Chapter 34: Norvos(Karna's POV)

Norvos sits among the Hills of Norvos, upon the eastern banks of the river Noyne, a tributary of the massive Rhoyne, and is surrounded by limestone hills, and dark forests of oak, pine, and beech. Located between Pentos and Qohor, it once served as a gateway for caravans and travelers going east-west on the ancient Valyrian roads, with Ghoyan Drohe to the southwest and Qohor to the southeast. Norvos is located in a land of rolling hills and terraced farms, surrounded by small walled villages.

Norvos's climate contains sweltering summers and bitter winters, with harsh, cold winds, and a pale, wan sun. The Norvoshi are well known for their tapestries, among valyria colonies. Norvos is involved in trade with Lorath, but rarely with Westeros. Caravans are known to pass through the city. The city could have been a wood exporter the problem was the lack of a market.

As Qohor, sold the same thing wouldn't buy it, and neither would Ny Sar or Pentos, that would rather buy the better quality wood from Groyan Drohe. The city could at least sell its tapestry to Pentos and get gold as a pathway from passing caravans from Pentos to Qohor.

Now, however, this was no longer the case, as Groyan Drohe is the least interested in trading with Qohor. At the same time, their tapestries are losing market to the cheaper and better quality ones sold by Anga.

Norvos is a theocracy. While it has a council of magisters, its members are chosen by the bearded priests, who speak for their god and wield the true power in the City. Like Qohor, nobles filled the bearded priests with gifts, to have their trade interests protected.

Among the Norvoshi only the priests are allowed beards. The priests wear hair shirts and untanned hides. Once initiated, these men are forbidden to cut or shave their hair. They practice ritual flagellation as part of their worship. The name of the god worshipped by the Norvoshi is known only to initiates.

The freeborn of the city, both noble and lowborn, favor long mustachios. Norvoshi women shave off all of their hair, though noblewomen don wigs, especially when in the company of men from other lands and cities. Some Norvoshi women wear dresses with squirrel collars. The Norvoshi do not foster children.

Originally, the city wanted to take over the Axe from the Ibbenese, which is rich in gold and amber, but after "suggestions" from Valyria, the bearded priests concluded that hunting the "infidels" from Ny Sar was a holier path, as the city also needs slaves.

Norvos had to avoid river battles as much as they can, so they had to move an army to reach Ny Sar by passing through Norvos hills, which was a laboring task. They send a group of dispersed cavalry mercenaries to harass Ny Sar and other small cities, which were unofficial vassals of Ny Sar, villages.

This group could have been misunderstood as an increased number of bandits, if not for the fact that not only did they focus on pillaging and raping, but on destroying every little shrine they find dedicated to a rhoynar's deity.

They weren't, however, brave enough to try to hunt Old Men of the River, considering the doom of Selhorys. So Ny Sar together with Groyna Drohe declared war. Anga, Sarhoy, and Sar Mell followed soon after.

I'm sad to have to leave my dear Lhorulu with our little daughter at Anga while going to war. Lhorulu said that she could defend herself and Anga, while I was away, and I believe her. I'm glad I was, at least, able to be with my wife after our daughter was born.

I was flying on the back of Vorian, with two wars happening all at once and still the need of defending my home I need to reveal this secret card. Vorian already grew too big to be killed by a ballista. He was not a dragon. He was the first of his kind. I called his specie the most intuitive name I could think of: water dragon. He has aquamarine scales and throws high-pressure water instead of fire.

Since he was born, I found out that he does not need to eat cooked meat, instead, he swallows the water on the meat, and eats raw dried meat. Although he does not need it, he likes to eat dragon meat a lot. In fact, when he was born, he ate all the meat of his probable "mother". He doesn't like a dragon's brain, though. He also has great resistance to fire, which I found out when while still young he entered inside a flame and slept there.

He look at the dragons in the distance and if it was not for me, he would have already rushed to them and started hunting. Not that we weren't hunting then, I was just making sure he conserve stamina, as we have a lot of dragons to hunt. He was salivating.

"Little one, calm down. There are a lot of dragons for you to eat. no need to rush." I said. The interesting thing is that all the riders that ran away from Angaraja were here. Grandfather was commanding my and his army while I was hunting dragonriders. I was carrying an enormous spear and was safe in a saddle, which allow me to make several maneuvers while riding Vorian. I found a near one." I said we went there and hunted the dragon and its rider.

So our routine continued for a while. Some may be wondering, while the dragons were divided. In the beginning, they weren't. They were flying in a line formation, which I broke and the dragon dispersed, so I started to run after them.

Seeing that they could not run away, they started to regroup. They seem to have communicated with each other using valyrian candles. They formed a sphere around me and started to fire.

"Now that they are close you can go wild, just through me to the right.." I said. There was a rider a bit distracted on the right. So he threw me there, while flighting I threw an arrow at the other three riders, my spear pierced the rider's head. I pierced his dragon head and jumped to the one above. And so I began jumping, killing, and walking killing the dragons and riders in the flame sphere.

Meanwhile, Vorian started to swallow whole, full dragons. Sometimes he spilled pressured water in them, which made pieces of meat fly everywhere, which he swallowed. These dragons were literally turned into soup. Later, however, he spilled out the humans, the dragon's head, its bones, and its teeth. When there were already a few dragons left, he reached me and I sat back on my saddle.

We hunted down the few survivors there seems to be some lucky few that were able to escape. Meanwhile, war was happening beneath me. The Norvoshi's army, for their own sadness, was clearly outnumbered, so they were defending.

Most of their army just, like the Qohor's army that Ar Noy fought against, was formed by Sarnori mercenary companies. Which surely was not cheap. If there was something that these companies did not lack, it is war contracts in their own region. Should I go and win the war in a valyrian way, no need.

"Vorian, please reduce your height and let me closer there." I said to my water dragon.

"Thank you."I said. He growled like saying you're welcome. What a polite fellow! I landed near a company leader which I killed and I continued killing the enemies around, meanwhile, the army continued to advance, until the remaining mercenaries started to flee all around, and I started to hunt them with the army.

Norvos was made up out of two parts, joined only by a massive stone stair, known as the Sinner's Steps. The high city, where the ancient nobility of Norvos lived, was ringed about by mighty stone walls, and located on the tallest hill in the region. Here, the great fortress temple of the bearded priests was located.

The lower city was located three hundred feet below, at the base of the hill, by the river, spread out along the muddy shores. It was defended by moats, ditches, and a timber palisade. The riverfront is lined with wharves, brothels, and beer halls.

While the upper city was grim, the lower city was lively. To our disappointment, it seems that some dragon riders have run to the city and then escaped with the bearded priest with the city guards to the Axe.

After reaching Norvos, we evacuated the city, and Ny Sar drowned the city. After having diplomatic talks with Ny Sar's general, which is now the city ruler prince, I was able to make Ny Sar and Groyan Drohe join the alliance. So now only Chroyane was left, and considering five of the big six cities were allies, they would feel pressured to agree.

We received an offer of peace from the valyrians, so we took a lot of their gold in the peace agreement. Soon after, the remaining living dragon lords in the Axe started a war with their small army and started to expel gradually the Ibbenese from there. This war, which name I have no idea would be more fitting, was finely over.