SEASON III
CHAPTER 33
REIGN OF FIRE
City of Yi Ti, Imperial State of Yi Ti
The golden roofed houses and golden paved roads of Yi Ti were covered in ash and soot as the sky continued to reign dark and black with dense clouds. Ash fell from the sky, mixing with the snow. It never snowed in Yi Ti, and the people of Yi Ti were not sure what to make of it. The small villages and towns on the peripheral territories of the province were in even worse condition, bearing attacks from wild, feral, dragons during the night. All survivors were making their way to Yi Ti, with large camps forming outside the city walls as the army slowly processed each family. Most of the streets were barren and empty, with the occasional soldier on patrol, mother with child returning home from a food shop, and young man on his way to work.
The tiered pyramid-like palace of the Crown of Yi Ti sat high on a hill at the rear of the city, its entry plaza lined with golden columns that were topped off with ashy and sooty snow. The protective walls that formed a perfect square around the pyramid palace were stained in ash and soot, covering most of its formerly glorious red paint. Such weather could not come at a worse time for Yi Ti, either, as the King had recently perished whilst defending a nearby village from a series of dragon attacks.
"She is too young, Prime Minister Aoki is well positioned to serve as Crown Regent until she becomes of age." the elderly steward and head keeper of the Crown Palace kept his composure and respect for the now widowed Queen of Yi Ti, Hina Lai, a woman in her forties, seated at a small table opening letters in the living room. Thunder quietly rumbled outside in the distance, and without much sunlight, the room was filled with candles and lit candelabras.
"Heddosaba, you have served beside my husband ever since he took the throne decades ago." the widowed Queen put down her quill, staring blankly at the table filled with papers. Nakano served as the Crown Palace Heddosaba for nearly forty years, and had the utmost respect for each member of the Royal family. However, now with Empress Daenerys their ruler, he was having a hard time adjusting to new political norms. "But, I seek the word of our Empress." added the widowed Queen Hina.
Heddosaba Nakano held his hands together behind his back.
"I hope you do not think my daughter, the crown princess and the next Queen of Yi Ti, is unfit to rule and govern." added Queen Hina.
"Your majesty, I would never make such an assumption." said the Heddosaba, "I fear the stress such a responsibility would place on her shoulders, especially with the dragon crisis. She deserves to enjoy the remainder of her childhood." Princess Sakiko Lai was just fourteen years old, and she was to be crowned Queen of the Imperial State of Yi Ti. Now the Queen Mother, Hina was faced with giving her daughter what she deserved through right of blood, and a dire confrontation of the pressures of the real world that demanded experienced leaders.
"By right of the Crown Bylaws," continued Heddosaba Nakano, "as Queen Mother, you are Regent for the next fifty days, and Princess Sakiko Lai will then ascend the throne as the supreme monarch. I am here to advise you, as I've advised the King's father, and his father before him."
"Thank you, Heddosaba," said the Queen Mother softly, and solemnly. She got up from the table, taking in a deep breath. It was late in the evening, and she was tired. It had only been a few months since they willingly accepted the Targaryen Empire as their supranational rulers. There was a lot of adjusting to do still for the Yi people. "We can continue this conversation tomorrow morning."
"You are most welcome, and as you wish, your majesty." Nakano bowed his upper body as the Queen Mother walked past him out into the hall.
…
"The Queen Mother is not foolish, she is playing her cards safely. But, we haven't heard from the Imperial capital in months, what makes her think she'll receive counsel?" spoke a middle aged man, seated at the head of a long table, with a large tankard of ale in his hand. The man leaned back in his chair, making it creak at its wooden legs, feeling the warmth of the fire behind him in the fireplace.
"I am doing what I can." said Heddosaba Nakano, fixing together a plate of toasted bread bites, small pieces of fresh salmon, along with grapes and apple slices. He turned around to bring the platter to his two guests, the man with the ale being the General of the Yi Army, Hiroto Mei. Hiroto Mei had a look of exhaustion and fatigue on his face, he hadn't gotten much sleep since the death of the King, who was his close friend. The other was Prime Minister Daisuke Aoki, leader of the Yi Parliament, and expected to serve as Regent as customary in Yi culture upon the death of a monarch.
Daisuke Aoki was a quiet man, he made no sounds as he played a solitary game with old wooden cards. In his sixties with graying hair and soft eyes, he did not impose any room he stepped into. He served as Prime Minister of the representative body of Parliament, and usually when an heir was too young to assume the throne, the Prime Minister would step in as Crown Regent.
"Do not push her." voiced Aoki, "This has not happened in centuries, especially with such a dangerous crisis looming on the horizon."
"Oh, but how wrong you are, Prime Minister." General Mei leaned forward, slamming his tankard on the table, "The danger is at our doorstep, banging on the door, not on the horizon. I hope, for your sake, you realize that if you are made Crown Regent."
"What is more likely is that Queen Hina rules as a hidden regent once her daughter is crowned." said Aoki, his eyes rising up from his series of cards to look at the General across the table.
"Do you really expect me to have some sort of surprise tactic to defeat the wild dragons?" asked Aoki, "I am just as ill-equipped for this situation as is the Princess."
"Indeed, but you know how to lead the people." said Nakano, placing the platter in the middle of the table. He gave each of the men smaller plates to get their food for themselves. "Our best bet is that the Empress sends a legion to help us defend our territory and push back the dragons."
"Hmph," grumbled the General, "the Empress… the Empress is pregnant, no? Or, she has a newborn. You expect her to come flying by herself? What we need are dragons - to fight fire with fire. Our soldiers are mere rag-dolls compared to those beasts."
"Alas, her brother has returned. He could help us." said Aoki, "Let us not become hasty in our attitudes towards the Empress."
Queen's Landing
The Red Keep
Office of the Imperial Regent
"I swear, I told the mailing room to stop sending these letters from the Tyrosh Trading Company." sighed Prince Rhaegar as he tossed a thick envelope into the trash bin at the side of his desk. Princess Visenya Targaryen entered the room with two drinks in her hands, handing one to her father at her desk - piping hot tea from Dragon's Bay in Essos which was their favorite kind.
"I like their catalog, so I asked the mailing room to keep sending it." she said, peering over his desk to look at the trash bin. She reached in the bin and took out the envelope, plopping herself onto a nearby lounge chair to open it and see its contents. Prince Rhaegar had taken up numerous bureaucratic responsibilities in lieu of the Empress spending time with her newborn daughter, Princess Jaesaera.
Rhaegar didn't respond as he came upon a letter with the seal of the Royal House of Lai from Yi Ti on a smooth papered envelope, far better quality than any of the other letters. They had received many letters from the newly reformed Imperial State of Yi Ti, all alerts of the encroaching dragons attacking their outlying territories. This time, this seal was not gold like all those before that came from the Crown Palace, but instead a glossy black wax seal. Rhaegar rubbed his forehead, part of him did not want to break the seal and open the letter. Who knew what further disaster was happening to the far eastern regions of the Empire.
Visenya caught her father's slight expression of distress, as she held up the large booklet catalog from Tyrosh.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Yi Ti. I've been getting plenty of letters of their pleas for help."
"Oh… the wild dragons." muttered Visenya. She swung her legs to the side of the lounge chair, facing her father, "Perhaps it is some good news."
"Good news never comes with a black seal." he spun the letter in his hand showing her the black wax seal from the Crown House of Yi Ti. It was a series of four snakes encircling a single pike in the center. "I worry it'll be something your aunt will have to deal with eventually," he added. He took the iron letter opener off the corner of his desk and proceeded to slice open the envelope.
"We are a strong family, we can figure it out together." said Visenya assuredly.
Rhaegar signed as he opened the letter and began reading.
Queen's Landing
The Royal Council
"I've brought this to you first, because I trust each and everyone of your judgments and experience. This was signed over two weeks ago." Rhaegar put the letter down in the center of the long table where the members of the Royal Council sat; five men and women that aided in Prince Rhaegar's leadership during Daenerys' maternity leave. Jon Snow, the husband of the Empress, now crowned Imperial Prince Consort and second-in-command of the entire Imperial Armed Forces as the Supreme General, sat at the front of the table, right beside the head chair.
The second member was Yara Greyjoy, Lady of Pyke, and in charge of the Imperial Navy as Minister of the Navy. She sat opposite of Jon, and lately grew more responsible as the Empire expanded to eastern Essos and enlarged its naval armada. Third and fourth were Lady Sonu Vynta of Dorne, the Minister of Treasury, and Lady Danya Dothrak, the Minister of Imperial Security. The two young women had a history of engaging in wars and fighting on the frontlines, with Sonu Vynta fighting for House Targaryen during the war against House Lannister, as well as managing House Martell's finances, and Danya Dothrak alongside the Dothraki army upon Daenerys' first arrival to Westeros. Lastly was Jiago, the young former Unsullied captain that was now promoted to Minister of the Army, serving right underneath Jon.
"They ask for her personal assistance and presence…" said Yara as she held up the paper and read a sentence aloud for the others. She put it down roughly, "Do they know she's had a baby?"
"The news of the newborn princess' birth was made quite clear to every state in the Empire." said Jon nodding to Yara, "They must be in a desperate position."
"I advise we no longer ignore this." voiced Lady Sonu from the end of the table, "Our Imperial economic figures have already taken a hit since the initial dragon attacks three months ago. We've lost quite a bit of tax and trade revenue."
"Perhaps we should think about the people's lives first, rather than the gold." said Lady Danya.
"I am just making a statement, it is important to keep that in mind." shrugged Sonu, "Besides, Demetriou over in Braavos will not keep sending us negative notices on the state of our finances."
"The Iron Bank is alarmist." said Yara staunchly, "They fret over any bit of loss of gold after the shit they pulled with financing Cersei way back when."
"Can we get back on track, please?" asked Rhaegar, pacing at the front of the room. He had his hands on his leather belt on his hips, biting the inside of his cheek. He was not too experienced with worldly affairs or crises. In the old days, he was just a fighter and warrior, a mere knight meant to go on conquests in his father's name. This was different now. He knew he should not bother his sister who desperately needed to rest. Jon eyed his father sympathetically,
"I think I should take a couple of dragons and go myself." he announced solemnly. Everyone at the table looked at him. "I know you're all thinking about it, fight dragons with dragons. I'll speak to Daenerys about it."
"She lost two dragons already in just one fight last time you were out there," insisted Jiago, "I saw with my own eyes how vicious those things are out there."
"I did not say I was going to engage." said Jon sternly, "I remember she was able to communicate with them. Perhaps we set up an outpost, get an idea of how many dragons there are attacking Yi Ti." he explained.
"And when she tried speaking to them, they did not listen and tried to kill her." said Rhaegar, "Sure she can't burn from dragonflame, but she isn't invincible to their jaws." Jon got up from the table, pushing in his chair,
"I will speak to her."
"Jon, no." said Rhaegar.
"I've seen how many letters we've been receiving from Yi Ti." he looked into his father's eyes, "It's time we help them, they're our people now." Rhaegar let his son walk out of the room, leaving them all in silence and to ponder.
Daenerys sat on a gold-colored cushioned chair near the opened balcony doors of her room, holding three-month old Jaesaera in her lap and hands, parallel to her thighs. The wind was warm and elegant as it flowed into the room along with the strong late spring sunlight. She didn't need to wear heavier dresses like she did for most of her time when she first arrived in Westeros. The Maesters at the Citadel informed her that winter was already over, and it was unlikely it would return with such ferocity: spring was here and summer was coming.
Like tens of thousands of Westerosi children, Jaesaera was lucky to be born right at the end of winter, and the start of the warmer seasons. The three month old baby was still mostly hairless, yet soft wafts of brown hair were coming in. Daenerys loved running her hand across her daughter's hair, and Jaesaera seemed to adore it as well, cooing softly in her sleep.
Jon entered the main bedroom from the side seating room with a plate of lightly toasted bread crisps and slices of soft Braavosi cheese that was delivered by a handmaiden. He pulled up a chair to his wife and daughter and sat beside them. He took one piece of bread and placed some cheese on top of it, gently feeding it to Daenerys.
"Fresh batch that came in last night," he noted of the imported cheese. Daenerys nodded approvingly of the cheese, it wasn't too salty nor too aged.
"I still need to visit Braavos for the food." said Daenerys, wiping her lip from some crumbs, "But, how are things going… with Rhaegar?"
"Good, good, but there are problems becoming too large to ignore in Yi Ti." admitted Jon, "He did not want to bother you with this information." Jon looked down at his daughter, his stresses slowly dissipating from his mind.
"The feral dragons?"
"Yes, and the King passed away, the heir is just thirteen. They seek your counsel and military support - dragon support." added Jon. Daenerys exhaled, nodding as she processed the information. She started to wonder what the Yi Princess had to be going through, feeling the pressures of her family and political figures around her on the crisis - such a worldly crisis. Yi Ti was the power of the east, the last stronghold of civilization before the wilds and shadows of Asshai. If Yi Ti fell, who knew what else would spew out of the darkness.
"The attacks were mostly happening in small villages and towns, but now larger cities have been hit, all getting closer to the city Yi Ti." continued Jon.
"How many dragons?" asked Daenerys bluntly.
"Usually two or three per attack. But they have spotted clusters of dragons roaming the skies in the state. There have been six attacks so far, over five hundred dead." Daenerys' stomach wrenched.
"They want me to go?" she looked at Jon in his eyes, and he nodded.
"The Council met as well, just earlier today."
"And? What did they say?" she asked.
"Well, Rhaegar and I do not want you going for obvious reasons. But the others did not verbally oppose it. Danya was perhaps most vocal about the loss of life, that it is our responsibility - and I agree with her." he explained, and he paused. "I will take Rhael, accompanied by a fleet."
"You must not engage in any way, do you understand?" insisted Daenerys. Jon was surprised, it sounded as if she were defending the feral dragons.
"I know. But I know you want to try your way - it didn't work, I will take necessary precautions." he said back in a stern tone. Daenerys didn't respond, she looked away from Jon and back at Jaesaera. She lifted the baby closer into her arms.
"Support the Princess any way you can." said the Empress softly, "There will be many who undermine her and will try to usurp the throne - I already know it."
"Aye." agreed Jon, "She is the rightful ruler of Yi Ti."
"Yes, in my name. No one else."
I hope you are all doing well, I am glad to be back and will try to keep up with the story - it is far from over. Life has been crazy, but your support and readership mean everything to me.
** Note: I have decided to retcon all previous nomenclature of the Yi Ti people, culture, and others that may have been mentioned in earlier chapters. I've decided to make the Yi Ti inspired off of ancient imperial Japan as you shall see references to by the names and titles of its introduced characters - rather than create my own names.**