The Mountain of Ice and Fire

A bronze-colored bird flew through the clouds.

Of course, this was no bird, but a flying beast: a dragon.

A dragon rider sat upon the dragon's back.

The dragon was a bronze dragon named Rego; the dragon rider was the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch: Jon Targaryen.

Flying south from the Wall, the temperature grew warmer. The warmer the climate, the more excited and happy Rego became.

Resounding dragon roars echoed in the sky from time to time, expressing Rego's joy at leaving the frozen land behind.

Jon was silent, knowing that Rego did not belong at the Wall.

For Rego's sake, perhaps it was time for him to resign as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

This would require the approval of King Gregor Clegane.

Jon felt it might be difficult.

Jon had grown up in the North and was accustomed to its icy climate, and he did not particularly like the South. But Rego, his dragon, could not continue to live at the Wall.

Even the southernmost part of the North was unsuitable during winter.

Once they left the North and reached the Riverlands, the climate would be vastly different.

Although it snowed in the Riverlands during winter, even the same amount of snow felt warmer than in the North.

Dragons belonged to fire, and Rego loved warm places.

As they crossed the Narrow Sea and entered the waters of Braavos, the warmth became even more noticeable.

The Narrow Sea separated two continents and created a climate of cold in the west and warmth in the east.

At the Wall, it was already a frozen world where water turned to ice instantly.

The accumulated snow on the ground was already several feet thick. People could no longer walk on the snow and had to rely on wooden boards strapped to their feet and experience.

Within the Wall, the Night's Watch garrison had all moved underground.

The tunnels were interconnected, deep, and wide.

Various living facilities were complete, even including a maester's library and a blacksmith's forge.

Mole's Town, the village closest to the military fortress of Castle Black, also lived entirely underground. The villagers' houses were built with only a portion of the roof exposed above ground, with the rest underground. Beneath the underground houses were more houses, some built several stories deep, with interconnected roads, women's quarters for men's entertainment, taverns, shops exchanging furs, fabrics, ironware, and salt, and a small market.

Mole's Town was small but complete.

Jon looked at the continent of Essos and couldn't help but think of his life at the Wall and in Mole's Town.

When it came to leaving Mole's Town and the Wall, Jon found that he felt a sense of reluctance.

There were many joys in the frozen world, and many lovable people in the Night's Watch.

Thinking of his friends, Jon felt a little heavy-hearted.

His best friends had all died in the 'pitfall' plan devised by the Three-Eyed Raven at Dragonstone, when Daenerys Targaryen had imprisoned him, hoping to persuade Jon to marry her and produce the next generation of the Targaryen family.

Although Jon was of Targaryen blood, he had received the education of the Stark family of the North. The Starks worshipped the Old Gods and could not accept incestuous marriages within the family: brother and sister, aunt and nephew—these were absolutely forbidden and unforgivable sins.

Jon knew that he was of Targaryen blood, and he believed that as long as he married and had children, the Targaryen bloodline would be continued. The Stark family had always done so, intermarrying with other families, and the bloodline had continued for eight thousand years. But marriage between close relatives within the same family was something that Jon's faith made him completely unable to accept. It was something more difficult to accept than death.

Similarly, Jon believed that as long as Daenerys married, she could also continue the Targaryen bloodline, simply by giving the child the Targaryen name.

Jon never considered the continuation of Daenerys's cherished pure bloodline to be a major issue. Both he and Daenerys could produce the next generation of Targaryens as long as they found the right person.

Gradually, Jon noticed that Rego's speed was much faster than usual, perhaps because of his excitement at leaving the cold lands, or perhaps because he knew he would be seeing the black dragon Drogon and the white dragon Viserion, as well as the sheep-stealer dragon.

Jon also felt a little excited. He would see Daenerys again, see the Mountain, see the royal courtiers, and see his father, Eddard Stark.

Eddard was Jon's uncle, but in Jon's heart, he was his biological father. His love and affection for Eddard were the unbreakable bond of father and son.

Jon knew from the queen's letter that Sansa Stark was also in Pentos. Sansa had married Duke Raynald Westerling and become the Duchess of Highgarden, the wife of a great lord, which meant she was taken care of and her parents and siblings no longer needed to worry about her.

Sansa's happiness and fate were all thanks to the Mountain's help, which was a great kindness that the Stark family could not repay.

Sansa had been secretly protected by the Mountain during the kingdom's turmoil, which had saved her life. This was the same as the Mountain saving Lord Eddard.

Jon had always considered himself a member of the Stark family, so when Queen Jane summoned him to the east, he immediately mounted his dragon and set off day and night.

Besides the royal command, there was also the fact that the Mountain had shown great kindness to the Stark family and even the entire North.

Dragons had amazing speed and endurance. Once they were determined to fly for a long time, grown dragons could fly for days and nights without eating or drinking, continuously. No other magical beast could compare to dragons.

Dragons were the highest-level magical creatures, without exception.

Jon lowered the altitude slightly and saw the Titan of Braavos.

The Titan stood with its feet on two islands, its height comparable to the Wall. It was a super giant standing in the sea, one of the nine artificial wonders of the world.

Suddenly, Jon felt Rego speed up again.

"Slow down, no need to rush," Jon patted Rego and comforted him. "We'll get to the battlefield in time."

Dragons did not like the cold, nor did they like peaceful and quiet days. Rego belonged to the sky, to battle, to fire.

Jon had immediately flown away from the Wall as soon as he received the order, without any delay, partly out of concern for Rego. He knew that dragons did not belong in the ice and snow, and he knew why Rego was eating less and less. All the signs indicated that Rego's vitality was slowly disappearing.

Queen Jane's order had come just in time, as if it were fate.

Jon felt sorry for Rego and wanted him to fly slowly, but Rego flew even faster instead.

The distance from the Wall to Braavos was not very far, only a straight line of less than two thousand miles. The Mountain's red smoke beast could easily run a thousand miles a day, let alone a dragon in its prime.

Rego flew past the sky over Braavos and rushed forward even more fiercely, as if he was in a hurry to get somewhere and was going all out.

"Rego, slow down," Jon said. He took out roasted meat from his backpack and threw it upwards. Rego spewed dragonfire, and the flames enveloped the roasted meat. As the roasted meat began to fall, Rego stretched out his neck and snatched the roasted meat into his mouth. He swallowed a piece of roasted meat marinated with salt and spices in a few bites.

When there were no battles at the Wall, Jon and Rego had nothing to do, so the two of them had developed feeding and eating skills while flying in the sky.

After a few pieces of roasted meat and smoked meat, Rego roared again and flew even harder. The oncoming wind filled Jon's mouth and nose, and all he could hear was the whistling of the wind.

Jon clearly felt that Rego was trying his best to hurry. Did Rego sense something?

Or was he eagerly looking forward to seeing his brothers?

Braavos was not far from Pentos, and the straight-line distance for dragons flying in the sky was even shorter.

No matter how Jon spoke to comfort Rego, Rego seemed to have lost his telepathy with his master and only cared about moving forward like a flash of lightning across the sky.

People could force out their extraordinary superpowers in extreme situations, and perhaps dragons were the same.

Jon couldn't help but worry more and more about Rego's condition. Rego had never flown so fast before. What was he in such a hurry to do?

The speed of a dragon's full-power flight was unbelievable to Jon. He didn't know exactly how long it had been, but as if in the blink of an eye, Jon saw the outline of a giant city ahead—Pentos was just ahead.

Suddenly, a dragon roar came from the sky.

Rego also roared in response.

Jon Targaryen finally knew why Rego was flying so desperately. He seemed to be a prophet, having foreseen that there were his companions in the sky here.

In the distant sky, two dragons flew towards them.

Rego swooshed to meet them.

The distance quickly closed, and Jon saw the dragon Sheepstealer and the white dragon Viserion.

The three dragons roared, as if old friends who had not seen each other for a long time were greeting each other, warmly and excitedly, happily and excitedly.

A smile also appeared on Jon's face.

Although he did not understand why he would see Sheepstealer and Viserion in the sky over Pentos, Queen Jane's order stated that His Majesty the King and Prince Arianne were besieging Qarth.

But suddenly, Jon saw His Majesty the King and Prince Arianne in the sky over Pentos.

The distance between the two sides was even closer, and Jon clearly saw that on the back of the giant dragon, in addition to the Mountain, there were two other figures. And on the back of the white dragon Viserion, there was not only Prince Arianne, but also a male figure.

Jon opened his mouth wide and did not close it: What was going on?

The King and Prince, who were clearly in Qarth, suddenly appeared here, and they had brought other people to ride on their dragons.

Dragons were proud magical creatures and generally would not let others ride on their backs. Of course, if the master discussed it with them, communicated well, and added some delicious food, it was not impossible.

However, it was absolutely impossible without the company of the dragon rider himself.

The three dragons met and hovered together in the air.

"Your Majesty, Prince Arianne," Jon saluted on the dragon's back.

The Mountain nodded: "Jon, why are you here?"

"I received Her Majesty the Queen's order to fly to Qarth immediately to help Your Majesty fight."

"Oh!" The Mountain did not know that Jane Westerling had issued this order.

After he left Pentos City, Jane exercised royal power on his behalf.

"Then let's go together," the Mountain said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jon looked in Arianne's direction and recognized that the man sitting behind Arianne Martell was Duke Gendry Baratheon, a skilled blacksmith and the King's foster son, who had a Clegane surname: Gendry Clegane.

Jon was very respectful to Arianne: "Your Highness, Rego is stronger. For long-distance flights, let Duke Gendry come and fly with me. Duke Gendry, would you like to come and ride with me?"

"How do I get over there?" There was a forced tremor in Gendry's voice.

"That's easy," Jon said.

At the Wall, because he was really afraid that Rego would get sick from being bored, he came up with many ways to have fun in the sky. He jumped down in the air, and Rego could grab him at will. This inspiration, unintentionally developed from throwing meat to feed, had also become a great source of amusement for the Night's Watch brothers at the Wall who came out of the ground to watch.

The Mountain said, "Jon, this is in the high sky."

"It's okay, Your Majesty, if Duke Gendry has an accident, I'll give him my life in return," Jon said confidently, and even showed a rare smile of a Northerner.

"Then how do we do it?" The Mountain, Arianne, and Gendry said in unison.

The Mountain's weapons master, Tobho Mott, and the Great Sage's hearts were all in their throats. They were riding on the dragon's back, and the feeling was not so good. Touching the dragon's scales and watching the rapidly receding clouds felt like a dream. The faster they flew in the sky, the stronger the wind, and the strong wind blowing for a long time was not a pleasant thing.

"Gendry, listen to my command, just close your eyes and jump down," Jon said.

"No!" Gendry sternly refused.

His voice was distorted.

The Mountain and Arianne couldn't help but laugh.

The Mountain was a straightforward person, and Arianne was also outgoing and cheerful. The laughter of the two made Gendry's face turn red, but he still insisted that he would never jump down.

The Mountain said, "Let's go!" The giant dragon turned around and flew east.

Jon shouted, "Your Majesty, aren't we going to Pentos City?"

"We need to buy time," the Mountain said. "Go straight to Qarth."

The Mountain's voice was too loud. Without shouting, the voice could be heard far away in the sky.

Arianne smiled: "Commander Jon, thank you for your kindness, let's go, we don't have much time."

"Okay!" Jon patted Rego's neck, Rego let out a soft cry and flew up to chase Sheepstealer, quickly leaving the white dragon Viserion behind.

The white dragon was beautiful and elegant, but the smallest and weakest. This was a fixed talent, destined that he could not compete with the black dragon, nor could he compare with Rego in size.

The white dragon Viserion had already flown for days and nights on a long journey. Continuing the long journey, the distance between him and Sheepstealer had already begun to show. Rego's vitality was rekindled, and as soon as he left the world of the Wall, he was resurrected with full health.

The Mountain drove the giant dragon faster and faster in front. Jon was a knight, and he slowed down, waiting for Viserion to catch up. He could not leave Arianne behind and fly to the front alone.

A moment later, the two dragon brothers flew side by side.

Jon said, "Lord Gendry, if I dared to jump and Rhaegal caught me easily, would you dare to jump?"

Gendry hesitated for a moment, the man's pride and the blacksmith's stubbornness ignited by Jon's gaze: "Commander Jon, if you dare to jump, so will I."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jon jumped off Rhaegal's back.

Jon plummeted straight down!

Arianne and Gendry cried out in alarm.