Chapter 7
-Ruins of Valyria, 280AC-
Night fell over the ruins and the humid environment suddenly became cold, and wet with thick fog that one could easily get lost in if they were not careful, there was not much sound through the ruins both from the large number of Stonemen that had been killed recently making the rest more cautious to approach the visitors, there was also not a large number of animals that could thrive in this environment so the night was eerily quiet.
The campsite that Eddard had set up was the only place where actually human activity could be heard, his men had cleaned out the large vault area except for the small room with the two coffins before the sun had set, all the treasure, armor, weapons, books and tomes were aboard his ships.
Eddard himself was inside his tent with a large number of ancient tomes and scrolls that had to do with the various Dragonlord families that ruled the Valyrian Freehold before the Doom.
There were complete family trees, notable accomplishments of the family line, records of their properties, riches, armed forces, amount of slaves, and the number of dragons and dragon riders each family had.
This is a cache of information that the Citadel would kill to get their hands on and the Targaryen family would probably not want this information known to the rest of the world; they were among the seven weakest dragonlord families in Valyria which contradicts their whole god on earth status they hold themselves to.
It was an interesting read but it held little interest to Eddard given that he would never build his empire by enslaving everyone around him, or by flying above them believing himself a God.
As powerful as he is Eddard never forgot that he is still a man and it is with the grace of the Old Gods that he is able to accomplish all he did in such a quick time frame, many may also argue that binding others to a Blood Oath could be considered slavery but it only made them loyal to him along with making it almost impossible for them to betray him or his future children, they still can live their lives however they wish as long as they abide by his rules and ultimately at the end of the day it is their choice.
Eddard also has to live up to his and of the deal which was to guarantee their lives, safety, rights, and freedoms as their ruler, if he betrays this oath the magic is broken and they are no longer bound to it.
One has to be worthy of loyalty and if they fall short of it they have to work to gain that loyalty for forced loyalty only lasts so long before it ends in disaster.
His research of the dragonlord families eventually paid off as he finally found the information on the Dragmire family.
The Dragmire family was the most powerful dragonlord family in Valyria and were regularly the rulers of the empire, they were among the first three families that learned to tame dragons and they had the most lands before the idea of conquering Essos was ever thought of, they were the one's who created valyrian steel and were one of the main pillars that were responsible for Valyria becoming one of the greatest empires in recorded history.
The two women he found were confirmed as Valyrian princesses and sisters by the family records, the older one Princess Carmella Dragmire was actually the crown princess of the empire before the Doom, she was a highly trained warrior who was one of the best in the Freehold, she was adept at magic and a high ranking military general.
The younger sister Princess Selvaria Dragmire was a highly trained and skilled mage that made her well renowned in the Freehold, she was also a skilled fighter who served in the military under the command of her sister.
"They are over four hundred years old yet they don't look a day over twenty," Eddard spoke out loud to himself.
He didn't find any documents on how valyrian steel was created even after going through everything they have collected since they got here, but maybe he was wrong all along, maybe the Valyrians didn't write it down anywhere and instead passed the knowledge down through word of mouth, and practical instruction to their heirs.
Eddard was going to have to wake those women up and convince them to become his wives which should allow him to peacefully acquire their knowledge, he is also prepared for if they don't willingly agree to his proposition which will mean imprisonment, torture and eventually death when he has what he wished from them.
Suddenly Eddard felt a pulse of energy making him snap his gaze towards the place where he found the crystal caskets containing the two princesses; he had left a rune there to alert him of anything or anyone moving inside the enclosed area, he couldn't move the caskets so he had to monitor them from afar when he couldn't do so in person.
The thing that made Eddard frown in thought was that it wasn't the rune on the outside of the vault area that was triggered but the one on the interior specifically the room containing the crystal caskets.
Nothing could get through those walls and the only way inside had his runes there which unless you were dead it would trigger, this left the only possible intruder to be the two princesses themselves waking up from their magical sleep for the first time in four centuries.
"Well I would hate to be rude and keep them waiting for me," Eddard said with a chuckle before getting up from his desk.
He strapped on Mist, his greatsword, shortsword, and valyrian steel dragonbone dagger before leaving his tent, he waved off his men and told them that he would not be needing them as he was only taking a walk.
Eddard walked into the vault area that was now empty of all the treasures that it once held, the room was bathed in icy-blue light from the ice crystal hanging from the ceiling yet the room seemed darker somehow as if the darkness was resisting the glow of his ice crystals light.
"That didn't happen when we were here earlier, it must be one of the princesses using their magic to hide themselves from me," Eddard thought to himself as he walked casually through the room, giving no indication that he had his guard up.
There was a shift of movement from the shadows and only his superior senses saved him from losing his head, he dropped as a pitch-black waraxe made of valyrian steel passed where his head was a second ago, he drew Mist smoothly and swung it at who just attacked him only for it to be stopped by a valyrian steel longsword with a purple blade.
An armor-clad foot tried to kick him causing him to roll away to avoid the hit and he got to his feet a few feet from his two attackers who were still cloaked in shadows.
He drew his greatsword with a hiss of sharp steel and twirled Mist on his other hand before he rushed his attackers.
His greatsword clashed with the waraxe earning him a surprised grunt from his opponent when his blow sent them back a few steps, he took a step back from his surprised enemy to parry the swift blows from the second enemy's purple blade.
The person using the purple blade was very skilled with polished movements but there was some sluggishness to their attacks, as if they had not gotten enough to eat or that they had been in a fight before attacking him.
Eddard took advantage of an opening when he parried away one of their attacks and kicked the one using the purple blade in the stomach hard, this normally would have earned him a cracked rib or two from an opponent but he felt the resistance of armor from the kick, and knew that they were not that hurt by his kick.
A savage smile came to his face as he dodged a swing from the waraxe and had to raise his forearm to take a kick that was aimed at his torso. The power behind the kick took him by surprise and he almost winced from the pain, he retaliated with a savagely swift slash that was parried skillfully rather than blocked like before.
A thrust to his throat by the purple blade was blocked by Mist and he sent a kick toward where the attacker's foot should be, he was rewarded with a clang as his steel-toed boot hit their leg armor.
He didn't break a bone but he knew that the attacker's leg must be bruised at least from that kick, and the sound of their lopsided gait seems to confirm his thoughts.
The waraxe wielder's attacks became more aggressive after that and Eddard could not hold back the grin that grew on his face. It has been a long time since he has faced opponents this highly trained and skilled.
The previously silent chamber was now a symphony of battle as Eddard fought for his life against two of the best fighters he has ever crossed blades with, he had a few cuts on his arms, face, chest, and legs that were shallow although they bled a fair amount.
His opponents have since lost their shadowy camouflage revealing them as the two sleeping valyrian princesses, they had several cuts all over their bodies in the gaps of their armor that were bleeding steadily but they still stood strong.
Princess Carmella's eyes were open now and they were breathtaking sparkling pools of pure gold, she wore a valyrian steel armor in black, gold, and purple, and her breastplate was more akin to an armored corset in layers of black and gold that covered two-thirds of her breasts while leaving the rest of her exposed cleavage for hungry eyes to feast on, her pouldrons were perfectly smooth and connected to thin metallic gauntlets that covered her entire arm, she wore a armored skirt to protect her and thigh high armored boots in black, purple and gold, she wore a tiara of black valyrian steel encrusted with various precious gems with the ends of the tiara shaped like dragon horns.
She was a beautiful goddess of war and the large five-foot-long pitch-black waraxe that she wields as if it weighs nothing only served to emphasize that she is as deadly as she is beautiful.
Princess Selvaria had dazzling eyes of pure amethyst and she wore a valyrian steel tiara colored gold with several precious gems encrusted into it, she wore a valyrian steel armor in silver, gold, and purple which was similar in design to her sister's armor, her longsword had a golden hilt that complements the purple color of her blade.
Eddard felt his blood boil in increased excitement and silently cursed his body for responding in a very inappropriate way while he was fighting for his life against the two most beautiful women he had ever seen, the tantalizing flesh on display made him eager to see more but also cautious as the way they moved their bodies made it very obvious that they used their looks as a weapon in the same way they would their chosen valyrian steel weapons.
"I have never met such beauty on the opposite side of a battle before and I have to say I am impressed so far," Eddard said in fluent High Valyrian shocking the two princesses.
There was silence for about a minute before one of the princesses spoke.
"You speak our language quite well for a grave robber," Princess Carmella said in fluent High Valyrian.
"And you both move well for four-hundred-year-old women, so I guess we are all just defying the limitations the world puts on us," Eddard retorts in high valyrian with a smile.
They both had shocked looks on their faces after he spoke and Eddard knew it wasn't about him calling them old women, it was about how long they were asleep.
Eddard saw a familiar look pass over both their faces before the older one schooled her features but the younger one made no such attempt.
It was the look of someone who realized their world has been lost and they are truly alone in the world.
It was a look he saw on his face every day since his mother died until he met his Direwolves.
"I am King Eddard Stark and I am sorry for your loss," Eddard introduced himself in fluent High Valyrian but kept his guard up along with his distance from them.
Neither of the Valyrian princesses failed to notice that he had not released his grip on his weapons, which given they attacked him first makes sense.
"My name is Carmella Dragmire, Crown Princess of the Valyrian Freehold or former crown princess as there isn't an empire anymore," Carmella said in High Valyrian with a tired look in her eyes before she lowered her waraxe.
"I am Princess Selvaria Dragmire and I would like to ask you a few questions about what has happened to the world after we went to sleep," Selvaria asked after she introduced herself in High Valyrian while sheathing her sword.
"That is fine with me as long as I am allowed to know about your lives before the Doom of Valyria, which is what people call what happened to your people," Eddard offers on fluent High Valyrian as he too puts his weapons away.
"That is fine," Carmella said in High Valyrian with a wave of her hand.
Eddard nodded his head in agreement and then gathered icy-blue energy in his hand which he then used to create three chairs and a table of clear ice for them to use.
Both of the sisters were shocked and silent not by his casual display of magic but by the type of magic he used; Ice magic.
Ice magic was a type of magic that was almost unheard of in the Valyrian Freehold given that they mostly used fire and blood magic to do everything, the closest they had to ice magic in Essos was the water magics of the Rhoynar.
A few of the more powerful dragonlord families of the Freehold thought that someone possessing Ice magic was what was required to tame the most powerful dragons that eluded them for thousands of years; Ice Dragons.
Ice Dragons were the most powerful dragons that ever lived according to the records kept by the dragonlord families, these dragons were four times larger than any valyrian dragon of the same age, they lived longer, had stronger scales that were more like armor than anything else, houses and controls powerful ice magic that none but the strongest of dragon fire could hope to contend with, they were also far more intelligent than the dragons of Valyria.
The Ice Dragons looked vastly different from the other dragons of the world as well; they had four powerful limbs topped with deadly claws instead of just two, and their bodies were covered in extremely thick pristine scales of pure white like living snow with intricate markings of an icy-blue color running over the scales, their wings sprouted from their very backs not attached to their limbs at all with the interior of the wings colored icy-blue while the outside of the wings was pure snow white, their long powerful tails were topped with deadly spikes that can pierce a dragons scales if hit with it, their eyes were the most terrifying and beautiful part of them, four eyes of the most beautiful starlight you can find letting you get lost in their beauty until you realize that beauty is housed in the head of a creature of untold power, violence, and death.
The Valyrian dragons looked common and unimpressive in comparison which led to the dragonlord families lusting after these Ice Dragons with a greed unseen before in this world.
Thousands died both dragon and dragonlord alike over the course of five centuries before they had gotten what they were after which was a clutch of eggs from an Ice Dragon, the more arrogant of the dragonlord families wanted to capture a young or full-grown Ice Dragon but that was foolish endeavor as the Ice Dragons mature much faster than other dragons, and within a few decades they would grow bigger than most adult valyrian dragons a century old.
Aldrin Dragmire was the man who took the eggs from the lair of a pair of Ice Dragons he killed with the help of the two other dragonlord families as powerful as his own, the corpses of the Ice Dragons gave off an endless permanent chill that killed those around it which forced them to abandon those trophies and settle for just the eggs.
The eggs were no humble prize to be disappointed with; the eggs were the size of a ten-foot-tall man and three times as wide, the surface of the eggs was smooth to the touch putting silk to shame, and had an icy aura that made any room it was in cool all year long, the shell of the eggs were crystalline in nature and in the right light sparkled like the stars in the night sky.
There were twelve eggs in total which were shared equally with all three of the dragonlord families, the possession of these Ice Dragon eggs made them superior to all other dragonlord families and they didn't hesitate to use this to their advantage establishing themselves as the royal families of the Freehold.
The three families tried to hatch the eggs for centuries with no success and none could claim that the Ice Dragons inside the eggs were dead for the potent ice magic was obvious to any who came within ten meters of the eggs, all attempts to hatch the eggs were halted after an incident that lead to the destruction of three of the eggs, one from each of the families and like when a full grown Ice Dragon dies the area of their death was frozen over in perpetual winter.
Although they stopped trying to hatch these Ice Dragons they never truly gave up and left it in the hands of their descendants, it was a desire that many members of these families had passed on to them by their parents all wishing to have an Ice Dragon of their own.
This was a desire that was passed onto the two princesses as well, especially Carmella Dragmire as she was the one who would inherit the Freehold if it had not been destroyed.
So when she looked at Eddard after his display of Ice magic she felt the lust for that power that her family always desired, he was also a skilled warrior and royalty if he is to be believed which might make him worth her while.
Selvaria was of a similar mindset as her older sister and the moment she saw Eddard Stark take a strange glowing crystal from his pocket which he used to talk to the captain of his ship to bring refreshments for them, she knew she wanted this man for his magical abilities if nothing else.
Eddard was not unaware of the change that came over the two beautiful royal women who now sat across from him at the table of Ice he made, he expected their surprise, their curiosity, or even fear but the lust that he saw in their eyes was not what he was expecting.
Well, he came here to solve his problem of not having any wives he might as well try to get both these sisters into his bed, he called Edrick to bring some freshly prepared food consisting of meat, fish, pastries, fruits, vegetables, and soups along with a dozen bottles of wine.
When he arrived a half hour later with six men carrying all the food and drinks, the men didn't pause to stare at the two breathtakingly beautiful women he was talking to nor did they say anything while they covered the table with all the food before they left in silence.
Edrick met Eddard's eyes for just a moment to ensure that his king was safe which Eddard confirmed with a subtle nod of the head and Edrick left as well.
"Let me put some ice on that leg and heal our wounds, then we can eat, drink, and enjoy some good company while we talk," Eddard tells them in fluent High Valyrian.
"I have no objections. I am starving." Carmella said in fluent High Valyrian with a shrug as she walked to the table.
"I agree with my sister. Your kick has bruised my leg and it is becoming a bit of a nuisance." Selvaria spoke in fluent High Valyrian as she sat down and started to pull off her leg armor.
Eddard chuckled at their responses and calmly set about tending to everyone's wounds, his healing magic was one of his more proficient skills as he didn't want to leave his health in the hands of those he couldn't fully trust.
It only took a few minutes for them to all be back in perfect health and they could now enjoy the refreshments that his men brought.
They talked about their respective family histories, the state of the current world, and what happened after the Doom of Valyria, both women could not contain their disbelief that the Targaryen family had survived the Doom, conquered a continent only to be on the verge of losing it to infighting like they lost their dragons.
They almost found it funny that one of the lower dragonlord families had risen so high, only to fall so low due to their incompetence. The only sympathy either woman showed for the Targaryen family was due to the death of their dragons and nothing else.
Selvaria seemed to enjoy his tales of how he conquered four of the Free Cities and how he slaughtered the slave owners, she was mostly intrigued by his exploits with magic more than his military stories.
Carmella on the other hand seemed a bit disturbed by his goal of freeing slaves but he brushed that off as due to her just waking up in a very changed world. She paid rapt attention to the stories of his military campaigns and had many intriguing insights into how the battle could have gone if different factors were at play.
They were both visibly impressed with what Eddard had accomplished in his short life and wished him luck on his future conquests.
They ate the delicious food and the princesses threw decorum out the window given how hungry they were and they drank the wine like it was water, the more they drank the more comfortable they became with each other trading good-natured insults, and jokes and heavy amounts of flirting that eventually came to a head.
Hours later all three found themselves on a bed made of soft ice without any clothes on as they ravished each other, if his cock was buried in one princess his tongue was buried inside the other or one of the sisters had their tongues buried inside each other's mouths or cunts.
Eddard knew that these women wanted to feel something other than the pain of their loss, or the vulnerability of being thrusted into a new yet familiar world on their own for he had felt those exact feelings before. He let them use him as a tool to bring them pleasure and dull the pain enough for them to forget for some time.
They fucked like they had no tomorrow and with how much he came inside both these women there was a chance he got them pregnant with his children.
It was sunset the next day that they finally managed to get some rest from all their sexual activities.