The Dothraki Sea, 300 AC

Arthur

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A few days after changing their route and avoiding the fallen Khal's horde, the men finally met the Braavosi forces near another ruined city. The soldiers had good quality equipment and had set up a large camp. Arthur and Barristan rode towards it.

"What do you know about Braavos?" Arthur asked the old knight.

"Braavos is the most powerful Free City, founded by escaped slaves hundreds of years ago. I still remember the first time I ever visited. The city is inside a lagoon with only one entrance and surrounded by mountains. Their canals outnumber their streets, and a giant statue called the Titan watches over everything."

Wasn't there a city like that in Europe? What's it called?

"They have a bank that has put the Seven Kingdoms in a massive debt. King Robert never cared for the matters of coin." Barristan continued. "There is also the guild of the Faceless Men- assassins with a strong reputation."

"Do you think we might see one coming after Daenerys? She's sure as hell made a lot of enemies."

"There were whispers in the Red Keep that Robert wanted to hire them for the same purpose, but the cost was too high, even for an exiled princess with nothing to her name. I dare not imagine how high it must be now, considering that she has become a queen."


They entered the encampment where the guards took their horses and escorted them to the largest tent. Inside, there were five people wearing armor and a long table with a map.

"Ferrego Antaryon, the Sealord of Braavos sends his regards." a tall young, brown-skinned man spoke. "I am his son, Syrio Antaryon."

"Arthur Morgan."

"Barristan Selmy."

"Please, sit. Would you like some wine?" Syrio asked.

"Just water please." said Arthur. He had grown tired of wine and ale.

"I have heard that you had an unfortunate encounter with Khal Pono's khalasar." the man said.

"Unfortunate for him." Arthur replied. "He's dead and his men are ours now. Well, some of them anyway." The Braavosi were fascinated upon hearing that.

"I presume your so-called dragons made it possible. The tales of your exploits have spread far and wide, even across the Narrow Sea."

"I am sure we will have enough time for pleasantries." Barristan said. "What terms does the Sealord of Braavos give us?"

Syrio Antaryon pulled out a roll of parchment. "Well, good sers, the Free City of Braavos wishes to enter an alliance with the Dragon Queen. The people have judged her to be of good character and will support her in the war against Slaver's Bay. As of now, the city has sent five thousand good men to her aid, which are in this camp at this very moment."

"That's fine and dandy, but what does your leader gain from this?" said Arthur.

"There are conditions. The first is that under our alliance, Queen Daenerys will pledge to not expand her territories beyond Volantis. The second is that there must be a deal for the secrets of your hand-held dragons."

"You want firearms?" Arthur had expected a question like this to come up sooner or later.

"Is that the proper name for them?" Syrio continued. "Yes, we do wish to reach an agreement regarding the firearms. Braavos has been trying for centuries to civilise Essos, but the Dothraki and our sister cities have always opposed us. Our paths are aligned."

Are they? he thought.

"We do not have the authority to agree to the terms, but Queen Daenerys had expressed her willingness to negotiate with you, my lord." Barristan spoke.

"What's stopping your city from turning on us if we give you weapons?" The firearms were a closely guarded secret, and Arthur did not like the idea of giving it away to unknown parties. He had trained his riflemen to pick up the guns of their fallen friends during battle, to prevent the enemy from getting their hands on them. They had to be more careful after those spies tried to steal rifles in Qarth.

"Braavos is the wealthiest of the Free Cities. We have neither the need nor the ambition for the lands you control. Honor your part of the bargain and we will honor ours."

We'll see.


After the first meeting, they merged their armies in a single unit, with a strength of almost seven thousand. The Dothraki received contemptuous glares as they entered, no doubt due to their reputation. Arthur knew that some kind of inside conflict was inevitable in a situation like this. Nevertheless, their chances of winning the war had drastically increased. Daenerys had a force of eight thousand with her right now, containing all the camel riders, swordfighters and riflemen. If everything went right, she would have a combined fourteen thousand troops when both groups reached Meereen, not counting the additional forces they might win to their side on the way.

"Feeling better?" he asked John when he visited the doctor's tent. He had his face bandaged again.

"It's just a scratch." John said, downplaying the situation. "The bastard came out of nowhere. I was this close to getting that arrow in my skull."

"Watch your surroundings next time." Arthur had to be a little hard on the boy sometimes, lest he get careless again.

"Yeah, yeah, Morgan. Now let me sleep."


Already there had been a few brawls between the Braavosi and Dothraki, with the sellswords and former slaves joining in, but fortunately no one was killed. Yet. Arthur had spent the rest of the day getting everyone in line. He had never been a leader before, only a follower of Dutch and Hosea, and sometimes the drama that comes with leadership was too much to handle. Charles and Barristan did what they could to help, but three men can't erase years of bad blood. It was like those rich feuding families in Dixie- just one misstep and everyone's out for blood.

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The troops will kill the slavers, given that they don't kill themselves first.

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Other than those two, only Asher and Beskha would keep to themselves. The former was a hothead, sure, but sometimes he could mind his own business. Arthur promoted them to captains, in order to get some load off his back. The men weren't pleased to take orders from a woman, but Beskha was quick to put them in their place. There was no better way to threaten a man than threatening his manhood.

After a long day of hard work, he sat next to his companions and shared a drink.

"It seems like Westeros has fallen on hard times again." said Barristan. "But that vile boy king is dead, so is Tywin Lannister. Killed by his own son, no less. The entire family is rotten."

"Good riddance!" Asher added. "But the turncloak Boltons still live. I bet Lord Whitehill is having a fine time these days."

Those who hailed from Westeros often talked about their former home. News of the ongoing war were regular, and Arthur was disgusted by what transpired in those parts. Killing a family at a wedding, all the burning and raping- nothing was good. Even the Van der Linde gang in their outlaw days lived by a code, but not everyone was the same, especially the O'Driscolls or the Del Lobos in New Austin. Well, maybe they were that bad and just didn't want to admit it. Feeling drunk, Arthur left the table and went to his tent, ready to call it a night. There was much to be done the next day, and for the rest of the war it seemed.

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Outskirts of Astapor, 300 AC

Daenerys

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"I need to speak to you, my queen. I have something of importance to tell you." Daario Naharis approached her as she was watching her children fly. After Ser Jorah's banishment, she had no choice but to include him among her guards. The man was a sellsword, but he did follow her orders and his skill in combat was unquestionable, if not as good as Belwas.

"What is it, captain?" she asked, uninterested. He pulled out some flowers from behind his back. Somehow, this gesture did not surprise her.

"I could always have you sent back to Tyrosh, if you are so eager."

"This is the matter, my queen." he insisted.

"How so?"

"If you want to rule people, you must become a part of their world. You have to know everything about how they live their lives. This flower-" he picked out a blue rose from the bunch "-is called Dusk Rose. One can make a tea from it that eases fever. This one-" he picked a cream flower. "-is Lady's Lace, an ingredient in moon tea, which is used for…"

"I know what it is used for!" Dany replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Apologies." he held his hands up. "And finally, this beauty-" it was a red one. "-is Harpy's Gold. Very poisonous. What I mean is, everyone in Slaver's Bay knows what these are used for, none so much other than the slaves who have to produce these concoctions on the command of their masters."

"And I suppose you procured these flowers for the sole purpose of educating me?" she tested him.

"Why, yes, my queen. I would never presume to do anything untoward." he smirked, and then offered them to her before leaving. He never noticed her blushing because of this gesture.

He is a gambler. A good one, I might say.

Ser Jorah's departure had left Dany in a melancholy mood. Betrayal from her trusted advisor and friend was hard to bear. For the time being, Daario Naharis had put her out of this state. She went back to looking at her children, who were now even larger. It was a truly beautiful sight, with black, cream and green figures moving as if in a dance.


They had followed the Worm River for a few days and finally their destination was in sight. Compared to Qarth, Astapor was a disappointment. The city was small, and the defenses were in a state of ruin, but Dany knew that the Good Masters of Astapor had the key to remedy that- the Unsullied.

"I saw them once, in Pentos." she told Dutch and Daario when discussing their plans. "They were fat and did not look much like warriors."

"Eunuchs tend to get fat." Daario said. "Once you take a man's cock, only food and drink will give him pleasure. But the ones in that city will not be fat, that I can assure you."

"Oh, you would know everything about slaves, won't you Mr. Naharis?" Dutch added. He was not too happy to hear of the man's inclusion in the war council.

"As a matter of fact, I do, mister. I was a slave once." he retorted, and Dutch was surprised. "But I have never owned a slave in my life. One cannot make love to property, after all."

Dany decided to end the argument. "How do we fight them?"

"There is one who could help. Come here young lady." Dutch said to Missandei who was scribbling on pieces of parchment. "I believe you told Arthur that your brothers were in this Unsullied army?"

"Yes, Uncle Dutch." she answered.

Uncle Dutch?

"Is there anything you know about them? Feel free to talk."

Missandei was hesitant at first but began. "The masters train the boys once they reach five name days, teaching them how fight from dusk till dawn. On the day he is cut, the masters give the boy a puppy and order him to care for it until the next year. When that time comes, he is ordered to strangle that puppy. To become Unsullied, he is ordered to purchase a child from the slave market and kill it before the mother. Boys who fail any task are killed. Most of them do not survive their training."

The three were silent. One had not expected to hear these words from the mouth of a child.

"Jesus! Just what have those monsters done to you, child?" Dutch was uneasy. "That's even worse than Qarth!" Dany had been prepared to fight, but how could she, after she had heard all this?

"I do not want to kill them." she said. "I was going to, but now I cannot."

"We will have to face them anyhow." Daario said. "This is not the time for second thoughts, my queen."

"There must be another way!" she snapped. "There has to be!"

"We'll do what we can, Your Majesty." said Dutch. "But if everything thing else fails, we will have to use our surprise."

"Yes, the surprise." she replied, knowing what he meant.

"What surprise?" Daario asked.

"You will see, Captain."


The next day, the Unsullied had assembled outside the city's walls, ready for battle. Dany's troops were nearly the same number. On the towers and ramparts, she could see people without armor, which meant that they might be the so-called good masters of Astapor. A few riders came to their camp under a white flag and were sent to her tent where she received them with Dutch and Daario. There were two envoys and five slaves carrying their belongings.

"The Good Masters of Astapor wish for a truce with the Dragon Queen." one envoy said.

"The Masters must have lost their wits, if they think I will negotiate with them after they tried to attack my city without reason."

"You robbed us of our trading partners." the other man said, lacking the decorum of the former.

"It had to be done. Slavery has no place under my rule."

Before the man could say more, the first envoy replied. "That might be the case in the sunset lands, but not in ours. The masters are willing to repay you for that unfortunate incident."

Dany decided to humor him. "And what do the masters suggest?"

"The masters will provide the Dragon Queen with wealth and ships to take back the Seven Kingdoms. She belongs there and not in Slaver's Bay."

"I have both. Pray tell me what use I have for their offers."

"The masters are willing to give you the forces to take back your lands, disciplined forces unlike the sellswords."

"The slaves, you mean."

"Yes. Free them if you must, but they will help you in your conquest."

She looked at her advisors, who were close to laughing out loud. The masters must be desperate and foolish after all.

"I do plan to conquer lands, just not the ones across the Narrow Sea." she told them. "Tell your masters that there will be no truce. If they surrender, I will allow them the path of exile. Failing that, all of them will die."

The envoys were not pleased and tried to leave. Dany stopped them. "Before you go, leave your slaves here."

"They are ours!" the other man said, reaching for his sword. A guard reacted quickly and punched him in the gut.

"I own this land, and under my laws they are free." her guards took the slaves out of the tent, and the envoys were thrown out of camp.

"That ought to send a message to those sons of bitches." said Dutch, with a proud look.

"That it will. Now, let us prepare."


At midday, large, wheeled carts were brought to the imminent battlefield, covered with white cloth. The Unsullied stood in the scorching heat, spears in hand while their masters watched the scene under shade. Dany took flight on Drogon and appeared at the front of her soldiers, the sight making the masters look in awe and fear, but their eunuch warriors were not perturbed. She landed at a hill from which all could hear her voice.

"Unsullied!" she began in Valyrian, the language used by the Slaver Cities. "I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. The gods have given me a mission, a purpose for which my life is meant for- to free every man and woman who lives enslaved to a master. Those ungodly and foul tyrants have caused nothing but pain and suffering in their wake, and it is my holy duty to end their rule once and for all, to bring fire and blood to every master who draws breath. But I cannot do it alone, not without your help. I give you this opportunity, Unsullied, to join me and free yourselves. I have heard of your pain, and I vow to give it to your masters many times over.

Marselen and Mossador, if you can hear me, I have freed your sister and you can rest assured that she is being taken care of. I plan to do the same for every child in this city, and all the cities that practice the abomination of slavery. Unsullied, help me take this city and I will give you your freedom. You might even leave this life behind and start anew, but first you must turn on your masters. You have nothing to fear, and you have nothing to lose except your chains. As for the masters, I will strike them down with the wrath of the gods!"

Drogon screeched, and it was cue for the men in the carts. They removed the white cloth and revealed large, black, metal barrels. Dutch and Hosea had given their blacksmiths the designs for a new weapon that utilized the black powder. Now was the time to use them.

Just like the guns, the men loaded the barrels with very large metal objects and ignited them.

"Now it begins." said Dutch as deafening explosions filled the air, many times louder than firearms. The objects they shot went over the heads of the Unsullied and hit the walls of Astapor, leaving large holes wherever they hit. Fifty explosions, fifty holes. The people sitting on the ramparts were killed immediately. This time, the Unsullied were shocked, and looked behind them to see their city walls destroyed. The carts were filled again, and more damage was done the second time. Then came the moment Dany was waiting for.

A man in their army stood up and yelled. "Take our freedom, brothers!" The Unsullied army turned towards the city and charged inside the destroyed gates, spears in hand.

"I cannot believe it worked!" Daario exclaimed. "The gods must really be on your side!"

"Tell your men to kill all the masters. They can take their treasures but there must be no innocent blood shed in the city, nor any woman raped." Dany had remembered what Ser Jorah had told her about the sacking of a city.

"As you command, my queen." he said and led the army into the city. Dany took flight again to observe the battle from the sky. It would not be long before the city fell. Her soldiers, combined with the Unsullied had covered it entirely within minutes. From above, she could see them defeating what little guards the city had. As the fighting died down, she landed on a large open space where the soldiers had assembled. Like the battle in Qarth, they yelled her name as she dismounted Drogon, with her soldiers and the slaves of Astapor coming to see her.

"The city is ours, Your Majesty. But there is one thing left to do." said Dutch. "That statue, you must destroy it."

The statue in question was an ugly harpy statue that stood near the harbor. It was the symbol of the Ghiscari Empire of the past, which the Slaver Cities had taken as their sigil. She commanded Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal to fly over the harpy. "Dracarys" she yelled, and the statue was burnt by dragon fire. As it melted, it fell down into the harbor and people cheered.

"Your Grace!" said Missandei as she appeared with two Unsullied soldiers. It did not take Dany long to see the resemblance. They were her brothers. "The Unsullied request your presence."

Dany agreed immediately and followed her to a large hall where the bodies of fallen soldiers had been taken. In a corner, there was a dark-skinned man who was close to dying. His body had been pierced with many arrows.

"He is the one who led the charge, Your Grace."

Dany approached the man. "What is your name, soldier?"

"Grey…Worm." he said in Valyrian. Dany looked towards Missandei.

"The masters give them new names that remind them of their place."

"What is your real name? Tell me, please."

"I…remember. My mother…called me…Xhalor." he replied.

"I will make sure you are remembered, Xhalor. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I was born…in Jhala." he said. Dany remembered it as a place in the Summer Isles. "Take my body…there. Bury it under…a Goldenheart tree."

"Your wish is my command." Dany promised. "Rest now, soldier. Your work is done."

Xhalor breathed his last, and his brothers took his body away.

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Notes: Please do leave a review on any chapter you read, even if it's criticism. It will make the story better in future.