Chapter 64: 64
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188 AC
Harrenhal
Aerion Targaryen
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"You probably should rename this place the 'Nursery' with how many little ones you have taken in and are making." Ser Richard jokes and I can't help but smile, he is a silent man but once he talks it's always something sharp and to the point.
"I can't help one of those but the other is just good politics." He nods with a small smile spreading on his own face.
"It's good politics to fuck all of your-." I level a glare at him and he stops even with his grin turning feral. "Alright alright, no need to take it seriously." Holding up a hand in surrender he slowly turns to look out the window when a large shadow passes overhead.
"It's good politics to take in children to foster, especially when they are young and can easily be befriended by my own." I look back down at my desk and sigh as I read the report of how most of the 'spiders' that got captured beyond the wall died shortly after being put onto the ships.
I really was hoping to somehow farm those large guys to get silk from their threads with how tough they are. But if they keep dying without even being able to get them south of the wall it is impossible. Maybe something can be worked out on Skagos or in the Gift which it is close to their natural environment...
"Pass me that clean parchment." I reach out without looking up and receive the clean sheet from my trusted guard wordlessly.
If Skagos or the Gift won't work I will axe the plan altogether and maybe refocus on trying something with Naath. They are the next close place for silk, Qarth is after them but they have sticks up their ass and want an arm and a leg in payment. Yi Ti is naturally the biggest supply of the valuable material but that is solely because of the pirate infestation in the Basilisk isles killing the Naath people's chance at trade.
Back during the peak of Valyria Naath used to be able to trade with the Dragon Lords and their 'Shimmering Silk; reached all markets around the world. Something in the diet of the insects on the island gives their silk a natural shimmer that almost glows when exposed to light that puts it above other people's silk. I was hoping there would be some cool property to the spider's webs turned silk from the North, with their size they could make miles of the silk easily and flood the market. But if they keep dying I will never know and Naath is looking more and more valuable as time goes on.
"Balerion is said to be making a trip to Harrenhal soon, he might be able to answer the questions I have." I speak up to my silent companion and I hear him nod as his chainmail rubs against his new Valyrian steel plate armor. "I need to know more about Naath and he has spent the last year or longer on that side of the world. He is coming to see his sisters and the rest of our dragon-blooded brood but he is going to get his ear chewed off." Both his annoyed sisters are going to nail him for being gone for so long and me wanting answers to the greater mysteries in my mind.
"What is it you want to know?" I purse my lips and lean back looking up at the ceiling.
"I want to know more about the 'Dragon Fort' built on Naath by the Dragon Lords, the only information I have on it says it's like Dragonstone but on Naath. If that is the case I might have a long-term plan to put in motion to take the island and its resources." No visible reaction comes from my knight but I can feel his interest rise by just how well I know him. "Naath has a natural defense in the form of a disease the butterflies give to 'invaders'. The Naathi are immune to it and so I have the idea of finding a female Naath slave somewhere and impregnating her. The babe from the union will then hopefully have that immunity and hopefully a dragon who then can head to Naath and claim the Dragon fort and rule over the island and its resources." I am sure Danny will love this idea... buying a slave to knock up that will likely look like her old friend.
She will be furious in reality and might even trigger old sentiments that have been buried under Motherhood and Life in Westeros. I might even send her on the path to end slavery in Essos once more, which admittedly is not the worst idea in the world. But I want more dragon riders before we plan to do something like that, we can't be everywhere at once but with eight or so more riders we sure as hell could try to be.
"The people of Naath would bend to a dragon rider?" I nod at my knight with no doubt forming in my mind with what I know of the people of the butterfly island.
"They are called the peaceful people for a reason, they would rather die than raise a hand in their own defense. They only run inland from slavers and never pick up weapons to fight back, now imagine a dragon lands in front of them. My Son or Daughter hops off its back and claims to be their new protector from all threats and they will be safe from now on. All they have to do is serve She or He as they make their new 'Seat' in the Fort of fused stone on the island." I lift my cup and down a few sips of the sweet wine before setting it down. "Wine and Silk my friend, they feed insects the leaves from the berry bushes to make silk, and the berries are used to make wine. Two valuable resources that my child could then use to trade worldwide and make a fortune on that small little island. The way things are now the people are victims of raids and they also never leave the island so they do not trade they only craft what they need. With a dragon protecting the island and my fleet bringing trade to the island it will bloom into an economic monster." This all hinges on the blood of a Naath woman actually passing the immunity to a kid of my own.
If I am wrong the kid could outright die upon landing on the island and that makes my heart feel like a knife is thrust into it. I will need to send for some tests to be done, it should not be too hard to find a person of Naath somewhere. It makes my gut twist to think about sending a babe to the island to see if it will survive knowing it might die but I need answers. I won't make my own 'Butterfly Dragon' babe with a Naath woman until I know a babe from a Naath to a 'foreigner' can survive on the island.
"You have put a lot of thought into this." I nod at his response, I have put a lot of thought into a lot of things that people in this world would never think of as it goes against 'what they know'.
"There is a whole world still out there untouched such as the two continents that are left untamed. I feel they are just out of reach but with some effort, I could see the first steps taken to claim them. Dragons are back and can be used to break the ground in places that have long since been deemed unsuitable." I have Earth as an example, given there are diseases here that are semi-magical in nature but I am still certain it's possible.
Some might say even Valyria could not claim the jungles of Sothoryos but they never really tried. They claimed the cities made by Ghiscar and then built one or two of their own, the native people that are almost cave man in nature kicked them off along with disease. The Valyrians did not have the grit to do what needed to be done. it's obvious with how they let the grass kingdoms rule a very large chunk of Essos right beside their own lands. Internal conflict in Valyria kept the Dragon Lords busy and they never acted with their full might except for a handful of times like when they sent the Rhoynar to hell.
Three hundred dragons or more and they never conquered all of Essos in thousands of years...
I can't fathom just how rancid the political landscape had to be to keep everyone so busy with each other and killing slaves for blood sacrifice. History repeats itself with how Targaryens follow the rest of Valyrians and got caught in the webs of the 'Great Game' even after forging a continent into one kingdom... minus Dorne. But I am not concerned with the Great Game and instead, I am only focused on what I want to do and making profits.
"Maybe I should talk to Daenerys about some things I have been running around with in my mind." I ponder aloud hoping to get some response from the knight but he remains silent as a statue.
If only he knew what I really have in mind for Essos and beyond maybe he would speak up.
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188 AC
Harrenhal
Balerion Otherys
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"Look at you." Aerion looks me over with a curious glint in his eye and I can't help but smile.
"Look at you." I counter as he stands before me in a full suit of Valyrian steel armor, likely just to show it off. "I heard you cracked its secrets but to already be producing armor and weapons..." I look between him and his loyal knight behind him also in plate armor made of the smokey metal.
"I need to get you into the workshop, I know you dislike plate but a suit of scale is next to weightless and wears like a silk vest. You won't even know you are wearing armor unless you hit it on something." His excitement laces his tone like a child getting a new toy and I can't help but shake my head.
"Sounds good, I look forward to seeing if that rings true." I certainly won't complain, not after the things I have been through recently.
"I wish to speak with you about some things as well as hear out your stories but I know there are two of our lovely sisters waiting to beat yo- I mean greet you." I cringe as he steps aside and even takes my horse from me leaving me with no defense as my sisters approach with sweet smiles.
"Traitor." I hiss as Aerion escapes with quick steps but get no response from my half-brother.
"Balerion." They both echo one another in a short greeting with nothing but my name and a short nod of their heads.
"Dear Sisters I have gifts aplenty and tales as tall as the Wall up North to-." I stop noticing something off about Narha, my eyes widening as my mouth dries out. "Are you..." I try to find words but they are lost to me as I observe my sister.
"She is, you would know if you did not spend so much time away." Bellenora huffs and crosses her arms as I look at the 'bump' of my sister's stomach.
Narha is pregnant...
"I feel that I have missed more than I originally thought." I shake my head before stepping forward to embrace the both of them at once with my thoughts spinning.
"Well, you will be here for a while to catch up on all you have missed out on." Narha speaks up with her voice leaving no room for refusal and I can't help but nod in agreement as my heart warms.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Pretending_Author
Pretending_Author I am trying to move things along pretty quick to get to what I wanted for this fic.
Thanks for reading!!!
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