c33 – Sir Geoffrey
Right now,
Viserys was still in the exploratory stage of the Black Mist, and the road ahead was filled with uncertainty.
The mysterious power that appeared after he killed the sellswords was something he had never seen recorded in any book in the library of Dragonstone, nor had the castle's maester ever mentioned anything similar while teaching him about the history of House Targaryen.
Therefore, he wanted to actively test other possibilities,
even if they were not particularly useful right now… exploration was still the most important method for understanding this strange power.
Therefore,
"Let's give it a try."
Viserys pursed his lips, his pale violet eyes fixed on the final attribute within the Black Mist the option represented by the symbol of the moon in High Valyrian, which symbolized spiritual power and mental strength.
Among the ancient Valyrians, the moon represented the spirit, the soul, and the will.
In the culture of the Valyrian Freehold, the moon was often used as a metaphor for consciousness itself.
Thus, the High Valyrian word for "moon" could also refer to the soul or the strength of one's mind.
"My mental strength far surpasses that of ordinary people, and it has indeed given me special abilities."
When Viserys' Moon attribute reached 20, he awakened a strange ability he called the Eye of the Moment.
This power allowed him to briefly slow down everything moving within his field of vision.
In truth, the world did not actually slow down.
Instead, his mind processed information at an incredible speed, allowing him to instantly analyze and deconstruct the opponent's movements.
Because of that, the enemy's actions appeared to become sluggish and predictable, giving Viserys precious extra time to react.
This ability had already saved his life several times tonight.
Just moments ago, he had relied on it to dodge a flying axe thrown by one of the mercenaries sent to assassinate him men who might have been secretly serving Robert Baratheon, the king who had seized the Iron Throne after Robert's Rebellion.
If not for the Eye of the Moment, that spinning axe would have split his skull long ago.
Viserys understood the principle of using one's strengths while avoiding weaknesses.
Right now, his greatest strength was his mental powern something that clearly surpassed that of ordinary people.
He even looked forward to discovering what might happen if his mental strength continued to grow toward its peak.
Then,
Viserys carefully manipulated the wisp of black smoke he had absorbed earlier.
Under his control, it slowly merged into the larger mass of black mist.
The smoke twisted and condensed, transforming into a faint ray of pale moonlight.
The High Valyrian symbol representing the moon flickered briefly as it was wrapped in that dim glow.
And then…
nothing happened.
Viserys sat quietly on the cold stone floor, leaning against the corridor wall, staring at the sword resting in his hand.
Fortunately, the castle of Dragonstone was vast and eerily quiet at night.
Because Rhaegar Targaryen had always governed with restraint and because the island itself was poor compared to the wealthy castles of Westeros, the number of servants and guards stationed here was relatively small.
Even now, no one had discovered him sitting alone in this dark corridor.
Sir William, who had earlier chased one of the assassins through another passage, had not yet returned.
Otherwise, if someone suddenly saw the young prince sitting alone in the darkness with a bloodstained sword in his hand, staring blankly into space, they might easily think that the boy already burdened with the fall of his royal house had finally collapsed under the psychological pressure and was preparing to end his own life.
"As expected,"
Viserys said calmly.
His eyes remained fixed on the number 20 displayed beside the Moon attribute.
It had not changed at all.
However, his mind suddenly felt slightly clearer, as if a drop of cool morning dew had fallen upon his thoughts.
He blinked slowly.
There was no surprise in his expression.
Instead, there was only a quiet sense of confirmation as though the result had already been within his expectations.
He hadn't wasted the wisp of black smoke; instead, he'd used it to probe a result.
Although he'd roughly guessed the outcome, Viserys was extremely cautious with something as important as the mysterious black mist.
Ever since that strange power appeared after he killed the assassins inside Dragonstone, Viserys had treated it with extreme care.
He wouldn't rely on guesses.
He had to prove everything with actual experimentation.
And the result was exactly what he had expected.
The stronger one's abilities became, the harder it was for them to evolve further.
His mental strength had already far surpassed that of ordinary people perhaps the combined willpower of two, three, or even four grown men.
Therefore, his plan to rapidly push his mental strength to an even higher level had failed.
"I still need comprehensive development," Viserys murmured softly, taking a slow breath.
"And I don't know whether using the black mist will create hidden dangers."
After all, the power clearly had something to do with the ancient Valyrian Freehold, the lost empire destroyed during the catastrophic Doom of Valyria.
No one truly understood the forces connected to that ancient civilization.
However, Viserys had no real choice now.
If he did not rely on the advantages brought by the black mist, then for the foreseeable future it would be nearly impossible for him to change his fate.
Even with the help of this strange power, Viserys remained extremely vigilant.
He feared that, just like the fallen kings of House Targaryen, he might still fail to escape his destined tragedy and die in some unexpected way.
Because of that, he never dared to relax.
"Your Highness!"
"His Highness is here! Someone, come quickly!"
At that moment,
castle guards holding burning torches rushed through the stone corridors of Dragonstone.
The scraping sound of armor echoed against the walls, mixed with hurried footsteps as they searched every corner of the fortress.
Finally, they located Viserys by following the trail left behind during the battle.
All the mercenaries who had infiltrated the castle had been killed.
Only one man had briefly survived.
After a short interrogation, the man had been ordered executed by the castle's steward.
The butler—Sir Shad had arrived in great haste after hearing of the assassination attempt.
The steward appeared extremely anxious and filled with hatred toward the attackers, ordering the guards to kill them without mercy.
The final survivor had his throat slit and his body thrown into the sea below the cliffs of Dragonstone.
Meanwhile, the guards discovered that the bedroom of the young prince had also been attacked.
Two castle guards had been killed outside the door.
Both Viserys Targaryen and Rhaenys Targaryen were missing.
Immediately, Sir Shad ordered a full search of the entire castle.
The fortress was soon filled with shouting soldiers and torchlight.
Finally, one group of guards discovered a frightened Rhaenys hiding in the wine cellar beneath the castle kitchens.
Another team eventually located Viserys in one of the corridors.
...
The next morning.
The terror of the previous night had begun to fade.
Servants were busy cleaning the bloodstains from the stone floors of the castle.
All the bodies of the dead mercenaries had been thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
The corpse of the mercenary who had fallen from the cliff after Viserys cut his rope was discovered early that morning by fishermen preparing to sail near the shores of Dragonstone.
Viserys himself was also somewhat shaken by the events.
However, compared to the Queen and young Rhaenys, he appeared far calmer and more composed.
Even so, he had barely slept during the night.
His eyes were still bloodshot from exhaustion.
"Mother."
Inside the great chamber known as the Hall of the Table, located on the top floor of the Stone Tower of Dragonstone, Viserys greeted his mother politely before taking a seat beside her.
The famous painted war table of Aegon I Targaryen stood nearby, the carved map of Westeros stretching across its surface.
The exhausted silver-haired woman sitting in the main seat was Rhaella Targaryen.
She listened carefully to the report given by the commander of the Dragonstone fleet.
Although Viserys had been crowned "King" after the fall of the Targaryen dynasty during Robert's Rebellion, even the guards of Dragonstone did not truly address him as "Your Majesty."
Everyone understood the reality of the situation.
The title of king was little more than a formality.
Even if the Targaryens someday reclaimed the throne from Robert Baratheon, Viserys himself could not yet rule.
He was still a child.
Until he came of age, his mother would serve as regent.
Therefore, Viserys sat obediently beside Queen Rhaella.
His knees were pressed together, his hands resting neatly on them.
His long eyelashes fluttered slightly while his eyes remained lowered, giving him the appearance of a quiet and well-behaved child.
However, the commander of the Dragonstone fleet an elderly man with white hair and beard paused slightly when he noticed Viserys entering the room.
The old knight's eyes carried a hint of curiosity.
He had been reporting to Queen Rhaella about the losses suffered by the Dragonstone fleet during the night.
Although the attackers had ultimately been repelled, the fleet guarding the island had inevitably suffered some damage during the attempted infiltration.
At the same time, the commander had also heard rumors about the events inside the castle.
The young prince, only seven years old, had somehow managed to kill three ruthless sellswords during the attack.
"Your Highness," the fleet commander said respectfully, inclining his head.
This man was Sir Geoffrey, the commander responsible for the ships defending Dragonstone.
"Sir Geoffrey," Viserys replied with a polite nod.
This was the first time Viserys had personally met the knight since arriving on Dragonstone.
Sir Geoffrey commanded the fleet but had never formally come to pay his respects to Queen Rhaella or the young prince after their arrival.
For reasons Viserys did not yet understand, his mother had also never summoned the man before this moment.
.....