're moving!"

Upon hearing Vaelar's shout, Darion and Vaegon immediately turned their eyes to their dragons. When they saw the slight movement of the dragons' eyelids, they forgot everything else they had been thinking about. The trio continued to watch with excitement.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, Vaegon walked over to the pile of rat corpses. He picked the smallest one, about the size of a Catspaw Dagger's hilt, and approached his dragon, Anogrion. He removed the arrow embedded in the rat's belly—the cause of its death—and let its blood drip onto Anogrion's nose before shouting:

"You are the mighty, powerful, and noble Anogrion! You are my confidant, my companion, my protector, my strength, and my might. Now is the time to awaken and reunite with your kin. Wake up, Anogrion!"

At Vaegon's words, Anogrion opened his twitching eyelids, revealing his blood-red eyes.

Seeing what Vaegon had done, Darion and Vaelar selected their own rats and approached their dragons. They repeated the same words, but towards the end, they each called out their own dragon's name: Vaelar spoke the name Aeloris, while Darion spoke the name Vendieron.

Aeloris opened his emerald-green eyes, and Vendieron revealed his golden-yellow gaze.

Upon waking, the three dragons breathed fire onto the pile of dead rats before unleashing a mighty roar, as if to announce their return to the world.