Novigrad Part 2 (Patreon)

Rhea Royce, in route to Novigrad

A couple of hours had passed since the appearance of the second dragon, and Rhea was amazed

she had walked around the ship and observed the complex clusters of runes that were visible, so complex and powerful that they made his family's runes look completely obsolete, however, far from being offended, Rhea took it as a challenge, creating such rune systems was possible, and she would give herself the task of perfecting and refining her family's art

For that, she was reading the rune book that King Hadrian had given her, sitting in the common room of the ship, according to Hadrian's words, this was an introductory book that the wizards of his land studied at the age of thirteen, and to Rhea's amazement, the techniques used were a hundred times more advanced than her family's methods.

The lady of Runestone shuddered at the thought that this knowledge was common in the land of King Hadrian, if this was what they taught the children, she trembled at the thought of what a rune master could achieve

She was so focused on reading that she did not notice the arrival of her “beloved” husband

“Are you still reading? When could you be exploring this masterful ship?" Daemon's voice had no cruelty or mockery, just disbelief, which was an advance compared to her husband's attitude before King Hadrian's arrival

She and Daemon had spoken, they would be cordial and please the king, they would "try" to save the marriage, and when they failed, they would separate without any problem

Rhea answers

"This book is very interesting, there are techniques never seen before to build runic arrays" Daemon simply snorted and answered

"I don't think it's more interesting than having a damn garden inside a ship castle" Daemon's tone was one of envy, and Rhea could understand it, this simple ship, which Hadrian used from time to time, was worth more than many noble families of Westeros put together

Rhea looked up in disbelief and spoke

"A garden? Inside a ship? How is that possible?"

Daemon simply shrugged his shoulders and responded slyly

"I don't know, I just saw several of those shiny things all over the place, it would be a shame not to take a look at them while we're on this ship, right?" With that, Daemon turned around and walked away from the place, his mission was done

Rhea frowned for a few seconds, and then cursed

"Conceited imbecile" then she got up and followed her husband to this garden, her curiosity demanded that she observe the "shiny things" as her retarded husband had mentioned

Mara Martell

"I must admit it sister, when you ordered me to seduce the dragon king, I think you were hallucinating, but it is an alliance that will bring us many benefits" Delia's voice was of absolute pleasure, her sister was sitting in the most comfortable armchair that Mara had ever seen in her life, with a glass of the most delicious wine they have ever had,  they did not know the origin, the bottle simply said made in Toussant

Mara would be in charge of finding out where this Toussant was and commissioning ten barrels for Sunspear

Taking from her own cup, Mara replied

“It is important that we organize our time well, it is a magical city, but we must focus on Dorne”

Delia nodded, concentrating on her glass of wine, lost in thought, after a moment, she spoke

"Magical knowledge, we will have to visit these bookstores that Hadrian mentioned" Mara nodded, completely in agreement with her sister and replied

"Our people were focused on hydromancy, ask about that term when you visit the bookstores, I imagine the Targaryens will do the same" Delia nodded, and looked at her sister curiously

"What do you think of the Starks?" asked Delia

Mara simply sighed and replied

"A dangerous family, focused on their lands, they have their own magic and I don't doubt that this trip will strengthen them, it would be sensible to look for an alliance" Delia nodded, agreeing with her sister, a few seconds later, she replied

"We can play with the idea of uniting families in a few years, nothing limits Hadrian to give us only one child" Mara sighed and nodded

"It's an idea we should consider; however, you saw the interaction between the old man and Lord Stark, they're allies, we can't be confident." Mara's tone was one of caution, with the magic factor, the game of thrones had become much more dangerous, and it turns out that, one of the houses they never took into consideration, Leading the game

Delia sighed and spoke

"I know you won't like it, but we must start considering the Targaryens as allies, the son I have with Hadrian will marry a child of the house of the dragon, it would be sensible to start strengthening ties" as she expected, Delia looked at her sister's face of repulsion, as if the mere thought of such a possibility caused her repulsion

However, Mara was pragmatic and calculating, she knew that the political winds were shifting, and that it was likely that the Targaryens would gain magical abilities, reason dictated strengthening alliances, but gods that difficult it was

As soon as she heard the voice of the decrepit old man, she was in a bad mood

Alas, Mara knew that sacrifices were often important, and if allying with the dragons was in the best interest of her people, she would do what was necessary

Mara concentrated again and spoke

"Let's forget that for the moment, let's concentrate on our mission in these lands, Hadrian will be busy planning everything for the expedition to Chroyane, you have free rein to spend whatever gold is necessary, anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, if you think it will be useful to us, you acquire it," the accurate and direct tone told Delia that her sister did not speak,  but the ruler of Dorne, for which he replied

"That's how it will be sister" at those words, Mara nodded with a smile

The rest of the trip, they continued to plan and investigate Hadrian's ship, both of them had high hopes for this trip, after all

Baelon Targaryen

"I already have the list, Kepa, following Hadrian's advice, I will focus on magical tomes of pyrokinesis and terrakinesis" Baelon nodded with a smile to his son, these last months were good for him

His eldest son, as well as his uncle Aemon enjoyed hours of non-stop reading, Hadrian's arrival and access to an extensive library were a gift to Viserys

Thanks to their son, they discovered the names of the magical disciplines that Hadrian mentioned, Viserys was able to manipulate a small flame with his fingers!

When they met Hadrian, he told them that Viserys couldn't do much more, he just didn't have the magic he needed

Rhaenyra, on the other hand...

Hadrian had informed them that Rhaenyra had magic, with great potential, and that it was thanks to that magic, that the Syrax egg hatched in her cradle

At those words, Viserys, full of pride, vowed to obtain everything necessary for the magical education of the princess, books, runes, tutors and artifacts, everything that the princess could want or need, Viserys would be in charge of providing it

Surprisingly, Jaehaerys agreed, quite pleased by the addition of magic to the dragon house

Sure, such abilities paled in comparison to Hadrian's, or even the Starks and the Royces, but it was a start

Baelon looked at his son and spoke

"As soon as I return I will make the engagement between James and Rhaenyra official" At those words, Viserys looked at Baelon and spoke

"I'm glad to hear that father, being related to the Potter family will strengthen our position in the rest of the continent, it's a good idea, plus Rhaenyra and James are joined at the hip, I think it's a good strategy" Baelon smiled at his son, Viserys had a good head, fond of reading and prone to dialogue instead of the sword,  He had what it takes to be a decent ruler, however, his greatest defect was the desire to be liked, and the approval of third parties, sometimes a ruler cannot have that luxury

Something that would make sure he understood, in one way or another

Viserys, oblivious to his father's thoughts, spoke with emotion again

"Father, based on the books of Sky Palace, I consider that these should be our priorities" Baelon looked at his son with a smile and they both sat, for hours, planning their tour of the city

Hadrian Potter

Hadrian played with Jocelyn's hair unconsciously, the insatiable woman had reached her limit after hours of wild fornication, Jocelyn fainted with trembling legs, rolling eyes and a muffled moan as Hadrian deposited the third load of dragon seed inside her, Jocelyn fell asleep muttering about her little black-haired daughter with emerald eyes

The dragon king doubted that the little doe would awaken until they reached Novigrad

Letting her rest, Hadrian stood up and walked to the balcony of his cabin, the ship passing by the Isle of Lightning, the place where Aldar and Cydaris first mated, and the most important dragon sanctuary in the empire, hidden from poachers by a powerful Fidelius charm, the island indicated that they were five hours from Novigrad

Shrugging his shoulders, Hadrian returned to bed, intending rested before arriving with Cirilla, who would surely beat him for not warning of his visit, before proceeding to fuck him in a wild and uncontrolled manner

Hadrian couldn't wait to be honest

Lying back, he closed his eyes and relaxed, his days in the White Palace would be much more hectic

As he was about to sleep, the wards informed him of Lord Stark's presence on the deck of the boat, staring at where the island stood, much to Hadrian's intrigue, after all, that was impossible, the Fidelius charm prevent such a thing

Curiously, Hadrian appeared on the deck, a few feet behind Lord Stark, who looked with eyes of great confusion at where the island was

Hadrian spoke

"Everything all right, Lord Stark?" in a casual voice, Lord Stark simply nodded and replied

"What are you hiding there, King Hadrian?" and with his hand, he pointed towards the island, Hadrian, quite impressed, simply replied

"There's nothing there, Ellard," surprisingly, the aforementioned Ellard simply snorted and replied

"I'm not stupid, it's a beautiful song, hundreds of magical animals, I can feel them and at the same time I don't, it's complicated to explain, but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that you're hiding something there." Ellard's voice was one of concentration, trying to understand what he was feeling

Hadrian, impressed, just replied

"The island of lightning is located off the coast of Novigrad" as he said those words, Ellard's eyes widened and he watched with excitement and admiration as a colossal island materialized in front of him, dragons and magical beings could be seen from the ship, which was at a considerable distance

Ellard Stark responded, with a tone of amazement in his voice

“Is... beautiful, it's like a magic beacon, powerful and unbreakable, magic is free and prosperous” after a few seconds, Ellard Stark looked at Hadrian, who was looking at him patiently, and spoke

"That spell, you used magic to hide an island, how does it work?"

At those words, Hadrian looked at Ellard in surprise and with more respect, Hadrian replied

"It hides a place by bending reality itself, it's a dangerous enchantment and difficult to master" Ellard nodded, was silent for a few seconds, and then looked at Hadrian

"Thank you for sharing such a magical vision with me, I appreciate it" Hadrian nodded and watched with intrigue as Lord Stark retreated to his cabin, leaving a confused and surprised Hadrian, but with a pretty good impression of the lord of the north

Hadrian just showed up back in his cabin, he would rest a bit before arriving

Daemon Targaryen

Hadrian had reported that they were on the shores of the city, they would arrive at the pier in half an hour

Of course, all the crew rushed to the deck to observe the city in question, expectations were very high and many did not know what to think

However, nothing could prepare Daemon for what he saw, he was sure that the ancient city of Valyria would look like mere huts compared to this city

The pier was huge, with two lighthouses located north and south of the city, at least a thousand huge ships moved around the bay, flags of various colors were visible on all sides, white walls a hundred feet high, with defense towers twice as high, with powerful and lethal war scorpions that moved completely by themselves, without any person

Behind the mighty walls, huge buildings, the smallest being ten stories high, pyramid-shaped with exterior balconies filled with plants and trees, built of white stone and silver roofs which shone with an ethereal white light, loomed over the walls of the city

However, the most impressive thing was the castle, the famous white palace

Hadrian's palace floated...

Perched on a huge rock, with several waterfalls feeding a lake in the center of the city, the palace dominated everything, floating immovable and powerful, they were too far away to see the details, Hadrian's voice was heard

"Captain, lift us up" at those words, everyone looked at Hadrian with absolute amazement, who simply ignored them

Then the ship rose from the waters... Sailing the skies in the direction of the imposing palace

Daemon and the rest were so dumbfounded that they could not appreciate the city, all their attention was on the palace that was getting bigger and bigger

Within moments, the ship docked at a kind of floating dock, Hadrian's voice was heard

"We've arrived, let's go," he said casually, and then got off the boat holding the hand of his aunt Jocelyn

The rest of the nobles looked at each other with uncertainty, this simple act had reminded them that, although they planned and participated in their little political games,

Hadrian Potter was power personified, and that it was better to be in his grace, than to be his enemy

The adventure in Novigrad had begun