Travel

(Viserys Targaryen POV)

For weeks we have been travelling on horseback and I am getting sick of this. I should have been granted the loyalty of the Golden Company. But it was all ruined by this pathetic Sellsword who killed them all. Did I allow that? No, I did not. And yet here he comes and thinks of himself as the great bringer of justice. 

No one defends my sister but me and if I don't do it, I allow things to happen. That man could have done whatever he wished as long as the Golden Company agreed to fight for me. But he had to ruin all of it. And now, instead of bringing us to safety as I ordered, he travels with us through Essos with no goal in mind. He is a Sellsword but completely incompetent. 

And besides, he is getting awfully close to Daenerys, which I don't like and neither did I permit that to happen. It is time I show him what happens if he wakes the dragon. 

"Do you travel around a lot, Rev?", Daenerys asks the Sellsword with interest. 

She has started to call him Rev instead of using that pathetic nickname The Revenant Sellsword. What a joke! They believe him to be immortal, but nothing can stand in front of a dragon.

"Sure.", he says. 

"And what do you do? Are you part of a group?", Daenerys asks. 

"No, I work alone. I usually travel around and look for work. If I want to do it, then I take the job and if not, then I don't. Not very complicated.", the Sellsword says and shrugs. 

"Don't think too much about it Daenerys, he's just a Sellsword and nothing else. They don't have high goals or honour like we both do. Don't talk to him too much, he might give you stupid ideas.", I tell my sister. She needs to learn how to differentiate between those we bother to talk to and the servants. 

"Well ... you know Viserys I ... I just thought..."

"Don't think, that's my job. You wouldn't come up with anything useful anyway.", I say and ride next to her. I stop her horse and then grab her hand to pull her close to me. 

"And don't talk back to me, understood? Or do you want to wake the dra-"

*Bang*

"Uff! Wha- ... what did you-", I look at the Sellsword in disbelief. 

"Did you just ... hit me?!"

"Indeed I did. Stop treating your sister that way you little shit. She's the only family you have left and if you don't start acting like the big brother, you will lose her too. The way you treat the people you think you don't need determines the person you are."

"You ... you DARE!! I am a DRAGON and you will treat me with the respect I DESERV-"

*Slap*

"You're behaving like a f*cking child! This is a man's world. Not another word from you."

"..."

.

.

(Daenerys Targaryen POV)

Rev is a strange man. The Revenant Sellsword is what other people call him. I understand why they do that since he seems to not be bothered about any injuries. I thought he was a monster at first, but as the days passed by, I started to see that he was not really a monster ... well he is a monster but not an evil one. I see a great sadness in him. He doesn't speak much unless spoken to. He seems to be brooding most of the time and looks into the distance like he is waiting for someone.

I don't know what his story is and I would never ask, but for some reason, I was certain that he wouldn't hurt us. Although he seems unhappy with Viserys and has even slapped him, he still seems to care about us. 

Or maybe I am imagining everything. 

I am only 1 and 10 name days old, soon to be 2 and 10 so I don't know a lot about the world. I only know what Viserys told me about Westeros. But I started asking Rev to tell us stories about the world and Essos. Because while Viserys and I have been travelling from Free City to Free City, I still didn't see much of them. Viserys keeps me 'protected', as he calls it and doesn't want anyone to recognise me. 

But now, I have someone who has travelled through the whole world and seems gentle despite what he looks and acts like. I feel safe ... for some reason. After saying no, to telling us stories for a sennight, he finally relented and started telling us about some of the Free Cities. And what I got to hear shocked me. 

If his words are to be believed, then the world is filled with intricate political manoeuvrings, alliances, betrayals, and power plays among noble houses vying for control of the Iron Throne and the pursuit for power. Honour, loyalty, betrayal and revenge as well as slavery and death are the norm in this world. Although slavery has been banned in Westeros, it is still very much practised in Essos. The Slaver's Bay is what it is called. 

Harsh climates, deadly winters where food is scarce and the death rate is high. Themes of legacy and memory. And for some reason, sex seems to be a very important and central aspect of the world. Most want it, many use it and everyone suffers from it, one way or the other. And then the diseases ... the clap, I have never heard of that word before. A terrible thought. STD is what Rev called them. Sexually transmitted diseases. It almost made me hurl when he started to explain and I had to stop him. 

I started to fear for myself as I finally understood what it meant that Viserys wanted me to do. He wanted for me to be used as a broodmare and a political tool in order to get an army. That's what happened during the meeting with the Golden Company. It was for this reason, that Viserys didn't say anything when the man, Tolligar was not stopped by my brother. He was willing for me to be raped right then and there if he could at least get an army for it.

I didn't believe Rev. Vis, despite everything is still my brother and a good person. The fact that we had to sell Mother's crown was far too hard on him and he is simply sad at the moment. He will surely get better. We are family after all. 

.

We rode north from Volantis, along the river Rhoyne. Volon Therys, Valysar and we are about to reach Chroyane and The Sorrows according to Rev. 

"Why is the place called the Sorrows, Rev?", I ask him. 

"The Sorrows is a stretch of the Rhoyne from south of Dagger Lake to beyond the ruins of Chroyane. We would have to pass through Chroyane to get to the Sorrows, but we won't do that. It is full of fog and inhabited by stone men afflicted with greyscale.", Rev says. 

"Why aren't we going there? Is it a lawless area too? Also, what do you mean by fog and greyscale?"

"Chroyane nicknamed the festival city, was once the richest and most splendid of the cities along the Rhoyne. It contained the colossal Palace of Love, a magnificent fastness.

According to legend, Prince Garin the Great of Chroyane gathered a quarter million soldiers in his city during the Second Spice War. The Rhoynar marched south and were victorious against Selhorys, Valysar, and Volon Therys, but were then defeated by the dragonlords of the Valyrian Freehold in a great battle along the Rhoyne.

Men of Volantis and Valyria hung Garin in a golden cage and brought him to Chroyane so he could witness the city's destruction. Garin allegedly called upon Mother Rhoyne to destroy the invaders with a curse, and that night the river's waters rose to destroy the Volantenes and Valyrians. The spirits of the drowned dragonlords are said to remain beneath the water, however, and their cold breath rises to become fog.

Mists now rule the Sorrows and people infected with greyscale roam the ruins. They are called stone men, and the mists are said to be ruled by the enigmatic Shrouded Lord. Sunken architecture and statues pose threats to passing boats. Many travellers become lost in the thick fog, eventually succumbing to madness, hunger, greyscale, or stone men.

There has not been law above the Sorrows for a thousand years, so pirates are common in the Rhoyne north of Chroyane, although they do not enter the ruined city. Volantene galleys patrol the river south of Chroyane. Thrice yearly the triarchs of Volantis send a mercy galley to aid the stone men, but sometimes the ships arrive late with more mouths than food."

"Really? Do you believe the tales?", I ask fascinated by his story. 

"Magic is real. So there is a very good chance that it really happened. But in the end, it doesn't matter. Most of what is said is clearly a lie. People will believe what they want to believe and as soon as enough people believe in something, it automatically becomes the truth. So you see, it doesn't matter in the end. Nothing does in the end."

"You have a very sad outlook on life, Rev. What happened?", I ask without realising it.

He just looks at me for a moment and then turns away. 

"We will not go through Chroyane or The Sorrows. But there is a small settlement to the south of the ruins of Chroyane. There we will stock up on food and then head west.", he says and then rides in front without saying another word. 

.

In the evening, we reached the small settlement Rev told us about. From there I can see the ruins of Chroyane and it is scary, to say the least.

[Picture]

"Impressive, is it not?", a voice says behind me. 

I am surprised and turn around seeing a man with robes that hide most of his body. 

"Who are you?", I ask him. 

"No one, child. Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I would never touch someone who rides with the Undying Blade."

"Undying Blade? Do you mean Rev?", I ask.

"Rev?"

"Yes, the Revenant."

"... Hahahaha, you gave the Revenant Sellsword a nickname? That's hilarious.", the man laughs.

"What is it you want?", I ask annoyed.

"Nothing. I saw the wonder in your eyes after seeing the ruins and thought I'd talk to you. Although now that I look closer, you are a noble lady are you not? The silver hair you and your brother I assume share. Valyrian features. Very special."

"What do you know about Chroyane?", I ask.

"Well, Chroyane of old was said to have streets made of water and houses of gold. It now contains sunken statues and temples, green obelisks, upended trees, and broken spires and marble stairs. Two places of note are the island ruins of the Palace of Love, now called the Palace of Sorrow, and the Bridge of Dream, where stone men tend to roam."

"Stone Men? Rev- I mean the Revenant told me about them but didn't explain who they are."

"Stone men are people inflicted by greyscale dwelling in the area known as the Sorrows, up north. A nasty disease, Greyscale can leave flesh stiff and dead, and the skin cracked and flaking, mottled black and grey and stone-like to the touch. Greyscale is one of the many virulent diseases common in Sothoryos. Maybe you've heard of that place."

"Yes, I read about Sothoryos. A distant and dangerous place, as far as I heard. I'm not sure whether Rev was there or not.", I say. 

"Oh, I'm sure the Undying Blade was once in Sothoryos. The tales of his skill and special circumstances have long spread through Essos and probably the entire known world."

"So he is famous then? I have never heard of him before a moon though."

"He is indeed famous. But only in certain circles. Those who want to hire a killer will inevitably come across his many names if they look for it long enough. His skills are legendary and it is known that he has never broken or failed a contract. He doesn't agree to every contract though. He has a reputation of declining some of the most lucrative offers for seemingly no reason."

"Is that right? And why is that do you know?"

"I don't know. No one knows much about the Revenant Sellsword, not even his real name. But it is better we stop talking about him. Nothing good ever comes of that."