Rhaegar walked casually through the streets of Tyrosh. The Bloody Keep stood at the harbor, and the Fountain of the Wine God was located within the city.
Rhaegar had arrived in Tyrosh in the early morning aboard a small merchant ship of House Velaryon. The sailors and soldiers on board were all loyal and reliable men who would not leak the news of the prince's departure from the Stepstones.
Rhaegar had arrived in Tyrosh alone. Tyrosh was very close to Bloodstone, within call of his dragons, and Rhaegar had already ordered his subordinates to take good care of the dragons. Sometimes, these dragons would fly to the sea not far from Rhaegar to catch fish for fun.
Tyrosh was far larger than Sunspear and had the feel of a major commercial port. Even if it could not compare to King's Landing, its population was not far behind. Furthermore, the Three Daughter cities—Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr—all possessed additional vassal populations and towns.
In Tyrosh, Rhaegar was no longer the prince of the Targaryen dynasty; he had renamed himself Justin the Piper and carried a flute with him. A harp was too conspicuous and inconvenient to carry, unlike a flute, which was simple and light.
Rhaegar did not go to find Shireen, assuming she must be overwhelmed. With the gold of the people of Myr and Lys corrupting the city and supporting the magisters and wealthy merchants who opposed the Archon, the city of Tyrosh was already in turmoil. By staying in the shadows, he could better assist Shireen; no one knew that the True Dragon had already snuck into Tyrosh.
Rhaegar had heard that Tyrosh was divided into two opposing factions. One faction demanded a return to the past, belonging to the opposition party, and called for returning to the time of the Three Daughter alliance to jointly oppose the Iron Throne of Westeros. This faction was mainly composed of Tyroshi slave traders who colluded with pirates and mercenaries, as well as merchants who had accepted bribes from Lys and Myr. Another faction demanded maintaining the status quo, represented by the Archon and others. After all, compared to the Iron Throne, these people hated the other Two Daughters more. Competition, noise, and war—this was the main theme after the collapse of the Kingdom of the Daughters alliance, as they would constantly rob each other at sea.
Rhaegar wore soft blue calfskin boots, high-quality blue wool breeches, and a light blue silk T-shirt. His hair was also dyed blue, and he wore a Tyroshi hat, which was the style of the people of Tyrosh. However, Rhaegar's hair was too short, so he still looked a bit strange.
In Westeros, dyeing one's hair blue would result in boys throwing stones and mocking, and girls cursing. But in Tyrosh, blue was not even considered an outrageous color; it was a gaudy city.
The people of Tyrosh loved bright colors, dyeing their hair and beards in vibrant shades, including blue, green, chestnut, pink, purple, scarlet, and vermilion. Their sailors and merchants also loved to wear forked beards. Tyrosh had mastered hundreds of vibrant colors, and their dyed clothes were sold far and wide.
What attracted Rhaegar most was the inner wall of Tyrosh, made of fused black dragonstone. As a military outpost left behind by Valyria, the Black Wall was the most prominent Valyrian feature. It was said that the Black Wall of Volantis was even more magnificent, as it was the eldest daughter. Although the evil and powerful Old Valyria was gone, Valyria still left behind various properties and ruins.
Ships from all over the world went in and out of Tyrosh, importing Tyrosh's most famous dyes and pear brandy.
Rhaegar walked through the bustling city of Tyrosh, which had a pure, ruthless commercial city-state style and was very noisy. The foundations of Lorath, Qohor, and Norvos brought religious factors to mind, such as the Bearded Monk of Norvos and the evil black goat faith of Qohor. The Three Daughter cities seemed to share this style: Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. Although the ethnic groups were different—the people of Lys resembled the people of Old Valyria, and the people of Myr resembled the rhoynar people—the Three Daughter cities were very similar in history, culture, customs, politics, orientation, language, and religion. They were all merchant cities that practiced slavery, valued wealth over bloodline, preferred to hide behind high walls guarded by mercenaries rather than trouble their citizens, and had chosen a parliamentary system; Lys and Myr had councils of magisters, and the Archon of Tyrosh was also elected from a similar council of magisters. All of this was completely different from Westeros and more like Old Valyria.
Rhaegar felt that Westeros was at least good in one respect: it did not allow the use of large numbers of slaves like the Three Daughter cities. Rhaegar saw the slaves walking on the streets of Tyrosh, those poor people. Slavery would have to be abolished sooner or later.
However, according to Rhaegar's observations, the three cities were slightly different. As a military outpost, Tyrosh appeared more rigid. The only city captured by the Ninepenny King was Tyrosh, which was unthinkable for the other Two Daughters. After the other Ninepenny Kings failed in the War of the Stepstones, the Silver-Tongued Alequo Adarys, one of the Ninepenny Kings, continued to rule Tyrosh as a tyrant for six years until he was poisoned by his queen.
Rhaegar's gaze swept over many strange temples and pleasure gardens, seeing many mercenaries, slaves, and merchants. Rhaegar ignored the men and women who were flirting with him. Finally, he found a tavern not far from the Fountain of the Wine God, with a good location and looking clean and hygienic, and ordered food for himself.
The food of the Kingdom of the Daughters was nothing special. Tyrosh's specialty was honey-roasted sausages with garlic and chili. It was fine to eat occasionally, but Rhaegar felt it was too greasy to eat often. However, the wine in Tyrosh was good: pear brandy, firewine, and pepper wine.
In Tyrosh, where noise and turmoil gathered, Rhaegar felt a different atmosphere than in Westeros.
Rhaegar ordered the honey-roasted sausages with garlic and chili, some sweet grilled sea fish, and a glass of honey-pear water; he didn't like to drink when he was at leisure.
The most lively discussion in the restaurant was about the current chaos in Tyrosh. The whole of Tyrosh had become a mess.
Because the people of Westeros occupied the Iron Throne, Tyrosh's position was now especially important, and every faction wanted to get involved. Rhaegar heard their comments, and Princess Shireen was under great pressure. The power struggles of the Three Daughter cities were also bloody and cruel.
"Damn it, why doesn't the Archon dare to fight the people of Westeros? Have we glorious Tyroshi forgotten the years when the Three Daughter cities marched side by side? If this continues, I won't be able to get slaves from Westeros!" a chubby slave trader said.
"Those were not the Three Daughter cities, but thirty-three stubborn horses, each wanting to show off and gain more benefits for itself. What is so good about returning to the time of the Three Daughter cities?" an older Tyroshi reminded him coldly.
"I think you are all afraid; you are afraid of that wet-behind-the-ears little Targaryen dragon and his three dragons!" the most bellicose Tyroshi slave trader roared again.
"Are you going to the battlefield? If you don't go to the battlefield, naturally you aren't afraid of being burned to death by dragons? Besides, don't we need to hire mercenaries and spend money to go to the battlefield? Life is so good now; we don't need to spend money, and now that the shipping lanes are open, we can also make money."
The crowd was noisy, and Rhaegar listened with pleasure.
"Hey, handsome, can you play a tune for us?" Two Tyroshi mercenaries sitting not far away saw Rhaegar and said loudly.
Their clothes were gorgeous, even by Tyroshi standards, they were too gaudy, with four or five colors all over their bodies. Their hair was blue, and their mustaches were divided into three strands, all dyed purple. Their clothes were a gaudy yellow, with delicate foam lace from Myr sticking out from their cuffs. Their tight-fitting jackets were stuffed with many badges of honor, representing the Goddess of Lust, the three-headed god, and the black goat, and they were wearing bronze-colored high leather boots.
"Oh! You two are quite leisurely and elegant, but my fee is not cheap!" Rhaegar said with a smile. The muscles and nutrition of these two mercenaries made it look like they were commanders of a mercenary company, not ordinary mercenaries.
"What is your name? Why do we rarely see you in this tavern?" an older mercenary asked curiously.
"Justin the Piper! I am a wandering flutist." Rhaegar replied, but he still did not stand up.
Even as a flutist, there was a fee.
"We will pay for your meal, and throw in this too!" the younger mercenary said loudly, while taking out some pay from his arms, which looked quite good.
"However, this flutist is not very old, but he can eat a lot." The older mercenary looked at Rhaegar's table and said.
This was indeed a fact. Scholars are poor, but warriors are rich. As a rune mage, Rhaegar ate more than the average soldier. The mercenaries were willing to pay for Rhaegar, which was considered generous.
"Then I will not be polite!" Rhaegar put away the money and played a song, "No Meeting Again".
This song was quite suitable for the life of these mercenaries traveling north and south.
Amidst the melancholy tune, the two mercenaries began to discuss the situation in Tyrosh. Tyrosh was at risk of infighting, and the opposition had already united around a top-tier senior magister. Mercenaries coming to seek gold at this time had high hopes. They were a medium-sized mercenary company, preparing to get involved.
After the song, Rhaegar put away his magic flute and left the tavern.
Like the song, he disappeared into the vast sea of people in Tyrosh.
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