Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

Baelor Targaryen, known as "Baelor the Blessed," was the King of the Seven Kingdoms and a devout follower of the Faith of the Seven.

What left the deepest impression on Daenerys was the tower Baelor built within the Red Keep, known as the "Maidenvault."

And what was the purpose of the Maidenvault?

To imprison his sisters.

The Targaryens had a tradition of sibling marriages, but such incestuous unions were strictly forbidden by the doctrine of the Faith of the Seven.

Thus, Baelor annulled his betrothal to his sister Daena and took a monk's vow of chastity, swearing to remain celibate and never marry again.

This in itself was not unprecedented—emperors turning to monastic life wasn't unheard of.

The issue was that his three sisters—Daena, Rhaena, and Elaena—were all young, beautiful, and full of charm, carrying the famed beauty of the Targaryen bloodline.

Baelor, being a normal man, found himself drawn to them.

However, his extreme piety and position as the High Septon of the Faith drove him to suppress his desires relentlessly. To resist the "temptation" of his sisters (who likely had no such intentions toward him), Baelor constructed the Maidenvault in the Red Keep and locked them away.

—"Stay away, foul temptresses! You shall not corrupt this holy man!"

He didn't just refuse to touch them; he also forbade any other man from approaching them, claiming it was to protect their purity from the lust of men and the evils of the world.

Knowing Baelor's nature, he likely genuinely believed this was for the best—for them to ascend to heaven together in purity.

Baelor later went even further, declaring the practice of prostitution illegal. He expelled all prostitutes and their children from King's Landing.

He also proclaimed that under the Seven, all people were equal, famously making a noble lord wash the feet of a leper.

To commune with the gods and gain insight into the true meaning of the Faith's doctrine, he often engaged in "spiritual retreats," locking himself in the Great Sept without food or water.

In the end, he starved himself to death.

Saint Baelor's deeds were numerous. It could almost be said that if the Faith of the Seven is like Christianity, then Baelor was akin to Saint Peter, the foremost of Jesus's twelve apostles. Burning books on magic? That was a minor offense for him.

"Sigh, what a pity. Knowledge is priceless and innocent," Daenerys lamented.

At this point, Doreah, the handmaid who had been silently listening, spoke up. "Khaleesi, dragons came from the moon."

"Oh?" Daenerys laughed, amused. "You've studied the origins of dragons?"

The Dothraki girl straightened her face and said seriously, "There were once two moons in the sky. One got too close to the sun, couldn't bear the heat, and cracked open like an egg. Millions of dragons poured out."

"Everyone knows this," she added hastily after finishing.

"Haha! Do you know how far the moon is from the earth? A dragon could fly its entire life and never reach the ground. And the conditions beyond the sky are too harsh for even dragons to survive," Daenerys said, shaking her head.

Then a thought struck her, and she asked, "Everyone knows this legend?"

"Even the Qartheen know it," Doreah replied quickly.

Daenerys glanced at Jorah, Whitebeard, and Belwas. "Do you know this story?"

"I don't," Jorah and Whitebeard both said, shaking their heads.

"I've heard similar myths in Meereen," Belwas said, scratching his head uncertainly.

Daenerys fell into deep thought. The Dothraki, Qartheen, and Meereenese were three distinct cultures with different beliefs. If a legend was universally acknowledged among them, there might be some truth to it.

What if there really had been two moons?

This idea didn't contradict celestial mechanics. Planets with multiple moons were common. In fact, planets with only one moon, like Earth, were rare.

What if one of the moons disappeared—or rather, what if the celestial body close to the sun really was a moon?

Or could it have been another star, farther away?

The most notable feature of a trinary star system is the complete unpredictability of planetary seasons.

This…

Well, Daenerys's thoughts were spiraling. Even if the "second moon" was a star, a binary star system would suffice.

She could only hope that what the Valyrian sorcerers claimed was true—that gods existed in this world. In the end, perhaps the greenseers were as overpowered as described in the tales. Maybe she could find the truth about this world through them.

As soon as the thought arose, Daenerys chuckled self-deprecatingly. Even if she understood how this star system functioned, what use would it be to her?

The fleet stayed at New Ghis for three days. On the fourth day, as the sails filled with wind, Captain Groleo gave the order, and the long iron anchor was slowly pulled from the sea with a creak of the capstan.

The fleet resumed its westward voyage, leaving the tiny New Ghis behind.

Before departure, they sent a small boat to the harbor to purchase some fruits, vegetables, and medicine.

"The black dragon hasn't returned yet. Shouldn't we wait for it?" Blackbeard asked worriedly, scanning the skies before turning to Daenerys.

The black dragon seemed to disdain its two smaller siblings, the white and green dragons, like a top student looking down on underachievers.

It often roamed alone, spending the last few days hunting goats and fat cattle inland on Baan Isle—livestock raised by the New Ghis people.

The white and green dragons, with less endurance, didn't dare stray far from Daenerys, instead catching flying fish that leapt from the sea near the ship.

"There's no need to wait. Dragons can sense where I am, and he'll come to me on his own," Daenerys replied.

Since devouring a semi-divine faith spirit in the House of Dust, the black dragon had not only grown smarter but also larger at an astonishing pace, like crops doused with magical fertilizer.

And such growth required massive amounts of food. With limited provisions on the ship, the black dragon had no choice but to hunt in the wild.

Sure enough, two days later, the sailors on the deck noticed the sky above darken, as though a massive cloud had blocked the sun. Looking up, they shouted in awe and fear.

A black dragon, the size of a small horse, spread its wings—ten meters long and four or five meters wide.

It suddenly folded its wings tightly, diving like a missile with a sharp whistle.

"Splash!"

A graceful arc of water rose, minimal enough to win gold in a diving competition.

"Gurgle, gurgle!"

Beneath the blue sea, white steam and black smoke churned. The small patch of ocean resembled a boiling pot.

After half a minute, the water exploded upwards in a towering spray over ten meters high. A shadow darted out of the frothy sea.

The black dragon hovered about four or five meters above the water, shaking droplets from its wings before letting out a piercing screech and soaring into the sky.

Jorah, leaning over the ship's rail, frowned. "What's it doing? Taking a bath?"

Before he finished speaking, a white form slowly floated up from the deep blue depths—a fifteen-meter-long beluga whale.

Its belly was exposed, the creamy white head scorched and charred, with black blood flowing in every direction. It was a scene of utter devastation.

"Seven hells!" Jorah exclaimed in shock. "The black dragon actually killed a sea monster!"

Daenerys snapped, "Why would you call it a sea monster? It's a whale, the gentlest of the ocean's creatures."

"But the black dragon isn't even half a year old. Imagine what it could do at a hundred—it would easily kill a sea monster then," Jorah countered earnestly. "It seems the legends are true—dragons prey on sea monsters."

"Seven save us! The black dragon just killed a massive whale!" a sailor shouted, drawing a crowd to the railings.

"Drop the grappling hooks! Someone go down and secure the whale!" Captain Groleo barked after glancing at the whale's drifting carcass near the ship's stern.

Daenerys shooed her three eager dragons away and instructed the sailors to carve the enormous whale into pieces. Standing at the stern, she grabbed a chunk of blood-soaked whale meat from the pile and flung it into the sky.

"Roar—whoosh!"

A jet of flame burst from the black dragon's mouth, instantly charring the meat. Before it could fall, the dragon's sharp-toothed jaws snapped it up midair.

Daenerys bent down to grab another piece, repeating the process, while the white and green dragons tussled nearby, competing for food.

"Princess! Princess!" Jorah called from the bridge, waving urgently at Daenerys.

She handed the task of feeding the dragons to Qhisi, washing the blood off her hands in a bucket of seawater hanging by the ship's side, and hurried to the third-floor platform.

Other than Daenerys, Qhisi, the Dothraki warrior, was the closest person to the dragons.

Feeding dragons helped establish a bond with them, and Daenerys had appointed Qhisi as the dragons' guardian. To ensure their relationship remained amicable, she often delegated feeding duties to him.

The Saduleon resembled a massive treasure ship, similar to those used by Zheng He during the Ming Dynasty's voyages, with a hull larger than Spanish galleons.

Its bridge featured an open-air platform for steering and managing the sails.

Belwas squatted nearby, munching on skewers of golden-brown roasted whale meat. His narrow studded vest was smeared with grease, but he didn't care, happily devouring his meal.

Jorah, Groleo, and Whitebeard stood with grim expressions, having seemingly argued earlier.

"Princess, we'll reach the Valyrian Sea in a day. We must change course immediately!" Jorah said gravely.

He had discussed this with Daenerys many times before. Though she agreed with the idea of buying Unsullied soldiers in Slaver's Bay, she had yet to order Groleo to alter their route.

"Princess, both Illyrio and the people of the Seven Kingdoms are waiting for you!" Groleo urged with a frown.

He wasn't foolish. Jorah's plan to head to Slaver's Bay wasn't new, and it seemed the princess had known about it for some time.

"Princess, you are the rightful queen. Westeros is in chaos—its kings warring, industries in ruins, and people suffering. They need you to restore order," Whitebeard added, his tone imploring.

Daenerys hesitated, glancing at them before asking Jorah, "What do you think?"

Jorah laughed coldly at Whitebeard. "You've spent these days showcasing your knowledge and experience to the princess, even demonstrating expertise on dragons. Why, then, feign ignorance and push her toward her death in Westeros?"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Whitebeard's white beard bristled with indignation.

"Hmph, with your experience, don't you understand that aside from three immature dragons and her Targaryen name, the princess has no resources to fight for the throne?"

(End of Chapter)

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