The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 4: The slaves of R'hllor

The Summer Sea and the waters of the Rhoyne estuary glittered in the light of the rising sun. The vast river was lined on both sides by grain fields, vineyards and orchards. Daenerys spied numerous irrigation ditches from the air. At the easternmost branch of the estuary was the mighty city of Volantis, the size of which far exceeded that of King's Landing. To the west of the river were the poorer quarters, and on the east bank was the older part of the city, including the city center, which was surrounded by an oval, sixty-meter-high wall of black stone. Both halves of the city were connected by a bridge that was so wide that buildings up to four stories high had been erected on the edges.

Drogon landed in a hilly, deserted area west of Volantis. Daenerys and Kinvara marched to the city gates on foot. The guards, whose cheeks tattooed with green tiger stripes marked them as slave soldiers, bowed respectfully when they recognized the high priestess and let her and Daenerys pass without asking questions.

Kinvara rented a hathay, a two-wheeled cart with padded seats pulled by a pygmy elephant, to make the way to the temple. A slave dressed only in a loincloth, who had a wagon wheel tattooed on his cheek, steered the vehicle from the elephant's back. It rumbled through a stinking labyrinth of run-down streets, littered with potholes, past taverns and brothels, tanneries and poor apartment buildings. It was hot - after all, Volantis was in the same climate zone as Dorne - and cedars and palm trees grew on the roadsides. There were statues at the intersections, most of them had their heads cut off.

When Daenerys was a child, she and her brother had often traveled from town to town in order to stay one step ahead of the captors of the usurper Robert Baratheon. Her way had also led to Volantis, but Daenerys could hardly remember back then.

On their way, they often saw Red Priests preaching to crowds of slaves. All slaves had a tattoo on their face that indicated their duties, as was the case with the guards and the driver. The priests themselves had flame tattoos.

"Why don't you have a tattoo?", Daenerys asked and looked at the high priestess. She was a very attractive woman with dark hair and seemed about fifteen years older than the Dragon Queen. "You said you started out as a slave in the temple."

Kinvara smiled mysteriously. "Before I could get a tattoo, I was put on a ship to Asshai so that I could be trained as a shadowbinder. It was never made up after I returned to Volantis, as you can see."

At last they reached the Long Bridge and crossed the Rhoyne on it. At the other end, they passed a large black stone gate and entered the eastern part of Volantis. The streets here were wider and in better condition than in the west, and there were more Hathays out and about, driving free citizens through town. Finally they came to a spacious square and Daenerys caught her breath.

In the center of the square, the temple of the Lord of Light rose up into the sky. Columns, stairs, buttresses, bridges, domes and towers were built into one another in such a way that it seemed as if everything was carved out of a single rock. The walls were painted red, gold, yellow, and orange, and the slender towers looked like frozen flames.

Kinvara led the Dragon Queen to the great portal at the front of the temple. The emblem of R'hllor, a red heart surrounded by a wreath of gold flames, was emblazoned above it. Two warriors in ornate armor and orange cloaks stood guard. They too had a tattoo on their faces and the tips of their spears were shaped like flames.

"These are Warriors of the Fiery Hand", Kinvara explained as they passed through the portal. "They are responsible for protecting our temple in Volantis. There are never more or less than a thousand."

"And they are slaves", Daenerys muttered.

"Like me", Kinvara replied.

Kinvara led Dany through a huge hall, lit by numerous fires, and then through a labyrinth of winding corridors. On the way they met numerous servants of the Lord of Light who respectfully greeted the high priestess in High Valyrian and nodded to Daenerys - whom she did not recognize, of course.

Finally they came to the living area of the temple. Kinvara gave Daenerys spacious quarters and left the queen alone.

Daenerys was lying on her back on the soft bed brooding. Her pregnancy made her feel mixed. On the one hand, she was overjoyed that, despite Mirri Maz Duur's prophecy, she had a child after all. On the other hand, she didn't know how to deal with the fact that the father was the man who had murdered her.

If Jon Snow appeared in front of Daenerys right now, she would have him executed immediately. Well, she had no people right now to carry out this execution, but the thought counted.

To know that one had been betrayed in the most shameful way was unbearable. Varys and Tyrion were one thing ... but Jon? The man she had saved twice in the fight against the White Walkers and therefore one of her dragons - one of her children! - had lost? For whom she had moved north, giving Cersei time to prepare for war? The man with whom she shared the bed and who had sworn eternal loyalty to her? This man just stuck a dagger in her chest while kissing her!

Daenerys suppressed the tears of anger that were about to break through. At some point she would hold Snow accountable, but for now it seemed wise to follow Kinvara's advice to wait and have the child first. The red priestess was certainly pursuing her own goals, presumably she wanted to promote her faith with the resurrected Mother of Dragons. Daenerys had no problem with that.

Sooner or later, however, she had to return to Meereen, where Daario Naharis hopefully still held the position. Once her power base in Essos was secured, all options were open to her again.