Chapter 468: Flying Over the Kingdom with a Dragon.

[Chapter Size: 3900 Words.]

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Third Person POV

Reach, 300 AC.

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The next day, everyone was gathered in the hall once again. Jon read the reports his men had accumulated since yesterday, although he had already observed how things were through the eyes of the birds flying overhead and perched throughout the region, it was essential to know the details recorded and organized by the men themselves.

The common folk had returned to their homes and, despite their caution, were slowly beginning to resume their lives, while Arctic’s men patrolled the city with clear orders to keep everything running and prevent any disorder and crime.

The bulk of the army remained encamped outside, while a considerable contingent had been moved inside Highgarden, mainly the Royal Guard and men chosen to take control of the most important points of the castle.

Part of the Tyrell soldiers had also been withdrawn from the castle and sent into the city, being replaced by the arcticans, obviously Jon would not leave the Reach’s main stronghold under the protection of the same men who, until the previous day, had been prepared to fight against him.

He had also received a report directly from Willas, who had been left with no choice but to hand over everything he knew about the events since the beginning of the war. Jon wanted to know every move made by the Reach, every enemy that had attacked their lands, which forces had been sent to each region, how many men had departed and who was in command of each army.

And, although that information could change at any moment in the midst of a war, practically everything had been recorded when the army advanced.

Jon had simply ordered his men to go to the right places and collect every document they found, Willas had merely watched without being able to do much to stop them.

The lord of Highgarden was seated at the main table while Jon continued moving from one paper to another during the meal. Arya remained beside him, eating in silence, although every now and then she cast a glance at Jon.

After all, since last night, she was no longer a maiden.

Jon noticed another one of those glances and gave her a small smile, Arya responded in kind before turning her attention back to her plate, trying to act normally. To anyone else it probably would not have meant anything, merely an exchange of glances between the two of them, but there was a different intimacy in the small gestures they shared that morning.

Jon finished reading the last report before placing it on the table and turning his attention to Willas, who immediately seemed to grow more tense.

“Lord Tyrell, I intend to see the Reach with my own eyes for the rest of this day,” he declared.

Willas raised his eyes to him, surprised. “What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“Well… you’ll see soon enough,” Jon replied, shrugging. “In any case, I’ll be away for most of the day. If you need anything, you can seek out one of my men.”

Jon did not explain any more than that and Willas certainly could not fully understand his intentions, but he did not have a good feeling about the matter either, especially because he remembered very well what the king had said the previous day.

Jon possessed some way of reaching King’s Landing in only two days. And he did not even seem to want to leave today, which meant it would be tomorrow.

During the rest of the morning, some nobles also came to speak with Jon, while others finally began to leave Highgarden after deciding to remain one more night at the castle.

That mattered little to the arcticans, no one would be prevented from leaving. Meanwhile, the dwarves had already begun working on rebuilding the gate and the damaged sections of the wall, working at a speed that left the people of the Reach speechless, especially because of the dwarves. They were also clearing the area around the fallen tower.

After all, the arctican ships would not sail around the continent just to reunite with the forces that were in the west, there was no need for that.

A force would remain in Highgarden. Large enough to ensure that, even in Jon’s absence and without the bulk of his army, the Reach remained on its knees.

For that reason, they would be reinforcing the castle’s defenses to keep it under control even after Jon departed. When he went outside, he watched for some time as the men worked on preparing a type of mortar created in Arctic, capable of binding the stones together again once the mixture dried, while the giants themselves moved enormous carts loaded with materials. The dwarves worked quickly, preparing everything while the giants positioned the stones so they could begin rebuilding the wall.

Jon watched them for some time alongside Arya, Barristan Selmy, Lancelot and other Guardians from one of the castle’s lower balconies.

Afterward, Jon headed to Lord Tyrell’s solar, personally examining the documents he had found there, he also ended up taking an interest in the books the Tyrells kept hidden in the room where they handled their most important affairs and began reading some of them, remaining there for some time until he finally closed the last book.

Eragon had arrived.

Jon simply went out and spoke with some guards, asked his guards to keep everyone away from that room and began making his way down. Before he even reached the entrance, a roar echoed throughout Highgarden, so powerful that it seemed to make the castle itself tremble, while the arcticans looked curiously toward the arriving dragon. The nobles of the realm inside the castle, however, stared at one another with incredulous expressions and, at the same time, cries of astonishment began to rise from the city.

Jon stepped outside just as Eragon descended from the skies, passing beside the towers before circling around Highgarden, his enormous shadow even blocked out the sun for a few moments as he flew toward the city.

“This… this cannot be,” some people murmured and shouted in shock.

Jon kept smiling.

A dragon, after more than a century and a half without a creature like that being seen dominating the skies of Westeros, was now publicly flying over the continent once again.

What had happened previously in the North could not even be compared to this, back then Jon was still trying to hide Eragon’s existence and the rumors spread by the few people who claimed to have seen an enormous dragon in Winterfell, were never taken very seriously, always treated as rumors and his absence until now during Arctic’s invasion, only reinforced that.

Here it was different. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were seeing Eragon with their own eyes and, among them, were some of the most important people in the Reach.

Eragon completed his circle and Jon guided him toward an open area near the destroyed tower, where the giants were still removing enormous blocks of stone to reuse them in rebuilding the wall, as well as removing the corpses of those who had not been as fortunate during the attack.

When Eragon finally landed, his enormous weight seemed to shake all of Highgarden. In reality, it probably had not been enough to make the castle tremble in that manner, but the shock of seeing a creature of that size gave that impression to those who had never witnessed anything similar.

The dragons had returned.

Willas also came out of the castle and stood staring at Eragon completely stunned, his cane even slipped from his hand as he leaned against the railing, keeping his eyes wide on the dragon.

“This… is this true? Is this… real?”, he whispered, swallowing hard.

Jon looked at him with a small smile. “It is exactly what your eyes are seeing, Lord Tyrell”, Jon replied, giving him a meaningful look.

“It seems the Citadel did not tell you about this either, but I found a good number of dragon eggs inside their vaults, I imagine they did not share that information when they reported everything I stole, right?”, Jon said.

Willas did not know whether he should be even more astonished by that information or remain transfixed by the sight of the enormous creature before him, especially when Eragon folded his wings and finally turned his eyes toward them, more precisely toward Jon.

The dragon was gigantic, nearly seventy meters long, despite being almost a decade old, he had reached a size that not even some dragons six or seven decades old had managed to attain.

Eragon had always been special. He had been the first dragon to be born in that era and had also hatched in a completely different way from the others, while the following eggs began to hatch alongside the birth of each of Jon’s children, almost as if there were some connection between the two things.

Jon had managed to hatch his egg using his own blood and even a portion of his powers, as if he had shared a small part of his own soul with that creature. Eragon had been born in a completely different way, with a different form and powers, after Jon received the egg from Aemon, beyond the Wall.

In any case, Jon pushed those thoughts aside.

“As I told you, Lord Tyrell, I’ll be taking a look around the Reach. If you need anything while I’m away, well… you know who to look for”, Jon said.

At that moment, Arya approached wearing leather clothes suited for the journey. Jon was not wearing his armor either, both of them wore only lighter and more flexible clothes for flying.

“Shall we?”, she asked with a smile.

“Of course.” Jon then turned to his men. “You take care of the rest.” He went with Arya toward Eragon.

The dragon was already carrying a saddle at that moment, Jon had left one of them stored aboard the ships in case he needed to bring Eragon south, and his own men had put it on him after the battle against the Lannisters.

Jon grabbed the rope ladder and began to climb under the eyes of practically the entire castle, Arya came right after him and, when she reached the top, Jon helped her position herself behind him.

“Come on, Eragon. Let’s fly for a while.” He did not really need to say those words for the dragon to understand his will.

Eragon lowered his body forward as he spread his enormous wings, then began to propel himself off the ground. Each beat sent powerful gusts of wind across that side of the castle, making clothes and hair whip violently while some people had to shield their faces.

Then Eragon left the ground. He passed over the walls of Highgarden and began gaining altitude rapidly, leaving thousands of pairs of eyes behind as he climbed higher and higher, until he finally stabilized his flight and headed southwest first.

Their first stop would be Oldtown.

Jon and Arya simply enjoyed the view as they flew over the greenest kingdom of the Seven Kingdoms for half an hour. From that height, the vast fields of the Reach seemed to stretch endlessly across the horizon, divided among farmland, rivers, forests, roads, small villages and castles scattered across the landscape.

The Ironborn had not managed to cause that much destruction there, only some regions near the coast had truly suffered from their attacks, after all, Balon Greyjoy had concentrated most of his forces against the North, preferring to seek revenge instead of better results.

Jon still thought that choice was particularly stupid.

When they could have attacked much richer and more vulnerable kingdoms, the Ironborn had chosen to launch their greatest force against the North.

In any case, they finally spotted the enormous tower alongside the city of Oldtown and the gigantic Citadel.

“Which do you think is bigger, Arya? The Citadel or our library in Arctic?”, Jon asked, while Arya remained settled in front of him and he had enough intimacy to pull her against himself during the flight.

Flying on Eragon had never been something strange for Arya, after all she had been doing it with Jon ever since he began using the dragon in Arctic.

Arya looked at the city below them and snorted, staring at him with her gray eyes.

“Do you really want me to answer that, Jon?”, she asked with a smile, Jon simply returned it.

Arctic’s own library was at least fifty percent larger than the Citadel’s. Ever since he had begun building his kingdom, Jon had made it one of his goals to create the largest library in the world, and he had succeeded. The library and the university, despite being interconnected, were still two separate buildings within Arctic, so the library dedicated solely to books already far surpassed the Citadel itself.

“Let’s announce our presence”, Jon said, adjusting Arya so she could hold on better.

“You’re going to do that?”, she asked, surprised.

“Why not? We’ve already drawn too much attention.” Jon immediately began lowering their altitude under his command, while Arya seemed tense the very moment they started falling, not very accustomed to falling much faster than her body could on its own.

“Relax, I’m here”, Jon said.

Eragon performed a maneuver and dove toward the city, drawing a shocked expression from Arya at the sensation of plummeting at high speed atop a dragon. The wind struck them forcefully as Eragon continued descending.

The Citadel and Oldtown were still recovering from the Ironborn attacks.

The first to notice something coming from the sky were some men who maintained the great flame atop the Hightower, where House Hightower resided.

Since the Dance of the Dragons, the family had avoided becoming too directly involved in matters related to the greatest powers of Westeros, especially because the kings who came after that conflict began watching the Hightowers with far greater caution due to the role they had played alongside the Greens.

The trouble they had with Arctic years ago had also caused the family to draw unnecessary attention, which had been another blow to the family. And they tried to keep from drawing too much attention, although they still followed the Tyrells onto the battlefield. The possibility of Margaery becoming queen would also benefit the Hightowers due to the blood ties between the two Houses, but that was still far from being a direct intervention this time.

In any case, the city was slowly beginning to return to normal after the chaos caused by the Ironborn.

High atop the Hightower, the men carried firewood to feed the enormous flame as they worked. From there they could observe practically all of Oldtown through the windows, but at that moment their eyes were fixed on the sky.

Something white was moving toward them at enormous speed. At first it seemed like nothing more than a distant speck, but it was far too large to be a bird, especially considering how far away it still was.

“What is that?”, one of the men asked.

“…” No one answered and more curious gazes turned toward the window.

The figure continued approaching and growing larger and larger.

“That… that’s a dragon!”, the first man shouted and, immediately, everyone panicked. “A dragon! Warn Lady Hightower!”

One of them ran downstairs to warn them about what was happening, while the others remained practically paralyzed, watching the dragon spread its enormous wings and begin banking over the city, even passing at the same height as the Hightower before descending even farther.

The next moment, he roared.

ROAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!

Eragon’s roar made practically the entire city turn its attention toward that point, while his enormous form quickly crossed the skies, casting his shadow over dozens of houses.

Then came the panic.

People screamed and fled through the streets, pointing at the sky and repeating the word “dragon”, while Eragon beat his wings and flew over Oldtown, letting out several more roars that echoed throughout the city. Jon watched everything from above, his eyes turning especially toward the Citadel, where more and more windows were occupied by men wearing chains, all staring at the sky with frightened expressions.

“You wanted the dragons dead, you wanted magic to disappear along with them. The Order always desired that, but not in this era, you may have won for a time, the dragons truly disappeared, but now… no more.”

Jon kept his eyes on the Citadel, while Eragon continued his flight.

“Watch. Your greatest fears have returned. This is the return of the dragons and Eragon is only one of them, we already have nearly thirty and that number will continue multiplying over the years. One day, we will surpass even Valyria.”

Although only Arya and Eragon could hear him at that height, after all he was not shouting, Jon felt satisfaction as he spoke each of those words while staring intensely at the Citadel.

He could imagine the horror of those old men upon realizing that, even though most of them were already dead, in the end, their plans had turned into illusions, because now the Order was exposed before the Seven Kingdoms and their spying, blackmail, and subtle manipulations would no longer work so easily. If it were up to Jon, they would still pay for everything they had done during the last few centuries.

The Order of Maesters had been triumphant until a few years ago, but now Jon found it at its weakest point, a position from which he intended to ensure it would never recover. He would become king of Westeros and unify the Ten Kingdoms under his authority, never allowing the Citadel to accumulate the same power and influence again.

Their knowledge was limited and, in many respects, outdated, while Arctic was already training men far more capable in various fields, even embracing magic. It would not be difficult to imagine lords beginning to send their own sons North in search of knowledge and later bringing men trained in Arctic to serve in their castles or making them more competent lords, people with extensive knowledge who would not need to answer to the orders of a distant organization capable of manipulating them according to its own interests.

The Order of Maesters was destined to disappear. Perhaps the Citadel would remain as a great library in the south, preserving its knowledge and its history, but the maesters would hardly continue to be viewed the same way by the kingdoms after that war.

In any case, Jon continued flying over Oldtown for some time longer, but did not land.

Eragon simply changed direction and headed even farther south.

The dragon was seen a few minutes later, entering the Isle of the Arbor, taking everyone there by surprise, while his roars echoed through the sky like a warning, a declaration that the dragons had returned and that enormous white dragon could only represent one kingdom, one side of that war.

And their enemy was far more capable than they had imagined, possessing much more than merely men marching across the land.

Eragon continued roaring, making every castle seem to tremble as he passed them. After leaving the Redwyne lands, Jon departed the islands and headed back toward the mainland, flying over each of the southern lands while making a point of announcing his presence at the seats of the major Houses. He entered Cuy, continued through Pommingham, Roxton, Mullendore.

Most already knew that Arctic had entered the Reach and was advancing south, but the dragon was an even clearer declaration. At best, it meant they should surrender because they had no chance, at worst, it meant the kingdom had already fallen and that dragon was merely the harbinger of their defeat and resisting, was useless.

In any case, Jon and Arya stopped near a small town in the territories of House Graves, leaving Eragon hidden before walking a few kilometers to the place and entering an inn.

Obviously they drew attention, but no one dared to ask questions despite the looks directed at them, as they entered the town. Their appearances were unusual, as were their clothes and, especially, the swords they carried at their waists, although no one recognized Blackfyre or Dark Sister, the rubies decorating the weapons and the evident quality of the blades were enough to make anyone think twice before bothering them.

Jon and Arya ate in silence and, some time later, left the town with a few people following them, but that did not last long after they reached Eragon.

Most likely those same people, regretted it the instant they saw the enormous white dragon emerge above the trees and descend toward the two of them, able only to run back to warn the other people in town about who had just passed through there.

Jon did that on purpose. When they departed farther north, he ordered Eragon to fly over the town as well, his enormous shadow covering houses and streets as he passed over it, before they continued their journey. Afterward, they visited other seats while crossing the territories of House Hunt and the Tarlys, passing through still other regions before finally returning to Highgarden.

It was already mid-afternoon when they arrived.

Eragon descended into the courtyard once again, making practically the entire castle stop to watch while Jon and Arya dismounted.

“Bring him some cows, you can pay the local farmers a fair price from our funds.”, Jon ordered.

The men nodded and immediately went to carry out the order, while Jon simply ignored the looks from the Reach’s nobility, who still watched that gigantic creature in horror, especially when Eragon began settling into that space after spending practically the entire day flying.

Jon also found Caraxes arriving shortly afterward. The giant eagle had appeared some time after Eragon’s departure and had remained resting nearby until Jon returned.

“Rest. You can fly later, the rest of the day is yours. I need to take care of a few things”, Jon said to his eagle.

In any case, he entered the castle again, there were still a few things he needed to deal with that day.

Jon did not fail to notice Willas looking at Eragon once again from the entrance, as if he were still debating with himself whether his eyes were deceiving him or whether they were truly revealing the truth.

When he noticed Jon approaching, Willas finally looked away from the dragon and stared at the king.

“I know what you’re going to ask me. No, I didn’t burn any castles or attack anyone, I simply went to get to know the Reach a little better than I did years ago…”, Jon said, before giving a small smile. “Maybe I frightened some of the Houses, after all I didn’t hide the dragon’s presence while flying over each of the great cities and strongholds, and Eragon isn’t exactly discreet with his roars either, he probably made more than one castle tremble today.”

With those words, Jon entered the castle without paying Willas any more attention, who remained standing there, still in shock.

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