a song of ice and fire ⇾ got

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐒, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨

—— " dragons can't burn, sister " ——
༺ ♔ ༻

——— THE DOTHRAKI are a race of nomadic horse-mounted warriors in Essos, the continent to the east of Westeros across the Narrow Sea. They inhabit the vast central plains of Essos, known as the Dothraki Sea. Their bond with horses is such that Dothraki are said to be born, fight, and die in the saddle.

Daeron Targaryen had lived in Pentos, one of the nine Free Cities, for the past year with his two older siblings. The fifteen-year-old may be young, but the boy had absorbed so much information about the world he lived, especially the Free Cities. He had been wandering the independent city-states since he was five-years-old, him and his siblings looking for refuge. Until a year ago when Magister Illyrio Mopatis allowed them shelter in his home.

Daeron Targaryen and his siblings weren't normal children, they were the last living Targaryens from the royal household of the Seven Kingdoms. Their father, King Aerys Targaryen II, was murdered and usurped by Robert Baratheon when Daeron was still in his mother's womb. And after Queen Rhaella died from complications of Daeron's birth, him and his siblings were completely exiled, fighting for their lives with Robert Baratheon's assassins after them.

Learning culture and language was the only way Daeron coped with the tragedy that was his life.

Spending ten years in the Free Cities, he had learned so much about them. And their history, had involved his own ancestors'.

The Free Cities were nine powerful, independent city-states located across the Narrow Sea from Westeros. They occupied the western end of the massive continent of Essos, and are engaged in extensive trade contact with the Seven Kingdoms and lands further east. The overall range of the Free Cities and their respective territories is roughly equal in size to the lands of Westeros south of the Neck.

The Free Cities were founded centuries ago as colonies of the Valyrian Freehold. When the Freehold and its dragonlords were destroyed in the Doom of Valyria four hundred years ago, the empire fragmented, and a chaotic period of warfare known as the Century of Blood ensued. When the dust settled, the Free Cities emerged as autonomous entities, dominating much of the land between the river Rhoyne and the western coast of the continent.

Volantis is the oldest and most populous of the Free Cities, and for a time during the Century of Blood it tried to conquer and reunify the others, but eventually their rivals formed alliances and Volantis was subdued. Originally, Volantis was also the most powerful of the Free Cities, and while still formidable, it was gradually eclipsed by the growing power of Braavos.

Braavos is very much the odd-one-out among the Free Cities, as it was not founded as a colony by the Valyrians, but as a refuge by escaped slaves who fled from Valyria. Also known as the hidden city - as its existence was kept secret for many years after its founding - Braavos was not devastated by the loss of central Valyrian control the way that the other eight Free Cities were, and after the dragonlords perished in the Doom, Braavos was happy to stop hiding its true power from the world. The city gradually increased in strength while the others were tearing themselves apart in civil wars, and in the present-day Braavos is now considered the most powerful of the Free Cities, with extensive control of the sea trade and large fleets of both merchant ships and war galleys - in contrast with how Volantis has the largest and strongest land armies. Most importantly, it is the home of the Iron Bank of Braavos, which has became the largest financial institution in the Known World, bigger than the banks of the other eight Free Cities put together.