II

[sorefoot]

[ viserys here will be sitting outside the castle, the journal near him after being told that this was the best way to communicate with those around him. ]

Dragons... I have seen dragons with thine own eyes.

[ he's stunned, amazed and can only wonder what else he might see in this world ]

Comments

[sorefoot]

They were my family's treasured war companions, but have died and been slaughtered in rage.

The last dragons born were too small and died shortly.

[ruined_jaw]

Ahh, so they were war machines. Well, that makes sense then.

Probably inbred, I bet. Creatures that rare can't have much genetic variety, and the more die, the less diversity you've got in the gene pool for breeding.

[Jono may hate his genetic legacy, being one of the last descendents of Clan Akkaba, but even just being a mutant, it's sort of his job to know things about genetic diversity. He's no scientist, but he's got a working knowledge.]

[sorefoot]

You are correct voice unknown to me. It is most important to keep the blood pure. If it cannot stay as such, it is better then having mixes.

Dragon's blood should be pure.

[ he'd say mutations but it's an ugly word. ]

What is your name?

[ruined_jaw]

"Blood purity" is a rather antiquated idea. In my world, inbreeding like that fell out of fashion in most of the world hundreds of years ago, with a few exceptions. If you don't mix in new blood every once in a while, the genes get weaker, and natural selection takes over. My family was much the same until my great-grandad broke with tradition, and married out. Probably saved our family line.

[Just wait until Viserys actually meets Jono. He'll see how genes can be a blessing and a curse.]

Jonothan Starsmore. Yourself?

[sorefoot]

Perhaps. My land is one that values bloodlines and for the royals, that must stay true. Royal blood to royal blood, sometimes brothers to sisters to keep a line in family. I think it truly is a wonderful idea, the want to keep blood within the same family.

[ he'll be so confused but fascinated by him all the same time. ]

I am Viserys of the House Targaryen of Westeros.

[ruined_jaw]

Ahh, royalty, is it? My great-grandad was related by blood to royalty. The Slades were the main House, and the Starsmores were the "Lesser" branch of the family. Funny how it's the "lesser" branch of the family survived through me, while the Slades all died out about a hundred years ago.

["Fire cannot kill a dragon", but as far as Jono knows, nothing can kill him. Not that he hasn't tried.]

Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Viserys. So, you're another one of those folks from Westeros, eh? I've spoken to one or two others from your world. Seems to be quite a lot of you here now.

[sorefoot]

[ jono can't see it but his jaw will clench at the mention of what is most likely the starks. ] The ones who are from my land are nothing but usurpers. Vile beings who steal crowns and murder families for their own personal gain.

[ it's sort of a dark area for him, but he'll look back to what jono said about the branches. ]

Did your family marry into these, Slades? Royalty to royalty?

[ruined_jaw]

[His eyebrow quirks at that. Alayne had seemed awfully concerned about politics, her true identity being hidden for political reasons, but Brienne had seemed less so, just being a warrior who was trying to do her duty.]

The handful I met didn't seem too bad, so I'll just have to take your word for it.

Generations ago, yeah. My great-grandfather, Jack, was first-cousins with Frederick Slade, the last of the Slades. The main family and lesser branch intermarried every few generations, with outside marriages being fairly rare until the last hundred years or so. My family's...long-lived, you might say.

[He's going to leave out mentioning Apocalypse, and that he comes from a long line of virtually immortal mutants for as long as he can. These aren't things he likes to discuss.]

[sorefoot]

There are some that are loyal yet, but I've yet to meet them here.

[ probably for the best, there's a slim chance he'd believe you anyway. ]

A long bloodline, a vise decision on their part. I applaud them.

[ruined_jaw]

Consider how many've come so far, I wouldn't be surprised if you see them in the next few months, if ya last that long here.

[He's never been terribly proud of his lineage, despite all of the power that comes with being a member of Clan Akkkaba.]

Among the longest in my world, if the genealogy's accurate. Lord knows how they survived that long, what with the whole "survival of the fittest" bollocks my family stuck to for years. Whoever was the "strongest" of a generation was made the leader of the clan, could be knocked out if someone came along who was stronger. The last with that title was killed some 300 years ago, when most of the clan was wiped out.