That night.
In an open area in the rear courtyard of the lord's residence stood a building that looked completely out of place.
It was a stone house, standing alone among several beautiful log villas, appearing abrupt and bizarre.
The stone house had no windows, only a single entrance.
A heavy iron door was tightly shut.
Aside from the entrance, the four walls were lined with dense "fireplaces," one right next to another, all roaring with flas.
From the outside it looked like a giant high-temperature furnace.
Firelight spilled from the fireplace openings, bathing the entire rear courtyard in a red glow.
The temperature inside was terrifyingly high. Even through the thick stone walls one could feel the scorching heat waves.
Fifty fully ard soldiers stood in tight formation around the stone house.
Every two hours a squad would step forward to add fresh firewood to the fireplaces. This was a strict order from the lord himself: the flas must never go out, the temperature must never drop, and any unauthorized person who tried to approach was to be killed on sight.
No one knew what was hidden inside the stone house.
But everyone understood that anything the lord treated with such importance had to be extraordinary.
At this mont, inside the stone house.
Luke sat on a recliner just outside the main entrance, eyes closed as if asleep.
The interior was indeed unbearably hot.
Dozens of fireplaces burned at once, turning the entire space into a real furnace.
An ordinary person would probably be ready to serve on a dinner plate after fifteen minutes inside!
Even with the powerful endurance granted by his 11-point Physique, Luke was not exempt. His "Fire Resistance" was only "1 point"—he had not yet gained "Fire Immunity"!
Right now his spiritual power spread like an invisible net, enveloping the three dragon eggs inside the stone room.
Yes, dragon eggs.
The three dragon eggs lay quietly on a specially built stone platform. Thick insulation layers sat beneath them, and heating pipes surrounded the platform to maintain constant warmth.
Any player who had played Ark: Survival Evolved would have cried out at the sight:
"Holy shit, isn't this an incubator? You mad genius!"
Exactly. This was the dragon-egg incubation chamber personally designed by Luke and built under Matthew's supervision.
These three eggs ca from the batch of "gifts from the Magister of Pentos" several months earlier.
The shrewd Essosi rchant had heard the legend of the "magic rchant" and offered three dragon eggs in exchange for exclusive trading rights to Luke's "magical goods" in Pentos.
In truth, Luke had begun researching dragon-egg incubation from that mont.
According to the information he had gathered on Earth, Western dragons were different from Eastern ones—they were oviparous magical reptiles that required extrely high temperatures to hatch.
Legend said most of House Targaryen's dragons had hatched inside the Fourteen Flas of Valyria, a place of constant flowing lava where the heat was unimaginable.
So Luke had copied the concept and built this "artificial volcano."
In addition, he ca to the incubation chamber every day for one hour, using his spiritual power to communicate with and soothe the three tiny lives inside the eggs.
He didn't know if it actually helped, but wasn't that how all those fantasy novels did it? Form a spiritual bond with the dragon from the mont it was an egg, raise it with affection, so it would let you ride it when it grew up.
Trying it wouldn't cost him anything.
Right now, inside Luke's spiritual world, an amusing scene was unfolding.
Three chubby baby lizards with plump little wings were bouncing around like excited puppies, lured by Luke's "co here, co here" calls.
One little black fellow was desperately climbing up his trouser leg. Its pudgy claws gripped the fabric tightly as it clambered all the way up and finally reached Luke's shoulder.
It proudly raised its tiny head, opened its toothless mouth, and let out a fierce—but utterly adorable—
"Rawr~~~~~"
A dragon's roar!
Except the roar had zero intimidation factor.
Not even a wisp of smoke appeared. Instead the little guy looked like it had nearly coughed up its own heart. Its whole body wobbled and it tumbled head-first off Luke's shoulder.
Luke's spiritual power gently caught it, cradling the baby in his arms.
The other two—one greenish, one white—were each clawing at one of Luke's feet, trying hard to climb up but always sliding back down halfway.
They made anxious "cheep-cheep" sounds, soft and milky, more like newly hatched chicks than dragon roars.
Luke lifted them up with his spiritual power as well, holding one on each side.
The three chubby little dragons huddled together in his arms, nuzzling and squirming, purring with contentnt.
Luke lowered his head and planted a loud, smacking kiss on each of the three little foreheads.
If his girlfriend Mia were here right now she would definitely be jealous… she would demand three kisses of her own, and they had better be proper French ones, before forgiving this "unfaithful" man.
Luke whispered softly into the three little lizards' ears, "Little ones, evolve quickly, grow up fast, and break out of your shells soon. Daddy wants to beco a dragon rider!"
The three baby dragons seed to understand. They answered together with happy "cheep-cheep" sounds.
The black one—Luke had nad it "Little Black"—was clawing at his finger and trying to gnaw on it.
Of course, with no teeth yet, its bite felt only ticklish.
The greenish one—"Little Green"—was quieter, simply rubbing its head against Luke's palm.
The white one—"Little White"—was the most energetic, rolling and tumbling nonstop in his arms.
Simple, unpretentious nas, yet they carried Luke's most sincere hopes.
A long while later.
Luke slowly opened his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.
He could feel the life force inside the three dragon eggs growing stronger by the day.
It wouldn't be long before these three little ones broke free of their shells.
And then he would have real dragons of his own!
True, with his telekinesis he could already fly… and sword flight felt amazing!
But…
What man could refuse a dragon?
Never mind whether it was Eastern-style or Western-style—if it could fly, it was a good dragon.
Even a sword immortal needed "pets" and "mounts"…
Luke withdrew from his spiritual world and gently stroked the warm eggshells with his psychic power.
The lives inside the shells seed to sense his touch and trembled faintly in response.
His smile deepened.
In one corner of his personal space, four more dragon eggs floated quietly—red, blue, yellow, and purple!
The red one was the one discovered today on the Isle of Faces. The other three had been traded from rchants on the Essos continent over the past few months.
Those shrewd rchants had sohow learned that the "magic rchant" was interested in dragon eggs and had co bearing them in exchange for exclusive rights to the wondrous goods.
Luke had accepted every single one without hesitation.
Interestingly, he had discovered by accident that dragon eggs could be stored inside his personal space.
He had already tested it: anything truly "alive" could not be placed inside—live chickens and ducks were impossible, fresh fruits and vegetables were impossible, even freshly picked flowers were impossible.
But dragon eggs could!
Under his powerful spiritual scan the eggs were clearly "alive," brimming with vigorous life.
They could be stored because they were magical items, a special case.
The discovery had filled Luke with wild joy. Personal space was absolute safety—no fear of theft, no fear of accidents, and he could retrieve the contents anyti.
Staring at the seven dragon eggs, he already had long-term plans.
He would hatch the first three first—black, green, and white.
Once they broke their shells he would raise them personally and forge deep bonds with them.
When they grew up, they would beco the ultimate flex-mounts that let him dominate Westeros.
The remaining four—red, blue, yellow, purple—would be kept.
For his descendants.
For the future empire.
Dragons were the foundation that had allowed House Targaryen to rule Westeros for nearly three hundred years.
Now the Targaryens were gone and dragons had been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.
But if his own House Jaqenion could possess dragons—and a steady, continuous supply of them…
Then his future empire might last a little longer.
Having finished today's "incubation session," Luke returned to his residence and went to sleep holding his soft, fragrant maids!
Behind him the night wind blew, carrying the moist scent of the God's Eye.
The fifty soldiers snapped to attention and saluted crisply, eyes filled with reverence.
They didn't know what was inside the stone house, but the fact that their lord ca here personally every day to keep watch for an hour was mysterious and sacred enough.
Luke looked up at the night sky.
In the northern heavens one star shone noticeably brighter.
It lay in the direction of the "Ice Dragon" constellation.
In Westerosi legend, whenever the Long Night drew near, the Ice Dragon constellation grew especially bright, foretelling the coming of winter.
A smile curved on Luke's lips.
Co, winter.
Co, Others.
By the ti you arrive, my dragons should have grown up too.
Then I'll show you what the rage of a Celestial Dragon really looks like.
The birth of dragons is a magical legend woven from blood and fire.
Daenerys Targaryen did not follow the natural way. Instead, in a shocking blood-magic ritual, she rekindled the spark of life in stone eggs that had lain dormant for centuries.
Before her, generation after generation of Targaryen descendants had poured out their hearts—so kneeling before the Seven for days, so seeking far-eastern sorcery, so summoning every sorcerer in the world to chant and cast spells—yet none had managed to awaken the fire within the stone. Instead they brought only disaster and death.
That day, Daenerys placed three petrified dragon eggs atop the funeral pyre of her husband Khal Drogo.
She personally offered the witch Mirri Maz Duur—the woman who had killed her child—as a blood-and-fire sacrifice.
When the flas roared skyward, the last true dragon blood embraced the eggs and walked straight into the blazing inferno.
The next dawn, when the fire finally died, the crowd watched in awe as Daenerys sat unhard among the ashes.
The three eggs had hatched. Three young dragons—Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion—curled at her side, letting out the first cries that would one day shatter the long night of Westeros.
This was the fulfillnt of "blood and fire are one."
Luke's comnt: "I don't need any blood-magic ritual. This mountain man has his own clever tricks, heh!"
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