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Xandar, Essos
8th Moon of 57 AC
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"ROAAARR!"
A thunderous roar shattered the calm of the sky, sending birds scattering in every direction. The Xandarians—former Volantenes who were still not accustomed to the presence of dragons—looked up, surprised and enchanted in equal measure at the sight of the great black creature flying over the city.
Balerion soared through the skies of Xandar, each beat of his wings creating loud cracks like flexing whips, his body casting a massive shadow over the buildings. Further back, Dreamfyre followed, her silver-blue scales shimmering sweetly in the sun's rays.
On the saddle atop Balerion's back, Aerea leaned to one side, marvelling at everything her eyes could see. The enormous buildings, the gargantuan Temple rising in the center of the massive city, which, despite flying high on a dragon, was difficult to see the end of without squinting.
But what captivated her most was the fortress: Minas Tirith, as Caspian had named it in his letters. Its walls were white as milk, and its roofs a sea-green, like the color of the coasts at Dragonstone. So beautiful... everything was so beautiful.
In the distance, they spotted the place where they were to take their dragons—a sort of Dragonpit, a gigantic open-air complex suitable for even Balerion to land without issue.
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Both dragons landed, kicking up a trail of dust and making the ground tremble. People were already waiting for the riders. Kakho, Cakoqqo, Onno, and Qrano sat atop beautiful steeds, the four of them positioned behind Valka, who had come to receive Aerea and her mother. They had been invited to her wedding with Caspian, to be celebrated in two days.
She and Caspian had agreed to marry as a symbol of power and a future for a people who had seen many changes in recent days; the wedding was intended to convey stability and security in the days to come.
"Khaleesi," Aerea greeted Valka as she reached her and the group, offering a bow befitting Valka's status. "Princess Aerea," Valka returned the greeting with a nod before looking at Rhaena.
Rhaena was a very beautiful woman, even for her age; her eyes remained firm and her body strong, despite everything she had endured in her life. "Khaleesi," Rhaena properly greeted her, as Aerea had previously instructed.
Rhaena did not protest. Having spent weeks in Vaes Yeraan, mostly in the company of Dothraki, she had learned how much the horse lords venerated their Khal. Failing to address him—or in this case, his wife—correctly could lead to trouble.
"You must be tired. Come with me." Without saying more than necessary—a characteristic of Valka, who always got straight to the point—she steered her steed toward the castle, with the two guests following behind on horses that servants had previously prepared for them.
"The Khal is busy in meetings with the High Council and asked me to be your hostess. He will join us at dinner. In the meantime, I wish to speak with you, Princess Aerea," Valka initiated a small conversation mid-journey, causing Aerea to look at her mother upon hearing the last part.
"I would be delighted, Khaleesi."
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Valka led them to what appeared to be a greenhouse, a room with glass walls—something that made Rhaena look on in surprise. She, more than anyone, knew what glass cost, and beyond that, the quality of this glass was a thousand times greater than that of the glassmakers of Myr. This made her think not only of the Khal's wealth, which had already proven to be immense, but also of the fact that his people knew the secrets of glassmaking.
The room was large, filled with many well-tended orange plants. "This is one of my favorite places," Valka commented after telling Caspian's Bloodriders she would be fine and they could go to their Khal. "Caspian built it after I asked him. The oranges are sweet, and I have been able to make a very special tea with them. I even have bees that produce my own honey." She pointed to two large honeycombs hanging in an upper corner of the room, with many bees flying over flowering bushes.
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Valka did not beat around the bush; she asked her two companions to sit while she served tea in luxurious cups.
"Caspian is a good man and an excellent match," Valka commented, taking Aerea by surprise, who did not know he would be the topic of discussion. "I will marry him in two days, but that will not be enough. This is a kingdom, but at the rate it is going, it will be an Empire as large as Yi Ti, if not larger. Sons will be needed to share their father's burden."
Valka allowed a silent pause to form, taking a few sips of her tea and smiling with pleasure at the taste. "I know your situation with the King of Westeros. You are currently banished."
Rhaena watched Valka's expression closely. It was very difficult to read, nearly impossible. Even her tone of voice betrayed nothing—neither curiosity, nor pride, nor pity. "You are correct, Khaleesi. My brother is stubborn and is not known for being practical," Rhaena replied delicately, not wanting to speak against her brother but still making her point.
"What is your current plan?" Valka asked, and this time Rhaena did hear the interest in the question. "I ask because many would kill for two homeless dragon riders. They would give away palaces, fleets, cities—everything to seize part of the power of Old Valyria."
"I wish to stay in Xandar, Khaleesi," Aerea responded. "Your... sisters kept me from dying. The Khal provided the medicine to cure Balerion. That is a very large debt, which I am willing to pay."
Rhaena frowned, having not imagined the debt her daughter claimed to owe. "You owe nothing, girl," Valka said bluntly. "My sisters do as the Khal orders, and Caspian simply wasn't interested in having an uncontrolled dragon without a rider inside his walls." Aerea was surprised by Valka's frankness, as she didn't even stop to sugarcoat things in her favor.
"As for your stay in Xandar, there is no problem with that. I will get you a mansion in Goldflower for you and your mother. You will be part of the city's high nobility... or," Valka trailed off, making Aerea frown. "Or?"
"Caspian will have more than one wife; that much is obvious. And I would prefer he marry someone like you rather than someone from the Free Cities. You would have the full backing of the Xandarian crown. You will have the title of Khaleesi, as you do not possess a kingdom of your own, but you will enjoy all the privileges that come with being part of the Xandarian royalty."
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While Valka, Aerea, and Rhaena had their "ladies' talk," Caspian was heading to the Bastion, as the place where Endaxia rested was known—the same place where Balerion and Dreamfyre had landed an hour earlier.
In total, there were eight clearings. Clearing number 2 was where the two Valyrian dragons rested, while clearing number 1 belonged to Endaxia. But he wasn't going to see his dragon; he headed to clearing number 4, one of the smaller ones, though it was still twice the size of a baseball field.
The reason for my visit was to summon an animal large and strong enough to transport and move the carriages that would be used for trade between Xandar, its vassal cities, and the Free Cities.
While it could be done with horses, the number required would be overwhelming, not to mention they wouldn't be the most suitable animals. With the weight of each wagon, the cargo, and the Iron Golem, the weight would rise to nearly four tons. For horses to pull such a carriage without trouble, the number would have to be greater than twenty.
So, he decided on the Ravager—a quadrupedal creature, quite fast considering its large size, although hostile to people and specifically to the Iron Golems meant to protect the merchants. And although that might have given him enough reason not to follow that path, the need for creatures of that caliber to facilitate the venture motivated him to continue.
Upon arrival, he began building a concrete fence large enough to house nine horses with space to spare. With the cage ready, Caspian summoned the first Ravager of this world. In the space that was previously empty, a massive, dark brown beast materialized.
The Ravager was similar to a large bull, but besides the two large horns on its forehead, it also had one on each side of its cheeks, with other tusks protruding from its enormous mouth. It possessed incredible musculature and an even more astounding height, filling the cage at three and a half meters tall and nearly six meters long. The Ravager wore thick metal bracelets on its legs, a sort of metallic armor over its body, and a helm that fit its head perfectly.
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He knew that in the game, there was no clear way to domesticate a Ravager; however, he knew that using mods, it could be achieved; one only had to spur it and give it a name with a tag. The problem was that he was in the real world, not a game, and he didn't know if that would work. But he had nothing to lose, so, hoping for the best, he took a name tag from the menu, labeled it "#1," and, flying near the animal, placed the tag and...
It worked!
It had worked. Not only that, but just like with the wolves, he felt the presence of the imposing animal in his mind—its fierce bearing and threatening attitude manifesting within him. Now that he thought about it, it made him wonder if his connection with the domesticated Minecraft animals was like that of a warg. While he couldn't enter the minds of his wolves, he could feel where they were and how they felt, even giving them orders without needing to speak. It was like a mental connection; strange and complicated to explain, but he felt the same sensation with the Ravager.
Deciding the animal posed no danger, he began building a large two-meter-high corral to hold all the Ravagers he needed. A few minutes after finishing the summons and taming them using numbered tags, he needed to know if they still posed a danger to people, as their only known food in the game was villagers. Since this was real life, he assumed they would eat humans.
Not wanting to put anyone in danger, let alone feed them, he added two concrete walls to the cage at one end, leaving a wide path for three people to pass through easily. Then, he placed a thick metal fence against the wall connecting the path to the cage and decided to test it.
A few minutes later, a servant—who was a villager, a mason by his attire—passed through the hallway toward the cage of the first Ravager. The man was reluctant to approach the massive beast, aware that no matter how much it was locked in a four-meter-high concrete cage, it was still very dangerous.
The man walked slowly toward the designated spot. Upon arrival, using a stick, he struck the gate to make noise and draw the Ravager's attention. The beast didn't hesitate to approach once it saw him; however, contrary to what Caspian initially feared, the Ravager didn't try to break the fence to reach the villager. It simply watched him for a while until it grew bored and turned away.
The villager, seeing his task was done, retreated without a second thought, his relieved expression visible even from a distance. This made Caspian laugh. Now, all that remained was to figure out what to feed the Ravager, since human flesh was no longer an interest and was off the menu.
Flying into the cage, Caspian landed inside. The Ravager approached and began to sniff him, exhaling strong gusts of air from its nostrils. It continued sniffing for a while before moving even closer and offering the left side of its head, being careful not to hit Caspian with its horn.
Caspian understood its intention and scratched its jawline beneath the cheek horn, noticing the Ravager enjoyed it. Unable to suppress a smile, Caspian continued petting the great animal until it stepped back and stared at him.
"Are you hungry?" he asked, and for a moment, he thought it understood, as it even tilted its large, horned head to the side. "Alright, though I don't know what you eat, do I?"
Caspian showed its fruits and vegetables, like apples, watermelons, carrots, and even beets, but it ignored them. "Okay, no fruits or vegetables."
This time, he showed it cooked meat: beef, rabbit, and chops, but he ignored those, too. At this point, he didn't know what it ate until he remembered that villagers were alive... well, in the game, when the Ravager ate them, they were alive. So, what if it ate raw meat?
To test this, he pulled a piece of raw beef from the menu. As if something inside the beast woke up, its attitude changed; its nonchalance transformed into a calculating, attentive gaze. With its large black eyes fixed on the meat and its white teeth visible, Caspian knew he had hit the mark.
Not wanting to push his luck further, he offered the meat, which the Ravager practically snatched and swallowed in one bite.
"Hahaha!" Laughing with joy, he understood that Xandar now had meat-loving beasts in its arsenal, and he couldn't help but think of how they could be used beyond mere trade.