(3rd Person POV)
Yunkai was located on Slaver's Bay. One hundred leagues to the south, following the old Ghiscari coastal road, was Astapor and about fifty leagues – at least a hundred and sixty-three miles - to the north of Meereen.
Yunkai, also called the Yellow City, was made of yellow bricks, with crumbling walls, towers, and tall, stepped pyramids. These included the golden pyramid of Qaggaz. Yunkai was one of the Slaver Cities on the eastern coast of Slaver's Bay in central Essos. Ruled by the Wise Masters, Yunkai's main export was bed slaves. It was said to be a disreputable place, and that was true.
In this yellow city, a man walked through the streets at night. He was followed by two Unsullied guards who didn't say a word. The man, who was a Wise Master, was unhappy at the moment. He had been 'called' to a meeting this evening, but when he arrived there, no one was waiting for him. What was worse, it was said that he hadn't been called in the first place.
'Liars, all of them. They are plotting something, and I will find out what it is. Or I'm not Zaldrak Maeraz,' the man thought to himself.
Yunkai was not nearly as impressive at night as it was during the day. And while Zaldrak walked rather quickly to arrive at his large mansion, he wasn't worried much despite the dangers lurking in the dark. He believed that the other Wise Masters were planning to get rid of him. After that 'fake' summoning, he was certain that something was going on.
There were whispers of rebellion among the lower classes of Yunkai, inspired by the recent abolitionist movements in neighbouring cities. Zaldrak had to navigate these waters carefully, balancing suppression with strategic concessions. But not only that. Within Yunkai, other Wise Masters sought to undermine Zaldrak's influence, meaning he had to constantly outmanoeuvre his rivals to maintain his position and not be killed after he lost his worth. . Zaldrak finally arrived at his mansion. He had paid a lot of money to have it built, and as one of the newest members of the Wise Masters, he had to prove himself. The mansion was one way he did that. He used more money than necessary to make the mansion look more extravagant than other Wise Masters' houses.
The mansion was rather dark for that time of day, but Zaldrak was far too angry and occupied to bother with it.
"Bring me Mandrena to my room!" he barked the order, then walked into his quarters. The two Unsullied knew better than to bother him then and left for their respective places at his door to keep watch.
In his solar, Zaldrak got to work. He started making plans and went over notes and letters he had received from his spies over the last couple of days and weeks. He was feverishly looking for clues on what the other Wise Masters were planning and how he could outmanoeuvre them. But it wasn't yielding any results. He couldn't find what was wrong for the life of him.
Angry, he threw the documents to the floor and called for a slave.
"Driss, bring me some bloody refreshments. And where is Mandrena?!" he screamed.
... but no one answered ...
The door stayed closed; there was no sound of working slaves or of people talking. He hadn't even seen his family yet. What was going on?
Zaldrak stood up. He was livid right then. He walked to the door of his solar and yanked it open.
"WHAT IS GOING ... on?" he shouted loudly at the start but then quieted down when he saw the scene in front of him.
There, sitting at his dining table, was a rather tall man. The man had scruffy short black hair, red eyes, and white skin. He wore a worn-out open grey trench coat over a loose-fitting shirt, with tan stitched pants and a thick brown belt. He wore boots, which he had placed on the table. But that was not really what made Zaldrak stop talking. No, it was the state the stranger was in. He was all bloody, and his clothes were torn and red from the blood.
Next to his feet lay three weapons. An axe and two machetes, which were dripping blood. All around the room were blood stains on the floor and the walls, and bodies were piled up all around.
There was something that the man had never seen before. The stranger had something in his mouth and was puffing on it, releasing smoke out of his mouth.
[Picture]
"Wh-at ... who are you?", Zaldrak asked, but the stranger didn't reply. He only looked at him with his red eyes, sending shivers down Zaldrak's back.
"You're Zaldrak Maeraz?" he said.
"Yes. And who are you? Quite rude to intrude into my house and just kill everyone around, no?" Zaldrak asked and slowly made his way to a seat far from the stranger. He knew that if he was supposed to be killed, he would have already died. But this man had let him live, so there was something he wanted, and that was what he could work with.
"My name is not important. I am here for you.", the stranger said.
"And what business do you have with me?", Zaldrak asked.
"Roughly 4 moons ago, a young man, we shall call him Dave, found love in his wretched world of pain and humiliation. A woman who was in a similar situation as he was, but not as dirty as he thought he himself was. She was 'pure', that's how she was described to me. This unlikely and seemingly impossible union of two lonely souls found each other and for the young man Dave, it was as if life was smiling on him and everything he had to go through, all the torture, was only a test to see whether he deserved the sweetest of all the gifts in this world ...", the man stopped for a moment and looked into the distance, seemingly reminiscing about something.
"A lovely story, but what does it have to do with me?", Zaldrak asked, getting rather annoyed with the stranger.
"I am getting there. As I said, it seemed like all the darkness in Dave's life was finally receding through the woman who was his sun. But reality is often disappointing. On a fateful day, 3 moons ago, as the two shared their souls with one another, a man came across the scene and only saw one thing. The purity of the woman. And the only thing he could think of was how to possess and destroy it. So he took the woman for himself, in front of Dave, who had to watch as his sun was forcefully ripped from his life.
For days he searched for her; for weeks he was waiting for a single sign of life. After a fortnight, he finally found her. She lay on the side of the streets of Yunkai. The blood of her loins still dripping on the floor, and while her heart was still beating, all the life had left her eyes and her soul had died. Dave's own soul broke that day, and he had to not only bury his sun but also release her from her torment.
Imagine that. I have long ago become a nihilist, but when he told me the story, even I almost shed a tear. He fled his life. He gave up his 'safety' and all that he knew and went away, searching for one thing. Someone to help him avenge his sun, which was taken from him and had plunged his life into darkness again..."
"THIS IS GETTING ANNOYING! What do you want?! Tell me!!" Zaldark shouted suddenly. He had had enough of this farce and was getting really pissed at the stranger.
"You see, Zaldrak Maeraz, on the day Dave died ... he found me."
"Ohhh, I understand. So that's what this is about. You were paid to kill me and avenge the slave whom I supposedly killed. What a joke! What a stupid joke this is! Who do you think you are, huh?! You come in here, into MY HOUSE. The house of a Wise Master and threaten me with death?! I will have your tongue ripped out and force-fed to you. I will have you killed and shamed publicly for this! DO YOU HEAR ME!"
"... I hear you. But how are you going to do that? I killed everyone who was in the building. Your family is not in the house. So ... who will do that for you?"
"I see, I see, I see ... Very well. Well played, sellsword, very well played. Hahahaha, alright tell me ... how much will it cost me?"
"Everything."
"Huh?"
"It will cost you everything."
"I can give you power, I can give you slaves ... let's talk about this. I-"
"There is nothing you can give me that I can't take myself. I will loot your treasury and then burn your mansion to the ground.", the stranger said as if it had already happened.
"Wait, wait, wait! Let's ... Let's talk about this. Leaving me alive will help you mo-"
But the stranger didn't listen. He stood up suddenly and started to walk towards the man. Zaldrak moved backwards and pushed the chair over. It fell to the ground, and Zaldrak stumbled. His heartbeat started to quicken, and he started to do the only thing he could ... run.
He ran as fast as he could towards the main door. But when he arrived, he saw it was locked. He banged his fist against it, but the strong and sturdy door didn't even budge. He had paid top money for it after all. He looked to the back and saw the stranger walking towards him at a leisurely pace.
Zaldrak almost got a heart attack and started running towards the stairs. He ran as fast as his short feet and heavy body could. After becoming a Wise Master, he gradually gained weight. Most of his work was done mentally after all, and the food, wine, and women he indulged himself in weren't helping him to stay in shape.
Panic could be seen on his face as he wobbled his fat body through room after room, looking for salvation and help but finding none. He made it to his sleeping chamber and tried to open a window. But it was too heavy for him, and he had to stop. He looked around desperately searching for a chair or something heavy to throw against the window. He needed to scream for help. Someone had to come save him ...
*thud thud thud*
Footsteps could be heard through the mansion. The walls reflected the sound of the heavy boots the stranger was wearing. After a long time, he came strolling into the room where Zaldrak had tried to open a window. Scared to death, the Wise Master moved further back until he hit the wall.
"P-p-please ... I beg you ... w-we can talk about this ... I have money, do you want money? There is a lot in my secret vault down below. I also keep secret files on the other Wise Masters in there. W-with this key on my neck ... I-I-It will open the vault, I swear, just please DON'T HURT ME!"
"I want you to know that Dave wished for this to hurt ... a lot. And it will. You will go through the worst pain you never thought possible. I will strip you naked, I will torture you, and after I'm finished with you, I will take all of your wealth and burn down your mansion. The other Wise Masters will take all that you own and divide it amongst themselves. No one will remember you ... Do you understand?" the stranger asked as he looked down on Zaldrak, who had started to piss himself.
"Noo-"
swing
A small cut appeared on the Wise Master's neck as the stranger cut his vocal cords to stop him from screaming.
"Good. Then let's begin."
...
Hours later, shortly before dawn broke, alarms were rung. The house of a Wise Master was burning. The commotion affected many people as the flames threatened to affect adjacent housing.
One man stood to the side observing the house burn as the people ran about. His expression was unreadable.
"Rest well ... nēdenka vēzos," the man muttered and left the vicinity.