Deep__Aureate

Short Break Before the Winterfell Arc ❄️

Hey everyone!

Just a small update: I’m taking a short break and will be back on Wednesday (22nd Oct).

Aegon’s long journey to the North is about to reach its end, and the next chapter will bring his first meeting with the Starks.

Thank you all for the patience and support. Rest assured, the wait will be worth it! 🔥

Chapter 67 Threads

The sun was sinking, bleeding its last light. The weather was very cold. On a small rise with rocks and sparse, dried trees, Aegon was cutting the branches of a dead trunk with his sword. When he had gathered enough, he carried the bundle to a clear patch of ground. A few meters away, Dreamfyre lay watching him. 

Aegon placed the twigs and branches into a mound and, with a wave of hi...

Chapter 66 Her

The first light of dawn had yet to clear away the mist from the Green Fork. Lady Serena Frey, already dressed and composed, sat in a high-backed chair in her solar. 

Before her, Cayla stood, looking like a flower that had been forced to bloom in the moonlight; her beauty was vivid, but there was a fragile, almost feverish intensity in her eyes. A deep, restless blush colored her chee...

Chapter 65 Deny?

The door clicked shut, a sound as final as a tomb sealing. Cayla stood frozen in the center of the prince’s chamber, her scripted lines forgotten in the chasm of his silence. She had braced herself for a lecherous grab, a drunken slur, the kind of clumsy advance she knew how to deflect with a simper. She had not prepared for this quiet, unnerving stillness. The prince merely looked at her, hi...

Chapter 64 Hospitality

The sharp and cold morning wind brushed past Aegon’s face. Frost clung to the edges of his gloves. He had wrapped his face, for the air was cold enough to sting his lungs with every breath. Beneath him, Dreamfyre’s great wings beat in steady rhythm, pushing against the pale sky. Below, the River Green Fork unfurled like a winding ribbon of steel, its surface glinting faintly in the dim ligh...

Chapter 63 Mercy

Aegon walked toward the river, chuckling. The woods were quiet save for the rustle of branches in the breeze and the steady crunch of twigs beneath his boots. 

He had long noticed the two knights the moment he arrived at the inn. Though he did not know their purpose, nor why they had chosen him as their prey, he had kept his guard up from the start. They had followed him with hungry ...

Chapter 62 Demon

The sunlight spilled across the small inn room. Aegon stirred, letting out a long yawn before stretching his arms wide. With a steadying breath, he recalled the spirituality he had left spread around him. For the entire night he had maintained a five-meter field, his awareness blanketing the room like an invisible net.

It was something he did out of habit now. Though he possessed danger a...

Chapter 61 Coin

The little market at the crossroads was bustling with activity. Carts stood hub to hub beneath the line of trees. A brace of hens scratched under a wagon. Somewhere a cooper’s mallet knocked out a dull even rhythm. Women haggled over lengths of ribbon and tin brooches. A pedlar clinked his tray of trinkets while children wove through legs with sticks, laughing.

“How much are the fruit...

Chapter 60 Journey

Aegon stood beside his table, bent slightly over a parchment. The candlelight reflected in his silver-gold hair. The journey to Winterfell would be long, even by dragonback. He had mapped the stops carefully: Two Crowns inn, the Twins, and finally north to Winterfell. It would be a matter of days in the air, broken by rests to keep Dreamfyre from exhausting herself. His quill tapped absent mind...

Chapter 59 Shield

Late at night, a hooded, cloaked figure emerged slowly from an inconspicuous hidden tunnel in the Red Keep. He looked around cautiously and moved through the empty streets toward the city, deftly avoiding the patrols of the gold cloaks.

The figure stopped in front of a stone house, glanced to the right and left, and gave a gentle knock on the door.

“Who is it?” came the voice of...

Chapter 58 Cruel?

Aegon sat for a while, studying it in the lamplight, the dark purple edges glimmering faintly. The crystal was small, no larger than a walnut, yet his spirituality reacted as if he were holding a viper in his hand.

Although his danger awareness could sense poison, he knew its limits well. It only warned him of poisons that acted instantly, the sort that killed within breaths or minutes. T...

Chapter 57 Poison

The palace of the Sealord was a place of splendor. Its walls were pale marble veined with silver-grey, and its high windows caught the moonlight off the lagoon.

The Sealord of Braavos sat in a high-backed chair of dark ebony. His eyes were sharp, dark as obsidian, his robe a deep violet. Rings gleamed faintly on his fingers as he tapped them against the armrest in a slow, deliberate rhyth...

Chapter 56 Ring

Ser Clement stabbed down three or four times, each thrust a dull thud against burnt flesh. The sound was faint but sickening, and it carried through the stunned silence of the hall. The reek of scorched flesh assaulted the knight’s nostrils, as he grimaced.

“Is it dead now?” Aegon asked from behind.

Clement turned and glanced up. His jaw worked before he gave a single...

Chapter 55 My Friend, Anya

“Quicker, Matilda,” called the head maid, her sharp voice cutting through the clatter of pots and pans.

Matilda adjusted the platter in front of her, steadying her hands as she set the roast into place. The kitchen hall was alive with motion, maids moving in and out with baskets, cooks bent over steaming pots and the hiss of fat dripping into the fire. 

It was nearly time f...

Chapter 54 Danger

King’s Landing, Red Keep

The winter sun slanted over the garden walls. Septon Barth stood beside King Jaehaerys, who sat comfortably on a carved chair near the trees.

“Winterfell?” Barth asked, adjusting his robes. “Does the boy mean to be fostered with Lord Stark?”

Jaehaerys shook his head. “No, nothing of the sort. He only asks to visit. A season, no more.” He ...

Chapter 53 Letter

Lys, Nightfall

The pleasure house stood at a bend in the canal, where swan boats drifted by on the water. Brightly painted doors opened onto an entryway draped with silk panels that stirred in the breeze, softening the sound of voices and footsteps. Inside, under the warm glow of lamplight, a lute strummed a slow, languid tune. Laughter broke out here and there, mingling with murmured con...

Good News and Bad News 📖🔥

Hey everyone, I have a bit of good news and a bit of bad news.

Good news: The next Patreon update will be on Wednesday, 27th August, and I will be posting two chapters together.

Bad news: There will be no updates today or on Saturday. The drafts I had written for the upcoming chapters ran into some ...

Chapter 52 Projects

Alysanne’s lips pressed together. 

She’s already measuring the distance… and the weeks.

“That is a long journey,” she said carefully. “And very far from here. Why the North of all places?”

“I’ve read of the Wall all my life,” Aegon replied. “A fortress like no other in the world. And you and the King have seen it yourselves. I’d like to se...

Chapter 51 Way

94 AC

Driftmark Castle, Morning

Lord Corlys Velaryon strode through the sunlit corridor. A pair of maids stood near the doorway ahead, speaking in hushed tones. 

At the sight of him, their chatter died instantly, and they straightened.

"Is the lady well?" Corlys asked, his brow furrowed.

"Yes, my lord," one of the maids replied quickly. "She is inside."

...

Chapter 50 Milestone and Next Release Date 🔥

Hey everyone,

Patreon has now reached Chapter 50 🎉 This is a big milestone for me and for the story. We now have a wonderful community of over one and a half thousand readers, with more than six hundred patrons supporting it. Your continued encouragement makes it possible for me to keep pushing forward.

As a small reward to myself for reaching this milestone, I a...

Chapter 50 Knight

A few days later.

"Finally…" said Aegon, emerging from the narrow mouth of the cave. His voice was hoarse, his cloak dusted with soot and dust, but there was a smile of unmistakable relief on his face. 

He had done it.

The [Shadow Rune] had been deduced.

Aegon held out his hand, flexing his fingers. Shadows clung to his skin like ink-colored mist. He willed them f...

Chapter 49 Black

King’s Landing, Dragonpit, Winter

Inside the Dragonpit was cold, filled with the sharp scent of old ash and stone. Several dragonkeepers stood gathered near the southern gate, their faces grim and lined with tension. Among them stood Ser Otto Hightower, clad in a dark green cloak, and Prince Viserys Targaryen, who was fidgeting with nervousness.

“You really think I can do it tod...

Chapter 48 Red

King’s Landing, Red Keep

The bell hadn’t yet rung, but Lysa was already at her bedside, pulling open the curtains. She always moved softly in the mornings.

“Up now, my lady. The water’s warm, and the fire’s still strong,” she said, placing Aemma’s slippers by the edge of the bed.

Aemma sat up and rubbed her eyes. “It’s not even light yet.”

“That’s...

Chapter 47 Blood

Dragonstone, Autumn

A low groan echoed faintly from the chamber ahead. Queen Alysanne flinched at the sound. Inside, the soft murmur of maesters could be heard, along with the rustle of robes and the occasional clink of metal against stone.

Aegon sat beside the Queen in silence. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Her gaze was heavy with worry, and her fingers twisted a ha...

📢 Schedule Update

Hi everyone,

Due to a sudden medical issue involving a close family member, I wasn’t able to post the Wednesday chapter this week. Things are stabilizing now, and I plan to resume updates with the next chapter on Saturday as usual 📚

Thanks for your patience and understanding during this brief delay 🙏

— Deep__Aureate

Chapter 46 Ahead

Morning, The Vale

The road twisted through the hills, pale sunlight spilling across the cliffs and scattered pines. A line of carriages moved steadily toward the Eyrie, flanked by knights in Arryn colors and vassals riding close behind.

Inside one of the carriages, Aemma Arryn sat stiffly by the window, her face turned toward the passing cliffs. Her posture was rigid, hands clenched...

Chapter 45 Hunt III

The sharp crack of underbrush split the quiet as a wild boar crashed through the trees. Leaves flew in its wake, startled birds flapping upward in alarm.

Thwip.

An arrow hissed through the air, missing the boar’s head by mere inches. The creature gave a sharp grunt, half surprise, half fury, and disappeared deeper into the woods.

Fast, uneven footsteps followed a moment late...

Chapter 44 Hunt II

A thin trail of dust curled into the spring air as the royal procession made its way into the outer edges of the Kingswood. Sparrows startled from the trees, flitting into the canopy above, while the slow rhythm of hooves and creaking wheels echoed through the underbrush.

The forest opened into a wide glade, where sunlight broke through the boughs of towering oaks and elms. There, the roy...

Chapter 43 Hunt I

93 AC

Narrow Sea, Spring Morning

The sea shimmered beneath them, painted in shifting hues of blue and silver as a massive dragon cut through the skies. Its scales glistened in the morning sun, sapphire streaked with pale iridescence. 

Wings spread wide, the creature soared above the calm waters with regal grace.

Seated astride the dragon’s neck w...

Chapter 42 Forge

The spring air was crisp with the scent of salt and moss as it swept through the training yard of Dragonstone. The grey stone walls echoed with the sharp clatter of metal on metal.

Clang. Clang.

Aegon ducked, parried, then twisted to the side, the worn grip of his training sword slick in his hand. Daemon pressed forward, eyes bright with the thrill of the spar, swinging again in a h...