Willas Tyrell kept a firm grip on the railing of the Eagle's Rest, a trading ship that came from the Riverlands. He had boarded the ship at Oldtown. His great uncle Moryn, Commander of the City Watch of Old Town aided him in quietly acquiring and boarding the ship. Traversing the ship wasn't an easy task; the swaying of the ship and his leg weren't the best combination.
Whilst on board he got acquainted with the crew. The crew was made up of numerous peasants and bastards across the Riverlands. The only one who wasn't of the Riverlands was a Northman named Robert Snow. He didn't speak much and hardly met anyone's eye forcing the others to look at the auburn mop of his hair.
Being a trading ship they've made a few stops at Sunflower Hall, Salt Shore and Sunspear. They encountered a summer storm whilst in the Summer Sea. The storm lasted for two days. The captain, Rylen Rivers, guided them through the storm.
They sailed for nearly two weeks when they docked at Lys. Lys was founded as a colony for the Valyrian Freehold. Willas never left the ship but looking out towards the port he found a sea of silver and blonde hair. Here the nobles and even the common folk all shared Valyrian features from the bright silver hair, pale skin, and violet eyes.
They remained docked for three days. All of the crew aside from Robert disembarked for the city. He suspected that they went to visit the legendary brothels of Lys. He imagined that they fantasized about bedding a Targaryen queen or king, depending on their tastes.
"Where did you say you were from?" Willas asked as he and Robert ate a stew the cook made before he disembarked.
"Torrhen's Square." He replied gruffly.
"So your father is Lord Tallhart." He received only a grunt from the bastard, "Conversations usually work with two or more people."
Robert dropped his spoon before he looked up at Willas. The heir of Highgarden noticed that he had blue eyes, "I heard the crew talking, why would a Tyrell head to Essos?"
"You looked me in the eyes and everything." He commented before he replied, "A friend of mine traveled to Essos long ago. I've decided to see what he was talking about."
"What sights?" Robert asked before he continued eating.
"A few of the wonders of the world, the Long Bridge of Volantis, the Titan of Braavos and the Valyrian Roads." Willas replied keeping a watchful eye on Robert, "Perhaps even the Great Pyramid of Meereen, I read that it's even taller than the Wall."
"Doubtful." Robert grunted.
"Why did you join this crew?" Willas asked and Robert paused his eating, "You look fit and something tells me you know how to handle that sword of yours. Why not join the Northern army?"
"I was." He replied before his spoon began to shake in his hand, "Lucky I left when I did from the sound of it." He sighed before he stood up and took his bowl with him.
Once they set sail it seemed that Robert actively avoided him. It seemed that speaking of the Northern Army triggered something inside him. The way his hand shook and how abruptly he left indicated that it wasn't pleasant. Willas didn't try to approach Robert about the subject.
Aboard a swaying ship Sansa Stark once again dreamt of wolves. After everything that happened at Joffrey's wedding she was forced to leave the capitol. She ended up in Littlefinger's care and sailed towards the Vale. The further they sailed the more frequent the dreams became. Unlike a dream she had weeks before.
Everything was a blur of trees, grass, water and blood. She and her pack responded to a distrustful howl. They found one of their own amongst a slaughter. They charged and indiscriminately mauled anyone between them and their brethren.
They came across a kennel which held their brother captive. They broke down the wooden doors, freeing him. Everything became unclear as they charged inside of the slaughter's apex. Down corridors, in rooms and a dining hall they tore through everyone.
It became a blur once more as they moved on from the slaughter. They tracked over a sea of bloody corpses into the brush of the woods. Their leader guided them back towards their den. They licked their wounds and attended to their wounded brother.
This dream was different from the others. This one felt more real despite being a blur. She had woken damped in sweat and out of breath. This dream seemed to have taken a physical toll. She never told anyone of these dreams and she thanked the gods Tyrion never bothered to notice.
Now, she and her pack remained in their den. Many of them were shot with arrows or cut with blades. They licked their wounds as the stronger members of the pack hunted for them. She felt safe in the den, it was like she was in Winterfell again.
This sense of security only lasted as long as she remained asleep.
A few days later they landed at Volantis. This time Willas disembarked from the ship. He traversed no further than the docks. He spent his time appearing to look like a curious foreigner but he was actually listening in on any conversation he passed by. As a boy he learned how to speak High Valyrian. The dialect here is different but mostly understandable.
After an hour of eavesdropping on meaningless conversations he had limped back towards the ship. The only one on deck was Robert. He hobbled towards the below decks before he overheard someone speak about dragons. He quickly turned around and limped towards the railing of the ship, his cane clicking against the wood of the deck.
Robert noticed this frantic hobbling. He watched as the Heir of Highgarden subtly leaned over the railing. With a sigh he walked across the deck and noticed that he was listening in on a conversation, "What are they saying?"
"They're speaking of slave revolts in Slaver's Bay led by a beautiful silver queen and the most dangerous man in Essos at her side." He replied, "They say they've conceived three dragons under a bleeding star. The largest of them is black like a shadow."
For the rest of their stay at Volantis Willas listened to the rumors of the Dragons and Targaryens. The rumors seemed biased depending who he heard from. The slavers call them invaders, savages who've committed heinous crimes. The more he hears of it the less he's inclined to approach them. On the other hand he's overheard the red priests preaching of the Breakers of Chains and how they've struck every chain in Slaver's Bay. They spoke of how the Mother and Father speak of how they will come to free all the slaves of Volantis.
Gendry fell to the sandy shore and panted in exhaustion. He had been rowing for two days with little rest. He couldn't afford being found by one of Stannis' ships. He rowed until his arms burned and ached and kept on going.
Looking up at the sky he saw that dawn began to break. He flipped over to lay on his back and look up at the dark blue sky. After catching his breath and allowing his body to rest the smith staggered to his feet. He looked to his left and then to his right before he decided to turn left following the beach.
He walked for nearly an hour before he found a small port. The young man made his way into the port and found it in the shadow of a castle. He kept his head down as he found his way into a fish market. He wandered around before he saw a young boy standing behind a stand.
"Excuse me." He approached the boy, "Where am i?"
"Rook's Rest." The boy replied, "Are you alright?" He asked, noticing Gendry's exhausted state.
Gendry sighed. Rook's Rest is too close to King's Landing. He needs to leave Westeros, out of Stannis and the Lannisters' reach.
"Rodrick!" An older man, probably the boy's father, yelled, "Quit making smalltalk and sell some fish!" He reprimanded before he gave Gendry a glare, "If you're not here to buy fish, step on."
"Are there any ships leaving for Essos?" Gendry quickly asked, leaning over the stand.
The man scoffed, "For a price." He replied, turning away from the fugitive.
"What about in exchange for work?" He quickly asked moving around to look the man in the eye.
The man gave Gendry an irritated look, "There's a merchant cog on the docks. It's called the Pentoshi Beauty, the captain said that they'll take anyone that can do heavy lifting."
"Thank you! Thank you!" Gendry replied thankfully before he dashed for the docks.
Since the port was so small it wasn't hard to find the Pentoshi Beauty. Gendry approached the ship before he climbed on the plank and stepped on the deck. He received passing glances by the crew before he looked up to see a man looking down at him.
"Who's come aboard my ship?" The man asked in a queen accent.
Gendry quickly replied, "I'm Gendry, captain, I heard you'd ferry anyone across the Narrow Sea in exchange for work."
The man approached him, inspecting him as he approached, "Slow me or my men down, I'll throw you overboard."
"Of course." He nodded.
"They've committed great and horrible things." Robert said as they sailed through the Gulf of Grief. The two men swayed on their hammocks as the rest of the crew slept, "They've freed slaves and nailed the masters to posts."
"Sometimes horrible things are done for the greater good." Willas replied as he read through his book, "Like Aegon the Conqueror, he gave the Seven Kingdoms fire and blood and then after gave them peace, justice and prosperity."
"That's one way to put it." Robert shrugged.
"There have been a fair bit of war in the past three hundred years but that's nothing compared to how abundant war was amongst the petty kings of Westeros." Willas responded before he added, "How many northern kings did the Starks slaughter so they could be the ruling house of the North?"
Robert sighed, "Hundreds."
"It's unfortunate how war is what is needed for change but it's how things are done." Willas replied, "Asking nicely isn't going to free slaves."
Robert allowed a small smirk to appear on his face. Before their conversation could continue they heard a rapid ringing of a bell. The two men jolted up. Robert quickly got to his feet as Willas asked, "What is it?"
"The bell means there's trouble." Robert replied, slipping his boots on.
Leaving the Heir of Highgarden behind, Robert ran up onto the deck where most of the crew scrambled to see what's going on. Ahead they saw a single ship approaching them. The name of the ship, Vermithor, was painted in crimson on the side of the ship's hull. The torches of the ship illuminated the black sails revealing the crimson three headed dragon. The sigil of House Targaryen.
Robert watched as they slowed to a halt. The Targaryen must have signaled them to stop. It was easy to see that the large ship was a war galley as it landed next to them. A wooden bridge is raised before it lands on the deck of their ship. A pair of soldiers attired in black leather, spears and spiked helms marched across the bridge and a pale man in silk robes followed them.
"Greetings gentlemen." The man bowed his bald head, "I am a scribe for the King and Queen of Meereen. Is your captain present?"
Rylen approached the scribes, "What's the meaning of this?"
The scribe replied, "By the king's decree no one is permitted within Slaver's Bay without stating their purpose as well as providing sufficient evidence supporting their claims."
"Seems a bit much don't you think?" Alyn Rivers asked.
"Mhysa and Vasar have many enemies, many of which would send assassins over land and sea." The scribe replied, "This is simply a precaution."
"We're here to trade food and grain." Ryler replied, "Follow me below decks and I'll show you."
Robert watched as the captain and the scribe made their way below decks. He turned to face the two soldiers still stationed at the plank. These must be the Unsullied. Even in Westeros they've heard of the so-called greatest soldiers in the world.
Bryon Rivers then asked, "What does Mhysa and Vasar mean?"
"It's Old Ghiscari." Willas said as he climbed onto the deck, "It means mother and father."
"How do you know that?" Bryon asked.
"It's in this book I acquired in Volantis." He replied holding the book up, "It's a guide to how to speak Old Ghiscari."
"Why would they call the Targaryens mother and father?" Robert asked.
"Because they care for us like any mother and father would their children." The scribe's voice caught their attention as he and the captain climbed onto the deck. The scribe turned to the captain and gave him a bow, "Enjoy your stay at Meereen, Captain Rylen."
The crew watched as the scribe walked across the plank with the two Unsullied at his back. The bridge is pulled back to their ship and they set sail. Rylen ordered them to immediately set sail for Meereen, he didn't want any more delays. On their way through the bay they sighted a handful of Targaryen ships.
When the sun rose over the horizon they caught sight of land. It was still morning when they caught sight of Meereen. Towering above the land was a great pyramid taller than any of the men have ever seen. It rivaled the Hightower in height and beat it at width.
"We've arrived at our destination." Willas said as they approached the city, "Or rather my destination."
"I thought you only wanted to see the sights." Robert replied as they pulled into the docks.
"Don't tell me you actually believed that." Willas replied.
Robert let out a chuckle, "No, I didn't." He gazed up at the Targaryen banners waving on the walls, "There's only one reason why anyone would come here."
"What do you think they're like?" The older man asked.
"Guess we'll have to find out." Robert answered, getting an intrigued look from Willas, "We've come all this way, I might as well see a dragon."
"As well as the king and queen who birthed them." Willas added.
