This is an ordinary planar world within the endless worlds, yet to the billions of living beings inhabiting it, their world is uniquely distinct and mysterious.
In ancient historical records, the priests and scholars of the divine churches knew that their world was boundless, divided roughly into four major continents.
Westeros, Essos, Sothoryos, and the most mysterious continent of all—Ulthos, located south of the mysterious land of Asshai at the southeastern extreme of Essos.
According to historical records, the vast continent of Essos stretches from the Narrow Sea at its westernmost end to the Legendary Jade Sea at its easternmost.
This continent is the birthplace of known civilizations, and the first great civilization of mankind took root in Old Ghis.
Old Ghis was situated in the southeastern coastal region of Essos, bordered to its west by the inland sea known as Slaver's Bay.
Old Ghis was a slave-holding city-state that created an infantry legion armed with spears and long shields, characterized by tight formations and strict discipline.
It was by relying on this legion that Old Ghis expanded in all directions, becoming the first massive empire in human history, ruling for many long centuries.
However, a people rising from a peninsula on the opposite side of Slaver's Bay brought an end to the long reign of Old Ghis.
This was Valyria. Valyria was a large cluster of islands located below the central-southern part of the Essos mainland, separated from Essos by a strait. This body of water was called the Smoking Sea.
Valyria began as a small civilization composed of shepherds.
This small civilization of shepherds discovered the lairs of Wyvern Dragons within a special region of Valyria—the Fourteen Fire Peaks, a massive chain of volcanoes.
After long periods of exploration and learning, the Valyrians developed secret arts for taming Wyvern Dragons, training them into cruel weapons for world conquest.
Valyria had no king; they were led by elected Archons and called themselves the Freehold.
The Freehold fought five major wars against Old Ghis, each ending in a Valyrian victory. In the final war, the Freehold decided to pull the enemy up by the roots.
Thus, the city of Old Ghis was razed to the ground by the dragon legions. Its magnificent pyramids, temples, and houses were incinerated by Dragonfire, and the land was buried under salt, ash, and bone.
The people of Old Ghis suffered heavy casualties; survivors were reduced to slavery, and countless others worked to death in the mines of Valyria.
The burning mountains of the Fourteen Fire Peaks were rich in a unique ore, which the Valyrians used to forge Legendary steel swords.
After the rise of the Valyrians, their demand for ore continued to grow, prompting them to intensify their conquests to replenish the slaves in the mines.
To the east, they crossed the regions once ruled by Old Ghis—the various federations of the Ghiscari region—and to the west, they reached the coastline of Essos, establishing multiple colonies along the way.
These conquered colonies were the precursors to what would later become the Free Cities.
In the land of Andalos, the Valyrians crushed the iron-clad Andals, forcing them to flee to another continent west of Essos—Westeros.
The resentful Andals settled in Westeros, where they defeated the First Men and the Children of the Forest who lived there, conquering all lands south of The North.
Furthermore, they brought the faith of the'Seven', the system of knighthood, and iron tools to Westeros.
The Rhoyne is the largest river in Essos and the longest river in the world.
The Rhoyne basin nurtured the Rhoynar civilization, which was as ancient as Old Ghis.
The Rhoynar were pioneers in iron forging and could summon water magic, but they too were utterly defeated in the face of Dragonfire.
The Rhoynar were a unique race who advocated for equality between men and women; each of their cities was ruled by its own Prince and Princess.
When the Valyrians came on dragonback to conquer them, the Rhoynar rose in resistance. Led by Prince Garin, they used courage and passion to fight against the first three Valyrian Dragonlords—those families who rode Wyvern Dragons in battle were known as Dragonlords.
They also faced over a hundred thousand vanguard troops sent by Valyria and more than a hundred tall, ferocious war elephants.
Relying on formidable courage and spirit, the Rhoynar used magic and crossbows to kill two massive Wyvern Dragons, repelling the first Valyrian attack.
However, the enraged Freehold subsequently dispatched three hundred massive Wyvern Dragons, blotting out the Rhoynar's sky. Countless plumes of Dragonfire fell from the heavens, burning myriad warriors to ash, and even the Rhoyne itself boiled and evaporated under the Dragonfire.
The Valyrians burned the Rhoynar's homeland, turning countless cities into ruins. The survivors took to the sea, enduring great hardships to flee from the waves to the Dornish desert in southern Westeros, where they settled and made the sands their companion.
From then on, the Freehold became the most powerful empire in the world, and the Valyrians the proudest people. Their territory stretched from the Narrow Sea at the western edge of Essos to Slaver's Bay in the east, and from the Summer Sea at Valyria's southernmost tip to the Shivering Sea at the northernmost edge of Essos.
Western and central Essos were entirely subservient to the Freehold, except for the Dothraki, the flat grasslands of the central-eastern region, and the barren, arid wasteland adjacent to it known as the Red Waste.
Their reach even extended to the islands in the sea east of Westeros—Dragonstone—where they established an outpost.
Perhaps this was in preparation for the Freehold's continued conquest of Westeros.
This was the dominant civilization of this world, the Valyrian Freehold. They possessed thousands of dragons, and no civilization dared to oppose them.
Yet even a hegemon-level civilization like this could not fully explore the continent of Sothoryosacross the Summer Sea. There was once a Valyrian dragonrider named Jaenara Belaerys and her Wyvern Dragon, Terrax.
The pair hoped to find the Legendary Boiling Sea and Steam River on Sothoryos, but found only endless jungles, deserts, and mountains.
Furthermore, this continent was a land of plagues and prowling beasts, home to various powerful basilisks, crocodiles, and giant apes so large they could kill an elephant with a single punch.
There were also said to be vampire bats that could drain a person's blood, and tall tattooed lizards with claws on their legs that resembled some kind of dinosaur. In the seas, sea monsters the size of islands would appear.
Most terrifying of all were the Wyverns. Similar to Wyvern Dragons, they did not breathe fire but made up for it with greater ferocity. Some species of Wyverns hunted in packs of a hundred.
It was said that lizard-men and cave-dwellers haunted this land, along with the already-discovered Brindled Men.
The dragon rider Jaenara flew her dragon for three years and still could not find the borders of Sothoryos. She had to return to the Freehold, claiming that Sothoryos was as vast and boundless as Essos.
"So, this is the so-called 'Valyria of the Freehold'?" Several scholars clad in long robes gazed upon this great city-state.
It was a massive city that even these scholars could not help but admire—wealthy and glorious. It featured incredibly wide Valyrian roads and dragon paths created with exquisite carving techniques, fire, and magic.
Within the city, a large number of massive roofless towers were built for dragons to climb and take flight from, and there were countless buildings decorated with sphinxes.
The city was supplied with various tropical and cold-climate crops produced by its many colonies.
From the sturgeon and whale oil of Lorath in The North to the fine wines of Lys in the south, all were offered for the enjoyment of the Valyrians.
Those Valyrians with silver-gold hair and purple eyes each possessed beautiful features and figures, like an elven race born into this world, possessing their own unique charm.
Furthermore, the hair of these Valyrians ranged from white to silver-gold to gold, and their eyes from pale purple to deep purple and light blue, each with its own allure. Even these well-traveled scholars were astonished by the beauty of the Valyrians.
However, the racial composition within the city of Valyria was quite complex, with a large number of races who had migrated from other conquered territories.
There were also dozens, scores, and even hundreds of massive Wyvern Dragons frequently taking off and landing over the scholars' heads, controlled by powerful sorcerers and Dragonlords with whips, magic horns, and sorcery.
"Truly, an exciting civilization," one scholar sighed. "It makes me want to apply immediately to have those powerful warriors capture a few Wyvern Dragons for us to study properly. I haven't felt this kind of anticipation in a long time."
"These Wyvern Dragons, though their internal power detected a relatively low mana content, possess such massive sizes. Even the Ancient Dragons in the Ekania World cannot compare in size to the Wyvern Dragons circling in the sky. It truly surprises me."
The scholar gazed at his prey with the eyes of a hunter, watching the two-hundred-meter-long dragon circling and howling in the sky; in his gaze was surprise, admiration, and desire.
"Do not act rashly for now; we still need to be careful," the young spellcaster beside him warned the scholars. The young spellcaster was also supporting a Valyrian dressed as a priest.
This was a High Priest of Valyria, for the Valyrians worshipped many different gods, including Balerion, Meraxes, and Vhagar, as well as the mysterious sects worshipped by the Bearded Priests of Norvos.
Although these spellcasters had used magic to bewitch this Valyrian High Priest, they learned that the Dragon King Family members who ruled Valyria believed all faiths to be false; the rulers here held the clergy and temples in extreme contempt, viewing them merely as products of primitive worship.
But to appease the lower classes and slaves, letting them fantasize about a better life after death, Valyria encouraged theism.
The Freehold also promoted religious tolerance to keep believers divided, preventing them from uniting under monotheism to rebel against the rule of the Dragon King Family.
But these spellcasters and scholars were not local natives; they had their own thoughts.
"Before we have grasped the true power of this world, we must act with caution," the young spellcaster said. "Lord Rosani is still waiting for our investigation results and reply; we cannot lose the big picture for small matters."
Many scholars and mages nodded in succession.
"And yet, such a slave-based civilization that forces people to pray for death every day claims that its people born in the country who own land have a say in the governance,"
A scholar laughed with some disdain: "These Forty Dragonlords of Valyria loudly proclaim their country as a 'Freehold', a Freehold—it's enough to make me sneer."
"And their colonies outside the mainland are, without exception, slave societies, all employing the Unsullied as mercenaries to serve as their violent apparatus, yet they call themselves the Nine Free Cities."
The scholar lowered his head, wrote two lines in his notebook, then looked up and said: "My opinion is that these Dragon King Family members need to be purged, then personnel should be installed to re-rule and provide benefits to the Empire. What are your opinions?"
"Since they do not respect the gods, then we, the kin and subjects of the gods, shall grant them their final release."
...Valyria, the mountains of the Fourteen Fire Peaks are rich in ore, and the Valyrians are insatiable for it. Valyria captured many slaves from conquered lands and forced them to mine ore amidst the flames of the Fourteen Fire Peaks.
Valyria thus gained vast wealth and the magical ore for forging Valyrian Steel Swords.
In the Fourteen Fire Peaks, the most common way for slaves in the mines to die was being suffocated alive in the sweltering shafts, leading to frequent uprisings.
However, because the Valyrians were proficient in magic and riding dragons, rebellions were often suppressed in an instant.
The number of slaves who worked themselves to death in the mines was unimaginably large.
In rare moments of rest, countless Valyrian slaves from all over the world prayed to their respective gods; they prayed not for hope, but for release after the end of this life.
In the dark underground mines, it was sweltering; occasionally, flames would suddenly burst from the mine floor, igniting the numb bodies of the slaves.
But these slaves still used their remaining strength to pray to their gods.
Thus, the low echoes of prayers spread throughout the entire mine.
A slave knelt in the dark depths of the mine, praying in a low voice, his tattered cloth shirt draped over his head, covering his ears and eyes, and blocking out the prayers of other slaves.
He originally had his own name, but it was no longer important.
Like those hundreds of slaves from different countries, he used his own language to pray to his god, and what he prayed for was the same thing—to end the pain and find release.
However, even this extremely common and simple matter received no response from the gods.
In the reddish darkness, his face flickered in and out of view. "Must this suffering continue endlessly forever?"
At this moment, he heard prayers in hundreds of languages; although he did not understand them, he knew they were all seeking the same thing.
He suddenly realized that these countless slaves, rather than crying out and praying to several, dozens, or hundreds of different gods, were actually praying to the same god.
All Valyrian slaves were merely praying for release to the same god—the different incarnations of the God of Death.
He smiled at this moment and stood up from the darkness. The Light Lord, the Drowned God, the Black Goat, the Lion of Night, and the Stranger were all but incarnations of the Many-Faced God, just different facets of the Many-Faced God.
He stepped out of the darkness and walked slowly through the deep mine tunnel, chanting in a low voice: "Before the Many-Faced God, all living beings are equal,"
"All men must serve, whether slave or monarch,"
"All men must die, whether good or evil,"
"People believe in their respective gods, but at the end of life's path,"
"The Many-Faced God is waiting!"
His low chant drowned out the prayers everywhere in the mine, echoing repeatedly.
A slave stood up and followed unsteadily behind him, joining the chanting procession.
Another slave raised a trembling hand and, in his own language, echoed the miraculous chant.
One by one, the slaves gradually gathered into a tide; they came from different countries and used different languages, but today, they were all granted the gift of faith by the 'Many-Faced God'.
"Before the Many-Faced God, all living beings are equal,"
"All men must serve, whether slave or monarch,"
"All men must die, whether good or evil,"
"People believe in their respective gods, but at the end of life's path,"
"The Many-Faced God is waiting!"
In the distant and deep mine, the mysterious song drifted.
Meanwhile, in the cities of Valyria, amidst the crowded throngs, red-robed monks stepped into a cathedral-like building as night gradually fell.
The symbol hanging on this building was a Fiery Heart, representing the church of Rhllor.
The Lord of light, called the True Lord by the monks and witches who believe in him, is the god of heat and life.
Believers call him the Heart of Holy Fire, the god of shadows and fire.
These red-robed monks are the priests who serve Rhllor.
Many wandering children are often given to the temples of the Light Lord to be raised; the temples also buy slave children and raise them to be monks, warriors, or temple prostitutes.
In the temple now, a raging fire had already been lit. Many monks in scarlet robes surrounded the flames, performing a unique ritual and worshiping their True Lord, Rhllor.
Praying for Rhllor to grant them the dawn, they stared intently at the flames, hoping to see visions of the future within them.
Believers believe that Rhllor will manifest his glory at certain times, showing them scenes of the future.
A witch also clad in a scarlet robe sprinkled powder into the fire, praying for the glory of the Light Lord.
Whoosh,
In the next moment, the flames suddenly surged. Within the fire, an incredibly terrifying head of boundless majesty appeared. Those dark golden eyes seemed to carry a light that pierced through all souls, stabbing toward the red-robed witch witnessing this moment.
"Ah!"
The red-robed witch screamed as two lines of bloody tears flowed from her closed eyes. The surrounding monks rushed forward to support this red-robed witch of unique status.
But the injured red-robed witch seemed to be under some intense stimulation at this moment; she pushed away the many monks and cried out in a sharp voice: "Stay away from me, stay away from me!"
"Hehehe, hahahaha,"
"That is destruction, that is birth, that is the end, that is the beginning,"
"It's over, it's over,"
"Those thousand years are over,"
"The evil god with a dragon's head is born from hell,"
"Coming out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth,"
"Coming out to purge the order of the eight directions of the world,"
"Calling the earth to gather for war, calling the world to redefine the rules,"
"Their power is like dragons and gods, their numbers as many as the sands of the sea,"
"All who obey them will receive forgiveness and respite; all who resist them will receive fire and thunder!"