The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Dothraki Sea, a vast grassland more than twice the size of Westeros.

In the southern endless grasslands, there was a hill that appeared massive and precipitous when viewed from below.

Daenerys named it Dragonstone Hill, the same name as her birthplace Dragonstone Island, which she had no memory of. If the grassland was likened to a sea, then Dragonstone Hill was Dragonstone Island.

*

Dawn. As the first rays of sunlight spilled across the grassland, a squadron of cavalry arrived at the foot of Dragonstone Hill. The three young cavalry leaders at the head were Daenerys Targaryen's three bloodriders and khalasar leaders: Jhogo, who wielded a whip; Aggo, a renowned archer of the Great Grass Sea, possessing the priceless dragonbone bow, which Daenerys gifted to Aggo and appointed him as her Khal and bloodrider on the morning she hatched the dragons; Rakharo, who wielded an arakh.

The bloodriders led Daenerys's khalasar of three hundred cavalry.

Daenerys stood on the hill watching the arrival of her people.

In the Great Grass Sea, a leader is called a Khal; the Khal's wife is called a Khaleesi; the Khaleesi's personal guard is called a khalasar.

Daenerys's khalasar had over five hundred people, of which over a hundred were elders and women, including her several personal handmaidens, Jhiqui, Irri, and Ellye, who were all members of her khalasar.

The personal handmaidens and other women and elders traveled west by ship, while three hundred elite khalasar cavalry were responsible for following the Queen to conquer the Dothraki.

When the Queen conquered the Dothraki, those protecting her would still be her most trusted bloodriders and khalasar cavalry.

In the grasslands, the Dothraki can ride for a month without dismounting. They can eat while riding, sleep while riding; adults and children alike possess this skill.

However, High Priest Merriro, Victarion, Daario, and Quentyn and others in the party could not. The bloodriders and khalasar cavalry arrived at the foot of Dragonstone Hill first. Daenerys rode the black dragon Drogon down from the hill, with the white dragon and green dragon flying on her left and right.

The bloodriders and khalasar cavalry cheered!

When High Priest Merriro, Victarion, Daario, Quentyn, and the rest arrived, military tents had already been set up at the foot of Dragonstone Hill. Daenerys had also changed into new clothes, washed her face with milk, and applied light makeup, displaying the majesty of a queen.

Originally, Daenerys wanted to ride north alone on her dragon, but Tyrion, Varys, and Barristan Selmy strongly opposed it. In the end, the Queen and the councilors compromised, and sent this team to protect the Queen.

Although the Queen had the protection of three dragons, she could not do without human care. Dragons cannot always fly in the sky; people have to come to the ground. And when the Queen is on the ground, she needs the protection of the legion. This was the insistence of the three councilors, Tyrion, Varys, and Barristan.

*

"Daenerys, I have learned the basic dragon riding commands," Quentyn Martell requested in the Queen's tent. "I hope that from today onwards, you will allow me to try to become a dragon rider."

"Quentyn, don't rush. You need to first establish a close relationship with Viserion," Daenerys said.

Quentyn Martell chose the white dragon as his mount; while Daario and Victarion both had their eyes on the green dragon Rhaegal. Perhaps it wasn't that the two chose at the same time, but rather that both intentionally chose the dragon the other had chosen.

Victarion and Daario looked down on each other.

"Your Majesty!" Quentyn said in an official, solemn tone. "In my bloodline, there is the blood of the dragonlords. I can be considered a dragonseed. I am different from Victarion and Daario. Viserion will sense my unique aura. I believe he will quickly accept me."

"Quentyn, you first feed Viserion salted meat for at least half a month. Don't use the dragon riding commands yet," Daenerys said in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Quentyn did not accept Daenerys's order in his heart. He must become a dragon rider before Daario and Victarion, and then bring up the old topic of marriage with Daenerys.

Daenerys's Iron Throne needed the support of Dorne Martell!

Daenerys looked at Victarion and Daario. Victarion bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, I will not start taming the dragon today. I will first feed Rhaegal salted meat for a month."

"Your Majesty, me too," Daario said, looking at Victarion with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Good, we need to rest here for a few days first," Daenerys said. "Jhogo, take fifty men and go north; Aggo, lead fifty men and go east; Rakharo, lead fifty men and go west. If you encounter other legions during the scouting, do not engage in battle, return safely. I have already surveyed the area in all directions some time ago. There are no Khals within hundreds of miles, but the Holy City festival is approaching, and Khals from various places are returning to the city. The situation on the grassland changes every day. Be careful. I will also scout the sky with Drogon."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The three bloodriders bowed together.

When the Dothraki return to the grassland, they return to their home. For them, living, eating, and traveling on horseback is etched in their lives. And their warhorses are the eagles of the grassland.

The days for the Holy City festival celebration are only two months away, each day that passes is one day less. The Dothraki grassland is too large, and the Khal tribes far from the Holy City will begin to return to the city. And those Khals who have left the grassland are already on their way back to the city.

The Holy City gathering is a Dothraki tradition. Even if all the Dothraki return to the Holy City at the same time, the Holy City can accommodate them. The Dothraki's only city, the Holy City, has no walls and can freely and infinitely extend their city territory in all directions.

*

Quentyn Martell was ordinary in appearance, but he was a true prince. In addition to Ser Archibald Yronwood, whom he brought from Dorne, Daenerys also gave him four khalasar warriors as attendants, protecting the prince as if protecting the Queen.

Daenerys treated Quentyn with respectful distance and was very polite. She tried to persuade Prince Quentyn to return to Dorne at sea, but she failed. She knew that Quentyn was still thinking about the marriage contract. The way he looked at her was like when the exiled Jorah Mormont secretly looked at her, but she really had no feelings for Quentyn.

Giving Quentyn the opportunity to become a dragon rider was a gesture of goodwill from Daenerys considering the special relationship between the two families, and also a kind of compensation for the former marriage contract between the two families.

Daenerys would not marry Quentyn.

Taming dragons is very dangerous, but Quentyn could not wait.

Quentyn walked out of Her Majesty the Queen's tent and ordered Archibald to bring two warriors to carry the salted meat. The three dragons were still children and could not stay still. While their mother was in a meeting, the black dragon had already flown into the high sky, while the white dragon and the red dragon flew to the top of the mountain, standing on the summit and roaring.

Quentyn went up the hill along the small path, followed by Archibald and his four Dothraki attendants, who carried two basins of salted meat. This was the three dragons' favorite food.

To tame a dragon, first feed it.

Down the hill, Daario did not take it seriously. He stood outside Her Majesty the Queen's tent, watching Quentyn climb up the hill with a proud smile on his face. He waited for High Priest Merriro to come out of Her Majesty the Queen's tent, and he decided that it was most important to practice the dragon riding commands first.

Victarion entered his tent, came out, and was already in plain clothes, without any armor or anything. The sword belt was also untied, only a sharp dagger was inserted in his combat boots, and then he also went up the hill.

Daario looked at the two pioneers with a smile.

Maybe by the time they climbed to the top of the mountain, the two dragons had already flown away. But it didn't matter, the dragon's nest was on the mountain, the Dragon Mother was in the military tent at the foot of the mountain, and the dragons would return.

The first requirement for taming a dragon: wait patiently.

You won't know when the dragons will spread their wings and fly into the sky, nor will you know when they will return, but they will definitely return, and that is the opportunity to get close to them.

*

When Quentyn was halfway up the mountain, the white dragon and the green dragon turned their heads to look at him. Quentyn issued the dragon riding command: Quiet!

The two dragons heard the order, and they indeed stopped roaring. Their long necks stretched out, and their glittering dragon eyes, like gemstones, looked at Quentyn and his party. Their heads tilted back and forth, as if they were a little confused.

They might be confused as to why someone dared to go up the mountain and would soon approach the location of their nest. A dragon's temporary nest is also a dragon's territory, especially wild dragons. Fortunately, Viserion and Rhaegal were not wild dragons.

Whether the quiet dragon riding command worked or not, the two dragons only stared at the approaching Quentyn, without any excessive actions.

They seemed to show restraint, which was very rare.

Dragonstone Hill was named by Daenerys, but this hill was not very tall. There were no majestic high mountains in the grassland. What was endless was the green sea.

"Quiet!" Quentyn issued the second command after passing the dragon's nest.

This was Valyrian High Tongue, with magical dragon riding power.

The white dragon and the green dragon gently breathed out. They not only saw Quentyn, but also saw the two moving basins of salted meat behind Quentyn. The delicious salted meat that their mother had marinated for them made them drool.

Dragons are naturally gluttonous, just like their combat talent.

Quentyn began to approach the top of the mountain, and in his hand, he held up a piece of salted meat and kept shaking it. This action was learned from Daenerys. When Daenerys fed the dragons, she held up the salted meat and shook it so that her three children could see it in the sky.

The dragons' reaction gave Quentyn confidence.

He did have some blood from the Targaryen family in his body. The Martell family and the Targaryen family had many intermarriages, and intermarriage was also a political means for the Targaryen family to maintain the Martell family's submission and loyalty.

"Quiet!" Quentyn issued the third dragon riding command.

The two dragons seemed to look at each other, their tails wagged, their necks kept stretching, and they began to stir a little.

The four Dothraki attendants stopped and refused to go forward. They thought they were close enough to the two dragons. Daenerys hoped that the four Dothraki warriors could treat Prince Quentyn the same way they treated her, but Prince Quentyn was not a Dothraki prince. They could not be as loyal to Quentyn as they were to the Queen.

"Okay, Archibald, I need you to help me carry a basin of salted meat, and then follow me."

"Yes, Prince." Archibald's heart was pounding, his breathing was rapid, and his whole body was hot.

The four Dothraki attendants put down the salted meat, retreated to behind a rock, stood still, and refused to go forward.

Quentyn held the salted meat in his hand and slowly walked towards the top of the mountain. Behind him, Archibald carried a basin of salted meat, and sweat began to break out on his forehead. If the dragons suddenly became angry, they would be buried in dragon flames. He hoped that the prince's dragon riding command could restrain the two dragons and make them obedient.

"Eat!" Quentyn issued the dragon riding command.

But the two dragons did not move forward, but their eyes flickered with curiosity. They might think that this human race was so stupid that they wanted to command them with just two pieces of salted meat.

"Eat!" Quentyn said again. He approached the two little dragons step by step, his movements were not too big, his steps were not too big, he was careful, and sweat broke out on his nose.

The two dragons tilted their heads back and forth, and their four iridescent dragon eyes stared at him. He felt his helplessness to be dominated by the dragons. At this time, it was too late to retreat. If he retreated, things might get worse.

"Quiet, eat!" Quentyn issued two dragon riding commands in a row.

In the sky, there was a faint dragon roar, which was the sound of the black dragon. Daenerys had warned him that Drogon the black dragon was the most irritable. When taming the dragon, you must not turn your back to the black dragon. It is best to approach the white dragon and the green dragon when the black dragon is not there, or when Daenerys herself is there.

Quentyn raised his head slowly. The sky was blue and there was no shadow of the black dragon, but the dragon roar was still faintly floating.

The white dragon and the green dragon also raised their long necks and looked at the sky.

There was no shadow of the black dragon in the sky.

The green dragon spread its wings and stirred up a gust of wind and sand. It flew a short distance, just like a fledgling bird learning to fly. After flying a short distance, it fell down and spread its wings and flew back.

"Quiet!" Quentyn said softly, "Eat!" He threw the salted meat in his hand to the white dragon.

Boom!

The white dragon spewed out a dragon flame, wrapped the salted meat. At the moment when the salted meat fell, his long neck stretched out, caught the salted meat, and swallowed it down.

Success!

Quentyn was overjoyed.

The white dragon Viserion accepted his first piece of salted meat and did not show hostility to Quentyn.

"Quiet!" Quentyn said to appease, and threw out the second piece of salted meat.

The green dragon flew over, snatched the second piece of salted meat. He landed, threw the salted meat into the air, spewed out dragon flame, the surface of the salted meat was instantly charred, the meat fell, and fell into the green dragon's mouth.

Behind Quentyn, Archibald's face and neck were covered with hot sweat. In his eyes, fear, panic, surprise, and excitement were mixed together...

"Eat!" Quentyn issued the dragon riding command. He threw two pieces of salted meat with both hands at the same time, raised them high, and the white dragon and the green dragon stretched out their necks at the same time, spewed out dragon flame at the same time, and the two dragons swallowed the two pieces of salted meat into their stomachs at the same time.

Behind the rocks in the distance, the four Dothraki people were stunned.

This country bumpkin is really brave, he actually succeeded.

Quentyn himself was also very excited, and his eyes turned red as if they were congested.

"I am a dragonseed, I have the blood of the dragonlords." Quentyn said to himself in his heart. This made him feel more confident.

Soon, the salted meat in the basin was running out.

"Archibald, go get the other basin."

"Yes, Prince."

Archibald turned around cautiously, and then slowly retreated.

Quentyn faced the two little dragons: "Quiet!" He said softly.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar came from overhead. The black dragon burst from the clouds unexpectedly, like an arrow shooting straight down, whistling as it came.

"Don't turn your back on the black dragon, that's the most serious provocation," Daenerys's words exploded in Quentyn's ears.

Quentyn raised his head, staring intently at the increasingly large black shadow. The image of the black dragon Drogon became clearer and clearer, its dragon eyes impossible to ignore. But Quentyn had no choice. He widened his eyes, unmoving, facing the black dragon's dive.

The black dragon roared down, stirring up a great cloud of dust that enveloped Quentyn. The black dragon emitted a huge, threatening roar. From the foot of the mountain, Daenerys's voice carried up: "Drogon, quiet!"

Drogon was not quiet. He pounced next to Quentyn and, with a dragon claw, knocked over the salted meat basin.

"Quiet, Drogon!" Quentyn issued the dragon-command.

"Quiet, Drogon!" Daenerys's voice followed. She was rapidly ascending the mountain, but the distance from the foot to the summit was simply too far.

Dissatisfaction showed in the black dragon's eyes. He breathed dragonflame, burning the salted meat basin to ashes.

"Archibald, salted meat, quick!" Quentyn shouted.

He judged that the black dragon Drogon was angry because he had not eaten salted meat. He hurriedly shouted towards Archibald.

However, there was no response from Archibald behind him.

The black dragon breathed hot air onto Quentyn, making him feel as if he was in a furnace, feeling like his hair was almost ignited.

"Archibald, salted meat!" Quentyn shouted anxiously.

Still, there was no sound, no response whatsoever from Archibald.

What was Archibald doing? Had he run away?

Quentyn turned his head, although he did not completely turn his back on the black dragon, but this sent a fatal wrong signal. The black dragon's huge mouth opened, and a red, bright light flashed from its neck, a stream of dragonflame like a fireball spewed from its throat, and with a 'bang,' it hit Quentyn's body squarely. Instantly, Quentyn was enveloped in dragonflame, becoming a human-shaped candle.

"No, I am of dragon blood!" Quentyn let out a miserable cry, the sound abruptly starting and abruptly stopping, as if it had been cut off by a sharp blade with a 'shiu' sound.

Thank you [Feng Qian Yue] for the reward, thank you, handshake!