Egon Emeros, of House Emeros, one of the three ruling members of the current Pureborn of the city of Qarth was a happy man, but not as happy as he ought to be. He strode forward in the chambers of the Hall of a Thousand Thrones, returning the many greetings and congratulations directed at him with the perfect balance of pride and humility that become a man of culture, and meeting every smile with a nod that was neither overly respectful nor excessively condescending. He found it easier than expected. His situation apart, the splendor of Qarth made modesty difficult. He still found himself enthralled by the splendor of his current demesne, and of course, the city itself.

Qarth, he thought, was fitting to be an imperial capital, despite possessing no empire to lord over. He dismissed the notion as soon as it came to his mind. Qarth needed no empire, it was an empire of its own.

Suddenly, the bells of the civic guard began to toll unceasingly as screams abounded everywhere. A moment later, pitch darkness covered the entire hall of thousand thrones, nay, over the city itself. Alarmed, Egon raced to the terrace of the adjoining pavilion to see what was happening. As he looked at the sky, his heart almost gave out and he very nearly came close to death from the sheer shock of what he was witnessing. He would not be the only one.

That … is a wing … A single wing … and it is covering Qarth … A single wing … it cannot be possible … it should not be possible … They are gone …remnants of a forgotten era … they are dead … dozens of thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to process seeing the impossible figure of a single dragon which was so large that a single wing covered the entire span of the greatest city in the world.

Throwing away all dignity and decorum, he raced out of the Hall of a thousand Thrones, and simply grabbed the nearest horse and raced to the gates of the city. As he neared the gates, he joined the tower above the city gate where he saw that representatives of nearly all power brokers of the city had assembled and were gazing outside the city.

"Benello, talk to me," he spoke to Benello Lorgar, the representative of the Tourmaline Brotherhood, who stood at the gates and was watching the scene with clenched fists and a trembling body.

"Look," was the response he received, and as Egon looked out, he saw four other dragons, landing on the outskirts of the city, while the leviathan that roamed the sky slowly descended, even as the other beasts scurried away to make space. It would have been funny if not for the direness of the situation.

Even the gentle landing of that beast sent a tremor through the lands, which made even the three walls of Qarth, one of the nine wonders of the world, shake in their foundations. Many of the viewers lost their footing and tumbled down to the ground ungracefully. Usually, such a scene would give rise to many jokes, and hidden mockery, but no one was in the mood as of now.

"By the Gods! That … that thing makes other dragons look like ants!" Magnus Allor, the representative of the Ancient guild of Spicers blurted out even as unease rippled through the viewers.

"Astute observation Magnus, do tell us something that we cannot know for ourselves instead," came the reply of Xaro Xhoan Daxos, of The Thirteen. The young merchant prince was very visibly agitated.

"Enough, let us send out a party to visit them, immediately, to ascertain their intentions. And be very mindful of your words. A wrong word could spell the end of Qarth," Egon spoke out quickly to which there were cautious nods of agreement.

A quick honor guard of the Civic Guard was assembled and a party comprising of Egon, Benello and Xaro began to make their way out.


"Who do you think they are? Members of House Targaryen … perhaps?" Xaro hesitantly asked to which Benello dismissed the possibility.

"No chance … those Westerosi Valyrians have long lost their dragons since that civil war of theirs two hundred years ago. And even at the height of their powers, the Targaryen's could never possess the preponderance of might and glory that we see before us," Benello was certain of it.

"You have the right of it," Egon admitted. "But they are Valyrians, of that, there can be no doubt. So, be very mindful of your words and how you address them. Valyrians are quick to temper, especially dragon lords," he reminded them all, even as they walked forwards.

Even from a distance spanning a league, they could feel the blistering heat emanating from the dragons. The leviathan had curled down, and now a black mountain could be seen across Qarth for all those who could see.

Soon, they beheld a group of people walking forwards. Five of them. As they came forward, Egon and his colleagues could feel their breaths quicken. These were Valyrian Dragon lords, he could now tell through the core of his soul.

Three men and two women. The eldest couple and their three children if he guessed correctly. The man had the Valyrian features of silver-gold hair, but instead of the purple eyes, he had eyes coloring green, reminiscent of the purest emeralds. The woman had purple eyes and the white skin, but contrary to expectation, her hair was burnished red like a living flame.

The two young men possessed identical features to the man, tall, well-built, lithe of body and possessing silver-gold hair and green eyes. The young woman was beautiful, beyond any they had seen, and had the same red hair as her mother and the green eyes of her father.

As the family came forward, Egon and his fellow representatives knelt and offered a deep bow.

"Welcome to Qarth, honored guests, how may we address yourself, your exalted eminence?" Egon spoke in flawless High Valyrian, at which the man smiled, while the woman and children looked at each other.

"You are in the presence of the Lord Freeholder, Hadrian Belaerys, of House Belaerys. One of the three ruling archons of the Valyrian Freehold. After four hundred years of expeditions in the lands beyond Sothoryos and the Jade sea, we have returned. We shall impose on your hospitality for a while, before we continue our journey back to our homes in the Freehold. I hope that it shall not be an issue," the red-haired woman spoke, even as Egon widened his eyes in shock, even as Benello and Xaro trembled in fear.

"We …," Xaro began, before Egon interrupted quickly, "It shall be an honor beyond compare to host an archon of Valyria! Please accept the hospitality of Qarth and all that it entails," Egon bowed quickly before barking some quick orders to the leader of the civic guards, who hurried back to the city, while Egon and the others prepared to escort them to the city.

"Oh," the younger of the two young men spoke out as if he was remembering something, "Please arrange for a few hundred heads of cattle to feed our mounts. They are tired and are in need of sustenance," the young man spoke out and snapped his fingers. A second later, Benello jumped in fright as a small hill of gold coins, diamonds and jewels appeared next to him. The casual display of such magic and wealth deeply unnerved the three men. Egon idly noted that the wealth in front of him was nearly equal to the entire wealth of his family.

"I hope this will act as sufficient compensation for the loss of livestock," the young man continued, to which Egon immediately replied, "Your eminence, this is completely unnecessary! Qarth can easily afford this! You do not have to …," he paused as the young man looked at him knowingly, to which he finally acquiesced.

"Also, it would be wise if you placed some guards in this area, to deter curious and unwanted visitors. It would not do to startle and agitate the dragons," the young girl spoke out, to which Xaro immediately nodded. It was a wise precaution, and very necessary now.

"As you will, My Lady, so it shall be done."

After a moment, the party made its way to Qarth.


Two hours later, the entirety of Qarth was abuzz with the news of its new visitors. The citizens of the city lined the city walls to take a good look at the dragons, while the ruling class of the city congregated in the Hall of a Thousand Thrones.

The visiting dignitaries had been lodged in guest rooms of the highest caliber, and every luxury available was made accessible. An army of servants waited on the dragon lords who now rested.

Meanwhile, in the Hall of Thousand Thrones, tempers were frayed and accusations were bandying about.

"Why did you not tell them the truth? Why did you invite them into the city?" Xaro Xhoan Daxos rounded upon Egon, to whom almost everyone looked at in irritation.

"What would you have me do?" Egon snarled back, "Tell a long-lost Archon of Valyria that the Freehold is no more! Just as he sets foot at the gates of our city! Is your brain infested with maggots? Did you not see that monster of monster's outside? What do you think would have happened? First, they would have laughed at us, and that is if they were not incensed enough to burn this city to ashes! There are five dragon lords out there, and not just ordinary dragon lords like those Targaryen's! This is a true archon and a ruler of Valyria! Did you not see that young man create more wealth than my entire house with a snap of his fingers? Tell me, how should I have reacted?" Egon roared with spittle flying out of his mouth, while Xaro glared at him with impotent rage, even as a deadly silence befell the hall.

"Egon has the right of it," Benello spoke out, "But the truth cannot be hidden forever. Sooner or later, they will learn, and we must ensure that their reaction to the news will not harm us," Benello spoke out, while Egon nodded. That was sage advice.

"What do the House of Undying and the warlocks say?" Xaro asked after a while, to which the captain of the Civic Guard replied.

"The House of Undying has shut its gates, and the Warlocks are not answering our hails," the captain replied back.

"Great," Xaro snarked, "The one time we need their help and expertise, they hide in their house like turtles in a shell!"

"Nevertheless, we must consider what this portends, and if we plan correctly, Qarth stands to gain a great deal," Egon spoke out, to which there were raised eyebrows.

"Sooner or later, they will learn about the destruction of the Freehold," Egon continued, even as he paced through the chambers as others listened. "Once that is done, they will seek to re-establish themselves again. And with their might and sorcery, not to mention their dragons, they will be the most powerful faction in the world! I submit that surrendering to them and placing Qarth under their patronage would see Qarth prosper beyond others and rule over all other cities," he spoke out with a gleaming eye, even as others were taken aback.

"Surrender our freedom to them? Just like that? Are you mad, Egon of House Emeros?" Xaro roared in anger, even as few others seemed incensed at the thought. Some others seemed thoughtful.

"Why not?" asked Egon after a while. "We are the ones who have seen them first. We are in a unique position to build good relationships with them. I am not suggesting to hand over the city to them, but to assist them without reservation in their endeavors and in doing so, gain rich rewards! Of course, if they seek to take the city, can you honestly tell me, that we are in a position to stop them? Who in this world can?" Egon asked to which the answer was a silent hall.

"They are but thoughts for the future," Benello interjected, warning Egon to hold his thoughts with his eyes. It would not be good to appear too eager.

"In the meantime, we must think about how to break the news that the Valyrian Freehold is no more to our guests," Benello spoke out, while Egon and everyone else in the hall nodded in agreement to that fact.

"Get the lore keepers," Benello ordered the attendants in the chamber. "Have them prepare the scrolls and books detailing the history of Essos since the fall of the Freehold. Should they ask, this will, I hope act as enough proof for them to not burn us to ashes on the spot!"


"These guys are rather smart," Ginny observed, even as the Potter family watched the deliberations in the chamber being projected on a wall in front of them inside their guest chambers.

"Reminds me of Lucius, only a smarter and saner version of the ponce," Harry admitted as he looked at Egon, even as he reached out to take some popcorn his kids had conjured, from the tub in front of him on the table.

"So, I guess they bought our charade then?" James asked, to which Lily snorted in derision. "Do they have any other option?"

"I think Ancalagon severely unbalanced them, Dad," Lily observed, to which Harry nodded.

"Is Albus keeping an eye on those warlocks?" Ginny asked after a moment.

"Yeah, he sent his basilisk inside to observe and act if necessary," Lily spoke out, to which James scoffed.

"Those shitty warlocks are nowhere near dangerous enough for Albie to send in his snake!"

"Don't underestimate anyone, no matter how weak they are, James!" his mother warned him, even as Harry stood up.

"Get ready, we are about to receive our next batch of visitors. Prepare to act accordingly," he warned his family members, who cleared their surroundings of all obvious signs of magic usage and prepared for the next act of their charade.