Valyrian Peninsula's map has become more and more complete, and areas that were once marked as "unknown" are being filled in with new names and coordinates by surveying ships one after another.
New islands, new waterways, new places to dock - the information he has at hand is more complete and more accurate than any previous exploration.
He walked to the window and opened it, letting in the salty afternoon sea breeze.
King's Landing spread out under his feet, the crowds on the street flowed in the narrow alleys like ants, the ships on the pier were slowly entering and leaving the port, and the distant horizon looked particularly clear in the sun.
There was a faint sound of celebration coming from the direction of Red Keep, which was shattered by the wind and became blurry, as if separated by many layers of paper.
Seven days later, he recited it silently in his heart.
Then he would leave here and fly to the smoke-shrouded land where he had been collecting maps and intelligence, turning the outlines that had been drawn on the paper into the land he stepped on.
The morning sun on the seventh day came earlier than usual, rising slowly from the sea surface of Blackwater Bay, coating the outline of the Dragonstone castle with a thin layer of pale gold.
Those dark volcanic rock walls reveal rough textures and interlaced lines in the morning light, like a face full of wrinkles that has been polished countless times by time and wind and rain.
Redd was awakened by a knock on the door.
As soon as he put on his robe, Mesalia's figure had already appeared at the door, holding a roll carefully wrapped in oilcloth, with the edge of the scroll still smelling of fresh ink.
Her hair was still a little messy, with a few strands hanging on her temples, and her breathing was a little faster than usual, as if she was walking faster than usual when rushing back from the dock.
When she placed the roll on the table in front of Redd, a slightly proud smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, as if the secret she had hidden all night had finally reached the perfect moment to unpack it.
"Two days ahead of schedule." She reached out to untie the leather rope tied to the oilcloth, her movements were neat and skillful, as if she couldn't wait to see his expression when he saw the drawings, "The last batch of surveying ships docked this morning, and I brought over the ones that have been sorted. You can see for yourself."
Redd did not speak in a hurry, but stretched out his hand to slowly unfold the roll of parchment on the table.
Sunlight shone in slantingly from the window, spreading a bright strip of light on the paper, illuminating the fine lines and markings clearly.
His gaze started from the area of the central island that had been repeatedly drawn many times, and expanded outward along the coastline, passing through the familiar outlines of the islands, and extending to the peripheral sea areas that were still blank before - those locations that were only dotted lines and question marks on the old version of the map were now filled with clear and detailed ink lines, marking the direction of the current, the distribution of rocks, landing bays and cliffs that were not suitable for landing.
A line of small characters on the edge reads the number and date of the surveying ship. The ink has not yet completely dried and has a slight moist luster under the light.
Redd's fingers moved slowly along the coastline, moving from one island to another.
His eyes lingered longer on those medium-sized islands than elsewhere. The coastlines of those islands showed different arcs from those around them, and small symbols marking craters or ridge lines were like joints slightly protruding from the depths of the map.
He measured it for a while, as if trying to memorize every bend, and then rolled up the map.
"Let's set off today." He said this in a low voice, but without any hesitation or deliberation in his tone, as if he had made a decision for a long time and was just waiting for the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place before he could move it from his desk to the road.
Messalia stood by the table and watched him roll up the roll of parchment, her eyes lingering on his calm profile for a moment.
She didn't ask "Are you sure?", she didn't ask "Do you want to wait for two more days", and she didn't ask "Where is Rhaenyra?"
She just stood there quietly, getting the information she needed from Redd's expression, and then said, "I'll arrange the ship. Where is King Ghidorah?"
"Just let it follow the ship." Redd said, "Red Keep doesn't need to notify anyone over there."
Mesalia nodded, turned around and walked out of the room without asking any more questions.
Her footsteps gradually faded away in the corridor, covered up by the sound of the morning wind and the distant call of seagulls.
Redd Put the roll of maps into a waterproof leather tube, seal it, and then put it into the side pocket of the packed luggage.
The surveying and mapping fleet departing from Volantis has completed the survey of the last sea area. The route from King's Landing to Dragonstone and then to Volantis has also been confirmed to be safe. All the prepared materials have been piled up into several hills at the port of Dragonstone, just waiting for him to go back and take inventory.
He stayed here just to wait for this map. Now that the drawings have arrived, the reason for setting off is more complete and undelayable than any scenery.
The ship on the dock has been prepared. It is a medium-sized fast ship with a not too deep draft, flying the flag of the Dragon King fleet.
Mesalia was standing by the gangway, confirming the route and arrival time with the sailors on the ship. The hem of her long skirt was blown slightly by the sea breeze, like a flag being slowly unfurled by the wind.
When Redd stepped onto the ship, the morning sun had already begun to rise in the port, illuminating the sea surface into a shimmering silver blanket that extended to the line where the sky and the sea meet.
The ship unmoored and left the shore, the canvas swelled in the wind, and the ship began to slowly accelerate.
King Ghidorah flew up from the direction of the castle. The huge golden figure spread its wings in the morning light, circled twice over the port, and then adjusted its direction to fly sideways along the ship's route, always keeping a close distance.
Its flight rhythm was neither urgent nor slow, and it occasionally glanced sideways and downwards, as if to confirm that the ship was indeed heading in the same direction it was flying.
The red castle of King's Landing becomes smaller and smaller on the sea at the stern of the ship, like a dark reef flattened by the sea wind.
Red Keep itself has been reduced to a small outline with a slightly darker color. The details of the towers and city walls are flattened by the distance in the field of vision, turning into a shape that no longer has obvious edges and corners.
Redd stood on the side of the ship, looking in that direction, without waving or looking back.
He just took one last look at the outline's position before it completely disappeared into the horizon, then withdrew his gaze and landed on the coastline outline that he had memorized on the new map.
When he left for this trip, he did not give himself a definite return date in his mind.