"And you." He turned to the other slaves.
"From this day forward, no one can ever tell you, 'You are a slave.' You are free."
"But Yunkai's fleet is gathering. Meereen's army is on its way as well. They will return with more chains and branding irons, to tell the whole world that slaves must remain slaves, and freedom is nothing but a foolish dream."
Uneasy murmurs rose from the crowd, and many of the newly freed people held their children tight.
"But I will not let that happen." Viserys's voice cut through the murmurs. "What I have done today is give you a free city. But freedom needs force of arms to defend it."
Viserys continued, "Those willing to follow the Dragons, those willing to fight for their own freedom and that of their families, take up whatever weapons you can find and join the Free Folk Legion. From this day on, Astapor will be a home for the Free Folk under the rule of the New Valyrian Empire."
The first slave to respond was a skeletal old man. He lifted his head, looking at Viserys on the platform, then at the majestic Dragon, and tears welled in his clouded eyes.
He raised his withered arms, marked by deep scars from shackles, and let out a hoarse cry. "Fight for freedom!"
That cry set everyone ablaze.
"Fight for freedom!"
"Freedom!"
"Breaker of Chains!"
"Dragonlord!"
"Father of Dragons!"
Cheers began to rise, swiftly swelling into a roaring tide.
That evening, a black-and-red banner embroidered with a Three-Headed Fire Dragon rose atop Astapor's tallest pyramid. Bonfires blazed throughout the city as the Free Folk burned shackles and whips. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of blood, but also with a hope unlike anything they had ever known.
Viserys