I Became the Mother of Dragons

       In a village that seemed plucked from the pages of a nightmare, Dany and her companions bore witness to horrors that defied explanation. A bald woman with two faces, a man with one oversized and one undersized head, a hunchbacked child with three legs, a girl with a twisted mouth and slanted eyes and nostrils—the bizarre inhabitants were unlike any they had ever encountered.

Even a captured wild boar bore the mark of grotesque deformity, with lips elongated to a grotesque extent, resembling a creature subjected to the ravages of nuclear radiation.

"Go, get out of here now!" Dany urged Little White to make a hasty retreat, diverting from their path toward the village.

"Why in the Seven Hells is there nuclear radiation in a world of magic?" Dany cursed aloud, venting her bewildered frustration. She glanced up at the sky, realizing that the persistent dust suspended in the air likely contained radioactive particles, explaining why it had lingered for centuries.

"Could Valyria's might extend to harnessing nuclear power? Or perhaps they faced an alien invasion, a technological clash that resulted in Valyria becoming irradiated?" Dany mused, her curiosity piqued by the secrets hidden within the ancient civilization.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty? Why did we turn back so suddenly?" Barristan inquired, puzzled by their abrupt change in direction.

Twenty minutes later, Big Black met with Dany at the Gulf of Grief.

"Let's head back," Dany declared.

"Aren't we going to Westeros?"

"No, we must return immediately… Actually, we should discard everything. Throw away the backpack, the scarf, the cloak—everything."

Dany sat upright on the dragon's back and swiftly removed her blue canvas hiking bag, and then the woolen scarf concealing her face. She proceeded to disassemble her armor, including the helmet, lobster gauntlets, and skirt armor, casting them all into the sea.

Though Barristan didn't fully grasp her intentions, he complied with the Queen's orders, doing the same. He had attempted to secure a set of armor from Jorah Mormont before they parted ways.

"Wearing Valyrian steel armor will provide better protection for the Queen," the old knight argued earnestly.

However, Jorah, not oblivious to the old man's covetous gaze, refused the request at the time. "This armor is far too conspicuous and would reveal the Queen's identity," he countered.
 

...

The sound of dragons' wings slicing through the air reverberated in the afternoon sun. Jorah Mormont shielded his eyes with his right hand and bellowed towards the sky, "Your Majesty, why have you returned in less than a day? Have the allies set course for Slaver's Bay, and you've witnessed their approach?"

"Strip off your armor and don deerskin gloves!" Dany commanded the Unsullied.

As the bag containing iron armor and gloves was carried away by Big Black, soaring northward towards the sea, Dany turned her attention to Little White. Though she found no visible dust on him, she instructed Irri, "Summon Quaro's Dragonsguard to wait for me at the quayside. Provide them with jackets, gloves, boots, masks, and hats."

Mounting Little Green, with Little White and Big Black in tow, she led the dragons to the beach, where dozens of well-clad Dothraki vigorously rubbed down the dragons with sand.

Not a speck of dust remained.

It wasn't until the crimson sun dipped below the horizon that she returned to the Great Pyramid with the three dragons in tow.

"What happened?" Barristan and Mormont chorused, their confusion palpable.

Dany's expression morphed into a complex mix of surprise, fear, relief, and a lingering sense of bewilderment. She sighed heavily and spoke slowly, "The Lands of Long Summer is cursed."

As her emotions settled, Dany began to second-guess her earlier speculations.

The notion of alien wars and sorcerers in a different world seemed far too outlandish and preposterous to Dany. Moreover, the idea of nuclear power plants causing widespread contamination was equally implausible. Nuclear pollution, as exemplified by the Fukushima incident, had a limited reach of 60,000 square kilometers, whereas the entire Lands of Long Summer spanned over 100 million square kilometers. The scale simply didn't add up, and it had been 400 years—winds should have dispersed any radioactive dust by now.

"Slaver's Bay and Volantis neighbor the Lands of Long Summer. Shouldn't they be affected as well?" Dany pondered aloud. If nuclear radiation were the cause, the dust should have spread in all directions, yet the curse appeared confined to the Lands of Long Summer's shores, extending no further than the Gulf of Grief, a mere few hundred meters away.

"It is known that Valyria was cursed, where neither crops nor cattle thrive," Strong Belwas grumbled.

"But we did see someone, possibly in the direction of Oros!" Barristan noted, furrowing his brow.

Belwas' eyes widened in disbelief. "Could there really be people in Oros?"

The Lands of Long Summer, home to Valyria, stretched 600 kilometers in width and 1,500 kilometers in length, constituting a peninsula on the Summer Sea. The peninsula was marked by several active volcanoes near its center, including the infamous "Fourteen Flames." These volcanoes, along with those surrounding Valyria's capital to the south, collectively formed this volcanic chain.

During the cataclysm, all fourteen volcanoes erupted simultaneously, obliterating Valyria in an instant. Even the once-intact Lands of Long Summer were shattered into four fragments: the upper half, the relatively preserved Lands of Long Summer; a chain of small islands and reefs known as the Smoking Sea; and three large islands below, divided along the path of the Fourteen Flames' fury.

The island most coveted for exploration was the Valyria Island, nestled amidst the Smoking Sea. Yet, despite numerous expeditions, only Euron Greyjoy's fleet had returned from the treacherous journey.

Some daring explorers had a different strategy: if they couldn't have the meat, they would at least savor the broth. Consequently, expeditions began infiltrating the Lands of Long Summer through Old Valyria, harboring hopes of uncovering the remnants of the once-mighty Valyrian city-states obliterated in the cataclysm.

Explorers who ventured into cities like Mantarys and Oros, like the bustling metropolis of Volantis, had high expectations of discovering wealth beyond reason. However, their reality was grim, with those exploring Mantarys encountering horrifying monsters, none of whom survived to tell the tale. The adventurers who delved into the depths of the Lands of Long Summer fared even worse, as only a few returned, driven mad by their experiences.

Among these returning madmen, a recurring rumor persisted—that Oros and its inhabitants survived. However, this claim was met with skepticism, given the immense number of deaths associated with the exploration of the Lands of Long Summer. Despite the presence of water, food, and tolerable temperatures, people inexplicably lost their lives, experiencing symptoms such as coughing blood, vomiting, skin ulcers, and the rotting and falling off of various organs.

In a world filled with sorcery and curses, none compared to the enigma of the Lands of Long Summer.

As time passed, grotesque and monstrous beings began to emerge near the Valyrian road. Sorcerers dispatched by Volantis to investigate were left on the brink of collapse. They concluded that Valyria had opened a Hellgate, through which devils and specters had surged forth along the Valyrian road.

Centuries later, it was revealed that the monsters in Mantarys were merely deformed freaks who lacked actual mystic powers—though some unfortunate souls had fallen prey to these grotesque inhabitants. Despite this revelation, the once-termed "Golden Road," connecting Slaver's Bay and Volantis, had become infamous as the "Demon Road."

Even Dany had never entertained the idea of setting foot on the ancient Valyrian road to reach neighboring Mantarys, despite its proximity to Slaver's Bay.

"The so-called devils turned out to be but deformed people… But where does the nuclear radiation come into play? Or is it truly nuclear radiation?" Dany pondered aloud, feeling sympathy for the Valyrian inhabitants of the Lands of Long Summer. She couldn't help but think that it might have been more merciful to perish in the cataclysm.

"Do you mean the people in that village weren't humans but demons?" Barristan queried, his surprise evident.

At the time, Big Black had been flying at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, and human vision could only discern huts and silhouettes on the ground without adjusting the focus as Dragons could see detailed features.

"Almost… I wonder if they've retained any semblance of civilization," Dany wondered aloud.

"Are we still heading to Westeros?" Jorah Mormont asked, his brow furrowed.

"Fetch some lead ingots from the warehouse. I intend to fashion fully enclosed lead armor," Dany instructed Irri.

Astapor possessed lead, which, like the Dothraki of the Great Grass Sea, the Ghiscari had used for their pyramidal water systems, employing lead pipes.

Upon capturing the city, Dany had dismantled all the lead pipes, melting them down into lead ingots for storage. However, she was well aware that while lead pipes might endure for thousands of years, lead itself was harmful to the human body.

"Are you planning to explore the Lands of Long Summer?" Barristan inquired.

"Westeros comes first; there are a few things I need to understand."

"The curse…"

"As long as the Dragons are fine, I won't be cursed."

Within Big Black's senses, the purported curse of haze, conceivably related to radioactive substances, posed little threat to him. The only concern would arise if even the colossal Dreki's senses were deceived.

In just two days, the malleable lead was forged into two sets of fully enclosed plate armor, even equipped with crystal lenses for eye protection, their silver gleam resembling twin canisters.

In addition to the lead armor, Dany enlisted the help of female textile workers in the city to craft two sets of gold silk undergarments and two sets of gold silk capes. After all, radiation protection suits on Taobao were fabricated from metal fibers, weren't they?

Initially, Dany hadn't planned on taking Barristan with her, but the three White Cloaks and her Bloodriders strongly discouraged her from traveling alone. Barristan, in particular, made it clear that he prioritized the Queen's safety over his own life.

On the morning of the third day, the two Dragons returned to the village near the Valyrian road. This time, Dany brought along the Dragonlord status token unearthed from the Red Waste.

Perhaps it was a psychological effect, but after donning the medieval DIY "nuclear suit," she felt noticeably lighter as if the magical nuclear power plant was no longer a source of fear.

"I suggest we venture farther," Barristan suggested gravely. "None of them appear to be normal people, and I'm concerned that you may not only fail to gather the information you seek but also struggle to communicate with them."

With binoculars hanging around his neck, Barristan could see the people and houses on the ground from an altitude of 1,000 meters. However, none of them appeared to be human.

Dany considered his advice and ultimately agreed with him. In any sizable population, there would invariably be at least a few exceptions to the "curse," but this village was too small to provide such diversity.

The two Dragons resumed their journey southward along the Valyrian road.

Half an hour later, Dany breathed a sigh of relief. The previous village wasn't an exception; along the way, they encountered more than a dozen isolated "Demons" and three slightly larger villages.

Finally, after an hour of flying, a small "town" comprising over 200 families came into view beside the stone road. The pale afternoon sun struggled to penetrate the thick haze, casting a gray pallor over everything. Five kilometers east of the Valyrian road lay a dark lake, and between the lake and the gray-white stone road, a "town" emerged. Hundreds of adobe thatched cottages lined the streets, forming the town's layout.

Most notably, in the center of the town stood a circular laterite platform, rising four meters in height. Atop it rested a Valyrian Dragonlord stone sculpture.

The carving was simple, yet it was evident that it depicted a Valyrian riding a dragon. Clearly, the inhabitants of this town possessed intelligence and the ability to communicate.

"So, they're being hospitable?" Dany pondered aloud, looking toward Big Black and beckoning. The two dragons circled overhead before descending toward the muddy square in the center of the town.