The Stepstones, Tyrosh, Purple Palace
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aegon Targaryen, the current Lord of Tyrosh."
Jon's voice was calm, showing no fear in the face of the ancient woman's overwhelming presence.
"Targaryen? Now that is interesting," Jynnaera Velarys mused, her eyes narrowing as she studied him. "Your bloodline is remarkably potent—strong enough to suppress the chaotic instincts of the dragon-blood. You would have been an fascinating subject for study back in the Freehold."
Seeing that she no longer harbored immediate hostility, Jon dismissed the blushing Sarene and the stubbornly curious Sarella. He had expected the woman from the stone egg to wake, but he had never dreamed she would be the legendary Jynnaera Velarys herself.
The Immortal Project
"Please, sit. I have much to learn from you," Jon said, gesturing to a small table.
"Call me Jeyne," she replied smoothly, seating herself with an effortless grace that made her silk chemise shift precariously. Jon cleared his throat and looked away, his face heating slightly at the sight of her marble-pale skin.
"Are you truly Jynnaera? History says you died nearly a century before the Doom."
"I am her," she confirmed. "What you see is the result of the 'Immortal Project.' My family's Blood Mages devised a way to use a slave's womb to gestate a body of my own bloodline, then strip away its soul. I never intended to actually use it, but it seems I had no other choice when I fell in Sothoryos."
She spoke of her death with a touch of melancholy. She had died at forty, an explorer who never found the legendary Boiling Sea or the River of Steam, but her soul had been preserved in the Black Stone egg until Jon found her.
Why Valyria Feared Westeros
"I need your help," Jon said, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "The world is facing an existential threat. My family took Westeros not for glory, but to prepare for a war against an army of the dead."
As Jon described the Others, the wights, and the eternal winter of the Far North, Jeyne's expression shifted from amusement to grim understanding.
"So that's why," she whispered. "In the ancient days, our ancestors visited Westeros and established Dragonstone as a mere outpost. There were rumors that we suffered a catastrophic loss there, after which the Council forbade further conquest. They must have glimpsed the horror in the North and decided that the Sunset Lands were better left alone."
The Secret of Dragon and Steel
Jon seized the opportunity to ask the questions that had plagued him for years. "How is Valyrian Steel truly made? And the dragon eggs... how do we bring them back?"
Jeyne smiled, a sharp, knowing look. "The Targaryens were minor lords; it doesn't surprise me they lacked the full technical blueprints. Valyrian Steel requires Frost-fire (Dragonglass), dragonflame, the blood of a dragonlord, and a specific volcanic ore. The process is a ritual of the forge."
Then, her voice turned dark. "As for the eggs... Dragons are magical constructs. They have no gender. To force a dragon to produce eggs, a dragonrider must perform a deep mental merger—what you call Skinchanging—with the beast to trigger the biological spark. It is a taboo act, for it risks the rider losing their humanity to the dragon's thirst."
Jon realized the truth: the Targaryen dragons grew smaller and eventually died out because the "Skinchanging" knowledge was lost, and their blood had become too thin to sustain the magical link.
"One dragon for one rider... is that a rule?" Jon asked.
Jeyne laughed. "Only for those with weak wills. I have seen Archons command five dragons at once. It depends entirely on the strength of your soul."
Jon looked at Jeyne, his mind racing with the possibilities. With her knowledge and his power, the "Dance of Dragons" was no longer a tragedy of the past, but a blueprint for the future.
"Will you help me?"
Jeyne looked at him, her violet eyes burning with a renewed ambition. "To rebuild the legacy of the Freehold? To see the Belaerys name rise once more? Yes, Aegon Targaryen. Let us show this world the true meaning of Fire and Blood."