Chapter twenty-three: Let me show you how loyalty is earned.

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~~~ Point of view: Azrael Sanchez; ninth moon 275 AC ~~~

I rode up to face a host of a thousand Dothraki, all in steel plate armor and with their armored steeds. 

For this, I did not decide to use everyone, but only chose the oldest and most disciplined, if that term existed among the Dothraki in the first place. 

"Remember, I want no innocents killed, at least no more than necessary; everyone will get a good share of the city's spoils, so I don't want you to disobey my orders; anyone seen to do so will die by my sword." 

I didn't need to say the last part, since I had understood that after the incident with Amanda, the Dothraki obeyed my orders to the letter and without complaint, as long as my orders didn't make them look ridiculous, but still, I decided to make it clear. 

With the sun's rays peeking out from behind the old, battered city walls, painting the city red and illuminating the great pyramids, I could see the great gates of the city open wide, as a lone firework was thrown into the sky, lighting it with sparks of white and blue. 

That was the signal, telling me that the city had fallen and that I could advance into it. 

Nodding to my blood riders, I spurred Caniibal, as I had named my horse, and started to ride into the city. I was closely followed by my blood riders and the other Dothraki marching in as much order as they could reach. 

The city walls looked much more pitiful from up close, crumbling in part, blowing the red dust they were made of all over the city, as well as only reaching seven meters high, and if it were not for the threat of the Unsullied, the city would have fallen years ago at the expense of the Dothraki Khalasars. 

On the wall, I saw some slave soldiers, who, unlike the Unsullied, received lesser training but were no less effective for that. 

None deigned to attack us, either because they saw that the Unsullied on the walls were not moving, or out of fear at the sight of a fearsome armored Khalasar entering their city. 

Whatever the cause, I was disappointed, as I wanted to do some training. 

This time I had not ingested potions of strength and speed, for if any conflict arose, I wanted to know if my training sessions with Maicol and other good warrior villagers had been successful. But apparently, that was not going to happen at the moment. 

Though perhaps it was better, I wouldn't know, as we marched through the streets, I watched as the city's residents, both slaves and 'free people' locked themselves in their homes, afraid of the invaders. 

For my part, I did not linger with them, for my destination was the square of pride, as it was the only place large enough to hold all the Unsullied and the Dothraki that accompanied me. 

Arriving at the square, an open field greeted me with enough space to hold perhaps twenty thousand people, and there would still be room to spare. 

Astapor was large, though it was very unpopulated; at most, the city's population would reach fifty thousand. 

Thirty thousand of them were slaves. A complete imbalance, what did interest and excite me greatly was that all these slaves were scribes, healers, bed slaves, field hands, artisans, tutors, and soldiers. 

This gave me skilled manpower to raise my next city, for which I thanked the wise masters. 

Arriving at a part of the square where an ugly dais was situated, I came upon Valka, whose clothing, even in the daytime, made her body seem shrouded in darkness itself. 

Bowing slightly, Valka greeted me: "My Khal, it is good to see you. 

Returning the greeting, I gave him a polite smile and said, "Likewise, Valka." 

Raising her arm, covered by the long sleeve of her robe, Valka showed me a pile of headless bodies, as she looked at me with a small, fanatical smile. "Your orders have been followed to the letter, my Khal; in front of you are all the whip masters or slave masters." 

A little uneasy as I watched the skin of the men's severed necks give off a bubbling black liquid, I decided to look away. 

"Where are the whips?" I asked, receiving Valka's response of pointing behind me. At the same time, I heard thousands of synchronized footsteps advancing. 

Through all the entrances to the square, I saw rows and rows of immaculates marching, behind the witches, who were holding the whips. 

It was a wonderful sight; this was what had stood against the dragons of Valyria for years, and while they were not exactly the Ghiscari legions, they did present a terrifying power on any battlefield.

"My Khal!" I was greeted by the fifteen witches responsible for the fall of Astapor, with the utmost respect and small bows. 

I returned the greeting to each of them, as I watched them approach me and hand me the whips, which numbered about twenty-two in all. 

Holding the whips in my hands, I decided to try them out: "Unsullied!"

Immediately, and in a precise and united movement, all the unsullied present in the pride square responded, clashing their spears against the ground, causing a multiple echo to be heard. 

Smiling, I decided to take the next step, hoping to avoid making a mistake.

So, dropping the whips to the ground, I focused on the unsullied, who had not reacted to my action. 

"Unsullied! My name is Khal Azrael, owner of Astapor and your deliverer," I began, seeing that the witches were moving closer to me in case things didn't go as expected. 

"From today on, you are a free person; with a choice, you can go your own way and return to your homeland... or, you can follow me and serve me as a free person who will never lack a roof, food, respect, or security.". 

After that, I stood and watched the thousands of unsullied form up, and after a few seconds, a symphony of spears clashing against the sandy ground could be heard. 

Smiling and nodding, I was delighted at the sight, knowing that I had obtained the spears of the deadliest infantry in the known world. 

"It fills me with infinite joy that you have chosen to follow me as free men!" I said to them once I saw the noise die down. 

"And as a token of thanks and a token that my words are certain and true! Enjoy the feeling of being whole again after so many years." 

With that, I spurred several chests and filled them with regeneration potions, with the Dothraki accompanying me in taking the chests and beginning to give each unsullied potion. 

Noticing how their faces filled with the first human expression in years, called pure happiness, longing, and gratitude, I smiled, knowing that if I had their loyalty before, I had now won their love. 

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After obtaining the service of the unsullied, I made my way to the punishment square. A much larger place than the square of pride, but grimmer and sadder. 

With rows and rows of impaled slaves waiting to die, and thus be freed from the slavery to which they were subjected. 

In these groups were women, men, old men, and even children who had not even reached the age of five, all unclothed and whipped, a complete act of brutality towards these poor souls. 

And here I thought the Dothraki were barbarians. 

Immediately, I ordered the Dothraki and the unsullied to bring them down from their places of torture, while I was in charge of spurring regeneration potions to treat them all. 

With all those slaves healthy and all the slaves in the city freed, I gave the order for them, along with the merchants who were in the city and had nothing to do with slavery, to start marching out of the city, towards my camp. 

The reason was that I was going to give the order to sack the city completely and rid it of all animals, food, gold, and valuables, while giving the green light to kill anyone wearing a Tokar, since I did not care about killing innocents in giving that order, since, from what I had learned, anyone who wore one meant that they were freeborn. That is, they were related to at least one slave trader. 

And while I was being biased here, I didn't care, so when the last former slave or trader left the city, I gave the order, and Astapor began to burn with it.