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Essos, Vaes Yeraan
Caspian Blackwood
57 AC
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"My Khal, there has been discontent among some Dothraki; they don't want to live in a single apartment with other families," Mottaekho informed me. He, along with Kakho and Qrano, had been responsible for delivering my orders to the Dothraki about how the apartment distribution in the buildings would work.
And yes, it might be that up to two or three families had to live together in a single apartment, but that's how it had to be. Vaes Yeraan would not be the main city for what I intended to do. To start, there was no access to the sea, which is why I dismissed the idea of Vaes Dothrak. Instead, I needed to choose a location close to the sea, and preferably, as close as possible to all the Free Cities of Essos.
And there were several candidates, including Pentos, Myr, Volantis, or even Astapor or Meereen. But I had my sights set on Volantis. From what Amanda had told me based on what she knew, Volantis had a large, deep bay, and the Rhoyne River flowed through it. It was this last point that caught my attention: the Rhoyne traversed almost the entire western wing of Essos. Controlling that river would bring with it the commerce of Essos, besides the fact that I could connect Vaes Yeraan with Volantis via the river.
And even, continue building a greater flow of the river to the north, and create a canal that would connect the Summer Sea with the Shivering Sea. This would make trade with Braavos, the Shivering Isles, Ibben, and the other Free Cities in the north of Essos faster and more reliable.
With an opportunity like that, conquering Volantis became practically more appetizing, but I had to act carefully. Amanda had said that Volantis is a dominant land power, and although its soldiers are slaves, they should not be taken lightly. But where it truly dominated was with its fleet, which, according to her, Volantis had hundreds of galleys.
But that wasn't what worried me, not even its triarchs, but the priests who called Volantis their seat of power. I knew very well the power those people wielded. Melisandre managed to make thousands of Arakhs ignite, not to mention her magic to resurrect the dead, and if that wasn't enough, I didn't know if the God R'hllor was just a presentation of myths, or if he truly existed.
I wasn't very versed in those subjects, but the red priests obtained power from some unknown place by praying to or giving sacrifices to the fire, a reason to be careful. And perhaps the witches would be helpful in dealing with them if the case arose, but I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. The last thing I would want was for a God to treat me as an enemy, not to mention that I still didn't know who was responsible for my arrival on Planetos.
"They will have to do it. It won't be for long, at least until there is a large city for all of us to settle permanently. For now, it is what it is." I didn't dwell on the matter. Right now, I was more focused on learning more about Qohor than dealing with some unhappy Dothraki.
"So Qohor is guarded by Unsullied from Astapor," I asked, though in fact I was affirming what Amanda had told me. In the background, I could hear a curse from one of my Bloodriders upon hearing the city's name. They really detested it.
Amanda nodded, "Yes, my Khal, the city has a city watch, but it is the Unsullied who are in charge of its defense." Good, that made things easier for me. The Unsullied might be the best infantry the world has ever known, but it's not like they could do much against Dothraki armored cavalry, not to mention that they would be under the effects of potions that would make them much stronger, faster, agile, and even able to see in the night as if it were day.
The Dothraki were great warriors by themselves. Add to that what I just mentioned and almost no one can face you. Besides, I didn't just have them, but also the witches, and they were the ones I had the most faith in.
"How many days away are we from Qohor?" I asked Essino, as he was the one who knew the most about locations and distances in Essos. He was practically my best scout. "Half a day's distance, and if we use those black stone roads, even less."
Between eight to twelve hours of riding. It was not a very far distance, and even shorter if potions were used. So I gave the order, "Prepare five thousand men. They should be those who already have steel armor, those who have the new Arakhs made by the smiths, and only those whose horses have armor."
All my Bloodriders smiled sinisterly; it wasn't necessary to read minds to know that they were eager to shed Qohorik blood.
For this campaign, we wouldn't bring many non-warriors, and only five hundred slaves, who would be in charge of attending to the Dothraki group with food for them and the horses.
Seeing that Amanda was still standing, I dismissed her, "Thank you Amanda, you may leave." Seeing the woman leave, I spoke softly, "You and your sisters will also come."
Valka let herself be seen, sitting about two meters away. She wore a dark blue tunic, with a veil covering her head and a mask of the same color, which only allowed her eyes to be seen shining. And on top of her head, a gold crown, which represented her status.
(Image)
The truth is I didn't know how to describe her. In the days since she had arrived, the two of us had achieved a certain closeness, beyond master-servant. And I couldn't deny that she, in her natural form, was very beautiful, and she certainly could have been a model in my previous life.
"Amanda said it is called the city of sorcerers. I am curious to know if they are like the warlocks, or weaker."
I thought about the answer for a while, and the truth is I wasn't sure. "I don't know. I hope it's the latter. I already explained a little about the magic practiced here, and the vast majority of those who practice it do not have good intentions."
Valka remained silent for a while, and I didn't have to see her face to know she was thinking about what I had told her. The silence between us lasted a few minutes, until Gezro arrived: "My Khal, we are ready."
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The potions were magical, from the Minecraft menu. That was what I used the most and what I considered most useful for the moment. Why did I say they were magical? Because a ride of almost twelve hours was reduced to seven.
I had ordered that speed and strength potions be given to the horses and donkeys, as well as the riders, and the result had been splendid, even more surprising than I initially expected. In an era where trains, automobiles, or airplanes didn't exist, horses occupied a very important place. But even they could die of exhaustion if more was demanded of them than they could offer, but with potions of strength and speed, I could bet that they made them run at over 120 kilometers an hour, and they could even run faster if it weren't for their armor and carrying men armored with heavy armor. And in case they got tired or gave up, they could be given health or regeneration potions, and would only need to stop to eat or relieve themselves.
Do you see why they were magical?
Once we were near Qohor, we didn't get too close. Instead, I ordered us to camp five kilometers away, in a high area near where the Qohor forest began.
This time, since we were near a city that would undoubtedly arm itself against us upon noticing us, if they hadn't already done so, I built defenses.
I created a dry moat around the camp. The outer wall of the moat was a ramp with a 45-degree incline that reached a depth of two meters, while its inner wall was vertical. I planted cacti and made them grow using bone meal until they reached a height of over three meters. And between the moat and the cacti, I planted sweet berry bushes, and spent almost a hundred poison potions watering them over the bushes.
The bushes were very sharp. They were very similar to Acacia Capensis, and their thorns caused a sharp and very painful pain upon being pricked. To test it, I had put a rabbit on top of the bushes and it died minutes later due to the deep puncture wounds from the thorns. This reinforced my idea, and I knew that, with the thorns tainted with poison potion, anyone who pricked themselves would die. The entrance was a heavy drawbridge that also served as a gate.
With that done, I could focus on the plans to take the city with the least possible resistance, and most importantly, without murdering many Unsullied in the process.
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"Valka and her sisters will go to where the nobles gather in one place. They will enter the city under the guise of being sorceresses from Asshai who want to see the city of sorcerers. To make the nobles gather, I will mobilize the warriors in front of the city. I will simulate a siege. At the same time, you, who will already be in the city, will create chaos, start fires, whatever it takes to keep the nobles frightened and divided over various things."
My Bloodriders, I, and at least twenty witches, were gathered in my cabin, which I enlarged to make room for a war room, with a huge table in the center with maps of Qohor, made by cartographer villagers who had been in the city disguised as Pentos merchants.
They had been in the city for three days, and they just returned.
The cartographers were able to remember every aspect of the city, and when I gave them blank maps, they began to draw as if they were a printer. Their skill was so great that, in less than two hours, we already had several maps of the city, which detailed important streets, buildings of interest, and even where the city gates were. It was thanks to these maps that the planning could begin, instead of charging in blindly.
"My Khal, a group is outside the camp. A woman leads them; she says she wishes to speak with the one in charge." One of the Dothraki entered the room, causing everyone to look at him strangely. I had made it clear not to bother us, hence our reason for looking at him badly. But beyond that, the meaning of the group's arrival eluded me. I had ordered us to camp far from the city to avoid being seen by people traveling towards it, and the camp was surrounded by a thick line of trees. We couldn't be seen yet.
Sorcerers.
The word appeared in my mind, pushing its way in like a weed in the garden. "Onno, you will pretend to be the Khal. I want to know the intentions of these people before revealing myself. The others will treat Onno as such." I gave orders quickly. "How many are they?" I asked the Dothraki who had come to announce the group outside the camp. "There are three, My Khal, two men and one woman."
"Let them in, guide them to the cabin," I ordered, and once he left, I addressed Valka and the witches, "Use the invisibility potions, do not let yourselves be seen, be alert to anything." The witches nodded, and vanishing into the air, as if they had never been there, they became invisible.
A few minutes later, the cabin door opened. We had left the war room; instead, we were in the main room of the cabin. Onno was sitting in a chair, while the others, including me, were standing around him.
"My Khal, these are they," the same Dothraki returned, guiding the three people, and just as I had instructed, he addressed Onno as the Khal. When the three entered, I could look at them closely. The two men were tall, wearing bronze-colored armor, with ornate details over red tunics, and on their cheeks, they wore what looked like a flame. But something about them didn't seem normal. The two men looked like statues; they didn't blink, I didn't see their chests move with their breathing, even their footsteps, even with the armor on, were not heard.
And the woman, the woman was a beauty. Her blood-red dress clung to her body with utmost care like a second skin. And although her eyes, lips, and hair were red, that didn't make her look strange; in fact, they enhanced her beauty. But what had me on alert was that I knew her: Kinvara, the woman who was the High Priestess of the Red Temple. But that was in Daenerys's time, not now, 200 years earlier. But I looked at the necklace on her neck. And I supposed she must be using the same magic that Melisandre used to stay young.
"Stay outside," the woman ordered, and her voice came out like a whisper. The two men obeyed immediately, turned halfway, and left the interior of the cabin, leaving Kinvara alone.
But she didn't feel in danger at any point. Instead, she looked blandly at everyone, and the interior of the cabin, but I was a soldier, and I could tell she was assessing us. Her gaze varied from the Arakhs to the armor of my Bloodriders, as well as the possible exits or blind spots inside the cabin.
The woman was trained, she knew how to survive, I realized that. "You must march and return to Vaes Dothrak. Qohor is under the protection of the Red Temple of Volantis. What dwells there must not be released into the world. It will be a mercy to leave... For you, of course." Kinvara did not look at Onno at any time while she spoke, but was looking at me, and I knew the deception hadn't worked.
But she had threatened me, and I couldn't overlook that, so I made a sword appear from the menu inventory, but this time, it wasn't the normal Netherite sword that came out, but an enchanted one.
The sword contained enchantments for Sweeping Edge, Knockback, Sharpness, Smite, Cleaving, Unbreaking, and Fire Aspect. This made the sword glow faintly with various colors, while a small mirage was seen all over the sword's blade, as if it were covered in fire.
Kinvara, instead of showing fear or any similar emotion, looked at me with absolute surprise, so much so that her mouth even opened a little, and her eyebrows rose. "Lightbringer." Those were the only words she said, before kneeling before me.