Chapter Sixty-six: Queen of Cities.

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~~~Third person, second moon, 277 AC~~~

~~~Qarth~~~

"All you see is the grandeur of a civilization ancient and honored in wealth; its enormous size minimizes the size of the other cities of the world; since it is our Qarth, the greatest that has ever existed, you will not find a more glorious, memorable and magnificent city than this one." A fat, burly man, bathed in perfumes and expensive garments, was speaking to a group of people in front of the walls of Qarth. 

After the failed attack on Port Royal, Azrael sent a diplomatic retinue ahead of the armies, seeking to find a diplomatic way out of the trouble Qarth had fallen into while at the same time seeking to obtain payment for the damage that might have been done to Port Royal. 

However, the group, led by Sabhana, the experienced witch who had accompanied Micaela to Sothoryos a few moons ago, met resistance from the Qarth thirteen by not allowing the group to enter the city, keeping them out of these and disrespecting them. 

"I'll rub your stupid words in my ass," Sabhana interrupted the pompous man, not caring about his aggressive vocabulary or that the fat man was offended, "Qarth attacked Xandar for no reason and without provocation, so listen to me and pay attention." 

Sabhana looked past the man who was blocking her view due to his obesity, looking at the great walls that guarded the huge city. Sure enough, the man in front of her had the endorsement to be proud of his city because Qarth, to the naked eye, was the size of the entire southern part of the Rose River that was inside the walls.

But now, all that 'size' would be irrelevant if Xandar decided to go to war, something that would end with an attack, plunder, and ruin to Qarth. 

"I'm the only way out right now, both you and the thirteen, as well as all of Qarth; it's up to me if Xandar goes to war, and you don't want that, do you? Knowing what happened to the yellow cities, to Vaes Dothrak and the House of Black and White," Sabhana told the man, causing his previous prideful and prejudiced face to drop a little. 

And he knew there was no chance of going into a direct war against Xandar and getting away with it; hell, not even the Dothraki, the Unsullied, or the Faceless Men managed to avoid conquest or death. This being the case with the latter, the man still did not allow himself to be cowed. 

"Qarth will withstand this and a thousand other tribulations," the man said in a confident tone of voice that even he could not believe, "so go to your Dothraki king and tell him that Qarth will not relent until Xandar returns what was stolen from Qarth." 

Sabhana grimaced, shaking her head and resigning herself, realizing that the stupidity of the man before her was more incredible than she first believed. 

"Very well," was all, Sabhana said. She glanced once more at the walls of Qarth and then turned around, where she proceeded to mount her steed and set off along with her guards to where the first base camp of the unsullied was. Carrying not-so-pleasant news with her. 

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In Qarth, in an ornate, spacious, and luxurious room filled with mosaics and tapestries from every imaginable place in the world, this one was hosting a meeting of the Purebloods of Qarth. This group held the civic and military power of the Queen of Cities, the very one that now faced the beginnings of a war if the ambitions of her diligent ones were not stopped. 

"Do they even know what they just did?" a tall, stocky, and dark-skinned man addressed the group. He was gathered in the hall of a thousand thrones, a room decidedly for the gathering of the city's Purebloods, the same one that also held the members of the Thirteen, the Ancient Spice Guild, and the Brotherhood of the Tourmaline. 

The purpose of the meeting? To decide on the next step to take now that the first assault on Xandar was a failure. 

"You have just brought a war that Qarth cannot win," the black man from before continued to speak, receiving the attention of those gathered, who also shared their opinions on the case but kept them to themselves thanks to their pride and ego in between. 

"While it is true that Xandar's army is strong, so is Qarth's. That levy that attacked Port Yhos is not a shred of the full power that Qarth holds, and if Xandar refuses to surrender Port Yhos to Qarth, it will face our wrath and our threat at its gates." An old man, short of breath and looking more dead than alive, took the word from Xaro Xhoan Daxos. Who looked at the old man with an undisguised pout. 

"You are all myopic of sight; Xandar has all the Dothrakis with him, along with unsullied and bloody dragons; what don't you see?" Xaro, at this point, was losing his composure, raising his voice, and getting frustrated. 

"Just because you're a merchant prince doesn't give him the right to sully this hallowed hall!" The old man shouted, ending in a fit of coughing that proved nearly fatal to him. 

"You all know the fate that awaits Qarth, but you are too stupid to see it," Xaro told them all, receiving insults and curses from everyone, "get out of here!" 

"Don't worry, I'll leave. I'm not stupid and ignorant enough to see death approaching." With that last sentence, Xaro left the hall of a thousand thrones and departed for his mansion, where he ordered his slaves to gather everything of value and prepare their ships, seeking to leave the city before it was too late. 

He knew that Qarth could not stand against Xandar, even with the support of a Yi Ti emperor, so he sought to survive the hardship, hide in Port Royal or some free city for the time being, and, when the members in power of Qarth died, which at this rate was sure, he would return to pick up the crumbs and take control. 

It was not until after four hours that all his twenty-two merchant ships were ready. Quickly arriving at the docks and boarding his ship, he set sail from the shores of Qarth in the direction of Volantis. 

The first two hours of the voyage were enjoyable; they passed the Qarkash and soon entered the warm waters of the Summer Sea. With the wind astern and the sea calm, the voyage's first leg was calm and serene. 

However, as the boats were about to pass in front of Port Yhos, or as it was now called, Port Royal, the waves became increasingly choppy, with the sky turning cloudy and not letting in the sun's rays. Xaro knew he was passing through Xandarian terrain, as there was a well-known saying among the merchants who crossed the Dothraki Sea and visited Xandar, and that was that the moment you ran out of sun, it meant you had reached your destination. 

And now, Xaro was living the saying in the flesh, watching how the incredible layer of gray clouds covered the sky and gave the feeling that it would rain. At the same time, he could see the walls and buildings in the distance of Port Royal. 

Thus, they lasted four days of a long voyage, even under the gray layers of clouds and the low temperature, thanks to the lack of sunshine and strong sea breezes. Then, upon arriving at Basilisk Strait, the area between the Basilisk Islands and New Ghis, the atmosphere became cold and apprehensive. 

It was like entering a cave where you knew a bear lived—that feeling of being watched and followed closely. Xaro did not know what it was, and no matter how much he looked at the horizon with his far eye (spyglass), he had not seen a single ship, so what was the feeling due to? 

So he decided to approach the edge of the deck, where the captain of the ship was manning the helm. He looked at the sea waters with some apprehension, wanting to look at something in them, and he discovered it. 

From the depths of the sea, Xaro saw a row of gray and blackthorns emerge, cut the sea's surface, and then hide again. Xaro was surprised and pulled back from the shock, but when he went back to the edge and looked again, he saw no row of thorns again. He thought he was hallucinating, even rubbing his eyes when the cries and wails were heard. 

Stunned, Xaro ran to the bow of the ship, watching as two of his merchant ships were attacked—by what? He did not know, but a huge hole could be seen in the ship's hull, causing it to flood with water to a terrifying extent, sinking long before help could reach it. 

For a moment, the situation was still and silent, while the ships closest to the shipwrecked helped to pull the few survivors out of the sea. Then, out of the sea, a huge tail, gray and with huge spines sprouting from it, struck the hull of another ship with a barbed club at the end of the tail of the unknown creature. 

The blow was so decisive that it rocked the ship, destroying its hull and rendering it unusable, and if that was not enough, four or six more of those tails came out of the water and eradicated the ship, leaving everyone in shock.