The Century of Blood and the Old Order

Under the gloomy sky, with no sunlight in sight, Braavos seemed about to be visited by rain and fog once more.

In the small study, Viserys toyed with the Dragonbone-handled Valyrian steel dagger on the table. The dagger gleamed with a cold light.

Dragonbone was light and hard, but unfortunately, the dagger was not made of Valyrian steel.

There were several dragonbone daggers. Viserys had also given one each to Rhaenys and Daenerys.

"You said the Moonsingers have taken notice of you." Rhaenys asked. She was a very refined and elegant girl, though both her complexion and features bore the traits of Dorne's Salt People.

The Moonsinger Temple was Braavos's largest temple, and naturally its most renowned as well.

"Yes." Viserys Targaryen nodded. "Braavos has many noble houses and clans, and its religious powers are no less formidable."

In this world, whether in the east or the west, religion was a major source of power.

They had followers, religious estates, and some even had armed forces.

The power of religion came from its believers. Most religions could survive even longer than kingdoms.

"I heard they are a group of female prophets," Rhaenys said. "Then why did they contact you?"

"Nightingale belongs to the Moonsinger Temple, and Moonshadow may as well. The Moonsingers need sacred songs too, or perhaps they simply wanted to meet me." Viserys said. "We should have realized long ago that temple priests were famed for sacred songs, so naturally they would cultivate the finest singers."

That was how religion worked. Singing sacred hymns and praying consumed much of their time.

"All right. I just find these religious priests rather strange," Rhaenys said.

Like the North, Dorne was a barren land with more unusual customs, and its people were not particularly devout believers in The Seven.

"So it is a cooperative relationship," Viserys explained. "Money and sacred songs, exchanged for one another."

Viserys had yet to decide when to visit the Moonsinger Temple. In any case, it was better to be cautious. He did not like dealing with god-botherers of any kind.

The Moonsingers had once been renowned for their prophetic predictions, but that had been many years ago, in an age when magic flourished.

Now that magic had declined, the Moonsingers had long since lost much of their holy aura.

Rhaenys looked at Viserys expectantly. "Our lives can barely be called normal now. So what comes next, Viserys?"

With money acting as lubricant, their little restorationist group could finally begin to function.

Viserys was only mediocre at cutting expenses. Feeding dragonbone and paying for daily life both required money.

But he was much better at bringing in revenue. He had managed to rake in a fair number of gold coins.

A map of Essos lay on the table as well. With the rise of the Dothraki, a vast stretch of vacant land existed west of the Rhoyne.

Because the horsemen crossed the Rhoyne, and every crossing brought panic to Free Trade Cities like Pentos.

"Can you tell me the difference between the Tiger Party and the Elephant Party?" Viserys asked Rhaenys.

"Volantis is the oldest of the Nine Free Trade Cities, Valyria's first daughter," Rhaenys recited. "After the Doom, the Volantenes naturally regarded themselves as heirs to the empire—the masters of the entire world. But they disagreed on how to rule that world. The old nobility worshipped military strength, while merchants and moneylenders promoted trade. Around these two inclinations, two factions gradually formed in their struggle for control of the city: the Tiger Party and the Elephant Party."

"For nearly a century after Valyria's destruction, the Tiger Party held the advantage. Their wars of conquest went smoothly at first. The Volantene fleet captured Lys, while the Volantene army occupied Myr," Viserys added. "Of course, the Tiger Party's great conquest later collapsed completely. They faced opposition from many powers."

"The Tiger Party lost the basis of its rule from then on, and the Elephant Party gained the upper hand."

"In truth, tigers and elephants exist in most places," Viserys said. "Tigers stand for aggression, while elephants are the faction of peace."

The current world order of the eastern continent had been shaped by the Century of Blood.

Volantis's defeat and the rise of the Dothraki had led to the Free Trade Cities each more or less going their own way.

"Braavos is not a place where we can remain for long. Sooner or later, we will need to move elsewhere." Viserys looked at the map, the sheathed dagger tracing across it. "I do not trust mercenaries, and we do not have that much gold. The best way is still to train a loyal army from scratch."

The most important thing in restoring a dynasty was first securing some land and an army. No matter whose land it was, they had to borrow a hen to lay eggs.

And then there was the army. An army's fighting strength came from loyalty and recruits. From that perspective, mercenaries could not be relied upon as the main force either. It was best to build something new.

Though the method was more cumbersome, an army forged one sword and one spear at a time, built from nothing, might be the clumsiest method—but also the most successful one.

Rhaenys followed the dagger's path, from Andalos to the plains of Pentos, then to the Disputed Lands.

"I understand." Rhaenys nodded. "You want to borrow a place and repair a city?"

"Braavos controls the Braavos coast, but it does not manage the Andalos Hills inland from the coast with much care. Then there are the plains of Pentos and the cities along the Rhoyne. The horsemen have destroyed every town they encountered. There will always be cracks where we can take root."

"These look like unclaimed lands, but if those Dothraki savages cross the river, they will become dangerous," Rhaenys said worriedly.

The governors of the Free Trade Cities were both alarmed and frightened by the horsemen, and had always paid to avert disaster.

The governors considered it charity, while the horsemen considered it spoils of war. In any case, both sides thought they had won.

"This is the game of revenge. Risks must be faced," Viserys said.

"If Dorne could provide us with some troops, or instructors..." Rhaenys hesitated before speaking.

"That is not possible for now." Viserys shook his head. "Jon Arryn may be old, but he is not blind. He was the one who made the peace agreement with the Dornish back then. Surface peace does not mean King's Landing's spies will relax their vigilance."

Viserys's attitude toward Dorne was simply to let them come and go as they pleased. He did not place much hope in them.

The usurper's coalition was at the height of its power. Even House Martell was playing dead, let alone those silent royalists.

Unless Viserys truly fought his way back to King's Landing and held an absolute advantage, the royalists would not switch sides again.

Still, Dorne at least counted as their sole major ally.

"Everything must revolve around me. It may be slower and harder this way, but we retain our independence. Robert's alliance is much the same—he is king, yet only the head of a great coalition, not truly free," Viserys said.

Viserys already had a complete plan: make money, develop a piece of land, recruit soldiers and buy horses, then overturn this old order.

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