Five leisurely days passed before the knights Daenerys had dispatched to the Third White City returned.
Aggo, though visibly exhausted, was unusually excited. "Khaleesi," he said, "I rode west for half a day and saw a range of mountains in the distance. Since you told us not to stray far from the plains, I only explored the foothills.
There were sparse forests and endless mountains, where antelopes and elk roamed. I shot a deer with my bow and arrow, intending to bring it back as a gift for you, but the weather was too hot. By the time I reached the Red Sand Plain, the carcass had maggots after just half a day."
"Half a day's ride," Daenerys mused. "Scouts don't need to conserve their horses—three horses per man. In half a day, they could cover about 100 kilometers. That's an awkward distance, neither close nor far. Still, it solves most of the dragon's food problem."
She could ride her dragon to the western mountains for hunting.
"Did you see any signs of human habitation?" she asked.
Aggo, who wasn't good at estimating time, thought for a moment and replied vaguely, "We set out before sunrise and encountered the ruins of low stone houses when the sun was hot but not yet at its peak. They were few in number and are now half-buried in the sand."
Daenerys nodded. These were likely villages of the White City. Without walls to protect them, the wind and sand were rapidly erasing their traces.
Jorah interjected, "Your Highness, if I'm not mistaken, crossing the western mountains will lead us to Slaver's Bay."
"Ser Jorah, we've discussed this," Daenerys replied, her gaze serious. "I won't leave here until we've secured the means to survive."
"Yes, Your Highness," Jorah answered.
"And you?" She turned to Rakharo.
"No signs of people, nor any large animals. The demon grass grows sparser the farther south we go." Rakharo's lips were cracked, his skin dark and leathery—a clear sign he'd endured a miserable few days.
"At least we know the southern environment is harsh. We can focus on developing the western mountains," Daenerys said, trying to comfort him.
"Khaleesi, the south isn't entirely without value. Look at this..."
He unhooked a long, rectangular "charcoal" from his saddle and said excitedly, "Khaleesi, guess what this is?"
"Isn't it just charcoal for filtering muddy water?" Daenerys took the long stick in surprise. "Oh, it's so heavy— no, so light."
She had just uttered two contradictory words.
From a distance, it resembled a piece of gray-black charcoal, yet it was far heavier in her hand. Closer inspection revealed a metallic sheen and the texture of black iron, yet it weighed far less than an iron bar.
Suddenly, a name flashed through Daenerys's mind: the Dragonbone Bow she had retrieved from Drogo's funeral pyre.
"This is Dragonbone?! Unprocessed, raw Dragonbone! How is this possible? Did you find a dragon's corpse?" she asked in astonishment.
"Ah, you guessed it," Rakharo said, genuinely surprised. Seeing the look of shock on Daenerys's face, he grew smug. "A dragon's corpse, just a skeleton larger than a stone house, half-buried in sand. But the body was so massive, the sand couldn't completely cover it. I think it was even larger than Black Dread Balerion."
"Impossible!" Before Daenerys could react, Jorah Mormont shook his head in vehement denial, as if insulted. "You never saw Balerion. Beyond old legends, I saw its skull in King's Landing. Its jaws were wide enough to swallow a horse whole."
"Hahaha, I personally rode my horse through that dragon's skull!" Rakharo laughed triumphantly.
"Oh my god. By the Seven Gods!" Daenerys gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief. "That must be a Great Dragon that fell during the Great Cataclysm of Ancient Valyria, a Targaryen dragon. The Black Dread Balerion was the greatest of them all."
"Setting aside the significance of dragons to the Valyrians, their corpses were always the most precious treasures. Why didn't the Valyrians recover it?" Jorah asked, puzzled.
"I think I know why!" A glint flashed in Daenerys's eyes as she said softly, "He was the sixth Great Dragon to escape the Great Cataclysm of Ancient Valyria."
House Targaryen was originally one of the Dragonlords of the Valyrian Freehold. Before the volcanic eruption that destroyed the Land of the Long Summer, Daenys Targaryen, a maiden of the House, received a prophecy in a dragon dream: Ancient Valyria was doomed.
Her father, the head of the House at the time, believed his daughter's prophecy. Ignoring the mockery of the Valyrian nobles, he sold all the family's castles, estates, and businesses in Valyria and led his entire clan, along with five dragons, to flee the Land of the Long Summer by ship.
During the Great Cataclysm, all the dragons and the Valyrians perished in the scorching lava that erupted from the earth's core.
Even the Great Dragons could not withstand the intense heat and toxic fumes of the lava.
Thus, only House Targaryen remained with Great Dragons, becoming the last Dragonlords.
Hearing Rakharo's description of the dragon corpse's size, Daenerys immediately wondered if a Great Dragon might have survived the Great Cataclysm of Ancient Valyria.
Perhaps it had been gravely wounded, struggled to fly to the Red Waste, and died in agony, leaving behind only this colossal carcass for future generations to marvel at?
After hearing Daenerys's speculation, Ser Jorah nodded in agreement and sighed. "As long as they have enough food, dragons will continue to grow. Balerion reached his maximum size and died of old age, which is why there are almost no dragons larger than him. Unless..."
"There's also the matter of location," Daenerys added. "The Red Waste is adjacent to Slaver's Bay, and west of Slaver's Bay lies the Land of the Long Summer. The ruins of Ancient Valyria are at the mouth of Slaver's Bay, not far from here."
The dragon corpse had fallen a considerable distance from the Third White City, nearly 300 kilometers away. Another 200 kilometers south would lead to the sea.
Daenerys allowed her two Bloodriders to rest for three days. Leaving her handmaid and Kals at White Cloud City, she personally led Ser Jorah and 30 Dothraki warriors—each mounted on three horses—on a journey that began between four and five in the morning. They reached the Third White City by eight, before the sun had driven away the last traces of morning coolness.
On the way, they made a special stop to inspect the second "Devil's City."
A ring of two-meter-long iron spears encircled the white city walls, like guards protecting the city. The spear tips held pale, grinning skulls, and as the breeze passed through them, the skulls clattered and clicked, as if smacking their lips.
No wonder her Bloodriders were terrified; even Daenerys felt a chill run down her spine.
Fortunately, the Red Waste's dry air and lack of water meant that after centuries, the iron spears had only developed a layer of reddish-brown rust, rather than completely decaying into powder.
"This is rather eerie," Daenerys said, turning to Aggo. "Do the Dothraki have customs like this?"
"No," the Bloodrider replied uncertainly.
"Khaleesi, each Khal has his own customs and methods," Avanti interjected. "This doesn't violate our traditions."
Ah, the old man had come along too, tasked with caring for the horses for the next few days.
"Perhaps the city's residents resisted too fiercely, causing heavy casualties among the Khal's Kals," Jorah murmured.
Before they left, he suggested, "Even if the Dothraki don't want to occupy this city, we should still clear it out. We might find treasures, like that opal bracelet."
Jhogo shook his head vigorously and shouted, "Devil's work! We can't take it."
"Then what about last time?"
"I found the iron bracelet in another White City. I never even entered this one," Jhogo quickly explained.
"Our purpose this time is to investigate the Dragonbone. Let's set other matters aside for now," Daenerys decided.
From outside the city, Third White City appeared to be a smaller replica of White Cloud City. Yet upon entering, Daenerys keenly noticed the differences.
First, the density and height of the buildings were less impressive than in White Cloud City. Second, this city lacked the "luxurious" palaces.
Third White City had originally been home to seventy or eighty Dothraki, who had prepared food for Daenerys's group upon their arrival.
Three dragons had flown overhead in advance, and the Dothraki knew the Khaleesi was approaching.
During their midday rest, Daenerys visited the "library" Jhogo had mentioned, which turned out to be the city lord's office.
Like the parchment found in White Cloud City, the books were unreadable, with only a few scrolls worth examining.
Through one of the diagrams, Daenerys roughly deduced the purpose of these White Cities.
The Silk Road of another world!
Qarth, the pearl on the strait connecting the Jade Sea and the Summer Sea, occupied a position comparable to the Suez Canal on Earth.
Meereen, the largest and most prosperous city in Slaver's Bay, was also the world's greatest slave market.
At this moment, Meereen, White Cloud City, and Qarth formed a straight line on the map.
Compared to the long sea route, crossing the Red Waste reduced the journey by seventy percent and offered greater safety than the unpredictable ocean. For a time, White City prospered like the great cities along the Silk Road of the Celestial Empire.
"So, there's an ancient road between Meereen and White Cloud City?" Daenerys's fingers lightly traced the map as her mind raced.
If White Cloud City ultimately couldn't support three dragons, she could follow the "Silk Road" northwestward and build a city in the mountains near Meereen.
She was certain that by sticking to the roads on the map, she would eventually encounter a Fourth and Fifth White City. Though perhaps not as grand as the original, at the very least she would find small villages and towns that had served as waystations for travelers centuries ago.
This way, she could execute her plan to "farm to the end" without being noticed.
Entering the Red Waste seemed not a dead end, but a "paradise beyond the world" arranged by heaven. No one would notice her, and no one would know she had dragons.
*Prophecies, White Walkers, Jon Snow, the game of thrones in Westeros—let them all go to the White Walkers!*
*The moment the Great Dragon matures, she will ride it north, sweeping across the Dothraki Sea to be crowned the sole female Khal of the eight realms.*
*Then, with three dragons and hundreds of thousands of roaring warriors, she will roam the world as she pleases, and the entire world will tremble beneath her riding sandals!*
*Qin Shi Huang, Genghis Khan, Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon—she is all of them, and none of them can compare to her.*
*"Hehehehe…" As the vision grew more exquisite, Daenerys couldn't help but grin foolishly.*
*"Khaleesi! Khaleesi, what's wrong with you?" Aggo's shout jolted her from her reverie.*
*"What do you want?" she snapped back, her tone sharp.*
*Aggo paid no attention to her attitude, his dark, almond-shaped eyes widening as he exclaimed, "It's getting dark."*
*"So what? Oh, right. Time to move out." This time, Daenerys understood.*
*Their operation, like their previous journey across the Red Waste, would be conducted in secret—traveling by night and hiding by day.*
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition:
" Game of Thrones: The Holy Flame King "
" Game of Thrones: Beginning with the War of the Five Kings "
" Game of Thrones: Elden Lord The Wolf King Rises "
" Game of Thrones: Reborn as Drogon, Mind-Read by the Dragon Queen "
" Game of Thrones: The True Dragon Descends "
" Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight's "
" Game of Thrones: The Storm of the Stag "
" Game of Thrones: The Glory of the Seven Gods "
" Game of Thrones: The Strongest Dragon Mother "
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
many more are available.
patreon.com/EminentWriter
(End of Chapter)