Chapter 73: Farewell

The night was deep.

The family banquet held by the Sea Lord of Braavos had already ended quite late.

But Viserys didn't hurry to rest after returning to his chamber; instead, he had the guards bring a map of the western coast of the Essos continent.

Rustle—

It was then fully unfolded and spread across the table.

"Andals."

The half-burnt candle on the table burned quietly as the young king's hands rested on the table, his piercing gaze locked on a location on the map.

"Right here..."

Viserys pointed at the map, which was directly south of Braavos, east of the Narrow Sea, along the Braavosi coast, with the Norvos Mountains to the east and the Velvet Hills to the west.

And this place named Andals, which Viserys was pointing at, was situated amidst these surrounding hills and mountains, a vast plain that stretched out to the sea, with no end in sight.

What Viserys had negotiated for at the table was such a piece of unclaimed land, which the Sea Lord of Braavos generously granted to the Targaryen family.

In reality, however, due to the unique city-state system, Braavosi merchant ships sailed all the oceans, but they had little interest in the nearby Andals plains, so their influence on this piece of land wasn't significant.

The Andals plains, although the homeland of the Andal people, had been mostly wiped of their cultural traces due to migration and invasion.

Now, only a few impoverished villages remained on this land. There were no mines underground, and the sparse population made it a place of little interest with no profit to be extracted.

Still, the Sea Lord of Braavos eventually handed over this land with little development potential to Viserys.

It was called assistance, but in fact, this place sandwiched between Braavos and Pentos posed the problem of dealing with the Governor of Pentos.

However, despite this, Viserys was still overjoyed.

Having received the endorsement and backing of Braavos, it meant that the Targaryen family had secured a 'ticket' to the nine Free Cities.

"This is what matters most."

Viserys exhaled softly, clenching his fists. Although he had already seen the location of Andals on the map in the Sea Lord's bedroom, Viserys still wanted to see it again.

Because this abandoned land between Pentos and Braavos would be his foothold on the Essos continent.

Even a young dragon needed a sky to soar in order to eventually grow into a ruler overlooking the land.

Otherwise, trapped in a narrow dragon's lair, it would face the same fate as the last dragon of the Targaryen family: deformed, unable to breed, dying in its youth, with its small bones barely the size of a human child.

...

Since it wasn't easy to come here, Viserys, disguised, took the opportunity to explore Braavos over the next few days.

He first visited the House of Black and White, the temple dedicated to the Many-Faced God, which was built from dark gray stone and situated atop a small rocky hill.

The temple was unassuming yet profound, with no windows to let in light. The pointed roof was covered with black tiles, and the doors of the House of Black and White were a pair of twelve-foot-tall carved wooden doors.

To the left, a door made of weirwood, white as bone, and to the right, a door of faintly glowing ebony.

At the center of the black and white doors of the House of Black and White, a moon was carved with ebony inlaid into the weirwood, and weirwood into the ebony, seemingly containing a hidden rhythm.

Stone steps led from the entrance of the House of Black and White down to the docks below.

Boats constantly flowed through the waterway below, yet few people truly entered the House of Black and White to pray silently by the pool.

Viserys then left the House of Black and White and went to visit the Temple of the Moon Singers. Due to historical reasons, the Temple of the Moon Singers was now the most magnificent and popular temple in Braavos.

A grand, snow-white marble palace with a silver dome, the milky glass windows displayed the various phases of the moon. By each door, a pair of tall marble maidens stood as tall as the statues of the sea god in Braavos, supporting a crescent-shaped beam.

However, Viserys did not enter the Temple of the Moon Singers, for there were too many people, and he feared encountering any problems.

So, he merely paused for a moment on the ship and left without even disembarking.

The best brothels and taverns in Braavos were located near the Purple Harbor and Moon Pool.

At night, the finest swordsmen of Braavos would gather by the Moon Pool to showcase their skills, while the Purple Harbor was brightly lit, presenting a bustling scene.

Huge flower boats sailed across the water of the Purple Harbor, and milk and fine wine were poured into the water, creating an extravagant, dazzling display.

These were the famous courtesans of Braavos, whose status here far exceeded that in other cities. Each stunning courtesan had her own flower boat and servants.

Their beauty was celebrated in songs, goldsmiths and jewelers vied to craft items for them, artisans begged for their patronage, and trading tycoons paid ransoms fit for royalty just to hold their arms at balls, feasts, and theatrical performances. Even assassins fought in their names.

Time passed quickly,

And after spending a few days in Braavos, Viserys had seen some eye-opening sights, reminiscent of the extravagance he had experienced in his past life.

However, that was all there was to it, and only a few days had passed.

Finally, another merchant ship backed by the Braavosi government had loaded its cargo and was about to set sail for King's Landing.

They would still follow the previous route, first arriving at Pentos, then passing Dragonstone, and finally reaching King's Landing.

"Let's go."

Viserys and his companions, including Oberyn, were secretly arranged by the Sealord of Braavos to board this merchant ship and set sail back to Dragonstone.

Splish-splash—

The two-masted ship hoisted its sails, and the oarsmen below rowed vigorously, breaking through the waves and finally passing the Titan of Braavos with its raised broken sword.

Whoosh…

The wind roared.

Faintly, Viserys seemed to hear the Titan's roar once again, as if bidding him farewell.

And so, the merchant ship officially left Braavos and sailed into the open sea.