GoT: The Blessed and the Cursed

Two weeks after the negotiations between Yunkai, Mereen, and Astapor succeeded, and more than two-thirds of the Hostages were taken away by their relatives after paying the right price in exchange, the winds were brewing up a storm. A war which seemed inevitable despite Astapor holding onto nearly seven thousand of the Hostages loomed on the horizon.

Gremm the Griffin and his actions, where he had set more than half the slaves of Astapor free, and killed all the Good Masters and Noblemen, even the Free Men of the City, were unforgivable in the eyes of the Wise Masters of Yunkai and the Great Masters of Mereen.

They could not sit still. Peace was not even an option as what happened to Good Masters in Astapor had made the slaves in their cities restless.

If Astapor was not returned to its old ways, they feared a revolt from the slaves who would try to gain their freedom by rebelling against them.

And their plans were already in motion.

Gremm had received a piece of news last night that Mereen had sent envoys to the Dothraki Khalasars and New Ghis. They wanted to ask for their help to liberate Astapor from his control.

He, however, was not in the least worried about attacks on the city. His focus was on the administration right now, and on finding ways to keep the economy of the City functioning.

And the reason why he was not worried about getting attacked was that there was already a plan in motion from his King.

His task was just to conquer and hold Astapor, not to go to war with Yunkai and Mereen.

Hours before dawn, Seven Griffins, led by Gremm's younger brothers, Garret and Glenn, with Lyanna Stark in their ranks, doused the entire New Ghis, especially the Training Fields, Barracks, and Residential Districts, in Sleep Power.

At dawn, the secret forces inside the city, a hundred men, led by the Merchant, Black-Hand Jaremy, who had been living there for a couple of moons, killed all the guards on the walls and opened the Gates.

With the first rays of dawn, a fleet of sixty ships, without any flags, and black sails, approached the Island.

An hour later, 3000 Unsullied Soldiers, and 4500 Kharziks, as well as the finest 1500 Yellow Soldiers of the Boros' Merchant Company, entered the City, quickly breaking into the Barracks and the Residential Districts to grab every able man.

By noon, 200 Hippogriffs and 1500 Kharzik Archers were on the Walls, and the Gates were closed.

500 Unsullied Soldiers were present at the port, which had been sealed, all Vessels, Merchant or War, cleared, and their Sailors and Captains captured.

In the evening, inside the Central Plaza, the 2000 Unsullied of the Halmor Family, who were the City Watch of New Ghis, were woken up.

Finding them surrounded by Thousands Unsullied, and Kharzik Archers on top of the Pyramids, they tensed up.

Ser Baros then stepped forward and showed them the Whip, which they recognised, and after a bit of confusion, they quickly submitted to their new Master.

With their help, the Iron Legions and all the able Free Men of the City were moved into the Prison Pyramid.

Nearly twenty-one thousand men were gagged and bound and were given sleep powder again.

The next day, in the morning, announcements were made throughout the city, and people, both Free and Slaves, gathered in the Central Plaza.

They searched for their sons, husbands, fathers, and masters in the people who were kneeling on the Platform, under the golden statue of the Harpy, but only found the rulers of their City, the men of Eight Noble Families, the Government Officials, and Commanders of the Iron Legions.

The Free Women, Elderly, and Children lost hope as they had no idea where their loved ones were, but the Slaves were faring better, albeit very confused and disturbed by the sight.

There was a man on the Platform, wearing a hood, and by his side, two young ladies, twins, and another younger girl were standing heroically.

All three girls had black crowns over their heads, embedded with beautiful gems.

Behind them were creatures they had not seen before. They were certain about the Griffins, who had been in talk recently, but not about the creatures that resembled winged horses and had eagle heads.

Suddenly, a voice, which slowed down their hearts, entered their ears.

And with it followed an announcement.

"Relax. Your fathers, husbands, and sons are still alive if you have not found their bodies in the Residential Square. It's not today that they will be executed. And I hope that when the time comes, you will help them make the right choice to save their lives."

Tears leaked out of the eyes of some ladies. Some were in relief, some in pain, and some in sadness.

"New Ghis, from this day onwards, is under the command of the House Ostaryen. And we have our own rules and laws."

No one could see what the man looked like under his hood, but his figure was tall and broad. And just looking at him inspired fear in their hearts.

"Since the City now belongs to us, we don't need these Fallen Nobles..." He playfully said, and the Yellow Soldiers pulled their Dirks out and took positions behind all the Noblemen and their Young Heirs, as well as the Commanders of the Iron Legions and Government Officials. "Kill."

There was no hesitation in his command.

It was light and cold, and just like that, hundreds of Noblemen and their adult Heirs were put to the blade, granted quick and painless deaths.

Blood flowed down the Platform, and there was a deathly silence in the Central Plaza.

"Slaves, who wish to gain freedom and train to become part of a new Iron Legion, stay back. The rest of you can take your leave. You are to stay in your homes for the next two days. Come back here on the third day. If any of you is found creating trouble, your men and sons will be executed for your disobedience."

The people immediately scurried away to their homes, and when everyone left, only a little over five thousand slave men stayed behind.

They tensed up when the Yellow Soldiers stepped forward and started to inspect their physical state.

The slaves who were deemed too old and weak for training were immediately turned away, but even after the filter, over five thousand men remained.

"Baros."

"Your Grace!" The Knight stepped forward and saluted.

"You and your Unsullied will train these men into fine soldiers over the next 36 Moons. I need perfect Soldiers."

"Yes!"

The Slaves tensed up when their new Ruler turned to look at them.

"Remove their collars. They are Free Men from this day onwards,"

At his order, the Yellow Soldiers quickly cut the collars of the slaves, setting them free.

The Plaza was cleared when Baros and his Unsullied moved the Trainees to the Barracks.

Two days later, when the population of New Ghis gathered again in the Central Plaza, they found the New Ruler and his forces already present and waiting for them since dawn.

When everyone arrived and were spread out, allowing them an unobstructed view of the Platform, Azaerys raised his hand and signalled to his men.

Soon, fifty prisoners, the youngest of them, were brought out of the dungeons of the Prison Pyramid.

Seeing them put on their knees on the Platform, their families in the crowd panicked.

"If these sons have mothers or if they have wives and sisters, I ask them to step forward. If they don't have mothers, sisters, and wives, then their closest female relatives must step forward." The Targaryen King lightly spoke, but with the use of Aeromancy, his words were conveyed to all their ears.

Immediately, dozens of women, mostly elderly, stepped forward and went down to their knees under the platform, begging him to spare the lives of their sons, brothers, and husbands.

"They are Free Men. You are Free Women. Your lives are in your hands," said Azaerys. "I shall respect your choice."

Again, there was a hint of playfulness in his words, which made the people fear him even more.

"You have three choices. Death, Surrender, and Exile. So, think wisely about your decisions," His voice entered their ears, making them forget to breathe.

His eyes then scanned the crowd before he spoke again.

"Surrender to me, your new Lord, and you can continue living in the City as Free Men. You can keep your houses, your businesses, and your jobs. If you find yourself unwilling to submit to me, that's fine. There's another choice for you."

He looked at all the Prisoners this time.

"You can choose to leave behind your land, houses, and businesses, and take your families, carry your valuables, and leave the City on the Vessels of these Merchants," he pointed to the Sea Merchants, who did not seem too panicked about the situation. It was clear that they were not Prisoners and had been taken into confidence. "I promise you that your lives will not be harmed by me or my forces."

His generous offer shocked everyone, but when they heard him speak next, they found it hard to breathe.

"Know that there is nothing I detest more than betrayal. The only thing I can not forgive. So, I advise you to not make a decision that would later have you and your families burned to ashes. If you are unwilling to submit to me and unwilling to accept exile, announce your desire for Death. I shall grant your wish in kind."

Azaerys then asked the families of the Prisoners to convince their sons, brothers, and husbands to make the right choice.

Unsurprisingly, these young men, the oldest of whom was seventeen years old, starving for the last three days, quickly made the best decision.

They chose to submit.

As soon as they announced their decision, the yellow soldiers brought them water, which they gulped greedily, and their women were allowed to take them away.

The next batch of fifty prisoners was brought on the Platform, and again, every one of them chose to surrender.

These were all the youngest of the lot.

This kept happening until the fifth batch was brought, and a young man chose to take his wife and go into Exile.

He only had his wife in the world now.

Azaerys assigned two soldiers to him, who accompanied the man to his home and kept a watch on him as he and his wife collected their valuables.

When people saw him and his wife return later at noon, with all their belongings, atop two donkeys, standing behind the Merchants, they finally believed that exile was truly an option.

By the end of the day, five thousand prisoners had been put to trial, and out of them, 397 chose to go into exile.

The very evening, a few Merchants were allowed to leave New Ghis, and they took these exiled people and their families with them.

The next day, early in the morning, the Free Women and Children arrived at the Plaza again.

The trials started shortly after and concluded in the evening. 4378 out of 5000 chose to submit, and the rest preferred exile.

However, this time, these Freed Prisoners, who had chosen to submit, were not allowed to return to their homes but were confined outside the Walls to the Northern Beach for the next few days.

They were provided with food and water, and the Kharziks on the Walls kept an eye on them.

On the third day, New Ghis saw the first death in the trials.

A bold and brave man, who had no one in the world, chose death. Azaerys granted his wish by taking his head with his own hands.

Later in the afternoon, another man chose death, and given how unkind he was with his words, he was fed to the Griffins alive. As sight so horrifying that several people in the crowd fainted, and the children cried and ran away.

4233 submissions, 2 deaths, and 765 exiles. That was now the day ended.

On the last day, the prisoners who were brought to the Trials were on the verge of death, having been starved for over five days, and only fed water twice.

Over six thousand of them were put on Trial. There were seven honourable deaths, one who was burned alive, and one who was fed to the Griffins. A total of 819 Exiles, and finally the last and largest of Merchant Fleets, belonging to Black-Hand Jaremy, was allowed to leave New Ghis.

An announcement was made that the Port was closed for the next two moons, and no Merchant Vessels were allowed to enter the City.

A sennight later, the confined people were allowed to slowly return to their families and integrate with society again.

And once they found the normalcy and their lives functioning as usual, their nerves calmed down.

However, there was bound to be some bloodshed.

Some people, mostly middle-aged men, thought that their new City Lord was a fool and did not heed the warnings. They convinced their comrades in the Iron Legions, managed to gather a force of four thousand strong, and revolted one night, usinh the secret passages in the city.

However, they found them all closed, which forved them to access the Pyramids through the Central Plaza.

Over two thousand died in the Plaza before they could make it into the Pyramids or on the Walls, and the people of New Ghis finally saw how deadly the Kharzik Archers were. They did not even miss once. Not once!

Only two hundred of them, atop their Hippogriffs, and two hundred more Units stationed on the Pyramids, managed to contain the situation.

And the next day, the Plaza was red in the blood of those who had chosen to betray the goodwill of the City Lord.

Their fathers and sons who were of the age of majority were put to the sword as well for their crimes, right in front of the rebels before their own executions, but their women and young children were spared.

The bodies of the Traitors were burned alive, but the bodies of their fathers and sons, who were granted painless deaths, were returned to their women.

Azaerys asked the people of New Ghis to not waste their lives. He asked them to think about their families before taking any action. He told them to be wise. And at the same time, he welcomed more attempts to overthrow him, promising them deaths crueller than they had witnessed so far.

On the same day, Envoys from Mereen came to Island City, and they were captured as soon as they stepped on the Port.

In the Great Hall of the newly renamed Pyramid of Pride, the largest and the most extravagant of the eight, with thirty-three levels, the Envoys of Mereen were forced on their knees before Azaerys, Laeha, Laena, and Rhaenys.

The Targaryen King did not keep his mask or hood on, but kept his Glamour on, which made his hair appear black with several streaks of platinum blonde. And with how far he was sitting, his features were not easy to make out for them.

"You have come here to ask for our help against Astapor?" He chuckled after he read the scroll that contained the message from Mereen. "Let your Great Masters know that the House Ostaryen now rules the Dragonport, which was once called New Ghis."

Hearing that they would be returning to Mereen, the hearts of the Envoys calmed down a lot.

"Call the Envoy of Astapor who came to see us yesterday," He ordered, and a Yellow Soldier in the Hall immediately bowed to him and left the room.

Half an hour later, a man, wearing the armour of the Sky Company, entered the Great Hall, brisked over, and immediately knelt to Azaerys.

"Lord Ostaryen, you asked for me."

"What's your name again?"

"Logan, My Lord."

"Where's your letter?" He asked and the man immediately took it out of his robe. "Give it to him." He pointed to an Envoy of Mereen and also tossed the scroll in his hand to a guard, who came over and handed it to the anxious man.

The Envoys read each other's letters, and their brows furrowed.

"Astapor has offered us a yearly tribute in return for our protection, an offer of Military Alliance, and several Trade Agreements are on the table. What does Mereen offer us?" He asked, and the Envoy lowered their heads.

"We will need to consult the Great Masters, My Lord." One of them respectfully said.

"You have two moons to return with a suitable offer. You too." He looked at the Sky Captain. "I feel that your Lord Gryffonn can offer more. Tell him that we are interested in Griffins."

"Yes..." Logan hesitantly nodded his head.

The Envoys left the Hall, and when the door closed, Rhaenys burst out laughing, confusing her Sisters-in-Law.

They have been learning High Valyrian for the past few Moons but have not yet become proficient enough to understand conversations.

She explained to them the game that Azaerys was playing, and both Laeha and Laena rolled their eyes at his scheming nature.

"I am leaving for Vaes Dothrak tomorrow."

The sudden words from their King made them all turn to look at him in surprise.

"So soon?" Rhaenys frowned.

"Yes. I need to speak to the Dosh Khaleen and convince them to forbid the Khals from attacking Astapor." He smiled at her. "Stay here and help Laeha and Laena rule."

"How long will you be gone for?"

"Four moons. I need to go to Ulthos and be there for the coming Hunt."

Rhaenys, as much as she wanted to go with him, obediently nodded her head and promised to help her Sisters-in-Law rule Dragonport in his absence.