After the pterosaurs flew in from the "White Blade River Air Force Base," Er Lu took Aunt Mei and left Winterfell.
Jon led a group of Northern nobles to see the King off, while Dany, after receiving Aunt Mei's gift, immediately began reading it on the spot.
"You were right. A domain really should be comprehended by oneself." After a while, Dany moved her gaze away from the thin parchment. She frowned in thought for a moment and sighed. "I'm self-taught and lack systematic instruction. Having come this far and formed my own style, it's actually difficult for me to learn other schools now."
Melisandre had been quite generous. Since she had given away the secret manual, she held nothing back. The entire process of how a fire sorcerer advances to demigodhood, as well as the realms beyond demigod, were all recorded in the parchment scroll.
It differed somewhat from what Dany had previously imagined. After becoming a demigod, one indeed needs to study divinity that matches the attributes of one's meditation method. However, what they truly research is the "polarity" of their meditation method.
So-called polarity refers to the characteristic that emerges when a particular law is studied to its ultimate extreme.
It is like studying chemistry in high school. When you reach university, if you are interested in chemistry, you choose the School of Chemistry for further study. Yet within the school there are subdivisions such as inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, polymer science, chemical materials, and many other departments.
If you then choose the Department of Materials Science within the School of Chemistry, by your third or fourth year, or during graduate studies, you will select a specific research project within that department.
For example, fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and polymer membranes all belong to the materials department.
Extraordinary individuals are also scholars. The projects they research are the laws of the universe.
When one studies a law to its ultimate limit and sings the Song of Law, one achieves the position of a true god.
During the process of comprehending the Song of Law, a true god will develop the polarity of that song according to their talents, traits, and preferences, much like university students choosing a specialty based on aptitude, interests, and employment prospects.
Dany, Sheep Egg, and R'hllor represent the future, present, and past controllers of the Song of Fire, respectively. Each of them possesses their own polarity of fire.
Dany's polarity of fire is creation within flame.
R'hllor's polarity of fire is the most primitive "instinct of fire," the greed within the saying "invasion like fire."
The greed of fire.
Sheep Egg's polarity of fire is the frenzy of fire.
At present, the supernatural world widely acknowledges that the Valyrian Archmage Meditation Method is the most advanced fire meditation method in existence.
In fact, the meditation method of the red-robed priests is not inferior to that of the archmages. The difference lies only in their polarities.
In the end, both the archmage meditation method and the fire meditation method of the Red God priests were created by true gods, and both take the true god's Song of Fire as their ultimate evolutionary destination.
After cultivating a true god's meditation method to the demigod level, practitioners begin to research the polarity of that meditation method, which is essentially the polarity of the true god's Song of Law.
Using the polarity of a true god's law to simulate the true god's divine kingdom is what is known as a domain.
To put it plainly, a true god who sings the Song of Law essentially represents a law of the world itself.
Where a true god resides, the elements of their law naturally become active, as if it were their own kingdom.
For example, around the Fire God there is an abundance of fire elements, and all fire elements fall under the Fire God's will.
The range that the Fire God can freely control becomes their divine kingdom.
If a demigod cultivates the Fire God's meditation method and deeply studies the Fire God's fire polarity, they can simulate a "copycat divine kingdom," which is the fire domain Dany longs for.
If the one who sings the Song of Law is a towering tree, then extraordinary beings who cultivate a true god's meditation method are the vines climbing upon that tree.
"I can't walk R'hllor's path. As for Sheep Egg's archmage meditation method, I've already taken it down another road."
"If I don't study the ultimate fire principles of those two, then naturally I cannot simulate their divine kingdoms," Dany said helplessly.
"In truth, a person doesn't necessarily have to master only one ultimate principle of law. Ultimate principles are both talent and knowledge," Bran said.
"That's not wrong, but the timing isn't right. If I fully complete my own Song of Fire first and then study the ultimate principles of R'hllor and Sheep Egg, learning from their strengths to compensate for my weaknesses, I would certainly be able to go even further."
"But right now I haven't even fully mastered my own talents. How would I have the time and energy to draw upon the strengths of others?"
"Then use your own fire polarity to develop a domain," Bran said solemnly.
Dany clenched the red-robed woman's parchment scroll and nodded with a heavy expression. "Although it will be difficult, it seems this is the only choice."
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Amid the startled cries of the guards, a black torrent poured through the ice tunnel into the snow-and-ice castle. Beneath the dazzling crystalline sky, it spread into a cloud of darkness.
It was a massive flock of crows.
"In half a year, you should be able to have a thousand fire spirits and a thousand wind spirits, right?" Bran asked.
"If I work harder, it should be possible."
Bran had a clever method for distinguishing the elemental attributes of the crows. From among the four thousand crows, he separated a portion of consciousness belonging to the Children of the Forest crows, blending it with his own awareness. Then he burned that thought within the Dragon Queen's flames.
Because his own consciousness was inside that thought, he could distinguish how sensitive the Children of the Forest crows were to fire and wind elements.
It took only half an hour for two thousand large crows with blinking red and golden eyes to gather beside Dany.
Drogon breathed dragonfire. Under Dany's control, the two thousand crows were burned to ashes, leaving only their spirit bodies to enter the faith space.
With practiced ease, she flipped her hand and grabbed a crow's soul body, burning it until it cawed loudly.
Right in front of Bran, she burned them repeatedly for nearly an hour.
With a soft bang, a small spirit with clear, pure eyes, golden hair in twin ponytails, was born.
"Mother Goddess…"
The little spirit flapped dragonfly-like wings and looked timidly at the Dragon Queen as it spoke.
Dany gently stroked her apple-sized rosy cheeks and said with a smile, "Look at your golden hair. I'll call you Loquat!"
"Hee hee hee, thank you, Mother Goddess. I'll be called Loquat!" Loquat rubbed her chubby face vigorously against Dany's palm, overjoyed.
After Loquat entered the Seven Gods' faith space to attend Big Sister Xiao Wu's training class, Bran said gloomily, "Shuiche said earlier that the original name should be kept."
"All fire sprites use fruit names. That's the rule! Come on, let's go to the Wall. Once your spine is healed, I'll return to Slaver's Bay."
Having obtained the Red Priestess's secret manual and acquired two thousand great ravens, the Dragon Queen was in quite a good mood.
After hesitating for a moment, Bran spoke with difficulty, "Do you understand Sansa's thoughts?"
The topic changed a little too quickly. Dany paused for a moment before replying, "What plan does she have now?"
"She…" Bran repeatedly chewed on bitterness and helplessness as he spoke. "She is different from the other Starks. Her personality, her experiences after leaving Winterfell, and the teachings of Cersei and Littlefinger have filled her heart with a desire for power."
Dany glanced lightly at the great raven on the windowsill and sneered inwardly. Different from the other Starks? As if. I refuse to believe you don't know what your grandfather once did.
The Starks have never been more indifferent to fame and power than the other noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms.
Or rather, if the protagonist's destiny and halo are stripped away, the Starks are simply ordinary players in the game of thrones.
Eddard lacked a desire for power only because he was born a second son and received the upbringing of a second son.
If Brandon had replaced Eddard, the one who eventually sat on the Iron Throne might not have been Robert at all. It could very well have been a Stark.
Among the alliance of the four houses, Baratheon, Tully, Arryn, and Stark, the leader was Jon Arryn, known as the "most righteous foster father of the Seven Kingdoms," while Eddard and Robert held equal standing.
The first to enter King's Landing was Stark. Yet when Eddard saw the Iron Throne within arm's reach, he handed it over to Robert without the slightest hesitation. Jaime, who stood nearby, was stunned.
"Get to the point. I don't have time to waste," Dany said impatiently.
"Sansa has designs on the Iron Throne," Bran sighed.
"So?"
"She once asked Arya to swear loyalty to her," Bran said softly.
Dany suddenly understood. "You mean she thinks that since Arya killed the Night King, the Iron Throne should belong to her? Why didn't she say this to me herself?"
"If she were still that innocent eldest Stark princess, she certainly would have. Now, this thought in her heart hasn't even been revealed to anyone, but I know what she's thinking."
Bran sounded like an incompetent old father worn down by worry for his daughter. His voice was filled with exhaustion, helplessness, and frustration.
"Since it's only a thought and she hasn't said anything or taken action, what are you worried about? She may have ambition, but she also knows her limits," Dany said in confusion.
"I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about you, about how you will view her and her actions." The great raven's eyes burned as it stared straight into Dany's.
"You're overthinking it. Anyone in the Seven Kingdoms who wants to compete for the Iron Throne will be treated the same by me. I have no prejudice," Dany said with a faint smile.
After thinking for a moment, she added, "How about this? Let's quantify the oath that 'whoever ends the Long Night becomes king.' We'll determine the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms according to the final score.
The Night King did indeed die at Arya's hands. Total score: ten points. Sansa gets five points. The two Baratheons fought desperately, so they get three points. I also did my best, so I'll take two."
"What do you think?" Dany asked with a smile.
"That's meaningless. The only human capable of summoning the sun and ending the Long Night is you," Bran said dismissively.
"Summoning the sun and dealing with the Cold God are simply the duties of the Child of the Epoch. They don't count in the wager," Dany said.
If she could truly summon the sun and defeat the Cold God, to what level would she have grown?
A being of that level competing with a group of mortals in the muck for that iron chair that pokes people's backsides would be rather beneath her dignity.
"Do you truly not care at all about the glory left by your Targaryen ancestors? The Iron Throne is not just an iron chair. Like Winterfell, it is a family legacy!"
Even though Bran knew that the Dragon Queen felt little attachment to Westeros and did not strongly desire the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, he still could not understand her way of thinking.
Jon had broken his vows for the Stark family. Tyrion had plotted tirelessly for the sake of the Lannisters. Stannis had pursued the legitimacy of the Baratheon dynasty with unwavering determination.
Those were the kinds of actions that aligned with Bran's worldview and values.
"You're not wrong. King's Landing and the surrounding Crownlands were all developed by the Targaryens. They are the ancestral domain of House Targaryen, just as the North is the land of the Starks."
Dany sighed with emotion. "I don't care about that bit of ancestral property, but I also don't want to be a prodigal heir. Whoever becomes the King of the Seven Kingdoms in the future will have to find a new capital.
King's Landing will become the family castle of the Targaryens, just like Winterfell and Storm's End."
"That's not what I meant," Bran said awkwardly.
The two of them were standing beside the stables in a corner of the training yard when Jon led a group of soldiers toward the city gate.
Every two soldiers carried a corpse, and beside them were Northern civilians and soldiers wailing in grief.
"I'm going to hold a collective funeral for the soldiers and civilians who died in Winterfell. A cremation," Jon explained when he saw the Dragon Queen looking over.
Dany nodded. "I'll have Drogon light the fire for you."
And absorb a wave of spiritual essence while she was at it.
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly caught sight of an unusually conspicuous cloak with a blazing red heart.
(End of Chapter)
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