Chapter 269 First arrival in Volantis
Leaving the throne room, the servants quickly went to Grand Maester Melos to treat him.
In the king's palace.
Grand Bachelor Melos came with a satchel and several young assistant bachelors.
Viserys sat back on the bench, covering his forehead with one hand, and put the other hand on the round table to play with.
"Your Majesty, the wound this time is very deep."
Melos had an old face, looked carefully with cloudy pupils, and took out the hemostatic medicine to clean the wound.
Viserys endured the pain and sighed, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Grand Maester."
As he said this, he was still struggling inside.
It had been a while since he had been cut by the Iron Throne, causing him to lose his original vigilance.
He tabooed such open wounds on his hands.
It will be clearly visible to the court officials and will create useless worries and burdens on him.
Melos spoke few words, wiped the blood from the wound, and applied crushed herbs.
"Grand Maester, the bandages you requested."
The assistant on the side quickly handed over a roll of bandages boiled in boiling water.
Melos glanced at him and silently wrapped a bandage for the king.
The assistant was a dark-skinned young man with short stubble and a gray academic robe.
Watching the Grand Master wrap the bandages around, the assistant couldn't help but said: "This herb is not very effective for Your Majesty. I have a new idea."
"Shut up, Orville!"
Melos scolded and stared at the assistant with a pair of warning eyes.
The young man known as Orville quickly shut up, lowering his head and not daring to refute.
"Your Majesty, please do not touch the wound with water, avoid greasy or spicy food."
Melos patiently reminded him of the precautions, packed up the props in his backpack, and silently walked out of the room with a few assistants.
Viserys was in a very bad mood and forced a smile.
The door closed and the surroundings became quiet.
Outside the palace, Ilik, dressed in silver armor and white robes, looked solemn and guarded the door for the king.
After Cole resigned, he was elected Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
Responsible for the king's personal safety.
"Cough cough cough..."
Suddenly, there was a stifling coughing sound in the palace, and the hoarse voice seemed to be coughing out the lungs.
Eric's expression changed slightly, and he was very worried about the king's health.
In recent times, the king's sleep has become worse and worse, and most of the time he can only sleep well after being drunk.
After a while, the coughing stopped.
Viserys's irritable voice sounded: "Elic, bring me some wine, my chest feels uncomfortable!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Eric was helpless and lowered his head to find the servant to give him instructions.
…
Summer sea.
A vast ocean south of Dorne.
It extends eastward to the southern coast of Essos and the northern coast of Sothoros.
The Step Islands are the boundary between the Narrow Sea and the Summer Sea.
Over the undulating sea, the sky is clear and a warm breeze blows.
High above the clouds, a ferocious dragon as black as charcoal flashed past, like a black meteor.
During a day's journey, the glutton crossed the stone staircase archipelago composed of large and small islands, and officially entered the scope of the Summer Sea.
"Gluttony, fly to the southeast."
A strong voice sounded, commanding the dragon to fly in its direction.
At this time, Rhaegar was lying on the glutton's broad back, wrapped in a black robe, and his eyes were slightly squinted to soak up the sunshine.
Compared with the cool and cold eastern Westeros in early spring, the tropical climate of the Summer Sea is extremely comfortable and pleasant.
The sun shines on the exposed skin, and the whole body is warm.
The air you breathe is very warm, but it doesn't feel wet or sticky.
Such a comfortable environment made Lei Jia, who had not relaxed for a long time, change his usual tightness and cross his legs happily.
"Hiss..."
The glutton sensed the joyful mood of the pilot, and let out a low roar in his throat, slowly reducing his flying speed.
One person and one dragon soared between the sky and the sea, enjoying the breeze blowing on their faces and stealing half a day of leisure.
Rhaegar curled up his lips unconsciously, recalling the freedom of riding a dragon when he was young.
I haven't been this relaxed for a long time.
The glutton flapped a pair of dark wings, with green vertical eyes overlooking the distant continent of Essos, and soared in the right direction with a familiarity.
It is nearly a hundred years old.
During the long wild dragon period, it not only slept on Dragonstone Island, but also wandered across several continents.
The sea below me, the continent in the distance...
It has come, more than once.
Unconsciously, time passed quietly.
The sun climbed to the middle of the sky, the temperature of the summer sea gradually increased, and the air became hot.
The Glutton flew across the sea and across a barren coast to the land of Essos.
"Hurry up, hold on to the cart, we have to deliver the goods to Volantis tonight..."
"The wheel is stuck, please work harder..."
Giant dragons soar in the sky, casting shadows over a town of different styles below.
Rhaegar vaguely heard someone speaking Valyrian. He recovered from his half-asleep and opened his eyes dimly.
Climb to the edge of the dragon's back and survey the environment below.
It was a bustling town, with many vehicles coming in and out, passing through the towering white walls.
The sound Rhaegar heard came from a small caravan driving south along the river.
The people in the caravan were dressed in very different ways, shielding themselves from the scorching sun, and working together to push a carriage that was stuck in the mud.
"Harder, you slaves!"
"..."
The leader, a fat businessman in gold and silver, kept cursing and waving a whip to beat the crowd pushing the carriage.
From the first few words, it was known that these merchants were going to Volantis.
Rhaegar looked at the town and the wide and fast river beside it, and thought of a place.
An inland town under the rule of Volantis, the town of Velonthes.
This long river is the famous River Lorne.
Along the Rhoyne River all the way south, you will reach Volantis, which is directly at the mouth of the sea.
Thinking of this, Rhaegar thought and knew that the glutton had carried him to Essos.
"Glutton, fly south and find a place to land."
Rhaegar gave the order and had an idea in mind.
He came to Volantis for two purposes.
1. Contact the governors of the Tiger Party and the Elephant Party to understand the trends of Volantis.
2. Reach diplomacy as much as possible, reach an alliance with Volantis, and break the stalemate with the Free Trade City-States.
Daemon has said that the people of Volantis are relatively repulsive to Targaryens.
He planned to keep a low profile to prevent the glutton from causing too much of a stir.
At the same time, he hid the news that he had been to Volantis to avoid irritating the nerves of the Three Women Kingdom.
These are conventional diplomatic strategies, and he has certain expectations.
…
Dusk.
A group of caravans carrying fodder entered the western city of Volantis.
At the end of the team followed a tall, silver-haired young man wearing a black robe.
The silver-haired boy was naturally Rhaegar, who was separated from the glutton and sneaked into the city-state under the leadership of the caravan.
"Tsk, tsk, this is Volantis, comparable to King's Landing in the stinking ditch era."
Rhaegar looked around at the crowded port. The pungent rotten smell hit his forehead, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed.
As soon as I entered the city, I smelled a strong smell mixed with the smell of fish, flowers, feces, and decay.
It's no less than King's Landing before the street improvement plan.
Rhaegar mingled among the crowd, listening to the shouts of the vendors on both sides of the dirty streets, walking aimlessly.
Volantis was once an outpost of the Free Keep.
This is a magnificent city-state that bears the traces of the Dragon King family.
The city-state is located at the mouth of the River Rhoyne, a deep bay port.
The city-state is divided into two urban areas, east and west, separated by the fast-flowing River Lorne, facing each other from east to west.
The environment in Xicheng District where Lei Jia is located is very poor. Feces, garbage, beggars can be seen everywhere...
The port was crowded with ships from all over the world, and the hustle and bustle of sailors and porters was constant.
Rhaegar learned that Xicheng District was the residence of mercenaries, foreigners, slaves, and civilians.
Therefore, security is also surprisingly poor.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way of the tiger-robed army patrols!"
Suddenly, there was a noise, and the already chaotic streets became restless. Slaves and civilians hid in corners like a plague.
Rhaegar followed the crowd and crowded behind a vendor, using his height advantage to look at what was going on.
A group of city guards with ordinary equipment roared through the streets, holding short sticks to show off their power.
Rhaegar noticed carefully that these guards all had tiger tattoos on their cheeks.
This is probably the origin of the name of the Tiger Pao Army.
Volantis is an interesting castle with a thriving tattoo culture.
Whether they are high-ranking officials, businessmen, civilians or slaves, they all like to have tattoos on their faces and bodies.
People with status and status wear tattoos that promote merit and force.
Slaves were forced to wear tattoos with different purposes, and the shame followed them throughout their lives.
According to what was told at Daemon's table, slave life in Volantis was unsatisfactory.
What Rhaegar saw in a short period of time was that there were many slaves in the city, far more than the number of civilians.
"Hurry up, I don't want to spend the night on the street."
Shaking his head, Rega put aside other thoughts and headed towards Dongcheng District under the guidance of passers-by.
Dongcheng District is where the old nobles, warriors, and wealthy businessmen lived.
Walking too slowly, fearing that he would not have enough time, Rhaegar looked around, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
Half an hour later.
A carriage pulled by a dwarf elephant passed through Xicheng District and arrived at a long and wide bridge.
The Long Bridge is unusually wide and long, spanning the fast-flowing River Lorne. It is supported by huge piers and is as flat as a continent.
At the entrance of the long bridge, there is an arch made of black boulders, with some monster patterns carved on the door.
Such as soaring dragons, manticores, sphinxes...
The dwarf elephant cart paid the toll, and the slave with the wheel tattoo on his head drove the dwarf elephant onto the majestic long bridge.
Rhaegar stuck his head out from the car curtain and looked at Changqiao curiously.
This long bridge was built hundreds of years ago by the Archons of Volantis.
It connects the old city and Xicheng District.
Seeing this bridge long enough for two carriages to travel at the same time for the first time, Rhaegar was still very interested.
"It's a little worse than Harrenhal, but it's worthy of being one of the Nine Wonders."
Rhaegar commented seriously, thinking of his huge castle, and talked a lot about Long Bridge.
There are many legendary buildings in Westeros.
The Eyrie of House Arryn, Storm's End of House Baratheon, Casterly Rock of Lannister...
There is also the Great Wall, which has stood for thousands of years to block the cold winter.
They are all more majestic than this long bridge.
