Chapter 18:Qohor and Saath

After taking down Norvos, Rhaego quickly flew to the location of Khal Motho where he killed the man and its bloodriders taking his khalasar for himself. Meanwhile, Khal Pono had already left Norvos before he even conquered it, so he went in Qohor's direction. As his new Khalasar, was too slow Rhaego went alone in the direction of Khal Pono defeated him and his bloodriders, and took his Khalasar to himself. He waited until his two new Khalasars could properly meet and form a joined force.

Qohor, also known as the City of Sorcerers, was the easternmost of the nine Free Cities located in western Essos.

The city stands on the banks of the river Qhoyne, a tributary of the Rhoyne, on the western edge of the Forest of Qohor. It was seen as a gateway to the east. Qohor was surrounded by strong stone walls.

Northwest of Qohor was Norvos, and Volantis was to the south. The Qohorik rule the Qhoyne north of the ruins of Ar Noy and the eastern bank of the Darkwash, although that river's western bank was within the domains of Norvos.

The Qohorik believe in a dark god, the Black Goat of Qohor, who demands a daily blood sacrifice. Sacrifices can be calves, bullocks, and horses, on regular days, but condemned criminals on holy days. In times of crisis, the nobles of the city were willing to sacrifice their own children in the hopes that their god will defend the city. Followers of R'hllor can also be found in Qohor.

Qohor was also famous for its hunters, foresters, and artisans. The Qohorik have a small city watch. Ever since the events of the Three Thousand of Qohor, the city's defenses have instead been entrusted to Unsullied from Astapor, each carrying a spear with a braid of human hair. Occasionally, Qohor also hired free companies and was one of several Free Cities to offer gifts to Dothraki khals so that khalasars will pass on.

Due to its location, Qohor functions as the gateway to the Dothraki Sea and the lands beyond. Trading caravans bound for or returning from Vaes Dothrak provision themselves in Qohor before heading towards the Dothraki Sea. In turn, overland merchant caravans from Yi Ti head west over the Bone Mountains to Vaes Dothrak, where they trade with merchants from the Free Cities.

The overland trade routes were long and can be dangerous, but they were preferred by merchants who wish to avoid the exorbitant taxes that Qarth imposes on the shipping lanes that pass through its straits to the south. Trade has helped make Qohor one of the richest of the Free Cities, although the city was richer before the Kingdom of Sarnor was destroyed.

The Forest of Qohor was the principal source of wealth for the city. Timber was shipped down the Qhoyne to Dagger Lake, Selhorys, Valysar, Volon Therys, and Volantis. Many other valuables can be found in the Forest of Qohor. Qohorik tapestries were comparable to those made by the Myrish, though cheaper. Exquisite wooden carvings were sold in the city's markets as well.

Qohorik forges were considered to have no equal. The armor they created was seen as superior to the armor made in Westeros. They were capable of infusing a deep color into the metal with beautiful results. Additionally, the Qohorik were the only ones in the world who still possess the knowledge of how to rework Valyrian steel, a secret they guard strictly. According to Maester Pol, blood sacrifices were used when the Qohorik reworked Valyrian steel.

The initial settlement of Qohor was a lumber camp along the Forest of Qohor. Qohor was colonized by followers of the Black Goat. The religious dissidents abandoned Valyria, rejecting the religious tolerance practiced by the Valyrian Freehold.

When Rhaego reached there it was already too late, a thousand children had already been sacrificed by their parents to bring victory upon Qohor.

'How can these people can be so foolish, the blood mages are using their god as a excuse to get more sacrifices to become stronger?' Rhaego thought. He did not know that all these sacrifices have another objective. Soon battle began between the Three Thousands of Qohor and the thirty thousand Dothraki at Rhaego's command.

'These damn blood mages are smart they hid well the whips they use to command their unsullied. I had to kill the unsullied before reaching them, what a waste.' Rhaego thought.

With Rhaego commanding the charge against the three thousand, it did not take long for the unbroken unsullied formation to be broken. After Rhaego's troops eliminated the remaining Unsullied, the city quickly surrendered. They surrounded the Black Goat's biggest temple where the city's bloodmages were concentrated.

"My man, we will destroy this even Maegi of this land that belongs to us." Rhaego said. He knew blood mage was not necessary maegi, but he considered the term easy to bring the man hatred and easy to understand. The guards at the entrance quickly surrendered.

"We gave already more than a thousand sacrifices. Why did that thing not hatch? The damn egg keeps getting bigger, but it is still cold and it does not hatch. This cannot happen to us faithful followers of the great Black Goat." A Black Goat blood mage said.

"Don't be discouraged brother. Our god will surely show his grace in this obscure moment. This next child may finally hatch the egg. "Another said.

Rhaego burned the hand of the blood mage with his breath and avoided the present kid having his throat cut off. Rhaego became even more pissed.

"You bastards killed so many innocents just to pollute this poor dragon egg with your damn necromancy!"Rhaego said with pure fury. Instead of waiting for his people to attack he attacked on his own and with a slap on each face all blood mages had passed out.

He used his dragon breath on the dragon egg to try to purify it, dark dust started to be eliminated, he got a bit tired and decided to stop. 'Completely purifying this egg will take a while.' Rhaego thought.

"My Khal, what of the Maegis?" A more brave Dothraki asked Rhaego.

"They will soon have an ending befitting of their kind." Rhaego said. He was now only calmly enraged.

First, he made sure to give a proper burial for the more than a thousand dead kids. He got the most possible amount of people gathered at the city square to here to his inauguration speech. He got people to replicate his speech at different points to make sure it was transmitted to the large public.

"For long, the so-called followers of the Black Goat have terrorized this city. As you may have heard I have buried the thousand of kids they murdered. I will give them an ending befitting of them, as a last service to the Black Goat God." Rhaego said.

As he made every single one of them torn to pieces as a 'sacrifice' to their loved god, he wanted to miss their remains with hay and give it to goats painted in black, but he contained himself. Rhaego thought that poor goats did not deserve to it their disgusting flash, so he went with the plan and missed their remains with goat shit and buried them at a collective unnamed tomb.

Rhaego quickly ended slavery and got the slaves compensated for their work by basically bankrupting all magisters in the city and using their businesses as collateral compensation as always, the rest of the compensation was paid by the now dead blood mages, which were the de facto previous rulers of Qohor.

Rhaego next went hunting down the last of the remaining big Khals, Khal Zekko. 'I would have called him the lucky one if he would not be gone soon enough.'Rhaego though.

After marching all the way to Saath, Rhaego in his dragon form, 'kindly asked' the city of Saath to end slavery and join the Empire.

Saath was a city in northern Essos at the western end of the Sarne delta along the Shivering Sea. It is west of Vaes Graddakh and southwest of Morosh. Saath is connected by a Valyrian road to Vaes Khadokh farther to the south.

Saath was a small port with white walls. The people of Saath still called themselves Tagaez Fen, or Tall Men, after the Sarnori of old. The city had managed to survive with the support of Ib and Lorath. The people of Saath often trade with the Lorathi colony of Morosh.

Saath and its sister city, Sarys, fought the Ibbenese for control over the mouth of the Sarne on several occasions. Saath was the last surviving remnant of the Kingdom of Sarnor, as the other Sarnori cities, including Sarys, were destroyed by the Dothraki during the Century of Blood.

The reform had a very meek impact on the city that did not own many slaves, as the only sellers they could in theory find were the Ibbenese who did not have any slave direct sources and did not focus on this market. Lorath was isolated except for their colony Morosh, and as a city that received heavy immigration of exiled slaves did not enter the market for ideological reasons.

They also did not have the bravery to defy Braavos on the Shivering Sea. Other free city ships were also not that brave enough to try to sell slaves to not many rich buyers, having to pass through Braavos before reaching there. Rhaego was annoyed as he had to pursue Khal Zekko all the way to Vaes Dothrak.

The no-blood rule was easy to bypass, however. Rhaego only had to use his dragon breath to burn Khal Zekko and his bloodriders to ash. His Khalasar who was already beginning to be ashamed of their Khal's attempts to keep his stay at Vaes Dothrak permanent quickly joined Rhaego's side after their Khal death.