Thank you all for your well wishes. I am much better now. The rest has helped me clear my mind and I am happy to be back. I am glad to have readers like you with me. Enjoy the chapter.
—
Hello there,
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Readers who enjoy the premise of a strong main character like Ei will definitely like my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Qohor
20 YA
Visenya's work in the city was silent but apparent. Repairs across the city progressed day by day in a steady manner. Supplies were distributed evenly, guards constantly patrolled the streets, and trade began to pick up again.
In four years, the city had undergone a great change.
Qohor was not back to its old glory, and the people were unsure if it would ever happen. It had lost too many artisans and traders. Some were dead, never to return, and the others had abandoned the city to seek their fortunes across the Narrow Sea, where the Storm Kingdom was protected by a god.
The city's population, decreased from the conquest, the fire, and the exodus of the battered families, was slowly recovering with the influx of former slaves seeking their fortune in Qohor, especially the thousands liberated by Aegon when he burned down Khal Drozh's khalasar.
The Forest of Qohor, the main wealth source of the city aside from trade, had begun to see use again. Timber, fur, and hunting were slower to recover compared to the tin and silver mines and the amber deposits.
Visenya even sent prospectors to locate more veins of valuable ore, whether copper, silver, or gold, and to map the forest.
Her most ambitious plan was to turn a portion of the Dothraki Sea bordering Qohor into farmland. To that end, Visenya bonded with a new dragon, Vaelax, a she-beast with scales as dark as the night. The dragon had barely grown large enough to ride, but her idea would require dragonfire to deter the Dothraki.
The land itself was fertile and would make excellent farmland if the safety of the farmers could be guaranteed.
Master builders and commanders of the guard force suggested that requesting the High Archon to burn as many of the Dothraki Khalasars as possible was the most sure way of protecting the citizens. Visenya, however, refused to run to her husband at the first sign of trouble and demanded another solution.
It came in the form of a wall.
The trees in the forest of Qohor had trunks as wide as city gates, and they could be used in the construction of a wall. However, cutting and moving them was a challenge in itself. A wooden wall would be temporary, and in time, something sturdier would be necessary, and Qohor did not have the wealth for it.
If the forest was thinned too much too quickly, which would be necessary for the wall, then fur, hunting, and lumber sales would feel it.
The idea of cutting the forest down to build the wall was abandoned then.
While Visenya was discussing the solution with the soldiers and the builders, the answer came from a scholar, one who was too old to consider abandoning his city.
His advice for building defenses against the Dothraki was more complicated than building a straight wall from the north to the south of Essos to cut the horse lords off, but it was one that could be done with the wealth in their coffers.
Farmsteads with dry ditches on the outermost side, with stone-faced sloped earth ramparts that would stop the horses from crossing into the villages, palisades or low stone walls on top, a road behind the walls for quick movement, and watchtowers to see the Dothraki long before they arrived.
Armored spearmen and archers would be stationed in the villages, and the most important part was to scorch the outer pastures. The Dothraki, when they weren't taking tribute, were foragers that fed the khalasars with the bounty of the verdant steppe.
If the outer pastures were scorched, the Dothraki would have to set camp further from the villages to feed their horses and fighters.
The watchtowers would have beacons to warn the other villages and to send a message to Consort Visenya.
The first village was on the edge of the forest, more of a town in size. The Dothraki would have to be foolish to approach so close to the city after what the High Archon had done to them, and it made the work safer.
Horses and wealth taken from the Dothraki camp would be used to fuel the growth of the village, though not much was left of the latter due to the efforts in rebuilding the city.
—
22 YA
Due to all the wars, death, and the destruction, the Empire had to import foodstuffs from Westeros for years, but that year, things had begun to change. Qohor, once known as the city of sorcerers, had started to sell grain at prices that could match the Storm Kingdom. They did not have the farming machines, but the grain did not have to be shipped through the Narrow Sea either.
Applying similar decrees that the God-Queen had carried out for the prosperity of her kingdom, the coin from the grain sales was put into building new villages to create more farmlands.
Not all was fine, however.
Rhaenys would regularly bring Aleryse to her, but the visits were short, and Visenya felt the bond with her only child weakening.
Which was the reason she refused to let her sister take Aleryse back after the last visit. Rhaenys was not willing to get into a fight with her and had left without a fuss to inform Aegon.
Her husband was not amused.
Still unwilling to leave Aleryse in Qohor, she had demanded Visenya bring her back immediately, but her answer was the same.
Aegon, incensed at having his demand denied by his wife no less, took Balerion to Qohor to confront Visenya.
—
"What do you think you are doing, Visenya?" Aegon hissed, pushing Visenya back by the arm. He looked down at his wife, who met his stare with intensity.
"You promised I would be allowed to take Aleryse once the city was secure," Visenya reminded her husband.
"I don't think Qohor is secure enough for that yet."
"And I think it is," Visenya replied, throwing Aegon's arms off. "My daughter runs to Rhaenys when she cries, not to me, and if you want to take her away, it will have to be over my lifeless body," she said, almost screaming towards the end.
Aegon was taken back by how forceful his wife was but knew he could not delay it any longer.
"If she so much as gets a scraped knee, I will hold you responsible," he said, pressing a finger to her chest. "Being away from her will be the least of your problems then."
—
As quickly as he arrived, Aegon departed from Qohor, leaving Aleryse with Visenya.
Raised with the softer approach of her sister-wife, Aleryse did not have her mother's sterner temperament.
Knowing she would not survive in the empire otherwise, Visenya's education of Aleryse was different. In the mornings, she would learn how to swing a sword, and then, she would spend the whole day following her mother to learn how the city was ruled.
She intended to raise Aleryse into a woman that would not be a mere decoration hanging on Vhamond's arm.
Just ten years old, there was much she could teach her daughter in years to come.
And if Aegon wanted a useless wallflower, he could have Baela, Rhaenys' daughter.
—
The Storm Kingdom
Storm's End
There was a festive air around the seat of House Durrandon.
Prince Argall would be crowned as the First Prince, meant to give him greater authority in the administration of the kingdom and act in the name of the God-Queen.
Celebrations were raging around the city. Stalls dotted the streets, with dango, the favorite dessert of the queen, being the most sold food. Nobles from all three prefects were attending, and the keep was fuller than it had ever been.
"How do you feel, kiddo? Ready for the big day?" Saiguu asked the little brother of her best friend. He had grown to be a fine young man, taller than most men, with the signature Durrandon looks of electric blue eyes, black hair, and a muscled frame. Shaven and given a special haircut for this day, Argall would be breaking more hearts than usual.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Alright, time to go. Go get them, kid."
"Do you really have to call me kid?"
"I am thousands of years old, so yes."
Argall huffed and walked out of the door.
A golden tunic under a black coat with purple and golden trimmings and black trousers with intermixing gold and purple lines running down the sides, accented with a black cape carrying the purple three-comma sigil of her sister and the Durrandon stag, his royal attire was specifically tailored for this day.
With Victory, his father's sword, forged by his sister, secured at his left, Argall walked into the throne room as the guards pushed the gate open.
Inside, his sister was waiting before the throne, her friends and his mother on her sides, with his royal insignia and circlet standing on two cushioned pedestals.
The moment his face appeared inside the room, applause akin to lightning struck on both sides, though he was used to its sound.
His every step was measured and slow to wave to the gathered mass. Some were his friends, others lords and ladies he had briefly met, though a face among the crowd caught his eye.
Argall wanted to see who she was, but his ceremonial march had come to an end, and he bowed just as the applause ended.
"Argall Durrandon," she said, her voice thrumming across the throne room.
"You have come a long way as a person and as an administrator of the Kingdom, showing great success in the endeavors assigned to you in the last four years," she explained.
As she valued merit, her brother had been tasked to carry out her will across the kingdom to test his limits to see if he had been worthy.
"Thank you, Your Excellency," Argall said, bowing again. "I strive to be the best I can be, as you have taught me."
His sister was everything he aspired to be, except for the whole godhood matter.
"I know you are on the correct path, and without further embellishment, I grant you the title of the First Prince, to carry out tasks for the welfare and security of the kingdom in my name," Ei said, placing the circlet on his head.
"I do not give this position to you because you are my brother, but because you have proven yourself," Ei added, finishing her speech by placing the golden shoulder straps, one carrying her three tomoe sigil and the other, the stag.
"Rise, First Prince Argall," she ordered, and the throne room was once again drowned in applause.
—
Once Argilac was crowned, a seat was granted to him next to Ei and her council. He accepted the well wishes and congratulations of the nobles and the administrators of the kingdom, though, in between the announcements, his eyes were searching the crowd.
"What are you looking at?" Saiguu asked, noticing Argall's shifty eyes. Some of his friends were in the crowd, but that did not explain his actions.
"Nothing, just saw someone in the crowd," he replied, dodging her question.
"A friend?" she asked, leaning over with a grin. Argall only got shifty like this when he knew he would be teased.
"Not exactly," Argall denied, and stopped looking for the person. Saiguu was relentless and merciless; he would never hear the end of it.
Ei, who had just been watching so far, decided to ask, "Who is this person?"
"I don't know," he answered. He could only see her face for a couple of seconds before she was lost among the shifting crowd.
"Then why are you interested?" Ei queried. Argall would not dodge her question as he did to Saiguu.
Knowing it was inevitable now, Argall's shoulders dropped. "She was really pretty," he admitted.
"She?" Saiguu asked, her eyes shining, "Oh my, the kid is falling in love. How romantic," she teased, putting her hand over her heart.
"Big sister, please don't," he begged. She could be relentless in her desire for amusement, and he didn't want to be her target over a girl he barely saw.
Ei surveyed the crowd, trying to see who could have caught her brother's eye. "Is that her?" she asked, nodding towards a lady dressed in white, carrying the shield sigil of House Tarth.
"She is," Argall said, straightening up. "Ian Tarth's daughter?" he asked, finally laying his eyes on her properly.
"Yes, I believe she was born late to her parents; she must be around nineteen," Ei said, remembering the situation of the young lady as the sole daughter of her family.
"That's Ellynore," Saiguu exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "She was in the Female Officer Training Program. Why don't you go talk to her after the feast?" She nudged Argall.
"I'll do that."
—
"Look at the lovebirds, how cute," Saiguu grinned, rubbing her hands like a fairy tale villain.
"Come on, Saiguu, leave him alone," Chiyo said, slapping her friend's arm. She too was Saiguu's target once, long ago, and sympathized with Argall.
Saiguu crossed her arms, pouting, "Why? Love like this must be cherished."
"Indeed, cherished, not teased," Ei said, putting her two coins in.
"That's how I show I care," she winked.
"Perhaps change the way you display your affection a bit?" Sasayuri suggested, "No one enjoys being on the receiving end of your tongue."
Not everyone could handle Saiguu's teasing.
"Fine," Saiguu relented, dragging the word out. "I won't tease the kid, happy?"
"Very much," Ei said, watching her brother and Ellynore enjoy their moment in the garden.
—
Two years after his crowning ceremony, First Prince Argall wed Lady Ellynore Tarth in a grand wedding in his ancestral home. Their courting was a rather lengthy one, and with the endorsement of Queen Argella, it set a new trend.
Instead of arranged marriages, the noble children would be brought together every three years in a gathering to meet and mingle. Those that found partners they felt affectionate toward would then court each other, exchanging letters and spending time in each other's land to better understand the other side.
The noble houses would have their alliances, and their children would not be locked in miserable marriages for the most part.
It did not end there.
Each noble house preferred to create alliances with their fellow nobles, and marriages between two noble houses in neighboring kingdoms were extremely rare.
The four prefects were the same in that manner, carrying the tradition, but these alliance gatherings changed it.
It started when a daughter of House Yronwood married the heir of House Mallister, two noble houses on each end of the kingdom, and broke the mold.
Under the rule of the same queen, the noble houses had become open to the idea of creating alliances with distant lands as travel became less of a hurdle, further strengthening the trade network across the kingdom.
As the alliances grew, the animosity began to disappear, starting a new era.
—
In the next chapter:
"What in the name of everything holy is that?" Aegon asked, throat tightening. It was several human corpses fused together, with different colored patches of skin, unnatural growths all over the body, and different-sized limbs poking out of its back. Twice the size of a man, its eyes, mouth, and nose were all twisted across its face.
"The ruler of this place. A Valyrian sorcerer from before the doom," Orys explained, his sword gripped too tightly.
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