ALL NOVEL Chapter 218: Dragon Alliance
At this moment, in a secondary hall not far from the Throne Hall, a gathering of what could be called Viserys inner circle was taking place.
Among those present were Connington and his son, Feles and his sister, Hoyt, Dick, Meris, and Spider Webber, who led the Tyrosh branch of the Windriders as Viserys' deputy. Caggo commanded the Tyrosh cavalry, while the black Gerrold and red-backed Gerrold oversaw the Dragonfire Fortress. Jorah led the Lys division of the Windblown Army.
Unbeknownst to them, Viserys's power had already begun to grow. Bit by bit, he and Dany had risen from a small courtyard that could have been easily broken into to their current status as rulers of the Disputed Lands.
In this hall, however, there was a woman most were unfamiliar with, yet her beauty bordered on the flirtatious—Shiera Seastar. Apart from Feles, who had met her twice, no one else knew her. Shiera seemed uninterested in making friends, sitting quietly in the corner with a large book in her hands, accompanied by a maid.
“Right now, Tyrosh has a combined force of about 20,000 men, and if you add the Windblown to that, it’s just over 30,000. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t go to war with those Dothraki,” said Dick, who was engaged in a discussion with Jorah.
“Yeah, even if there are 30,000 cavalry, with the advantage of weapons, they might be able to defeat the Dothraki,” Young Connington agreed.
Everyone present understood Viserys's strategic intent—to defeat the Dothraki, become the master of the Kingdom of the Four Daughters, and clear the path for reclaiming the Iron Throne. However, of the 30,000 men, less than 5,000 were cavalry. If they were to fight the Dothraki, the infantry and archers would play a very limited role.
This is not to say that the infantry and archers were ineffective, but after the Dothraki suffered in Qohor, their combat style had evolved. They would run if they couldn’t win, easily outmaneuvering infantry with poor mobility. One had to understand that apart from Vaes Dothrak, the Dothraki had no worthwhile targets.
The city itself was completely barren; you couldn’t simply march your army there and expect them to graze on grass. The distance from Tyrosh to Vaes Dothrak was immense—almost equivalent to marching from House Martell's Dorne to House Frey's Riverrun. The supply line alone would be enough to break anyone. Only cavalry could make a difference in such a battle.
To claim that anyone could defeat the Horselord’s 50,000 cavalry with less than 5,000 was more than optimistic. But there was another variable on everyone’s mind: Viserys. They believed he might have a clever strategy.
With this in mind, the officers began to point and gesture at the map, searching for a way to defeat the Horselord.
Just then, Regis rushed in and solemnly announced to the group, "Prince Viserys is here."
Upon hearing this, the officers quickly straightened their clothes, trying to look more composed and alert. A few of the younger officers, in particular, appeared nervous. They were all exceptional individuals, handpicked by Viserys from among the slaves. Due to their youth and outstanding performance, they had been allowed to attend this meeting, though only as observers, without the right to speak.
One of them was Milen, who had originally followed Viserys as a mine slave and had participated in the successful uprising at the palace.
After being granted the status of a free citizen, he chose to join Viserys's army directly. Another was Dyman, a tall young man. Although his individual military training was only average, his intelligence had set him apart. He had quickly risen through the ranks and was now leading a hundred soldiers after passing the recruitment requirements.
In addition to these two, there were five other young men, all around 18 or 19 years old, with similar backgrounds.
Soon, Viserys entered the hall with Dany, and everyone bowed to them.
"Prince."
The voices of the crowd blended together, expressing their readiness to serve at his command. Everyone except Shiera bowed, but Viserys didn’t seem to mind. After all, who could blame him for showing deference to someone of her status?
Viserys took his seat at the head of the table, signaling for everyone to sit and begin the discussion.
"Commander, how many cavalry does Pentos have now?" Viserys asked, addressing Hoyt by his former title, even though Hoyt was now the Prince of Pentos.
Hoyt responded with a hint of helplessness, "There are less than a thousand, and only 300 of them have been trained for less than three months."
Viserys nodded in understanding. It takes several months to a year to train a competent cavalryman, and achieving proficiency in both archery and horsemanship would take two to three years, if not three to five. In other words, Pentos could currently provide only 500 to 600 fully trained cavalrymen. Combined with the fewer than 4,000 cavalry under his own command, Viserys knew the numbers were still insufficient.
Turning his gaze to Feles and Jorah, Viserys asked, "How many cavalry does the Lys division of the Windblown regiment have?"
Jorah spoke up first. "Prince, the Lys division only has 200 cavalry."
Most of the Windblown regiment's cavalry had been assigned to Viserys’s command to secure the Two Lakes region, leaving the division in Lys with a much smaller force.
Feles then spoke up, "Prince, Lys has only about 800 cavalry, and these troops can only be mobilized with the consent of the Magister's Council—meaning Tregar and the others must agree."
Connington busied himself calculating the troop shortfall and the supplies that would be needed. As for the others, they were simply waiting for the command to either "fight" or "hold back."
According to Viserys's intelligence, Myr had 2,000 cavalry. If he could persuade Tregar and Myr to go to war with the Horselord, he would have 7,000 to 8,000 cavalry under his command. By recruiting some Sellswords, he could bring his cavalry force up to nearly 10,000, giving him a strong chance to defeat—or even capture—the Horselord.
Nomads like the Dothraki excelled at frequent, small-scale skirmishes. Unlike larger societies that supported miners and craftsmen, the Dothraki didn’t have to sustain a large population of laborers. Out of 10,000 people, only 3,000 could be mobilized for battle, but with the Dothraki’s total numbers reaching around 400,000, an 8% mobilization rate would be terrifying even in the industrial age.
In the best-case scenario, Viserys could defeat Drogo in a decisive battle. In an even better scenario, if Drogo trusted in his martial prowess, Viserys might have the chance to personally best this "threshold of the world's mightiest" as proclaimed by the Ser Barristan Selmy and George R. R. Martin.
Should that happen, the Dothraki would likely fracture, and Viserys would rise as a powerful figure capable of leading the Dothraki, turning their energies inward and away from the West.
However, Viserys had a nagging feeling that the Horselord wouldn’t play into his hands so easily. To prepare for the worst, he knew he had to convince the nobles of Myr and Lys to commit to a full-scale war against the Horselord.
Viserys then signaled for the young officers who had been listening to leave the hall, retaining only the core members. He pointed in the direction of Shiera and said, "Allow me to introduce you. This is Shiera Seastar, daughter of Aegon IV."
The remaining attendees were well-informed and familiar with Aegon IV and his noble bastards. However, Viserys's words were hard to believe. How could someone from over a hundred years ago still be alive—and look so young?
Connington and Feles exchanged uneasy glances, their thoughts filled with disbelief. Feles, in particular, had harbored some romantic fantasies about this 'beautiful woman with mismatched eyes,' but the realization that she had lived for over a century sent shivers down his spine. The others, too, quickly abandoned any inappropriate thoughts.
Shiera, however, seemed entirely unaffected by their stares. To her, they were all just children.
Shiera stood up and addressed the group, "Prince Viserys has asked me to remind you of something important."
The room fell silent as everyone listened intently to the "ancient being" that Viserys had vouched for.
"You've all seen the red comet. It heralds not only the return of magic but also the appearance of the savior." Shiera's gaze flicked to Viserys and Dany. The significance of her words was not lost on the sharp minds present.
"Who is the savior?" Regis blurted out, but Shiera chose to ignore his question.
"What I want to tell you is that the Long Night is real, and so are the White Walkers. Both are clearly documented in the legends passed down through the ages and in the ancient books of Valyria. However, not everyone will choose to follow the savior. Since you’ve made your choice, you must also be prepared to face death at the hands of the minions of darkness."
A chill ran down everyone's spine at her words. Savior? Minions of darkness?
"I will now pass on the magic I have mastered to each of you. You must strive to gain a certain level of proficiency within six months to a year," Shiera continued, her tone cold and detached. Her manner was as enigmatic as her words; explanations were not something she felt inclined to offer.
Connington’s mind drifted to the old legends of the Targaryen court, particularly those about Shiera's mother, Serenei of Lys. Aegon IV had called her ‘sweet Serenei,’ but to others, she had always seemed distant and aloof. Now, seeing Shiera, Connington could clearly see the resemblance—the same cold, otherworldly air.
Then, with a sharp, decisive tone, Shiera delivered even more startling news: "Viserys and Daenerys will soon hatch dragons..."
The revelation hit everyone like a thunderclap. The very thought of a dragon being born again left their minds reeling.
Viserys had known for over half a month that he had been identified by Benerro as the “reincarnation of Nissa Nissa.” He had planned to spend more than three months gathering the necessary strength and resources to hatch a dragon. With just over two months left, this announcement was a calculated move to solidify his army's loyalty before the impending battle.
"Alright, everyone, proceed to the Throne Hall," Viserys instructed, rising from his seat. "And remember, this information is to remain strictly confidential. In less than six months, dragons will return to this world!"
