Chapter 353: Dragonlord Sword
"Can we stop with the 'Lightbringer' talk all day? It's just a Valyrian steel sword." Egger was not at all surprised by the witch's reaction. Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, he spoke weakly, trying to dampen Melisandre's enthusiasm. He applied a bit of force to draw the blade slightly further, revealing a section of the edge to bolster his point: "See? It's neither glowing nor hot."
"Do you take me for some village crone who has never seen Valyrian steel?" Melisandre narrowed her eyes, her expression instantly becoming both dangerous and bewitching. "From Asshai to Slaver's Bay, from the Free Cities to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros... there are hundreds of Valyrian steel swords remaining in the two continents. The Red Temple in Volantis once kept one in its care. I have seen more Valyrian steel blades than you can name... yet you hold this one in your hand, its surrounding magic surging stronger than the dozens I have seen combined, and you describe it as 'just a Valyrian steel sword'?"
Egger was taken aback. He looked down to re-examine the blade but saw nothing out of the ordinary—after all, this was indeed only the second Valyrian steel blade he had ever encountered.
He and the Red Woman had shared countless deep exchanges in every sense of the word. While they weren't entirely transparent with each other, they had built a degree of mutual trust and understanding. Melisandre was skilled at using tricks and rhetoric to gain trust or awe—to put it simply, she was a master of persuasion—but whether by temperament or religious mandate, she rarely told a straightforward lie without artistic embellishment. At least, he had never caught her in one.
Could this sword truly be different from other Valyrian steel blades?
Melisandre asked immediately with a stern expression, "What is the name of this sword?"
"Dark Sister."
"Dark Sister?" Melisandre repeated the name. After a moment of thought, she quickly recalled the sword's origin. "The blade belonging to Aegon the Conqueror's sister, Visenya Targaryen?"
"Exactly."
"This sword was beyond the Wall? Interesting, hmm... it seems the rumor I once heard is likely true." After a moment of contemplation, the Red Woman glanced at the guards following Egger and hesitated. "Have your men withdraw."
Though filled with doubts, Egger nodded to his men, signaling them to stand further away to give him and Melisandre space for a private conversation.
Once the soldiers were far enough away, Melisandre spoke again: "This is no ordinary Valyrian steel sword. This is a Dragonlord sword."
Oh, so it's going to be like that? Do I have to ask what a Dragonlord sword is before you'll continue? Egger shrugged helplessly, playing along with her performance: "What's the difference? Explain it to me."
"Valyrian steel has been branded as a magical metal since its inception. It has another name: 'Dragonsteel.' For a long time, people believed the name came from the inclusion of dragonbone during the forging process, but the real reason is less complicated. Valyrian steel was a metal that only the highest Dragonlords of the Freehold were entitled to commission and use; hence the name. But why would a rare resource exclusive to the most powerful and high-status group in a mighty empire be sold openly to outsiders shortly after its creation? They sold it at fixed prices not just to the elites of their colonies, but to countless kings great and small in Westeros, with whom they had no interaction across the Narrow Sea. Does that seem logical to you?"
Hearing this, Egger could roughly guess what Melisandre was getting at. "Are you saying that the Valyrian steel sold abroad isn't the real Valyrian steel?"
"I don't know. No one can produce evidence, because no one has ever been able to take a Dragonlord sword and compare it to a common Valyrian steel blade." The Red Woman shook her head. "The Valyrian steel swords purchased by outsiders possess all the characteristics of legendary dragonsteel weapons: they are incredibly tough, sharp, light, and imbued with magic. Since the product matches every feature claimed by the seller, from what angle could anyone accuse it of being fake? When Valyria was at its peak, no one dared to question them publicly. After the Doom, almost all the Dragonlord swords were buried with the Freehold. No one has had the chance to verify this suspicion until today—when I finally see a true Dragonlord sword."
Egger then recalled that while the Targaryens weren't among the top-tier core rulers, they were indeed one of the orthodox Dragonlord families of the Valyrian Freehold. If Valyrian steel truly had high-grade and low-grade versions, the blades held by Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters were definitely the Internal Edition!
Dark Sister wasn't just a common Valyrian steel sword; it was a true Dragonsteel sword! The two might be physically identical in composition and similar in properties, but there must be a difference in some final, critical step—perhaps the success of the enchantment or whether it underwent that most important process. In short, they were not the same!
"Do you know the cause of the difference between them?"
"I don't, but I can guess. It is said that in the final step of forging a true Dragonlord sword... the master smith would notify the owner who commissioned it. Then, that Valyrian Dragonlord would arrive in person on dragonback to quench and strengthen it with their own blood." As if facing a rare treasure, Melisandre cautiously reached out a slender, heat-radiating hand and gently brushed the small portion of Dark Sister's blade that Egger had drawn from the scabbard. "How could the noble Dragonlords use their own limited blood to enchant someone else's sword? Smiths in Qohor once tried to replicate this process, but they failed. They got one key detail wrong: it is not the fluid of blood itself that works in blood magic, but the power contained within it. Not just any commoner's blood can be used for spellcasting."
The witch slowly stroked Dark Sister, her eyes shining with admiration. "Imagine—this sword was once blood-sacrificed by Visenya Targaryen, or perhaps by an ancestor with even purer dragon blood. Not only is the intensity of the magic it radiates dozens of times stronger than an ordinary Valyrian steel sword, but I can also feel that this sword's capacity to absorb and store magic is far beyond common blades. Do you understand what this means?"
"What?" Egger asked humbly.
"Do you remember the Other you killed? I recently went to Eastwatch to find your friend named Will. I examined the Dragonglass dagger you used to kill the creature; the fire-attribute magic contained within it is nearly exhausted, only slightly higher than that of the surrounding air."
Dragonglass can repel White Walkers and is lethal to wights because of the fire-attribute magic within it. This was a conclusion Egger and the Red Woman had already discussed and agreed upon. If that magic could be depleted, didn't that mean... Egger was startled. "Dragonglass is a consumable?"
If that were the case, the entire layout and arrangement of the Gift's defense would have to be practically overturned and started anew!
"Of course. What did you think?" Melisandre gave him a reproachful look. "But there is no need to panic. That dagger's internal magic was exhausted after one use because you used it to stab an Other... Is there more obsidian, or are there more Others? The chance of a single dragonglass weapon getting the opportunity to stab two Others is minuscule. Using it against wights doesn't place such high demands on the weapon."
She glanced left and right, then lowered her voice: "What I want to tell you is that obsidian has no function for self-restoring magic; its lethality against the enemy has a limit. Valyrian steel is not like that. This magical metal can absorb free-floating magic from the air and slowly restore its own magical properties—and this sword in your hand, whether in its lethality against Others or its self-restoration ability, is dozens of times stronger than an ordinary Valyrian steel sword!"
"That's great. Unfortunately... I don't feel much difference between 'one sword being able to stab one Other to death' and 'one sword being able to stab dozens to death.' They don't exactly line up like sheets of paper."
"Don't be facetious." Melisandre frowned again and leaned in close. "My point is, if I imbue this sword with a spell to make it glow and radiate heat, the duration the magical effect lasts will be incredibly long—it will look exactly like the legendary Lightbringer..."
So that's it. This sentence was the true reason Melisandre wanted to send the guards away.
Egger saw through it instantly, but before the witch could finish, he spoke: "Enough. I've said it many times: I will not obtain the recognition of the Red God's followers through such means!"
As one of the high priests of the Red Temple, Melisandre's status was transcendent. When had she ever experienced being cut off like this? After a moment of daze, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she stared at Egger's face with a look of displeasure.
But the man stared back at her without yielding an inch, until after a few seconds, the witch helplessly looked away.
She felt terrible, but there was nothing she could do. That's how it is between people: once you fall into a disadvantage at the start of an interaction, that inequality continues and even deepens due to inertia, until one side either becomes completely accustomed to the submissive role or reaches a breaking point and decides to explode.
Melisandre could never be tamed by Egger, but she clearly hadn't reached her breaking point yet. Her current mood was like that of an older sister facing a rebellious younger brother: fuming, but helpless. Who could blame her when the other party was the Prince Who Was Promised?
Besides, she had misspoke just now; she shouldn't have said "it will be like the legendary Lightbringer." This sword... was clearly Lightbringer itself! As for the surface name, whether it was Dark Sister or Light Brother, what did it matter? In future legends, such details would be entirely irrelevant.
"Suit yourself. But remember to keep this sword safe and never let it fall into the hands of outsiders. It will surely be the key to victory." Melisandre was now full of joy, and her desire to go find trouble with Bran Stark had vanished. Indeed—how could the person who delivered Lightbringer into the hands of the Prince Who Was Promised possibly be a minion of the Great Other?
"Uh..." This time, it was Egger's turn to be speechless.
"What is it?" Melisandre had meant it as a casual reminder, but she didn't get the prompt agreement she expected. She widened her eyes suspiciously, pressing the Lord Commander again.
"I had originally intended to sell this sword to Tywin Lannister. Of course, the condition would be—the sword has to stay with the Night's Watch first, to be used by the Kingslayer."
"You—" Melisandre nearly choked on her breath. Her pitch instantly sharpened, and her volume rose so high that the guards who had withdrawn to a distance all turned their heads to stare. "What kind of joke are you playing?!"
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!