2 Leaving Vaes Dothrak

Vaes Dothrak is the only city of the Dothraki people. It is located in the northeast of the vast Dothraki sea, beneath the Mother of Mountains and near a lake, the Womb of the World. Vaes Dothrak has no walls.

The city is ruled and inhabited by slaves and the dosh khaleen, the wives of all the khals who have come before. It is forbidden to wear a blade or shed a free man's blood within the confines of the city.

Khaleesi Zhali was the newest member of the Dosh Khaleen and welcomed with open arms. Khal Vazzo was Known as the barbarian of the east. If hadn't been for his sickness, he would have lived decades longer and died with his braid dragging across the earth.

Dothraki warriors carry small bells in their braids, which ring softly when they move. They are only allowed to braid their hair after they have won a victory. A bell is added to their braid after each victory; The braid is only cut when a Dothraki warrior is defeated in battle, an act through which he lets the world know his shame. Only a few men die with their braids never having been cut off. Khal Vazzo was definitely one.

Only a few of the Khasar that protected Zhali remained with her. They knew that the day would come that Zhano would mount a horse and ride off. Zhali wouldn't be far behind him. She was a true Khaleesi and love was in the great sea.

After arrival, Zhali was set up in a house to accommodate her and her people. For the first week, Zhali had to complete her duties as part of the dosh Khaleen while Armenia continue to teach Zhano all she knew about the medicines of the world.

When Zhali return, she brought with her, a wooden sword, a long staff, a bow with arrows that had no head, and a small wooden knife crafted in the shape of a karambit.

"Khaleesi…" Armenia spoke, think that the wooden weapons were bending the rules too much.

"The dosh khaleen gave them to me. I'm not the first Khaleesi to make it her with a young Khalakka." Zhali explained.

"Armenia, you will teach him the ways Yi Ti. The spear and talons must be driven into him. Boro, Kazo, Dahko, and Sharo you will make sure ways of the Dothraki branded into his soul. He must also be taken to the Barren Woman and Eunuch Slaves, he must learn to apply what Armenia teaches him."

"Yes, Khaleesi." The four loyalists replied.

Zhali sighed in relief.

"Khaleesi, if I teach him that spear and talon…" Armenia suddenly spoke in her native tongue.

"I know. I will bear the consequences," said Zhali.

Eight years passed and Zhano was practically raised by the Dosh Khaleen. His training was diverse. History and legends from the Dosh Khaleen. Medicine, spear, and talon from Armenia. Archery, whip, and sword from his Khasar.

Zhano was now thirteen, famous for his gifts of taming horses in Vaes Dothrak. Also famous for being thirteen and not having braided his hair. He allows the waist-length hair to fly free.

Zhano was in the field outside of Vaes Dothrak with his Khasar, battling with metal arakhs. Three on, zhano was unphased as his battle senses had been unmatched since he turn nine years old. They moved through the field, never anticipated but always able to block, parry, and slip a blow.

Zhano was like a demon with a sword. And even as Kazo knocked his bow and let an arrow free, Zhano twirl and delivered a downward strick, cleaving the projectile from the air.

The Khasar shared looks and Zhano melted from worry to playful young man as he burst out laughing.

"You all look so serious! Why?" Zhano asked, his voice deepening now that manhood had struck and hair graced his balls.

"Zhano, we have raised you all these years and finally, we can not beat you. You're even more deadly than the famous Khal Drogo. Why don't you ride into the sea?" Sharo asked.

"Go to the great sea. That sounds good. But tell me, would you break tradition and pledge yourself to me here and now, though I am not Khal?" Zhano asked seriously.

The Khasar shared more looks.

"Zhano!" Armenia shouted as she arrived.

Zhano raised a hand to silence her.

The Khasar knew their Khalakka was awaiting an answer. In the Dothraki Sea, a Khalakka needs two things to inherit a Khal, the first was strength which includes the ability to ride. The second was Bloodriders.

The early years are always the hardest. Bloodriders and their pledge is all a Khal needs to weather the storm.

Sharo dropped to his knees and held out his bow. Boro and Kazo followed and presented their arakhs.

Zhano contemplated his next words but a force in him drove him to spit them out.

"I name you ko, and ask your oath, that you should live and die as blood of my blood, riding at my side to keep me safe from harm."

"Blood of my blood." The three men replied, accepting their oath.

"One condition," Zhano said, "You still have to listen to my mother, she'll kill us all."

"Hahahaa" the bloodriders laughed and crowded Zhano before walking him back to Armenia.

"Hmm, I won't be the one to tell Khalessi what just happened. For now, you must come with me to the Dosh Khaleen," said Armenia.

"Why?" Zhano asked.

"For the one story you have not heard and to meet the man who has done what no Khal could do for centuries," she replied.

"Drogo." Kazo sneered.

Sometime later, Zhano rode into the center of Veas Dothrak where people were gathered. He then spotted his mother next to the high priestess. She gave him a simple nod, queuing him to enter the crowd.

When he made it to the head of the crowd he was promptly greeted by a large man.

"Son of Dosh Khaleen, Zhano!" the man shouted. "Rakh haj"

The crowd agreed as many had heard stories of Zhano, breaker of horses. The man reached into the crowd and pulled out a copper-skinned young woman, with oily black hair, and budding curves.

"A Khalakki for a Khalakka. Untouched by my Khalasar. A gift for you." The man spoke, putting on hair. It was obvious that the man want Zhano to be comfortable in Vaes Dothrak.

As long as Zhano didn't venture, such gifts would be normal.

"I accept this gift, Khal. But I do not have one in return." Zhano replied.

"Boy, Khal Drogo needs no gifts as the Horse God has blessed him!" the High priestess spoke. "Khal Drogo is the Khal amongst Khals. He has tamed the untamable and brought Horse God's chosen to its knees!"

Zhano frowned as he looked at his mother. He then looked at Khal Drogo who was now whistling. A moment later the sound of hooves beats the earth as a massive eight-legged horse appeared a whole head taller than the average. Its black coat shined. Its hair-like blue fire. It's shined like gems and ancient marks ran down its head.

"I give you, Sleipnir!" Khal Drogo roared.

Khal at twenty-one and tamer of Sleipnir at Twenty-three.

'Ten years my elder and good achievements. You'll make a good victory someday," Zhano thought as he watched the scene.

All of Vaes Dothraki cheered for Khal Drogo, and only feel silent as the High Priestess recounted the legend of the Sleipnir. When it was over, Zhano left his 'gift' and returned home.

"We leave tonight. First, we challenge the war hound to the east. Then we ride south to avenge my father." Zhano declared.

"What of Khaleesi?" Armenia asked.

"I'm coming with you." A voice entered the room, "I have no place amongst those old bitches. But first, we should go to Vaes Athjikhari, then the war hound."

The room looked to the voice and found Zhali entering.

"What do we do with the girl?" Boro asked.

Zhali tilted her head. She then walked to the young Khalakki and tore her leggings open. The Khalakki had no fight left in her and allowed herself to be exposed. As clear as day, the young woman's cunt was torn, red, and used.

"The Khalassar didn't touch her, but Drogo did." Zhano growled, "Good. When I ride across the great sea and my hair creates music in the wind, he will regret this day."

Zhano walked over to the young woman grasped her head the twisted with all of his might, snapping her kneck before allowing her body to drop dead.

"Now we leave," said Zhano.

In the dead of night, Zhano rode out with his mother, Armenia, and bloodriders. They headed west to the ruins of Vaes Athjikhari.

Three days later…

Vaes Athjikhari is a ruined city in Essos in the eastern Kingdom of Sarnor, with Omber to the northwest and the Kingdom of the Ifequevron to the northeast. Vaes Athjikhari is to the northeast of Vaes Leqse. The ruined city is situated on the northeastern shore of a lake, with a river running north to the Bay of Tusks. It was originally called Sallosh or Sallosh by the Silver Shore, but it is now known by its Dothraki name, Vaes Athjhikhari, meaning "City of Sickness".

It was once a place of scholars before the Dothraki sacked it. And only scholars could loot its secrets. But scholars would never survive the trip through the Dothraki sea.

Within the ruins, Zhali lead the party by torchlight as the sun had long set, leaving the work in darkness.

Zhali had followed the markers with the city ruins that led her to where the ancient library of Vaes Athjikhari used to stand.

"Khaleesi…"

"Armenia, how many times must I tell you. I am no longer Khaleesi. My son is your call and the title will be for his wife. " Zahli replied.

"Zhali." Kazo called out, "Where are we going?"

"To show you the only thing that the Dothraki lack, knowledge," she said.

"Smart men still day under our swords." Boro laughed.

"But only smart men can think exponentially."

"Ahh, she's speaking in YiTish again." Sharo groaned.

"YiTish?" Zhano asked.

"Mmm, you're mother never told you?" Boro asked.

"Now is not the time for storytelling," said Zhali.

"Lady…" said Armenia.

"There it goes again!" Kazo roared, "She spoke YiTish for three years when she first married your father."

"When the Sarnor still existed, Yi Ti was one of the three main traders. Specifically with Vaes Athjikhari. They valued the deep knowledge of Yi Ti. Besides Saffron, Yi Ti's Imperial Forgers also sent weapons of Valyrian Steel. This way, Sarnor could protect the YiTish traders on their land. It was a common thing then when Valyira was still ruling Essos." Zhali completely ignored the topic.

"Mother, are you YiTish?" Zhano asked.

"Half. Your grandfather is an Imperial Forger. Khal Vazzo stumbled upon a rare ore and things were sealed from that point on."

"And my grandmother?" Zhano asked.

"She was Dothraki. That's why it was so easy for my father to 'gift' me in return for the Blue Star iron." Zhali explained. "He had three more daughters and two more wives, all pure YiTish. I was nothing to him. The only time I heard from him and when I was pregnant, he sent Armenia."

Picking up on the atmosphere, Sharo stepped in. "Fuck, Yi Ti. Zhali has always been Dothraki. You were destined for the Great Sea.'

"Anyway, Under the library of Vaes Athjikhari is a weapons cache meant to protect the text from Yi Ti that Sarnor deemed sacred," Zhali added as they stepped into the ruins of the library.

Looking around, Zhali muttered in YiTish as she figured out how to locate the hidden cached. Minutes passed and it turned to hours. Dawn finally came as Zhali stabbed a dagger into a stone pillar and twisted it.

A sense of danger washed over Zhano as the sounds of the mechanism told him all of the secrets of the hidden Cache. His body moved and tackled his mother as a blade shot up from the ground. He then walked over to another pillar and used all of his strength to push it over.

The pillar tumbled just as the mechanism stopped. The gear had aged so back that it had sprung a trap but didn't have enough durability to open the door to the Cache. Instead, Zhano's mind worked on its own and he found a weak point.

As the pillar crashed, the ground rumbled a bit before collapsing, reveal an underground winding staircase.

"Zhano...How did you?"

"I don't know," he replied to his mother. "I just heard it and knew."

"YiTish magic." Boro joked.

"At least it isn't blood magic," Kazo added.

Zhano snickered before jumping in the hole. Following the winding steps, they found a room with spears, bow and arrows, swords, daggers, talons, Gold, and scrolls of texts.

"Everything from this point is up to you." Said Zhali.

She moved on her own as she seize a spear.

Zhano exhaled, "Sharo and Kazo, build a cart. Boro, help empty this place. What we don't need, we gift to the free city, but we leave nothing behind."

Days passed slowly. The cart was built and the cache was emptied, but more horses were needed. While Boro and Sharo caught wild horses, Zhali taught Zhano YiTish. But she was surprised to see that he had a mind for it.

Among the scrolls hidden in the Cache, the scrolls of Bird Taming, Mondal Archery, and Winemaking caught Zhano's Intrest.

After the Horses were caught, Zhano took time to break them. He then decided to catch and tame a Great Gold Feather Eagle and learn Mondal Archery that consisted of mounted and dismounted forms.

Before they had realized, Zhano had turned 14 in the ruins of Vaes Athjikhari and his latent Demigod abilities were starting to express themselves more.

On hot days, Zhano would train under the beating sun for hours but would not burn or tire like his blood riders. His reflexes, speed, and strength had also had tremendous progress. His grasps on battle tactics made leaps and bounds forcing him to turn to more YiTish scrolls of the spear, archery, talon, and the wind blade --similar to the arakh but straight back, two-handed, with a nice curve towards the tip.

It was a dreadful day, and the heat was wrathful. Zhano was practicing the spear and in the field when his Great Eagle screeched borrowed down with wings large enough to cast a shadow over him.

"What is it, boy?" Zhano asked.

Before the Eagle screech, Zhano kicked off the ground, gliding over an incoming arrow. When he landed, he did care who they were or who they belonged to. Zhano simply held his spear like a javelin and hurdle it.

It ripped throw the field like an arrow and buried itself in a man with enough force that collision was heard by the man's brothers.

"Bring the Khalasar!" Zhano commanded.

The Great Golden Feathered Eagle flapped his wing then took off in a great hurry.

"This land is mine!" Zhano roared as he drew his sword.

"Loose-haired boy! Do you know what you have done?" a man shouted.

Zhano continued to close the distance without answering the man.

"We bloodriders of Khal Gorro. He wants to taste your bird. Call it back and become our slave. Maybe then would the Khal spare you!" the man roared.

Still, Zhano remained silent. The tip of his blade dragging across the earth. His eyes and ears counted murmurs and movement.

"A hunting party for a single eagle?" Zhano asked as he marked at least twenty-five men.

"We have the man to spare. Call the Eagle back."

"How about you all become my men. This is my land. You tried to kill my beast. You. Owe me!" Zhano spoke with a cold tone. And though his free-flying hair meant he had won no battles, he had the aura of a warrior.

The stranger kept quiet as a bloodrider signaled for his men.

Zhano sneered and his blade flew his hand and land on a young man's head. Zhano broke out into a full sprint seizing his spear. The Dothraki hunting party looked at the mad boy who seemed battle-crazed and intent on taking them all on.

But they had no idea that allowing him to get his spear was a fatal mistake. Zhano ripped it free of the bloodriders body. The Valyrian steel spear was soft like a whip as it bent and crack on the head of a woman.

Blood splattered and Zhano was already on his next strike. This time, the hunting party in engaged him. Zhano smirked as he could finally test his mettle in a bout of life and death. The only true tempering of a warrior.

Woosh! Shink! Crack! Pah!

"Ahhh!" the shouts of a dying man echoed.

Zhano's battle prowess was harrowing and he move gracefully in the flow of battle. Blocking, slipping, leaping, crushing, stabbing, and slashing.

With the spear, it was easier to take on many opponents and the hunting party finally realized that the boy with loose hair was actually as deadly as the Khal they served.

Thunk Thunk Thunk Thunk.

Arrows were let loose with no regard to their companions. Life was all they could think about. Zhano laughed as he griped his spear with two hands, took a firm stance, and twirled it. His shoulders and wrists moved in circular motions as his back sung. The spear then appears like a twirling rope as its shredded the incoming arrows, parrying the last, causing it to plunge in the throat of a nearby warrior.

Zhano finally shit and shot at the remaining warriors, taking them down before going after the archers.

Sometime later, when the field was red with blood. Zhano lead three horses by the reigns with clothes and weapons strapped to their backs. Soon, the sound of the horse came to a quick stop as his mother, Armenia, Boro, Sharo, and Kazo arrived with the Golden Eagle.

They looked around and saw nothing but horses. Further back, they could see signs of fighting but was all over.

"Told you he could handle himself," said Sharo as he elbowed Zhali. During the last year, the two had gotten closer. Zhano liked and trusted Sharo so he wasn't opposed if his mother wasn't.

Zhali smirked. "It's my job to worry." she said, " Zhano, are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine. Three blood riders and average warriors. They were trying to catch Oberon. Kazo! I thought you out the heads of those bandits on spikes a few miles outs."

"I did, my Khal." he quickly replied.

"Then this Khal Gorro just doesn't care. " Zhano sighed, "Then it's time we finally ride out."

After returning to Vaes Athjikhari, Armenia cleaned Zhano's hair of blood and braided it with his first golden bell. When she was finished, the tip of his braid was below his ass. The result of never cutting his hair when he was younger.

"Put carts on the horses and let's move," said Zhano.

"How do you plan to take on an entire Khalasar?" Sharo asked.

"The way any weak Khal would. I'm going to challenge and kill Khal Gorro. His Bloodriders will seek revenge and we will kill them too." Said Zhano.

"And the Kos?" Kazo asked.

"Let's pray they are smart enough to see strength and recognize my victory."

"And if they arent?"

"Then we keep killing until they do."