By Dragons' Wit
Sixteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC
While the prospect of true children of Tiamat growing more numerous in your empire does not exactly fill you with good cheer Amrelath and even Ysandrix have proven that they can dwell within a larger society without harm, that they can in fact be helpful so long as the worst of their instincts... of
your instincts, for you have felt their touch often enough, are held at bay. One can hardly count upon individual choice and reason or circumstance to see that done.
"The greatest proof that you could give that you have forsworn Her not only in word but deed is to care for any hatchlings that may spring from any joining between you," you proclaim to a somewhat wary to attentive Zerylaz. "Firstly, that you teach respect for imperial law and do not set out brashly into other lands bringing war and strife to my doorstep unlooked for. If you are actually minded to form a true relationship with your get and encourage it among them I would look to it with favor."
"Pardon, Great One," the young dragon interjects, a gleam more of mischief than malice in his eye. "But it seems to me that you are encouraging us to be more like the Old Lords of the Fourteen, those called tyrants and accursed by the land whose heritage you claim."
You allow a genuine chuckle to escape your lips before answering with a saying that feels as old as dragonkind. "If mine enemy should choose to eat meat, I will not strive to subsist on rocks only to spite him. Being a part of society is helpful, having that society exist only to cater to one's cruelest whims is not, as the fate of those you named shows."
A pledge is sworn then, solemn but without needless formality: "Under your wings I fly, flame and talon, mind and magic by your will unleashed."
"Under my wings guarded you fly," it is only when you speak the closing formula that you realize it is the same one by which the Elder Dragons bound the others before the Rise of the Fourteen and the dawn of Valyria. Strange to have dredged it back from oblivion, but as with so many other shards of the past you will see it mortared into a new edifice.
***
Alas that you are not the only one capable to planning for the future, nor is Tiamat as thoughtless as the dragon who perished on the outskirts of Valyria. When you make use of a small measure of the power glittering within the Well of Eternity to seek out the last young dragon whom Yss had not been able to discover, the soul-deep bond offers you the answer readily enough, but it is not one you appreciate:
'In the Court of the Great Sultan, Heir of Iblis the Accursed, sanctuary claimed and given.'
"I don't think Maelor would appreciate it if we showed up in the middle of the Sultan's palace to wreak havoc," Dany notes with dust dry humor. "Still, perhaps when we deal with the Forge we could also speak to Lizzirth."
"Speak?" Ser Richard shakes his head, annoyed at having discovered one more enemy out of reach.
"She has not done anything too terrible that we know of," your sister points out reasonably. "True, seeking sanctuary of the Brazen Throne is frustrating, but being clever is hardly reason to kill someone out of hand. Indeed it would give them all the more reason to turn if presented with the right incentive."
What do you do next?
[] Write in
OOC: You guys can suggest an interlude chain if you like, not just what to do next as Viserys.