Chapter Twenty-six: Countermeasures are always received.

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~~~Viewpoint: Azrael Jaesyrian, Second Moon, 276 AC~~~

Watching as the men crawled out of the city, I knew that Xandar would soon have its first full-scale war, and while I was confident that I would win if I moved my chips right, I also understood that a war against three free cities would be no easy task. 

Letting out a small sigh, I turned my face slightly to my left, as I felt a presence behind me. "Valka," I greeted the woman with whom I had formed a beautiful friendship over the past few months. 

"Your Majesty," she returned my greeting, as she stood next to me, "that last speech was full of power; what I wish for knowing the author". 

Turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow, I stared at her in mock pain. "You're looking at him right in front of you," I stressed, to which Valka just gave me a strange look, and then burst out laughing. 

"Hahaha, Your Majesty, I've known you for a long time, and I recognize that your gift of gab is not the best. Remember that my sisters and I had to approach you in case you ended up dead because of eunuch soldiers, just for the simple fact of not being able to convince them to work for you". She spoke in a simple tone that filled me with exasperation. Bless the day Valka showed up. 

"Bah, nonsense. I didn't let her win, waving my hand as if shooing away the previous words she spoke: "My gift of gab is perfect, and if that doesn't work, then my sword will." 

Valka only laughed even harder again, and this time my blood riders also smiled slightly. "So says the one who fell off his horse in his first battle". I heard Essino's voice in the background. 

'Since when did these two collide?''Hey! Don't join her; I have enough with Valka. Besides, back then, I didn't know how to ride a horse; it was a rookie mistake. Now it's different; I'm good with weapons and on horseback too.' I told them, to which Zirqo nodded as he closed his eyes, "Of course, my Khal, you are a great warrior". 

I just looked at him, as I deciphered if he had been sarcastic. "That's enough," I stressed, watching the cheerful atmosphere leave and a serious atmosphere arrives. That was something that fascinated me, knowing that I had as friends and colleagues competent people who took their work seriously. 

"A possible war against Volantis, Meereen, and Yunkai may be on our doorstep," I said, watching as my 'guard' tensed up. They, too, knew that such a confrontation would be disastrous if we didn't take it seriously. 

"I have already sent several sisters to Yunkai and Meereen; they will infiltrate and pass us information on what their leaders plan," Valka explained. Well, well at least that was covered; as Varys would say, the real business is information, and having spies in those cities was good.

"However, Volantis is still silent; the city is full of Red Priests, and while it would not present a problem unless my sisters try something extreme that would affect the Red Temple's interests, a possible friction between the Red Temple and The Arcane Centre could cause the Three Triarch of Volantis to interfere, which would bring our interference in the city into the open." 

That could present problems; the Red Temple had immense power in Volantis, and while he didn't know about the Red Temple interfering in city affairs, they would if they saw a witch organization from another city extending their hands into their territory. 

"Alright, don't send any sisters to Volantis; having eyes and ears in Yunkai and Meereen for the time being is enough. Besides, have you heard anything about Khalar Vezhven?" I asked Valka. 

That was a task I had given her directly two months ago. The Khalar Vezhven was the regular meeting of Dothraki Khals, where they would gather in Vaes Dothrak, where the Khals would make plans for the coming winter. They would decide which cities would be sacked, which tribes would be enslaved, and which would be destroyed, and since my purpose was to have all the Khalasar Dothraki in Essos under my control, I would use that meeting to kill all the Khals just as Daenerys did in the series. 

"My sisters in Vaes Dothrak have informed me that a Khalar Vezhven is rumored to be organizing soon, though there is no date per se yet, but most likely in four months, when winter begins." 

Nodding, I made my way to one of the two large windows in the throne area. As I informed the assembled, "I will be busy for the next few weeks; there is still much to be built, Eliseo will be running the court during my absence, still, if merited, Valka will know where to find me." 

Seeing that this was covered, I jumped out of the window, being greeted by the great precipice that reached the private dock of the castle. I closed my eyes for a moment, as I felt the dry wind from the sea and listened to the sound of the seagulls in the harbor. 

When I was at a height of perhaps twenty meters, I steadied myself and rose, heading in the direction of the city walls. 

The western part of the city was done, but there were still several important things to build, and I didn't want to drag it out any longer. 

When I built the city, I raised the land where it would be built, as well as erecting a large mountain range four kilometers from the city walls, although this mountain range was only on the north and south sides of the city walls, which joined the mountain range I had created in the bay in front of the city, so the city was protected by them on three sides. 

Still, the eastern side of the city had no 'natural' protection, but that was about to change. 

First, I lengthened and widened the worm river to create a mouth about five kilometers from Yhos, which would give my future ships access to the Summer Sea, shortening the travel time from the slave bay to the Qarth Pass. 

After that, I returned to the city and started to build what was needed. 

Building in front of the southeastern part of the city below the Rose River, I began by constructing a large area of houses, not as spacious and luxurious as the middle or upper area, but still houses with much better standards than the dwellings in Oldtown or Lannisport. 

To the east of that area of houses that I called the lower area, I built a large stable, a place where all those who would visit the city would document and unload their caravans, so that they could enter the city with horses or carriages provided by the city. 

Underneath the lower area and the large stable, I built a large section of trees, where I built the roads that would lead to the large stable, the lower area, and the large entrance gate. 

To the south of the tree section, I built the agricultural sector, a several-kilometer-long expanse of farms, stables, vineyards, and plantations, connected to a large forest to the east of the agricultural sector called the royal forest, a place I would use in the future for organizing hunts with friends or with my future children. 

Already south of the royal forest and the agricultural sector, I built a large mine, which stretched for several thousand kilometers underground and was filled with gold, diamonds, precious stones, and more. When I finished the mine, I knew that, in size estimations, it would be four times bigger than Casterly Rock. 

The last thing I built in the southeastern part of the city was a canal that connected to the Rosa River and served as a boundary to the city. 

(image)

Once I finished the southeast part of the city, the part of the city north of the Rose River remained to be done to make the northeast part of the city. 

It had been two months since I had the meeting with the envoys from the free cities, and there was still a lot more to build, but after building the southeast part of the city, I took a break to see how the situation in the city was going, but I heard that it was going great, so I could focus on finishing the city once and for all. 

So a week later, I got busy building again. 

On the northeast side, I built a large harbor, built on a large lake connected to the Pink River, where ships could arrive and unload goods or take on supplies. 

North of the harbor, I built the largest settlement of houses, comparable to the size of White Harbor, with a large square in the center of it that would act as a commercial center. 

This time, I created a large mountain peak, on which I created a waterfall at its highest point, creating a small lake at its foot, into which a small canal led from it and divided the northeastern part in two. 

Along the canal, I built five bridges, which connected a public stable, like the one I had built weeks ago on the south side of the river, and after the latter, I built several well-organized settlements of houses in specific parts. 

(image)

When everything was ready, I then set about making the natural barrier that would protect the eastern part of the city that was not protected by the mountain range. 

For this, I created a large canyon that surrounded the entire eastern part of the city, which was concentrated at both ends of the mountain range. 

The canyon, about forty meters deep and about sixty meters wide, made it impossible to access the city, thanks to the almost vertical cliffs and gorges. 

The only entrance to the city was the Rosa River, which ran through the middle of the city and which I left in one of the few three parts of the canyon that had a passage. 

And the last two were those guarded by the gates of dawn, giant black and red gates, one north of the river, and one in the south. 

So, the construction of the city was finished, just in time when Valka informed me that the Khalar Vezhven would be in a month.

(Xandar)