The turmoil at the banquet had yet to subside.
When news reached Volantis that Hasman Vaharis had been maimed and detained, the Tiger Party was enraged.
After all, this was more than a general's son being crippled. It was a brazen slap in Volantis's face before all the Free Cities, especially the hard-line image the Tiger Party worked so desperately to maintain.
Hasman's father, General Valerio Vaharis, a consul of the Tiger Party, spared no effort in lobbying the other cities, branding Viserys an ambitious schemer intent on swallowing all of Essos.
To the common people of Volantis, he portrayed Viserys as a brutal, arrogant Dragonlord who would bring "Dragonbane" upon Essos.
Inside the Black Wall of Volantis, in a heavily guarded mansion, Vaharis was trying to persuade the representatives of Myr and Tyrosh. Having actually faced a dragon, both representatives had been frightened and were now reluctant to remain Viserys's enemies.
"That Targaryen bastard trampled my son's leg and the dignity of Volantis into the mud."
Valerio's voice was low and full of hatred. "And then there's Kevan Lannister. He personally delivered enough gold dragons and equipment to outfit an army into the pyramid in Meereen. What does that mean? It means the Dragonlord has already made contact with the lions of Westeros. Once gold and soldiers start pouring in from Westeros, do you think he'll be satisfied with what he has? Who do you think his next target will be? You know all this, yet now you're starting to hesitate."
"General, we share your anger."
Flavio, a magnate of Myr's textile industry, spoke slowly. "But anger cannot bring victory. Viserys has a dragon. That is an indisputable fact. And his operations in Slaver's Bay have been astonishingly efficient. Most of his army may consist of slaves and barbarians,