Saga of Astral Mysteries

In terms of appearance, Valkorion was rather standing out among the other Valyrians because of his ashen-white hair compared to the silver, golden, or platinum of the pure-blooded Valyrians. 

But most importantly, he had molten golden-colored eyes, which were rather unusual among the Valyrians because all of the pure-blooded Valyrians had purple-colored eyes. Valkorion new that he wasn't a pure-blooded Valyrian, but rather a hybrid between the Valyrian and something else.

Apparently, his mother was from a different continent and wasn't native to Valyria, less saying about her more unfortunate status as a foreigner, which was something that the Valyrians were not really fond of.

The members of the Dragonlord Families and Lord Freeholders especially looked down on anyone who wasn't pure-blooded Valyrian. Even among the average Valyrian nobility that were not part of the 40 Dragonlord Families, this sentiment was rather standart.

Due to that, he was often looked down on by more strict Valyrian Nobles and members of the 40 Dragonlord Families, but he didn't really care much about such things. Not to mention, he was aware that in a few years, everyone would be dead, and he would still live. 

As he returned back to the Catharys, he felt some sense of ease because this was a place where he had been living for the past 18 years, and it was his home. The streets were full of people, everyone was doing something, and most of the people that were living in the Catharys were just ordinary commoners.

For the nobility of the Freehold, this place was too far from the Capital, Valyria, and it wasn't worth it for them to live there. Aside from a few that were basically stationed here, mostly several Dragon Riders that were tasked with the protection of the borders and threats of the Painted Mountains.

He knew that the Catharys was the official hold of the House Belaerys, which was one of the top houses of the Valyrian Freehold. Even though, officially, all Families of the Dragonlord Families were equal to each other, there were some that were more "equal" than others.

Of course, the Triarch of the Valyrian Freehold were on the top of the food chain, even among the Dragonlord Families, and the House Belaerys was one of the Triarchs for several centuries, probably more than one millennia, and yet, they still maintained their status and strength for one thousand years.

Valkorion also knew that they were one of the true Angel Families of the Valyrian Freehold that had Angel watching over them, which was giving them special status, as not many of the 40 Dragonlord Families had Angel among them.

Most of them had just Saint, and some weaker, or those at the end of the tail, had just Sequence 3 Beyonder maximally.

Tenebraenys Family wasn't the strongest out of the Families, but from what Valkorion managed to gather, it had he found out that the Tenebraenys was a rather respected and powerful Family, with several Dragon Riders under their commands, and there were rumors that the Patriarch was close to advancing to the Angelhood.

In the Valyrian Freehold, where the knowledge of the Beyodners and Extraordinary Powers was rather common and public, it wasn't that hard to find such information. 

So, it was rather bugging him how it could fall overnight.

Nevertheless, he quickly banished all negative thoughts as he advanced toward the branch of the Adventurer Guild to submit the mission that he had completed. He managed to annihilate several tens of goblins and sell the resources.

The building of the Adventurer Guild was in the middle of the Catharys, and because the Catharys wasn't really a big city, Valkorion quickly arrived at the Adventurer Guild. Contrary to other buildings in the city, it looked rather modest, yet still made from the finest stone and materials that could be found across the Freehold.

In the first place, there were not many people present, as most of the Adventurers were completing missions in the Painted Mountains, resting after missions, or just laying dead somewhere after being killed by some Extraordinary Creatures or other adventurers.

"Good morning, My Lord. How can the Adventurer Guild assist you today?"

The woman behind the counter asked as he looked at the mark on her face, signaling that she was a slave, branded by one of the slave circles that operated within the Freehold and sold slaves. 

"Redeem reward for the hunt of the Goblins and selling some of the Extraordinary Materials."

After he stated his request, he started pulling out the things that he had gathered from the goblins; most of the ingredients were nicely preserved. After a quick count from the receptionist, he was given around a hundred Golden Dragon Coins for the ingredients and mission reward. 

It wasn't a lot, but it was still a nice amount of money for some lowly goblins and Extraordinary Ingredients from their corpses. After collecting the money, another stop in his journey was the marker, where he wanted to sell the jewelry that he had obtained. 

That was the truly valuable thing.

Contrary to the previous quiet and silent adventurer guild, this was an entirely different world.

The marketplace was set within the cobblestone streets of a southern Catharys district, surrounded by stone and timber buildings, their thatched roofs and wooden beams casting long shadows as the sun reached its zenith.

Stalls and booths lined the streets, each manned by a wide array of vendors, ranging from Valyrians, Ghiscari, Nobles, and Commoners alike; some people from the far Golden Empire of Yi Ti and Valkorion saw there even a few people who seemed to be Beyonders from the Asshai.

The air was filled with the melodic sounds of minstrels playing lutes and flutes, the clinking of metal as blacksmiths displayed their wares, and the boisterous calls of merchants hawking their goods.

Colorful banners and canopies hang above the stalls, fluttering in the gentle breeze. The smell of freshly baked bread, roasting meats, and exotic spices wafts through the air, mingling with the earthy scent of straw and the occasional whiff of incense from a nearby apothecary's tent.

The market offered a cornucopia of goods: handcrafted jewelry, finely wrought weapons, enchanted trinkets, and rare magical ingredients. Farmers were selling their products, from bushels of apples and sacks of grain to baskets of vibrant vegetables and fragrant herbs.

He ignored most of the stalls and people, heading towards one particular store that was in a small building, where he was selling most of his more precious loot or things that he obtained from his adventuring.

It was managed by the Clan Ferros, one of the mercantile clans of the Valyrian Freehold. 

They were a rather peculiar bunch of people.

Clan Ferros was one of the oldest Mercantile Clans in the entire Essos, as well as one of the most powerful.

They were not really nobles of the Valyrian Freehold, in fact, but they were richer than most of the Valyrian Nobles, and their power was not weaker than some of the Dragonlord Families that were ranked at the bottom of the Dragonlord Families.

Even in the world of the Beyonders, money was a very strong motivator for most.

***

On Patreon, there are already 10+ chapters ahead of the current release rate...
Support me on the patreon for the future releases...
https://www.patreon.com/Trafford