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Essos
The Third Battle of Qohor, named so to avoid the stigma of being called the Massacre of Qohor, took place six months after the second battle. House Targaryen, already furious at their previous failures, gathered all their might to march on Qohor.
Sell swords, men-at-arms, and even former slaves who could not find work were armed and marched on Qohor.
The Qohorik had done all they could, repairing the walls and buying as many Unsullied as they could afford, but without the previous success they had in finding sorcerers capable of repelling the Targaryen dragons, it was a battle they would lose.
Knowing this, many of the merchants gathered their wealth and fled the city in the dark, making their way to Volantis before sailing to the Summer Isles.
Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes melted the walls of Qohor before burning the defenders to ashes, along with more than half of the city. The Unsullied, at the front of the city, were reduced to a handful that managed to survive by sheer luck.
The leaders of the city, mostly priests, were put to the sword and did not survive the onslaught.
The Targaryens took Qohor on their third try, but the city was reduced to ruin, with most of its wealth gone, and would never reach its previous glory.
Their coffers and host weary from the battles of Qohor, the Targaryens put an end to their conquest for now, intending to fix the issues plaguing their fledgling empire, with trade and the aimless former slaves at the head.
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10 YA
Storm Kingdom
Storm's End
Once a solitary castle, Storm's End had grown to a town and then to a small but prosperous city.
The Academy of Transience, which had opened its gates last year, had admitted a great number of students, both female and male, which had drawn shallow protests.
Classes were small, as scholars were lacking in numbers the first year, but as more Essosi began to flee to Westeros, they were doubled in size this year.
Subjects varied, from managing taxes to how to properly rule the land, such as improving the conditions, making the best use of the natural resources available, and seeking investment opportunities.
Trade negotiations, charting sea routes, and other classes that could make trade easier were among the ones added the second year.
But the most important part was the scientific studies, a term coined by Her Excellency to encompass the study of the natural world, book learning, alchemy, healing, a more advanced form of numbers called mathematics, and the study of living beings, biology.
These classes were slow, often fraught with confusion as the scholars and learners both tried to make sense of the books they were given. Inquisitiveness in all subjects was supported by Queen Argella, who had taken to teaching on the subject of engineering, the study of how tools and machines like the ones she had created could be understood and improved, with the expectation that the students one day could create their own devices for the kingdom as a whole.
The Regent Kitsune Saiguu, the fox-goddess herself, taught an all-female class on how to manage the kingdom's affairs as officers.
A part of the academy that was strange for everyone was the no-title rule. Her Excellency made it clear that everyone learning in the academy would progress on their own merit. Any favors, bribes, or attempts to help a student in the hopes of getting into the noble family's good graces would be met with harsh punishment.
Noble or commoners, they were all students in the halls of the academy.
The Academy of Transience was a chaotic place as both the students and the teachers tried to learn the subjects, but over time, things started to make sense.
—
"An envoy from Braavos?" Ei was lounging on her seat when Saiguu came in, looking pleased for some reason.
"Yes, they are worried about the Targaryens now that Qohor has fallen and they have the support of this R'hllor." Saiguu winked. She had several reasons to dislike the Targaryens, such as the incest, the belief that the dragonlords were closer to the gods (if that was true, Saiguu would eat her miko attire), and their arrogance.
Burning innocents for their new gods, however, was the last straw.
"And what do they want?"
"Protection."
Ei nodded. "Allow them in."
A man in dark, rich garments with light accents and a red plume in his hat in the usual Braavosi attire entered the throne room, bowing deeply.
"Your Excellency, I greet you in the name of the Sealord of Braavos, Caro Vellaro." The envoy then launched into a rather lengthy greeting, wishing her kingdom prosperity, peace, and everything else nice.
"Relay my appreciation to the Sea Lord for his kind words."
"Braavos has always been a bastion of trade and freedom in Essos…" This time, the envoy spoke of the history of Braavos and its status in Essos while mentioning the expanding Valyrian Empire and House Targaryen.
The envoy's letter from the Sea Lord was an offer of a trade agreement and an alliance as a way to deter the Targaryens from trying to conquer Braavos.
I was inclined to accept. The offer would smooth the trade between Braavos and the Storm Kingdom, while it would be a blow to the Targaryens for burning those girls alive to break the curse on their dragons.
She agreed to the intention behind the letter, and the Sea Lord himself would arrive to discuss the finer details.
—
Argall, unlike his father, had chosen a polearm as his weapon, much to Argilac's disappointment.
He was in awe of his sister and always tried to copy her, from the regal way she conducted herself to wearing purple. Her little brother had even gone as far as to try and learn engineering but had neither the aptitude nor the patience for it.
Unlike Argos, who enjoyed the challenges presented by machines. Ei had made a small engineering kit to teach him the basics while giving Argall lessons in how to use his practice polearm.
Argilac, who was getting on with his age, did not have any more children with Selena, but both were happy with the boys and their tasks in the kingdom. Her father acted as the royal inspector, mostly in the growing city around the castle, while Selena was the royal master of goodwill, ensuring the smallfolk's issues reached Ei's ears.
Trade with the Kingdom of the Rock was blooming, while North bought more grain now that it was cheaper due to the rather slow mechanization in farming, while Vale kept to itself.
The canal itself, which could not have been possible without the Thunder Dragon to carve deep into the earth to connect the river to the sea, had undergone a lot of work to be functional.
Gates to stop the saltwater from mixing into the freshwater upstream, building revetments so the banks wouldn't collapse, and having to dredge the canal regularly so it wouldn't shoal due to the silt.
With the way the Blue Fork had been widened and filled with water by the rain clouds Her Excellency had summoned all those years ago, the traffic was growing with each day, and so were the earnings from tolls and fees.
The continent was peaceful, but unexpected events were taking place beyond the wall.
—
Ei held her naginata out, waiting for Argall to strike. His steps were clumsy, treating the polearm more like a blunt tool than the skill-requiring weapon it was.
She held the strike in place while her little brother pushed on, and once Ei pulled the naginata back, Argall went face down on the ground.
"You cannot beat me in a contest of strength, and that is not a polearm's purpose. Search for an opening, and use the reach your weapon gives you."
Argall nodded, this time more cautious, and slashed the polearm down at her feet. Ei took a step back, and the young boy found the blunt end of her weapon at his throat.
"Better, but don't commit to an attack like that; you will be left wide open."
Their training session continued, with Ei giving Argall chances to learn from his mistakes instead of always correcting him.
—
Essos
Pentos
Palace of the High Archon
"An alliance between the Storm Kingdom and Braavos? How?" Aegon had hundreds of problems to deal with now and definitely didn't need this.
Rhaenys tapped Braavos on the map. "The Sea Lord sent an envoy to Storm's End to treat with Queen Argella."
His sister-wife had gotten more grim and serious after the wound left her half blind, no longer like her previous self.
The wound had taken more than her eye.
"We should have acted first. We will have to abandon the idea of conquering Braavos, possibly forever." Whether a god or not, conquering a land that was under Argella Durrandon's protection was not possible, and Visenya would not throw her life away for something as foolish as that.
"Braavos is the least of our worries. The cities aren't producing as many goods as they used to, and the ones that they do are more costly without free labor." Rhaenys, who had been running ragged with her duties to distract herself, had realized how dire the situation was becoming.
Orys, as the Hand of the High Archon, was working closely with the Archon's Consort and had his piece to add. "It gets worse. The Storm Kingdom is selling more goods to Essos and the rest of Westeros, goods that were once only sold by the Free Cities."
"We are bleeding coin every day, and we need to solve this." Visenya then began to lay out possible steps to take.
—
A race began in Essos to gain the favor of the God-Queen. On one side, Braavos, as one of the two Free Cities unaffected by the war, offered trade and a defensive alliance. It was seen as the Sea Lord's tribute to the Storm Kingdom for their protection, as the Faceless Men wouldn't be enough to protect them from a sudden attack.
The Targaryens offered much the same, citing the larger wealth of their realm, but the precarious state of their conquered territory was well known.
The God-Queen accepted the offer of the Sea Lord while only agreeing to mutual trade with the newly established Valyrian Empire, a sore point for the Targaryens.
—
With Braavos out of the board, the Targaryens turned their attention to the state of their land. A loan was taken from the Iron Bank and used to repair the cities, while Lys and Lorath made large donations in return for tax breaks, more than just covering the amount they had given for the good of the empire.
Once life returned to somewhat normal, it was time to bring the merchants and artisans that had left Essos back. It proved to be easier said than done.
Most merchants found the Storm Kingdom to be more profitable, refusing to leave their new lives behind. The God-Queen's inventions made life easy, from the well-paved roads to the new trade galleys that did not require oarsmen and even the tiny little tool she called the compass.
Whether on land or sea, the red needle always pointed to the north, making it a very convenient tool in the cloudy skies.
The goods that were once only on Essos were now being produced all around the kingdom, and for cheaper than ever. The steel trade alone had grown leaps and bounds, with the lords everywhere seeking new coal and iron mines.
Of course, it wasn't all good. They had to pay fair prices for the goods, the taxes were fair but unchanging, and they could not use their familiarity to earn more under the table. Any sign of it was somehow caught and punished severely.
The artisans were much the same. They were comfortable, practicing their crafts without being squeezed dry, and earning more than before. The guilds gave them a voice in the court and ensured their crafts were handed on to new generations.
There were those who chose to return, some who missed home, and others who were expelled from the guilds for crimes.
Without the machines of the Storm Kingdom, however, they could only compete due to the cost incurred by the trade galleys from Westeros to Essos.
Even then, they weren't earning much.
Qohor, battered and weakened severely, had no protection left, and the Dothraki Khals thought it was a great idea to raid the city.
And they succeeded too.
The garrison left behind by the Targaryens to hold the city could not stop the horse lords that came to take their tribute from the city by force, and many were taken as slaves, while the city was set on fire in the ensuing fight again.
Aegon, upon learning what had transpired, had turned Balerion's fury on the Dothraki. Tens of thousands were turned to ash, whether the horse lords or their slaves, but the point had stuck to the Dothraki.
Qohor was off limits.
The loot taken from the horse lords, which was not much when everything was set on fire by a dragon as mighty as Balerion, was used for Qohor, but purses were tight, and not much could be spared.
Braavos, secure in their position due to the alliance with the Storm Kingdom, was taking measures to keep the Valyrian Empire weakened. Their high-interest loans, with collateral in the form of land and assets, would make the Targaryens pay the gold back for a long time.
They were quick to capitalize on their agreement with the Storm Kingdom, stockpiling goods to resell to the Empire as a way of creating dependence.
It would take the Targaryens a long time to recover, while Braavos strengthened itself to resist any invasion plans.
The Targaryens were busy with the former slaves, who, without a way of filling their bellies, had turned to banditry, threatening the recovering trade. Those that had become outlaws were killed, whether by sword or dragon fire, but unless the root cause was solved, the issue would keep rearing its ugly head.
Seeing no immediate solution, Visenya Targaryen began to use the former slaves who could not find work to create a patchwork host in the Dothraki Sea, armed with wooden pikes and shields to fight against the horse lords.
The former slaves, having to choose between becoming outlaws or fighting the Dothraki, mostly chose the latter, with seasoned commanders at the head. Pay was nonexistent, just rations to keep them fed, but once the piked formations pushed the horse lords back, they would feast on the remaining loot, mostly horses and whatever rations the riders had.
Of course, it had taken a lot of dead men and losses to see an eventual victory, but dying by arrow or blade was the lesser evil compared to becoming charred corpses.
It was widely believed that Visenya Targaryen's decision, while heartless and cruel, had saved the empire from a potential rebellion, made much harder by the fact there were a lot of freemen inside the cities, and had they revolted, dragonfire would do more harm than good.
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Notes: I detailed the canal a bit more as Tertius711 commented that the idea wouldn't work, and the whys of it (thanks for that), so I hope it addressed them, even if partially. I'll fix the canal parts in the previous chapters later.
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In the next chapter:
The internal strife in the empire had been culled but not solved entirely. Consort Visenya, after informing her husband and sister of her plans, created the Umbasāeksagonī, the Shadow Watchers.
They were created to be the eyes and ears of the imperial family across the empire, keeping them abreast of important events while foiling plots against House Targaryen.
It was they who had first become aware of a gathering of wealthy nobles, but not the names involved, nor where the gathering took place. Visenya, worried about a possible thorn on the side of the empire, had sent her fledgling watchers to find these nobles.
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