Volantis had once been the most powerful of the Free Cities. It stood on the eastern bank of the Rhoyne's mouth, east of the Kingdom of Reclea, across the river from Reclea's Velonserys Town.
Volantis was the first colony established by the Valyrian Freehold of Old Valyria. Ancient and powerful, it had once been hailed as "Valyria's eldest daughter," "the queen of the Rhoyne," and "the mistress of the Summer Sea."
Even now, Volantis remained the most prosperous region in southwestern Essos, situated beside an enormous, tranquil bay.
The lands between the mouth of the Rhoyne and the Sorrowful Domain, along with the Orange Coast to the west, had once all fallen within Volantis's sphere of influence.
Now, however, the western bank of the Rhoyne and the vast territories around Sorrow Hill and Sarhoy had all come under the Kingdom of Reclea's control.
Only Sa Mel Town, the Endless Marsh northeast of Volantis, the sprawling mountains to the east, and the extensive coastal plains to the southeast near Valyria's Lands of the Long Summer remained under its control.
Volantis was the Free City closest to Slaver's Bay, yet even the straight-line distance between it and Meereen exceeded three thousand kilometers.
The convenient Valyrian Road, however, kept trade between them brisk. Volantis even openly violated the regulations of the Free Cities by conducting slave trade with Slaver's Bay along this road.
But the road between the two regions passed close to the ruins of Valyria, making conditions extremely harsh. Travelers could encounter natural disasters such as acid rain, as well as dangers like ambushes by Stone Men, so people had dubbed this stretch of road the "Demon Road."
Although Volantis had already been defeated by the combined forces of Braavos and the former Kingdom of the Three Daughters, its people still