#tumblr ruins the quality :( sad because these are so rich in detail

[twoclaws]

The Dancheong* Influenced Paintings of Korean Artist Pak Il-Sun.

*Dancheong (단청) is a traditional Korean painting and preservation technique used on wood buildings of religious and cultural significance. The techniques used in Dancheong require years of training, are rich in symbolism and detail, and make use of five primary colors: blue, white, red, black, and yellow.

[tidustargaryen]

Blood of the Dragon

Sorry the quality is not great on Tumblr. It’s better on Ao3.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22291069/chapters/53236438

Chapter 3 - A Dance with the Shadow Dragon

"My sister won't marry this savage. We can take a boat at the south dock, it's less guarded. ”

"You have no choice but to receive this khal, they will sack the city and many people will die, and those who remain alive will be enslaved. "Oberyn replied to Viserys with reproach.

"It is out of the question to risk the lives of anyone here. After all you have done for us, Mistress Ilissa, I cannot allow it." Answered the princess.

They had all gathered in the Mistress's private residence to see how they would handle the horde, the place was huge and so sumptuous that it was difficult to concentrate on the conversation without taking a look at the portraits hanging on the walls or at the shining chandeliers that dominated the rooms.

"I knew the risks involved in housing the last two Targaryens, and I'm proud that Oberyn trusted me to take care of you both."

Ilissa Naeraar was a middle-aged woman, very beautiful even though time had left its mark on her face, which was tinted with one of the most beautiful browns she had ever seen. She also had one of the sweetest and rarest hearts that it was unthinkable that someone so rich and with so much influence would want to help others. But Daenerys trusted Oberyn, and it was he who had entrusted them to the Mistress' care. Her husband had succumbed to a fever after one of his many journeys, but Ilissa had taken over the estate with dignity and ran her late husband's business in a much more prosperous way. She had managed to pay off all his debts and had become richer since then. She had never remarried, but was enjoying life in the same way as Oberyn, whom she had known as her lover a long time ago.

"And I can never thank you enough for all you've done, but I refuse to let them ruin this town because of me." Ilissa took Dany's hand in hers and looked at her with disconcerting affection, she was the closest thing to a mother for Daenerys, she has no children but never failed to bring all her love to her servants and her two hosts. "Oberyn, where's the priestess?"

"Who...is...?"

"Oberyn...?"

"It's too dangerous, something emanates from her, I don't trust her and nothing is ever free with them. And it's not a thing you pay with gold..."

"I ask for nothing..." She had subtly introduced herself into the room without arousing the senses. Oberyn was right, something was emanating from her, something strange and dark. She was also a beautiful woman, her gaze was mesmerizing, she seemed to have bewitched her brother who could have been drooling right now, he was so suspicious of strangers, normally. Oberyn, on the other hand, hadn't let himself be seduced, he had only one desire and that was to impale this woman on his spear.

"How could you...? I locked you in the cage with the piglets, you were tied to the trough!"

"What?!"

"What... what? Safety before comfort, you'll see when she tries to set your precious silver curls on fire." Oberyn then approached Viserys to give him the same kind of warning. "The future king that you are should avoid that kind of devil, or you risk losing parts of yourself that you love so much, and the kingdom will need heirs..."

"I wish the princess no harm, on the contrary, I am here to guide you, dragon girl." She replied while completely ignoring the future king who did not really appreciated the offense. Her brother was very sensitive but she had no time to ease his feelings.

"Very well, but first you will help us, you said you could repel the Dothraki, how?"

Somewhere, at a certain time

The burning sand was a real torture for her feet, which she had not been able to cover in order to facilitate her training, the stifling heat made her skin redden and covered it with a film of sweat. She was in a desert in the middle of nowhere with Oberyn, he had brought her and her brother to Lys, he had paid the expenses for the boat and they embarked after spending a few more weeks in Myr before the Dornish got tired of the courtesans.

Lys was the perfect place for debauchery, her brother seemed to think so too, but today Oberyn dedicated his time to training. It had been a few weeks since he put a sword in Dany's hands, Viserys protested, of course, she was too young for that, but above all, she was a woman, and a woman's role was to be a good wife who would bear beautiful heirs. Oberyn didn't care, women fought just as much in Dorne, he told them that he had eight bastard daughters, for the moment, he winked, and that he taught all the older ones to fight so that they could defend themselves.

Daenerys had great difficulty holding the sword, her arm was numb and her legs threatened to abandon her at any moment. She didn't like the training, the idea of being able to defend herself was nice, but the idea of killing much less. Her brother was much less scrupulous, but rather lazy about training and didn't like the Dornish prince. It was also a game for some children, with Oberyn, it was not.

"If you refuse to fight, I'll have to make you spend the rest of the day standing on one leg under the blazing sun and you'll spend the night cleaning swords and spears and all our clothes."

"Please Oberyn, I'm just a child and Viserys isn't even here, he's the future king!"

"Your brother is an idiot but he is the future king as you say, it would be easier to make a snake dance than to train him when he decides to spend the day in a brothel. And you're the right age, but not the right will."

She spent a lot of time with the Dornishman, they often spoke, and although Daenerys was young, he explained many realities of this world to her. She had to learn how to fight, for life had not yet offered her all the misfortunes it could. He blamed his brother, who spent his time brooding over his anger and dreaming of his kingdom rather than doing what it took to win it. The world was not kind to children, and it would be even worse for adults, and much worse for a woman. That's what Oberyn told her, the same thing he told his daughters. But any blow they took, they could return, and that's why Dany had to learn, he wasn't just teaching her how to hold a sword, he was also training her body to withstand pain. On several occasions he asked her to bring him back a random object in a very short time, it was a game for the princess, a fun game she was playing with her brother, but very quickly, the fun had given way to exhaustion. Her feet were damaged and sore, her legs were hurting and hardening, her body, so thin before, was beginning to change, she was gaining a little more strength every day.

The worst was when she had to spend the night without sleeping, looking at the passers-by through her window, she had to count them and differentiate between women and men, sometimes he would ask her a few more details about their clothes, what they were doing outside and when there were the least people on the street. When she had the audacity to tell him that it was no use to her training, Oberyn made her spend the day cleaning the inn where they were staying, and she only had a meal when it was over, very late at night. He then explained to her that training her mind was just as important as training her body, it was essential that she had good concentration and that she could spot all the details and memorize them.

His daughters' training was much easier, but they had not lacked food for so many years, their bodies were stronger, better prepared. The young princess was much more comfortable with books, she had learned a lot from the stories her brother had taught her and enjoyed learning more from Oberyn. Dany didn't like the training, but despite a few complaints, she never missed any of them, and never used her title to avoid them.

Oberyn was strict, and felt no remorse at seeing the princess exhausted, he didn't have much time and she had to learn fast. But sometimes he would change his plans and arrange a day off to go for a walk with the Targaryens, he liked to see the girl marvel at the beauties of the world, she deserved a little joy, she deserved to smile, to laugh, her life had been so sad and dark. Her brother was much more reserved, and had only two obsessions, the throne, and revenge, which he had in common with Oberyn, they could agree on that, at least.

The Dornishman was two sides of the same coin for Daenerys, he was both stern and demanding about education and training, but he was also the most affectionate and smiling man she had known since her knight. He had offered her many things since they had known each other, food above all, a roof and a bed to sleep in, but also toys, his time, his wisdom and a lot of joy. And even though he was jealous and cranky, she also knew that Viserys appreciated Dorne's help, he was proud of it, despite his condition, a great kingdom was loyal to him, but he didn't appreciate the man and began to spend a little more time with his sister, reading books to her, telling her stories, taking her on his lap until she fell asleep on him. Oberyn's arrival had, in a way, allowed Daenerys to recover a brother.

After training, they met Viserys at the inn in good company, he dismissed the women and followed his two companions to their room. Oberyn had not planned such a long journey and money was running out, so he took a room for the three of them and, while the siblings slept together in bed, he requisitioned the chair.

"I'll have to go back to Dorne, give news to my brother and make a plan to take King's Landing. You'll be staying with a faithful friend for the time being, I trust him, but you'll have to be very careful when you go out, Lys attracts a lot of people. I want you to continue training, you'll be taught by a preceptor here, much less demanding than I am, so enjoy."

The news hit the young princess, after a day together, Oberyn didn’t tell her he was leaving. And he was leaving tonight, leaving them with strangers. Dany held back her tears as the two men continued the discussion.

"Doran's going to want to know the terms of our arrangement, he still believes you'll marry my niece. ”

"I'll marry my sister, it's non-negotiable. My house must rise from its ashes, but marriages between Targaryens and Martells can still be made. I will offer my heir, the future king after me, to one of your princesses of his age. And for the delay this will cause you, my council will also need loyalists who have supported and helped me, many benefits will be granted to House Martell, if your brother wishes, he can still make requests. If you help House Targaryen, if through you we obtain vengeance, then House Martell will be the second power in Westeros, and nothing will threaten us, no more Dornish daughters will suffer, and the Lannisters, Baratheons and Starks will see their Houses humiliated, destroyed and forgotten."

Oberyn had without looking back, he spoke one last time with their host and left Essos for an indefinite period. The princess cried after his departure, Viserys mocked her weakness and sent her to bed without telling her that he saw the Dornishman shed a tear as he boarded the ship. Plans were constantly being made, and none of them were ever going as planned, none of them had any certainty that they would see each other again. The Targaryens were always in great danger, especially so close to Westeros.

Everything had been prepared for the arrival of the khal, it had taken only a short time in truth, the Dothraki were a simple folk, who ate simply, dried horses in the great majority and who did not do the politeness to bend to the rules of the place where they were. And the Magister brought so much food with him that they didn't need to cook anything else. Daenerys didn't bother to dress to receive them, after all, the women of this folk were also dressed in trousers. They had agreed not to bring weapons, but the princess discreetly placed a dagger on her belt, just in case, Oberyn always told her. The khal was not the kind of man to keep to a schedule either, Dany chose to wait next to the dragon eggs that had been offered to her by the Magister, she had not yet moved them to her room, this place was better protected, and what was in that trunk was too important.

The eggs fascinated her, she didn't know why, they were only stone, would never be dragons and were just breathtakingly beautiful. Her brother had already made it known that they would cost a fortune, and the Magister, that they would only be hers as wedding gifts...

Daenerys wanted to keep them, no matter their values, they belonged to her House, they were its symbol, and the remains of a wonderful time when the dragons colored the sky. Their values were priceless. Then she thought back to her dream, and to the priestess, she had to have a private conversation with her, after all this she must understand, why she had this dream, why the heat of her bath was always hotter than that of others, and why the egg she had in her hands seemed to be warm and alive when no one else had noticed it. The woman was potentially dangerous, probably even, and she knew that listening to Oberyn was the right thing to do, but she at least had to talk to her, just one conversation.

A maid came to warn her that Viserys has sent for her. After carefully arranging her eggs out of sight, Daenerys joined her brother at the entrance to the estate where a welcome decoration had been erected. The meeting was so solemn for such a primitive people, and Dany kept clutching the fabric of her tunic of nervousness, all their safety rested on this red priestess still unknown the day before, when the princess would refuse the offer of the Horse Lord. And none of them even trusted her...

"You could have dressed up, dear sister, you represent our House."

"Our sigil is on my tunic, I represent our House as much as you, dear brother." She answered condescendingly.

Ilissa stood beside Daenerys as if to comfort her and assure her that she would never let them take her away, but the princess wouldn't let so many people die just to get out of this marriage, and if that priestess had lied, then she would marry the khal so the horde would leave Selhorys in peace. Oberyn had returned to the Targaryens' private home with the red priestess to watch over her, patiently waiting the time to come for her to intervene.

The sound of several hooves trampling the ground resounded in the air and soon, four horsemen were in front of them letting their mounts sing their greetings for them. They were very imposing, and knew how to hold the attention of their audience, their skins were coloured and signs were painted on them, specific to their culture, their hair was deep black and all braided with one or more bells hung on it. They were all bare-chested and their musculature was imposing, her brother seemed frail and insignificant in comparison, one of them was ahead of the others and his gaze was directed straight at her. It’s him, Khal Drogo, a beast, much stronger, taller and with much longer hair than the others, the most frightening man she had seen, and living in the streets she had seen many of them, but this one was of a different kind. If she were to be his wife, she would disappear completely between his arms, this man's thigh was almost as big as the width of her abdomen, it would be like mating a mare and an elephant... No, I can't marry him, he will break me in half as soon as he takes my hand... and I doubt he is that tender...

The man came closer and looked at her body from top to bottom, then from bottom to top, stopping for a moment on her breasts, he seemed to be torn between satisfaction and annoyance while Daenerys was simply indignant. He glanced at his companions and one of them left the scene. The Magister spoken in Dothraki to the khal and talked to Ilissa before they all entered her house for further conversation. Other Dothraki arrived afterwards, as did the Westerosi knight as they went through the tables full of food. The khal was seated next to her and threw himself on his food while the Magister explained the origins of it, her brother was on the other side and seemed disgusted by this people who, for the most part, remained standing and smelled with curiosity the dishes that were before their eyes. The Westerosi was sitting next to her brother and she could feel his gaze falling on her quite often. She was not really comfortable here and kept thinking about the drama that might unfold before her eyes, what would they do if she killed their chef right in front of their eyes? And could she do it? She had never killed a man before, but no, she would certainly condemn everyone to death, no people would let their king or queen die in front of their eyes without any consequences for the murderer...

"What is this impostor priestess doing? I can't stand those animals anymore." Viserys whispered in her ear right in the middle of his unpleasant tasting of his dried piece of horse. The Magister then stood up and placed himself before the table of the Targaryens.

"The khal wishes to know when the wedding can take place, he'd like it to be as soon as possible, the journey to Vaes Dothrak will be long and, forgive my next words, he'd like his heir to be in your womb before the horde joins the Dosh Khaleen."

Her brother rose angrily, the alcohol he ingested was probably responsible for such bold behavior, but he seemed to want to cut the Magister in half with the knife in his hand, and given the difference in size between the person and the object, it would probably take longer than they had.

"I never gave any consent to this marriage. What did you tell to make him think my sister would carry his horseshit?"

The Magister seemed caught off guard by the prince's reaction. "But... you have accepted my gift and I don't think it's reasonable for you to refuse..."

"You dare to threaten us?"

"Not me, of course, but the khal will not take no for an answer, their traditions are very important to them, he will make the princess his wife, and if blood must be shed for that, then the marriage will be all the more successful for the Dothraki."

"So let it be your blood, but my sister will never become his broodmare." Viserys took her hand and wanted to leave the room when the khal stood up, grabbed Dany's arm and pushed her brother brutally to the ground. Daenerys shouted a cry of surprise and tried to go and help him but the man grabbed her face so that she could look at him. His other hand went to the opening of her tunic, and when he tried to look inside, the princess grabbed her dagger and tried to stab him but the khal stopped her hand as the blade scratched his skin. The wound seemed to amuse him and he pressed a little harder on her hand so that the blade would dig a little deeper.

"Yer anni. Yer anni khaleesi."

The situation was now as she had feared, her brother was being held down by another Dothraki and the rest of them were ransacking the place. Ilissa and some of the maidservants were seized by the men who were about to rape them when flames higher than them burst out of the braziers and from the mouths of the stone statues. The room darkened and shadows danced on the walls, they represented horses that succumbed in the middle of a battle, the beasts were howling and their riders were forced to fight on the ground, the shadows represented flames devouring everything in their path. The priestess stood behind the Targaryens and repeated words in a language well known to Daenerys, High Valyrian. The khal let her go and seemed angry as his gaze fell on the priestess, the rest of his people let the women go before abusing them and looked at the shadows with fear.

The khal tried to approach her but other flames burst around her, her eyes shone bright red as she repeated the same words over and over again, smiling at her opponent. The flames were now dancing, threatening the Dothraki to burn them alive, Illyrio Mopatis had taken refuge under a table and was trembling with fear, Oberyn appeared in the opening of the entrance and have witnessed the whole scene apparently, she was hoping that he would not awaken the Magister's attention. The priestess was now speaking to the khal, in his language, the shadows on the ceiling turned into a great dragon flying over the room from side to side, and each of its breaths fanned the flames on the floor even more, and its howling was as icy as its shadow fire was burning.

The khal looked at Daenerys one last time before leaving the room followed by his men. The people remaining in the room were all shocked by what they just witnessed, the magic of the red priestesses was well known, but seeing it was far more confusing. No one dared to speak for a long time before their hostess walked over to the priestess to thank her.

"No need for that, honour your word and follow me. I'm counting on you Daenerys Stormborn."

She then left the room to join Oberyn outside, her brother followed shortly afterwards with a quick movement and Daenerys went towards the maids still in shock. She helped them up, brought them water and some comforting words before turning to the Magister who was trying to regain what little dignity he had left after the scene of weakness he had offered. Swelling his chest and clearing his throat, he addressed the princess and their hostess.

"It would have been wiser to accept the agreement with the Dothraki, this... woman will not always be there to protect you. I'm sorry I came all this way for nothing, I still wish to support the Targaryen's cause, if you'll try to be more reasonable. In the meantime, please return the dragon eggs to me, as I told you, they're yours only if you're married."

Daenerys didn't like this man, he didn't inspire her confidence, but after his words, it was now anger and impatience that she felt, did he threaten her? She thanked silently, whoever could hear her, that her brother wasn't there, or her ears would surely have suffered from a tone that was too loud and insulting.

"This is not my house, it's not for me to tell you to leave, and yet I will. You come here as a guest and you impose your laws, your banquets, your slaves, whom you treat even worse than the flies around you. You insult not only me, but also House Targaryen by thinking for a moment that I am for sale, and that you, as rich as you can be, will be the merchant who will arrange the transaction and that thanks to this, you could obtain a place of choice in our future kingdom. I am not one of your spices, I am not one of your slaves, and I am not negotiable, I already have a future husband, there will be a wedding, I am keeping the eggs so, respecting your conditions. Now I kindly advise you to return home, as soon as possible."The Magister seemed surprised by the words of the princess, he turned his eyes to Ilissa who smiled proudly towards Daenerys.

"I'm afraid, Magister, I can no longer welcome you in my house. I thank you for your gifts, and the kindness you have shown in allowing us to discover foreign specialties. It has been a...real pleasure to have you with us."

Words worthy of a snake wrapped in an angel's voice and a deceitful smile, Oberyn had told her about Ilissa. She had not succeeded and built up the whole business by being kind and welcoming of course, she could have been Dornish in another life, again, according to the words of her dear friend. The Magister soon left the place, while adding last words, of thanks but also of prevention, was it possible that the Dothraki would come back and attack Selhorys, or him with an army of mercenaries to avenge the offense? Daenerys had to apologize for bringing so much trouble into this house, but that's when she noticed that the Westerosi knight was still present. He stepped forward and, to her surprise, knelt down before her.

"I do not wish to follow the Dothraki, they are not my people, I want to help you, in the reconquest of Westeros, I want to serve you, my princess. ”

The young woman remained speechless for a few moments, then asked the knight to rise.

"It's not for me to decide this, my brother is the future king, speak to him. But I thank you for your words and your allegiance. ”

A former knight was a great asset to them, as was Oberyn, but where she had complete confidence in one, she could not say the same about the other. She left "the bear" with Ilissa to join her brother. Outside, there was already no trace of the Dothraki, except for some rubbish left here and there. She crossed the gardens quickly before entering her house where Viserys was calling out to the priestess.

"I don't know what you want with my sister, but it is out of the question that we follow you, you have made this decision without my agreement. Your shadows may frighten these savages, but not me. ”

A little lie my brother, Daenerys thought. She had seen the fear on his face, even Oberyn had been surprised and worried. He was sitting at a table, sharpening his dagger and drinking his wine, waiting for Viserys to keep quiet, but it was Dany who stopped him.

"Leave us alone. I want to talk to her." Before Viserys could reply she said "Please brother, I'm safe, she just saved us all and I'm not hiding anything from you, I just need to talk to her in private."

Without you being there to interrupt me, or her, at every moment... It was better not to add those words... Viserys gave the priestess an icy glance before leaving the room, grumbling imperceptibly. Oberyn followed while playing with his dagger, perhaps he thought he would frighten the priestess, but after witnessing such magic, she doubted he would succeed. The woman was always in a fixed, upright position, her hands folded over her belly, half a smile clinging to her face, that hypnotic, disquieting look and unreal beauty that emanated from her. She looked at Daenerys as if she knew who she was, her past, her future, and it was very confusing for the young woman, especially since she had appeared in her dream, before she met her.

"You don't seem to want us bad, but do you want us good? I don't know, and if you do, then why now? I've needed help for years, we've needed help, we could have died hundreds, thousands of times when we were on the street. I could have died at the same time as my mother, or at the hand of the traitors on Dragonstone who wanted a title from the usurper. ”

"Things aren't so simple, magic doesn't fix everything, you're not alone in this world, we didn't know, and we had to find you. The Lord of Light sends me visions into the flames, it's not always easy to interpret, I can't tell you what I don't know."

"The Lord of Light... R'hllor...?"

"Indeed... But you're making a mistake, we don't want to help you, we need your help. I just need to guide you. You must embrace your destiny, Daenerys Stormborn, it is far more important than you think, it is not limited to regaining your power and influence of your House, you must lead, you must also serve, serve our Master, and serve this world. ”

Her words fogged her mind even more, she had nothing particularly special, except the patience she had shown in putting up with her brother, she was far behind Oberyn when it came to fighting, and as a leader she would have little power after she becomes the queen.

"Why me? My brother will be king, he will rule."

"It is not him I saw in the flames, it is not him who dreams of the future, he is not the bride of fire, the daughter of fire, the daughter of dragons. It is not in your lineage, it is not in your claim to the throne, it is in your blood, in your heart, in your soul. It's not a choice, it's a destiny. But you can still choose your current life, you will never go home, you will live free, until this world is no more, but if you follow our way, your life will no longer belong to you, you will be the instrument of the Master who will bring back the Dawn, and you will save millions of lives. I can't force you, but you promised me, Daenerys."

The princess had been sitting on a chair and looking at the floor for some time now, the words of the priestess really disturbed her and she was still wondering if all this was possible, was it still a dream? The same words resounded constantly in her mind, why me? Why... ? When she looked up, she realized that the priestess still hadn’t moved, still that half smile and impassive attitude, as if she hadn't just shaken her whole life and that of her brother. What was she going to tell him anyway ? Did following this woman mean that they would have to be separated? She had only him, had known only him for so many years, he was her only real family, and without him she would not be here before this priestess who claims she has to save the world... But it is true that she made a promise. She had stupidly promised a stranger to get rid of a more urgent danger and she had to assume, even if she had to leave her brother for good, because she had no idea where she would have to go, or if she would come back. But this dream had been so real, her mother too, perhaps she had a chance to see her again, and if all was true? She must have known, because it wasn't the first dream she had, there had been dozens before that, she was too young to understand and had forgotten their content, but they were still connected to her House, to magic and dragons.

"I will follow you."

_____________________

"Yer anni. Yer anni khaleesi." : You are mine. You are my khaleesi.