Every person in Gohor was talking about the king's resurrection and the return of dragons.
From the estates beyond the walls of Miraxes to the royal court within the walls of Balerion.
From farmers in the fields to fishermen along the riverbanks.
At Viserys's funeral, tens of thousands had personally witnessed that miracle-like moment.
"With dragons protecting us, we'll finally be truly safe!"
Whether Andal or Rhoynar, nearly everyone viewed the return of dragons with tremendous optimism.
In fact, that was the opinion held by the overwhelming majority of people.
Many even believed Gohor would become the next Valyria.
Over the past several years, Viserys had established dozens of schools throughout Gohor to provide basic education.
The curriculum mostly consisted of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Ever since the release of the "Targaryen Printing Press 1.0," large numbers of scribes had lost their livelihoods because of mass printing.
Viserys had gathered them all up and sent them into the schools as teachers.
A considerable number of former scribes were extremely satisfied with this arrangement.
Copying manuscripts had been painfully monotonous work.
Many spent more than ten hours a day copying books.
As for nighttime?
They copied by lamplight.
They copied by moonlight.
In short—
Copy.
Their employers squeezed every possible ounce of profit from them, to the point many scribes ruined their eyesight long before old age.
When Gohor first began flooding the market with printed works, the owners of scriptoria had forced their scribes to work even harder.
But how could human beings compete with machines?
Soon countless booksellers went bankrupt, and the scribes lost all means of survival.
Those who had been bought as slaves suffered even more miserable fates.
But Viserys had people bring them all to Gohor.
Not only were they freed from exhausting copying work, they also received excellent salaries and housing.
Teaching students also gave them a sense of accomplishment and social respect.
Many scribes who had once cursed Viserys because of printed books immediately became fiercely loyal subjects afterward.
Viserys had even provided spectacles for them, solving vision problems for many.
That alone made them overwhelmingly grateful.
They swore to dedicate the rest of their lives to "shining brightly" within Gohor's educational system.
So when Viserys died, these former scribes turned teachers were devastated.
Partly because they genuinely mourned him.
And partly because they feared losing the prosperous lives he had given them.
But after Viserys returned from death, these teachers could hardly wait even a single day before returning to work.
Every single one declared:
"I must teach immediately!"
"Teacher, tell us again how His Majesty came back to life!"
"Yes, teacher! Tell us! Tell us!"
Faced with the excited pleading and playful pestering of his students, the young teacher struggled to maintain composure.
After pretending to hesitate briefly, he enthusiastically launched into the story.
As a teacher, he had been permitted to attend the funeral personally. And the events of that day remained crystal clear in his memory.
"That day, the sedan carrying His Majesty's body was placed atop the funeral pyre.
The Queen Mother personally lit the pyre with a torch.
Everyone believed our beloved king was leaving us forever, so the people cried as though rain were falling from the sky itself."
Remembering the scene caused sorrow to appear upon the teacher's face once again.
"Then suddenly, across the clear blue sky streaked a crimson comet—"
"I know! It was the Star of Blood and Fire!"
Before the teacher could continue, one especially eager child interrupted excitedly.
Rather than becoming angry, the teacher simply nodded.
"That's right. The Star of Blood and Fire. Now then, can anyone tell me the words of House Targaryen?"
"Blood and fire are one!" the children shouted together excitedly.
"Correct! Blood and fire are one!"
"The flames of the funeral pyre did not reduce His Majesty's body to ashes. Instead, they granted him rebirth.
And Queen Mother Rhaella, who stood closest to the pyre, was the first to hear the cries of the hatchlings—just as she had been the first to sense His Majesty while he was still in her womb..."
Most people did not know what had truly happened that day.
And the royal family had no interest in correcting the countless rumors spreading throughout the city.
As a result, all sorts of different versions emerged.
Though generally, the broad details remained correct.
"First came the black dragon, bursting from the flames with a hiss! Then the white dragon, then the green one..."
Just as the teacher was becoming increasingly animated, one student suddenly raised a hand.
"Teacher, what names do you think His Majesty will give the dragons?"
Compared to the jubilation of Gohor's citizens, however, the thoughts of Freygo, Tormo, Malaqo, the governors and archons of the Three Daughters, and the bearded priests of Norvos were far more complicated.
Almost immediately after the funeral ended, they instinctively wanted to begin coordinating with one another.
They intended to hold discussions regarding how to deal with a Targaryen dynasty that possessed dragons once again.
But openly conspiring beneath the eyes of House Targaryen would only provoke suspicion and hostility.
So instead, they exchanged messages discreetly through subordinates.
After making several visits, Quairo returned with reports on the positions and opinions of the other factions.
After all, Viserys was not Daenerys.
In the original timeline, Daenerys had also hatched dragons.
But at that time she had possessed only a few hundred Dothraki followers. And not even elite screamers at that.
Many were women.
Even some of her own servants later betrayed her.
Her true military strength only emerged after tricking the slave masters of Astapor and acquiring the Unsullied.
But even then, she still could not compare to the current Viserys.
Viserys controlled territory sitting directly atop the major trade routes of the Free Cities.
At any moment, he could field hundreds of thousands of disciplined, well-equipped troops.
And before long, most of the Dothraki would likely become his vassals.
That number might even double again. The population under Targaryen rule could surpass two million at any time.
Even if Viserys had merely resurrected without bringing dragons back with him, he alone would already be a terrifying force.
Now that dragons had returned as well, House Targaryen once again possessed overwhelming symbolic authority.
From ruins once dismissed by everyone, the outline of a true central empire was beginning to emerge.
"What's Volantis's position?" Freygo asked first.
Before Viserys arrived in Essos, Volantis and Braavos had constantly competed over which deserved to be called the "First Free City."
Now that argument no longer mattered.
Perhaps Viserys's population, economy, and overall scale still lagged somewhat behind the largest Free Cities.
But militarily, he was unquestionably supreme.
And that was precisely what alarmed the Nine Free Cities most.
"Their triarchs believe the Targaryen dragons are still too young. Volantis plans to begin mass-producing scorpion ballistae before the dragons fully mature."
Volantis styled itself as "the eldest daughter of Valyria," and therefore preserved more Valyrian historical records and technical documents than most.
At its peak, Valyria had controlled thousands of dragons. Naturally, they had also developed methods for killing dragons.
The best weapon was the dragon-killing scorpion.
Long range.
Immense power.
Against hatchlings, ordinary bows might even suffice.
Even once the dragons became large enough to carry riders, arrows would still remain dangerous.
For hatchlings to truly mature into giant dragons would require at least twenty years—Possibly fifty.
"And the Three Daughters?" Freygo asked. "It sounds like they're leaning toward Volantis."
"Oh?" Tormo looked surprised. "Haven't they always feared Volantis?"
Freygo explained calmly.
"The prosperity of the Three Daughters depends entirely upon slavery. Viserys doesn't even permit slave ownership inside Gohor.
Not long ago, even the Golden Company announced they would cease human trafficking.
The Three Daughters had originally hoped to win the Golden Company over.
But now the Golden Company practically begs Viserys to accept them instead.
If this continues, there soon won't be any more 'Disputed Lands' at all."
Quairo then reported the positions of Norvos and Qohor as well.
Norvos, surrounded by mountains and difficult terrain, naturally believed dragons would be less effective there.
As for Qohor, it lay too far from Gohor to feel especially threatened.
"So now Volantis, the Three Daughters, and even Slaver's Bay could all become potential allies for us."
"Yes," Quairo agreed. "But we should wait first."
"Viserys claims he intends to attack Robert within half a year. We can observe how the situation develops.
If war between Viserys and Robert reaches a stalemate, we may either strike Gohor ourselves—
Or pressure Targaryen to withdraw from the Free Cities entirely..."
In the end, Freygo decided Braavos would strengthen its military forces while setting aside old grudges with the slave-owning cities.
Preventing further Targaryen expansion would become the highest priority.
"Now that Viserys has returned from the dead, suppressing House Zalyne will become even more difficult."
Tormo rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Over the past several years, no family in Braavos had clung more tightly to House Targaryen than the Zalyne.
"Then eliminate them."
Freygo's expression revealed the ruthless decisiveness of a true Sealord.
Viserys was already powerful enough.
Braavos absolutely could not afford instability within its own ranks as well.
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