Chapter 50: Egg Incubation Begins
POV: Corwyn Darke
The Scholar's Sanctum's lowest level had been designed for storage, but it would serve a different purpose now.
I descended the stone stairs carefully, the egg cradled against my chest, its warmth seeping through my doublet. Behind me, Maester Harlan and Scholar Aldric followed with lanterns and equipment—everything needed to establish what might be the most important room in my domain.
"Here." I stopped at the chamber I'd identified weeks ago, before the journey to Driftmark. "This space will work."
The room was perhaps twenty feet square, with thick stone walls and no windows. A single door, heavy oak reinforced with iron, provided the only access. The ceiling was vaulted, the floor smooth stone that would retain heat.
"My lord..." Aldric's voice carried awe as he examined the egg. "It's real. An actual dragon egg."
"It's real and it's dormant. Our job is to change the second condition." I set the egg carefully on a padded stand I'd had prepared. "Tell me what we know about hatching."
[ 🐉 INCUBATION SETUP: INITIATING ]
[ REQUIREMENTS: ]
[ - CONSTANT HIGH TEMPERATURE (90-110°F) ]
[ - CONTROLLED HUMIDITY (60-70%) ]
[ - PERIODIC FLAME EXPOSURE ]
[ - VALYRIAN BLOOD PROXIMITY (UNCERTAIN) ]
[ CURRENT VIABILITY: 23% ]
[ TARGET VIABILITY: 75%+ (HATCHING THRESHOLD) ]
Aldric consulted his research notes, accumulated over months of obsessive study. "Temperature appears critical. Dragon eggs in successful hatchings were kept extremely hot—sometimes directly in fires. The Targaryens traditionally place eggs in infant cradles, using body heat combined with braziers."
"We don't have Targaryen infants. What else?"
"Fire exposure. Direct flame contact seems to stimulate something within viable eggs. The texts are unclear on frequency, but regular exposure appears beneficial."
"And the blood factor?"
Aldric hesitated. "The research suggests Valyrian blood is necessary for hatching—but 'necessary' may not mean 'exclusive.' Some texts hint at alternative approaches, blood magic rituals that might substitute for natural bloodline connection."
POV: Maester Harlan
The incubation chamber took three days to complete.
Harlan supervised the installation of a specially designed furnace—a masterwork of iron and firebrick that could maintain constant high temperatures without risk of uncontrolled combustion. Ventilation channels prevented smoke accumulation while preserving heat. A water system maintained humidity at levels the research suggested were optimal.
"The expense is considerable," Harlan noted, reviewing the costs. "Nearly eight hundred gold for equipment and modifications."
"The egg cost nothing in gold. We can afford to invest in proper infrastructure." Lord Corwyn examined the chamber with the same critical attention he gave every project. "If this works, eight hundred gold will seem trivial. If it doesn't, we've lost money we can afford to lose."
"And if it works?" Harlan asked the question that had haunted him since learning of the egg's acquisition. "A dragon, my lord. The implications are..."
"Transformative. I know." Lord Corwyn moved to the egg's resting place—a cushioned pedestal positioned near the furnace's radiating heat. "Which is why this stays secret. You, Aldric, Septon Myles, Master Yorick—no one else knows. Not Gareth, not Mira, not anyone outside the Sanctum."
"Ser Gareth will notice your increased time in the Sanctum."
"He'll assume I'm pursuing scholarly interests. Let him." Lord Corwyn's expression was unreadable. "This is too important, too fragile, and too dangerous to share beyond absolute necessity."
[ 🔒 SECURITY PROTOCOL: MAXIMUM ]
[ PERSONNEL WITH KNOWLEDGE: 4 ]
[ LORD CORWYN DARKE ]
[ MAESTER HARLAN ]
[ SCHOLAR ALDRIC ]
[ SEPTON MYLES ]
[ CLASSIFICATION: ABSOLUTE SECRET ]
POV: Corwyn Darke
The first weeks of incubation produced frustratingly modest results.
I visited the chamber daily—sometimes twice daily—checking temperature readings, adjusting humidity, examining the egg for any sign of change. The System tracked viability with precision I couldn't have achieved through observation alone.
[ 🐉 INCUBATION PROGRESS: WEEK 2 ]
[ TEMPERATURE: 98°F (OPTIMAL) ]
[ HUMIDITY: 65% (OPTIMAL) ]
[ VIABILITY: 24% (+1%) ]
[ CHANGE RATE: VERY SLOW ]
[ ESTIMATED TIME TO THRESHOLD: 18-24 MONTHS ]
One percent improvement in two weeks. At this rate, reaching hatching viability would take years—if it was possible at all.
"The flame exposure," Aldric suggested during one of our review sessions. "We've been cautious, using brief exposure twice weekly. The texts suggest more aggressive treatment might accelerate progress."
"Or damage the egg irreparably."
"That's the risk." Aldric spread his research notes across the chamber's small table. "But consider: this egg has been dormant for fifty-three years. Whatever process keeps it viable is incredibly robust. A little fire won't destroy it—fire is what dragons are."
I considered the argument, weighing risk against potential benefit. The System provided analysis but no recommendation—this was beyond its certainty parameters.
"Increase to daily exposure. Fifteen minutes, direct contact with controlled flame." I made the decision, accepting responsibility for whatever followed. "We'll monitor for negative effects and adjust if necessary."
[ 🔥 FLAME EXPOSURE PROTOCOL: UPDATED ]
[ FREQUENCY: DAILY (INCREASED) ]
[ DURATION: 15 MINUTES ]
[ RISK ASSESSMENT: MODERATE ]
[ MONITORING: CONTINUOUS ]
POV: Scholar Aldric
The increased flame exposure produced measurable results.
Aldric recorded the changes meticulously, maintaining logs that tracked every variable affecting the egg's condition. Temperature fluctuations, humidity variations, flame exposure duration, even atmospheric pressure when storms passed over Duskhollow.
"Viability increased three percent in the past week," he reported to Lord Darke during their monthly review. "Twenty-eight percent total. Still far below hatching threshold, but the rate of improvement has doubled."
"The flame treatment is working."
"Appears to be. Though I wonder..." Aldric hesitated, uncertain how his lord would receive the next suggestion.
"Speak freely."
"The blood factor. We've addressed temperature and flame, but not the third element. Every successful hatching in recorded history involved Valyrian blood proximity—Targaryen children sleeping with eggs, blood rituals during incubation, dragonlord presence during hatching."
"I don't have Valyrian blood."
"No, my lord. But the research suggests alternatives might exist." Aldric produced a text he'd been studying intensively. "This fragment describes pre-Doom practices—blood offerings to eggs, not from dragonlords themselves, but from... willing participants. The blood wasn't Valyrian, but it was given freely, with specific intention."
[ 📚 RESEARCH DISCOVERY ]
[ TOPIC: BLOOD OFFERING METHODOLOGY ]
[ SOURCE: PRE-DOOM VALYRIAN FRAGMENT ]
[ RELEVANCE: HIGH ]
[ RISK: UNCERTAIN ]
[ NOTE: BLOOD MAGIC IMPLICATIONS ]
Lord Darke examined the text with the focused intensity he brought to everything. "You're suggesting I offer my own blood to the egg."
"I'm suggesting we try everything that might work. We have optimal temperature, regular flame exposure, and still only twenty-eight percent viability. Something is missing. Blood might be that something."
The silence stretched for several heartbeats. Then Lord Darke nodded slowly.
"We'll try it. Small amounts, controlled exposure. Document everything."
POV: Corwyn Darke
The blood offering became part of the daily ritual.
Each morning, before the flame exposure, I drew a small amount of blood from my palm and let it fall onto the egg's shell. The droplets seemed to absorb into the surface rather than running off—perhaps imagination, perhaps something more significant.
[ 🐉 INCUBATION PROGRESS: MONTH 3 ]
[ TEMPERATURE: 100°F (OPTIMAL) ]
[ HUMIDITY: 67% (OPTIMAL) ]
[ FLAME EXPOSURE: DAILY ]
[ BLOOD OFFERING: DAILY ]
[ VIABILITY: 35% (+12% FROM BASELINE) ]
[ CHANGE RATE: ACCELERATING ]
Thirty-five percent. The combination of treatments was working—slowly, incrementally, but working. The System tracked progress that would have been invisible to normal observation, confirming that the egg was responding to our interventions.
"Two years at this rate. Maybe less if the acceleration continues. A dragon in two years..."
The thought was intoxicating and terrifying in equal measure. A dragon would change everything—my status, my capabilities, my relationship with every power in Westeros. The Targaryens would notice. The factions would reassess. Everything would shift around this single creature's existence.
Late nights found me in the incubation chamber, watching flames reflect off the pale blue shell. The egg seemed different now—warmer, somehow more present, as if something inside was beginning to stir.
"You're in there," I murmured, voice low enough that only I could hear. "And you're going to wake up. I don't know how long it will take, but you're going to wake up, and we're going to change everything together."
The egg didn't respond. But the viability meter crept upward, imperceptible day by day, undeniable month by month.
Progress was possible. Patience was required. And somewhere in that pale blue shell, a dragon was slowly coming to life.
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