The sounds of battle could be heard long before the flashes of light that happened before something exploded.
The group that he was traveling in could be called an army. He looked around and even allowed himself to look back, he couldn't help but smile at what he saw.
There were sellswords, slaves, horses, cooks, horses, war beasts, and mages of all kinds. There were even women and children who had been picked up from some alley and forced to join them.
It almost reminded him of his youth, back when he wasn't fat and had no choice but to get drunk so that he could stand the wife he hated, the brat he failed to raise, and the ungrateful people of the seven kingdoms.
The smell of water and the cold breeze told him that they had reached the sea, when he looked up he could not help but widen his eyes. There were ships from all over the world, and they were all heading in the same direction.
He didn't know if they had been offered the same deal as him, nor did he care. He just wanted to spend the rest of his life doing what he was good at, he wanted to fight, fuck, and drink himself to death.
They offered him a chance to do that and more, they didn't offer him a chance to make a new kingdom or something grand like that. No, what they offered was something a lot more exciting.
Sothoryos.
They offered him a chance to see the new world, but to prove that he could survive he would have to help them conquer the impossible.
The ruins of Valyria.
They said that if they were going to have a chance to survive the new world then they were going to need the magical weapons of the old one.
He laughed cursed and insulted them, but he stopped laughing when he saw the look in their eyes. They were serious, when he stopped and his smile faded, one of them asked him if he knew when they had entered the throne room.
He reached for his warhammer but before he could grab it one of them tossed him a crystal.
"That's your choice, throw it away if you decide to stay, ques it if you choose to abandon everything and come with us."
He was so caught up in his memory that he didn't see that the man in front of him had stopped walking, so he bumped into him, the guy turned back but mostly ignored him.
He looks past the guy and feels his breath abandon him.
In the sea, a sea dragon is fighting with a fleet of ships that belong to different kingdoms. Armies march to the only city, he can see several towns that have been built but there's only one city and from the looks of it, it's growing quickly.
Fire mages and shadow sorcerers combine their powers to drag the undead back into the ground before something that he can't attack the undead and drags them away.
He walks past a group of women who are either completely naked or only wear what they need to keep the sand from entering them, the leader is explaining that they are expected to get pregnant and make more of them.
Blacksmiths, brothels, armories, and kitchens are all in the open, he can see thieves who instead of being punished are laughed at and insulted for being caught.
Assassins and slave merchants talk openly about the places they have been, while a group of men who raise ravens writes letters for their customers before sending them with the birds.
He stops walking when he sees a beast tamer who has creatures that look like men but have the faces of animals. He can see the savage nature of the beasts, none of them have any thoughts beyond killing and eating him.
The group finally reaches the area where they are supposed to go, he sees a group of men asking everyone for their names and if they know how to fight.
He can see the exhaustion in the men's eyes and he can imagine their exhaustion, the lines seem endless.
He sees the people in front of him separate into two groups. On one side are the men and women who can fight, on the other are the ones who can't or are here to sell themselves and make a living.
It is finally his turn he gives the man his name, he doesn't bother hiding who he is what does he care if word gets back to those who hate him. he shows the man his warhammer and leaves when the man tells him to.
He waits with everyone until someone arrives to explain the rules.
They are free to kill and do whatever they want, as only the best will join them when it's time for them to go to Sothoryos. He can't help but smile when a servant hands him a bag full of gold coins.
"We only pay in gold. Do what you want with it, if you want more get in there and kill those things. If we are invaded, you will protect this city, the towns, and the ships."
"Kill everyone and everything, take whatever woman or man you want. If there is something you want and another man that doesn't work for us has it, take it."
"We don't have a lot of rules except this one. Don't do anything that makes us weaker."
"Kill someone and their kingdoms want revenge, that's not our problem. Let their armies come. We will use them for target practice."
"Your homelands fund you and want to drag you back, that's your problem."
"If you kill a group of strong fighters because they were mean to you, you better be worth that entire group because we are going to have a problem.