76
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198 AC
Qarth
Aerion Targaryen
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"Not as big as I thought it would be." I look down at Qarth from the back of my dragon, Moonfyre lets out a roar as if she is agreeing with me.
For how economically important Qarth is it's not as big as I was expecting, it is larger than Kingslanding but smaller than Volantis. The Red Waste is not a disappointment though, just looking at it makes my throat dry and my skin feel itchy. I can't help but admire Danny even more knowing she walked across this vast stretch of red hell shortly after giving birth and the babe dying leaving her mourning.
I am sure it helped that she gained three dragons who she loves dearly even if two of them are still dead.
But looking at the place she dragged her 'Khalasar' across while suffering... it really does put into perspective how shit her first life was. Makes me want to hold her tight and give her everything she wants, I might just say 'fuck it' and let her burn down the House of the Undying like she wants to. I thought it would be bad politically to make such a large move this early into our Essos expansion, we are not planning on putting 'boots to the ground' for at least five more years. But I know those creepy dried-up dead men pissed her off before and to see them alive again likely will make her very angry.
Hell, some of the ones if not all of the 'undying' that are around now are likely the same people who would have one day tried to steal her dragons and chain her up. Thinking about it like that makes me angry enough to want to burn the place down myself and throw all the caution I had out of the window. It's easy to forget this is the world of the 'Game of Thrones' when there is no one from the Game of Thrones that I know... except Danny of course.
""Take us down with Drogon."" I shout at my mount as Drogon makes to land inside of the city as if he owns the damn place... I suppose he remembers this place as well as his rider.
I just hope whatever we end up doing beyond killing the man who I came to kill and make an example of does not ruin my other plans in Qarth. I need a new middleman here in Qarth and I am certain I can find one even if all the 'high-end' people will be scared of me after today. But I also wanted to make a deal with the 'Sorrowful Men' and see if I could open another intelligence hub in Qarth using their help.
I guess I won't see until I talk to them, but for now, I need to deal with a man who ripped me off.
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198 AC
Qarth
Daenerys Targaryen
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"Having fun?" Aerion asks me as we walk through the market, my eyes looking for anything familiar from my time in this city more than a hundred years from now.
"Not really, I never expected to come back here until I was taking this place for myself." Looking up at the Hall of a Thousand Thrones I scrunch up my nose seeing men and women being carried out by servants and slaves. "The 'Pureborn' are still a bored people with little to interest them." I shake my head but Aerion pulls me against his side and kisses my head.
"There is nothing pure about those people, if you want we can go ahead and burn it all down." I snort and my eyes travel in the direction of the House of the Undying and I slowly start nodding.
"The Undying need to burn, the rest can stay until we are ready to actually rule over this place instead of just destroying it." I destroyed enough of Essos in my first life, I plan to make Essos better along with my husband and children.
"Alright, just let me deal with my friend and we can burn their little 'House' down and then leave if you are ready." I purse my lips and nod as I look over the slaves walking around with a pang of guilt in my chest.
They will be free soon enough, much sooner than anyone is expecting.
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"Cut the shit old man, you thought I would not make the trip over here and break you over my knee before burning you alive. You called my bluff and I am here to collect whatever will spill out of your corpse when I cut you down." I can't help but feel a heat run through me as my Husband gets violent with the man who blatantly robbed his business.
"I am not sure what it is you are talking about." I shake my head in clear disapproval as the man lies right to my husband's face.
"You are no man at all, you can't tell the truth even when it's presented right before you." Aerion reaches out and grabs the old man's neck and grips it tightly. "If you had begged I would have spared your family..." The man's 'bravery' flees him as he realizes what is at stake here and he quickly starts trying to speak but can only croak like a frog as Aerion crushes his neck. "I won't burn your Wife or children, they did me no wrong but they will die for what you have done. I want you to at least have the comfort of knowing I will make it quick and take their heads painlessly. It is the least I can do for all the good you used to do for me, but all the rights do not make the wrongs palatable." Aerion raises another hand and with a quick movement the man's neck is broken and he is dropped onto the ground.
"Will you really kill his family?" I ask not really minding if he does, but he never said anything about it and it seems a little sudden as I know he hates killing children.
"No, but his wife will tell me what I want to know or I will have to get a little violent with her." Aerion sighs and I nod with a small smile since that is what I expected of him, I know my Husband after all.
"I see." I lift the sweet wine from Yi Ti and taste it once more. "I look forward to the day when our ambition sees us cross the Bone Mountains... It is one of the few places I have never been." I was dragged around Essos by Viserys when I was a child and I have seen much of the Grass Sea when I was married to Drogo... I never got to see what is beyond the Bone Mountains.
"We will see it, even if it's not for conquest in our lives but to help prepare our Children to one day take it. There is an island not far south from Yin that has two volcanos according to what I have read and would make for a good 'Dragonstone' for our family when we expand East." I nod as he waves a hand and a man steps out from the corner of the room and drags the corpse away. "The west side of Essos will be trouble enough for many years though... not taking it but establishing an order like Westeros has. We need to establish Lords and Ladies which won't be too hard in the Great Grass Sea as there are old cities that can be brought back. There are many resources and many more abandoned cities even along the River Rhoyne. It won't be hard to get people to serve us but we will need to unify a faith under us and have them convert the whole of the continent to ease the rule over everyone as 'one people'." I hum and nod as he wraps an arm around my waist and sets his forehead against mine.
"You think the faith of R'hllor is the best for that?" I ask with a raised brow as I remember the people whom I have seen burned in the name of the Red God.
"Fire and Blood are our words, it works well and elevates us to Gods even more than we already are as 'Targaryens'. But beyond that they actually preach good to the common folk, they promote life and light which are good. They just need to cut back on the burning of living people unless the people are criminals or enemies of the future 'Empire'." I snort shaking my head, but I also know no other faith that could spread like the wildfire we will need when trying to unite all of the people of Essos.
It helps they preached against slavery in my life, I know it will help if they do so again when we start breaking the chains. The common people who will mainly be made up of 'free men' once the chains are all broken will love the Red Faith for its preaching of all life having value. Not the value they grew up knowing with a chain around their neck but the value that they are a person and not a 'thing' to be bought and sold.
With House Targaryen using dragons and fire to forge Essos into one Empire... well the faith and the people will quickly melt along with the 'steel' and become one 'whole'.
"Let's go burn some old fuckers." I shiver hearing his words and a fire ignites inside of me as I quickly nod, Drogon's roar can be heard across Qarth no doubt as he likely feels my excitement.
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"Dracarys." The word comes out with great satisfaction as Drogon opens his mouth and black and red flames cover the House of the Undying.
For a moment nothing happens even as Moonfyre's silver flames join Drogon's black ones, but soon a cracking sound can be heard. Like hundreds of glass windows shattering one at a time the House of the Undying slowly starts to take damage until it is crumbling in on itself. Piercing shrill screams can be heard from the rubble as the tower comes down on itself.
A bright blue light burns for a moment and then dies leaving nothing but burning rubble and a satisfied smile on my face. No Undying will survive as my Husband already put out a massive bounty on any who were not in the tower when it came down. There people will be hunted until the last man or woman is slain and I can rest a touch easier knowing they are purged from the world.
Root and Stem with Fire and Blood.