Chapter 454

The sled carrying the black dragon was massive and cumbersome, but the thick, compacted snow outside Last Hearth made the task surprisingly manageable. Following orders, the Gift transport team managed to move Drogon within half a mile of the castle. Emerging from the treeline at the bend in the road, they positioned the sled where it would be clearly visible from the castle walls.

Once Rickard Karstark climbed to the battlements and saw the injured black dragon curled up on the sled, he kept his word. He ordered his men to prepare for departure and began withdrawing his forces from Last Hearth.

Aegor had noticed Rickard whispering orders to his son earlier, likely sending him away to safety. Fortunately, after all the commotion inside and out, the worst-case scenario didn’t come to pass—Rickard did not attempt to take Aegor hostage. Instead, the Karstark army divided into two groups: the main force and a rear guard. By nightfall, the last of them had left, vacating the castle entirely.

And so, after a series of twists and turns, the battle for the “empty castle” came to a peaceful resolution.
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Dragons were indeed useful.

No matter how much Aegor believed that the queen would be easier to manage without them, he couldn’t deny their value. Without a dragon, even a thousand-strong army wouldn’t have persuaded someone like Rickard Karstark to surrender a castle without loosing an arrow. Yet a single dragon—wounded and far from its prime—had accomplished what ten thousand men could not through sheer intimidation.

Aegor realized he had been trapped in a flawed mindset.

Coming from another world, no magical creature could truly surpass the absurdity of his own transmigration. From the beginning, dragons had been mundane in his eyes. Knowing their weaknesses, having seen the weapons capable of defeating them, Aegor had subconsciously dismissed them as tools useful only for fighting wights, not for conquest. He had underestimated them.

But he failed to consider: not everyone shared his perspective. Not everyone knew dragons’ weaknesses or had seen anti-dragon weapons in action. And even for those who had, the technological limitations of this world made mass-producing such weapons nearly impossible.

If an enemy ignored the dragons, these flying beasts could unleash devastation that shocked both foe and ally alike. On the other hand, if dragons were prioritized as a threat, entire factions would have to divert resources, time, and effort to countering them—resources that could no longer be spent on conventional warfare. This fundamental tension between technological capability and the need to address a superweapon was what made dragons so uniquely valuable.

Dragons were this world’s equivalent of nuclear weapons. Their destructive power might not match, but their deterrent effect was arguably greater. As much as Aegor wished for the dragons’ deaths to simplify matters, he had to admit that their presence was invaluable for now. At least until the larger conflicts were resolved, he needed to appreciate having dragons on his side.

With this newfound clarity, Aegor resolved to prioritize Drogon’s recovery. He immediately ordered the soldiers entering the castle to devise a plan for dismantling the west gate, allowing Drogon to be brought inside.

Shortly afterward, the queen herself entered the castle, escorted by the elite Crown Town Guard from the Gift.
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“Last Hearth is yours, Your Grace,” Aegor said with a formal bow before hesitating and softening his tone. “But, we agreed earlier that I would enter first to assess the situation while you waited at a safe distance with the dragons. Why, then, did Rhaegal fly directly over the castle?”

Contrary to what Aegor had told Rickard, there had been no agreement with Daenerys to burn the castle if he didn’t return in an hour. Rhaegal’s unexpected flight had turned what should have been a straightforward negotiation into a perilous gamble. Though Aegor’s quick thinking and the dragon’s presence had ultimately succeeded in driving the Karstarks away, he couldn’t shake the suspicion that Rickard had only feigned being swayed by the promises of land. The old lord might already be on his way to Karhold, preparing to accuse Aegor of seizing an Umber castle in bad faith.

The seeds of conflict had been sown. Securing dragonglass and saltpeter from the North would now be significantly more difficult.

Though Aegor was irritated, he knew better than to voice his frustration outright. Daenerys was his queen, not a subordinate he could chastise. Losing his temper with her would be both foolish and dangerous.

“You were gone for so long. I was worried something had happened to you,” Daenerys explained, her tone sincere and unguarded. “If something had gone wrong, I wouldn’t have known what to do with your men.”

“What the Lord Commander means,” said Machiro, smiling wryly, “is that he believed he could persuade the Karstarks to leave on his own. The dragon’s appearance, while well-intentioned, complicated matters.”

“Ah... I may have acted rashly,” Daenerys admitted, a hint of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Her genuine remorse disarmed Aegor, diffusing his lingering annoyance. The queen’s actions, while reckless, stemmed from genuine concern rather than malice. Worse yet, her impulsiveness had inadvertently worked out, succeeding where Aegor’s words alone might have failed.

Perhaps he shared some of the blame. He should have anticipated that the Karstarks wouldn’t give up Last Hearth without a fight and planned accordingly. Rather than relying on negotiation, he should have surrounded the castle from the start and used the dragon as leverage.

“Forget it. It’s nothing,” Aegor said, shaking his head. There was no point dwelling on the matter. He needed to learn from this and move forward.
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Putting the unpleasant episode behind him, Aegor turned his focus to practical matters. The first priority was constructing a temporary dragon lair for Drogon. He directed the Gift soldiers to clear a space near the training yard, where wooden platforms would be built above the ground to keep it dry, with a makeshift roof to shelter the injured dragon from wind and snow. The heat generated by the dragon’s body would naturally keep the space warm, eliminating any risk of frostbite.

Next, he dispatched teams to nearby settlements in Umber territory to gather live sheep for feeding Drogon.

Finally, Aegor summoned the "Old Guard" of the Night’s Watch—those who had worn the black long before his election as Lord Commander. Their task was to collect dragonglass and saltpeter supplies that had been distributed to Northern residents. With tensions rising between the Gift and the North, Aegor wanted to secure as much as possible before relations soured further.

The Old Guard were ideal for this mission. Their traditional loyalty to the Watch and apolitical stance made them unlikely targets for Northern aggression. Even if they failed, the worst outcome would be returning empty-handed. It was a calculated risk.
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With these preparations underway, Aegor finally entered the main keep of Last Hearth, where Daenerys and her priests of R’hllor awaited him. Seated in the Umbers’ ancient hall, warmed by a roaring fire, they began to discuss the next steps in their campaign.