Targaryen Who Turned Dragon

Chapter 78 - Holy Water

He landed softly onto the marble floor. This time, the guards were more prepared since a raven had been sent the night prior. "The Prince of Dorne has been expecting your presence, Your Grace."

"Then lead me to him."

Aerion looked at the various fountains, pools and waters. Children ran around and played together like there was no tomorrow. Aerion considered having a bath himself, preferably by himself and in the night. It was a pleasant place, there was no doubt. Perhaps that was why Doran stayed here... the Water Gardens were more of a summer residence, much like Summerhall. Well, before it turned into a ruin anyway.

They continued to the main part, where a dozen or so pairs of pillars stood tall and were decorated with beautiful patterns. On the sides, stood a few blood orange trees. The Autumn cold wasn't quite apparent in Dorne, not yet anyway. It might have had the opposite effect... some say that it's warmer now, in Autumn, than it was during Summer. That would explain the heat, though it did not affect Aerion at all. After all, he had bathed in a volcano for months.

At the end of the pillars laid a few steps that led to the higher platform, where a weary Doran Martell sat. His indifferent character brightened upon the arrival of his nephew, a man who has far too many titles to his name, the most noteworthy being King of the Seven Kingdoms.

"You arrived, at last, I was beginning to think that you forgot about your dear uncle."

"My sincerest apologies. I was occupied with my new duties as King, among other things."

"I understand... come, sit, or would you rather stand, Your Grace?"

Aerion smiled and sat down on one of the chairs. "There is no need for you to call me by that title, uncle."

~After some catching up

"I remember when you were no more than a restless child of two... those were much more pleasant times."

"They were, indeed."

"I wonder, why did you let Robert live?"

"He bent the knee and made his subjects do the same. Because of that, I honoured his wishes of going into exile."

"That was a wise decision, preventing further resentment. I must say... you have grown into a splendid young man. However, I am sure that the path was not easy. Forgive me for not assisting you especially when you came so close to home during your days as King of the Stepstones."

"I cannot blame you, uncle. Robert would have brought down his hammer on Dorne if you had done so."

"That is true... anyway, is there a specific reason as to why you came to see me?"

"There is, in fact, I would like to arrange a marriage between Arianne and Viserys."

"That is an interesting yet most splendid pairing. I will agree to it."

"That is good to hear. But, another matter troubles me..." Aerion looked down at his feet, which were well hidden by a dark rug.

"This? You don't want to see... it is the reason why I have to be carried in this cursed thing. Even my own bannermen think less of me."

"Just because you cannot stand... some people are quite fickle. Perhaps, I may be able to treat you."

"Is this true?"

"Let me see it first."

He nodded and Aerion took off the rug. The sight before him seemed grim but this made Aerion even more determined to remove the devil that had taken his uncle's feet. He observed and took note.

So he has a bad case of gout... maybe the cloaked man has something that can treat the symptoms.

"Give me a moment."

Aerion closed his eyes and swiftly opened the gates to the Dungeon. He appeared in Floor Seven and saw the cloaked man slumped in his chair. Aerion's footsteps echoed on the marble floor of the platform. He jumped and hastily composed himself. There was a playful tone to his voice and Aerion could imagine him smiling. Though, he could not as an aura of darkness had covered all of the cloaked man's features.

"So you need me now?"

"More or less... do you have any medicine?"

"I sell medicine, yes. However, it tends to be on the more costly side of things... but it makes up for it with absurd quality. Regardless, do you need anything in particular?"

"Something that treats... gout?"

"Hmm..."

"Do you?" Aerion asked again.

"HMM..."

"..."

Aerion patiently stood still and waited for him to respond with a proper answer. It came a few seconds later.

"Yes... I have something vastly extraordinary. It will remove that gout within a mere breath of time, among other things. All you need to do is pay up and you can have it."

"All of my gold? Or..."

"All of it!"

"That is absurd..."

"I'll add a few things, of course."

"Such as?"

"It is a... surprise, you'll see."

"Fine."

Aerion gave the ring. The cloaked man returned the ring after adding a few things to it.

~

Aerion opened his eyes.

"Alright, I got it."

"Got what?"

"The medicine that will cure your gout, in seconds no less!"

It was a simple bottle with an even simpler description. It read: "Holy water, from some shiny lake, drink all of it and hope you don't explode or you can just be a wussy and take one sip. Choose accordingly."

Sounds like regular water... apart from the exploding part. Makes me want to look inside that ring and see what else he put in there. Maybe some holy rocks? Or holy grass?

Aerion gave his uncle one sip of the water and waited for the results. His gout did, indeed, vanish as if it never existed. He stood up from his palanquin as soon as the medicine kicked in.

"It's gone... thank the Gods, it is gone! All thanks to you, Aerion... what is the miraculous medicine that you gave me called?"

"Holy water."

"Holy water?"

"It's complicated..."

"Ah, it does not matter. I hear you can... fly? "

"Of course."

"Then the journey to Sunspear will be a short one."

It was, indeed.

They arrived shortly after and it was in Sunspear where the arrangement was finalised. For now, they were promised to each other until further notice. Aerion wanted to deal with Rotias first before any festivities. But the arrangement did bring forth many issues, the main one being Arianne's status as heir to Dorne. This problem, along with the rest, was sorted in a short time period. It was decided that the first child would be a Martell and continue Arianne's line. The son after the first child would be heir to Dragonstone, who would continue Viserys' line. Dragonstone would no longer be given to the heir to the Iron Throne as it was permanently given to Viserys. Another issue arose, what lands would the heir hold now? Aerion left that one for another time.

"You work swiftly, nephew."

"I try my best. Anyway, I have other matters to attend to now."

"Understandable."

Aerion flew into the skies and tried calling for Daemon and Rhaegal, who both returned at a similar time. But they seemed to be heavily wounded... which raised a question.

"What did you two do to get yourselves in such a state?"

"Well... it was mostly Rhaegal's idea. The fool wanted a fight so I gave him one. Of course, as the senior, I came out as the victor."

Rhaegal remained confident. "I lost after a long while... but the weather better suited you. If it was an open field, I would have effortlessly handled you."

"So you fought each other? That explains everything."

Aerion healed Rhaegal first, as his wounds seemed more severe, and Daemon second with his healing flames. It wasn't a long process since he has pretty much mastered the technique. Aerion didn't punish them for being competitive, he encouraged them instead.

"How about a rematch, Daemon?"

"Later, I need to rest. You can hold the loss a little bit longer..."

"You... haha, that will make my glorious victory over you even sweeter."

"You keep dreaming." Daemon extended his wings and took flight.

"Where is he going?" Aerion asked.

"To his new cave... he would rather stay there, over the Sky Poison Pearl. Apparently, he likes his privacy and freedom."

"The Sky Poison Pearl is not big enough? It is what it is... I'll allow it. Did you find yourself a lair as well, Rhaegal?"

"No. I quite like the space inside the Pearl."

"Good to know."

He placed Rhaegal back in the Sky Poison Pearl. It was getting dark already... time had flown by. There was nothing left to do, apart from calling it a day and laying down. Admittedly, he had already started to miss having Tai Xia beside him in bed.

Well, I won't be here much longer... maybe a week or two. Robb should be fine, I made sure of it. Now then...

Silver Calamity.

Aerion's profound energy grew several times stronger - but only for a short period of time. A couple of seconds later and he was breathless, a few more and he might be courting death (she's not very pretty). Luckily, Aerion closed the gate before more harm than good came upon him.

"Six seconds… still… so… mediocre!"

In battle that time will be shorter, surely… but then again, I wouldn't care quite so much about harming myself in the heat of the moment. But it's still not enough. Clearly, I need to increase my cultivation strength.

Just a few more months until I start trashing Rotias...

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