Ahead of the Roaring Warriors stood hundreds of wagons grouped together, with armored wooden mannequins placed on them.
They were set to serve as mock enemies for the horsemen.
Three thousand cavalry charged straight toward them.
"Light arrows, ready!" Ka'ar Dany suddenly shouted. She let go of the reins, stood up in the saddle, drew an arrow from the quiver hanging at her side, nocked it, and pulled the bowstring.
The silver horse beneath her seemed to move in perfect sync with her, changing direction without losing speed and skimming past thirty meters in front of the wagon formation.
"Fire!"
Whoosh—
Dany released the arrow. Without specifically aiming, she shot it in a high arc that soared into the sky and landed on one of the wagons.
She quickly drew a second arrow, pulled back, and fired again.
"Fire!" she shouted, and behind her, thousands of cavalry echoed her command and mirrored her movements, shooting while riding.
Buzz— A deep hum from thousands of bowstrings followed. In an instant, the sky darkened as a rain of arrows fell upon the wagon formation below.
Sister Lymore stood on a nearby hill, witnessing the entire scene.
The cavalry line moved like a supple serpent, slithering past the wagon formation with smooth, swift coordination.
It looked as if all the riders were guided by a single will.
From the Dragon Queen at the front to the final rider who curved past the wagons, the entire maneuver took about two minutes—followed by two continuous minutes of arrow rain falling from the sky.
What was chilling was that the arrow volleys were evenly spaced, without irregular bursts.
This demonstrated that all three thousand riders had maintained the same rhythm—Dany's rhythm.
They repeated the maneuver twice more at high speed.
Each round used different types of arrows—short arrows and heavy arrows.
Afterward, the formation dispersed, and the Khaleesi led her Bloodriders into the wagon formation to assess the attack's effectiveness.
Each of the three rounds had used a different arrow type: light arrows made with bamboo shafts; heavy arrows with reinforced tips, also known as armor-piercing arrows; and short arrows made of thin bramble shafts—shorter in length but heavier than the light arrows.
Bloodrider Rakharo reported to the Khaleesi: "Light arrows flew the farthest, but had almost no killing power. They barely pierced a single layer of leather armor. Short arrows could usually pierce leather armor, and some even punched through chainmail.
Only the armor-piercing arrows could damage plate armor and curved shields, but their range was limited. Beyond fifty meters, they were no more effective than the short arrows."
"What do you suggest? Is it practical to use all three types of arrows in combination?" Dany asked.
She was trying to learn from the Mongols.
Mongol cavalry used two types of bows and three kinds of arrows.
They even adjusted the design of armor-piercing arrows based on the enemy's armor.
One standard bow was used off horseback, while a more precise bow was used while riding.
But the Mongols didn't conquer the world with just two bows and three arrows. Dany knew she couldn't blindly copy their methods—she had to adapt to reality.
Besides, her knowledge of Mongol formations and weapons came mostly from television—she wasn't even sure what was accurate.
Bloodrider Jhiqui said, "In the Dothraki Sea, in other khalasars, we don't strictly categorize arrows. We also have curved blades! If the bow doesn't work, we charge in with our blades."
"And what if the blades don't work? Surrender by cutting off your braid?" Dany asked.
"If the blades fail, a hundred types of arrows won't help either," Jhiqui replied, patting the Valyrian steel scimitar at his waist. "The blade is the ultimate weapon."
"Think about the Unsullied. Three thousand of them defended Qohor. If we equipped them heavily with armor-piercing arrows and used circling cavalry to wear the enemy down, how could they have lost and become a historical joke?" Dany said flatly.
She believed the Dothraki hadn't used armor-piercing arrows simply because they were poor and lacked enough refined steel to forge them.
"Khaleesi, I have a suggestion," Quaro stepped forward and said. "We horsemen are all light cavalry. That's a mistake.
I believe we can mix light and heavy cavalry. Light cavalry ride ahead and shoot to disrupt the enemy formation.
Then they curve around the enemy, just as you led us to do, opening up space for heavy cavalry to charge in.
The heavy cavalry then hits the disorganized ranks head-on.
Finally, the light cavalry loops around and follows behind, using scimitars and bows to finish off the survivors left in the wake of the charge."
Dany looked with surprise at the young horseman whose upper lip was now growing a thick black mustache. In just two years, this boy her age had not only grown taller and stronger, but also wiser.
"Horsemen aren't cowards. We don't hide behind iron armor," Rakharo muttered.
Dany gave him a helpless look. "Rakharo, two years ago I might have explained things to you. But now, after all this time, you're still saying this? Isn't that a bit stupid?
You're the same age as Quaro, not as big, and clearly not as smart."
Indeed, Quaro was nearly two meters tall, with a chest like a wall—larger than both Bloodriders combined.
"He drinks dragon essence every day. Of course he grew tall. Everyone in the Dragon Guard is a giant," Rakharo said.
"Really?" Dany looked at Quaro in surprise.
"Maybe. The dragon essence makes us stronger—maybe even smarter. But I've also been studying math and history with the scholars. Maybe it's that learning that made me wiser," Quaro said, uncertain.
Dany turned back to Rakharo. "Look at Quaro. He's enlightened. He knows to study with the scholars. Even if dragon essence really works, it's no match for true learning."
"Quaro, you'll be the commander of a thousand," she said, promoting the Dragon Guard on the spot.
"Jhiqui, Rakharo, you each take charge of a thousand-man unit."
Currently, her khalasar had five thousand members, just enough to assemble three thousand Dothraki Roaring Warriors.
Until today, Dany was the only zhako (commander of a thousand) in her khalasar. Jhiqui and Rakharo had managed it as her Bloodriders but held no official rank.
She had another Bloodrider, Aggo—the sharpest mind and most level-headed of the three—whom she had stationed in Meereen, leading the militia and overseeing the farming efforts with tens of thousands of Ghis prisoner-laborers.
Argo had no need for a Thousand-Man Squad—he was the Grand Commander of the Militias (Gold Dragon Banner). His rank was equal to that of Jon Bolton of the Kingsguard (Red Dragon Banner), Grey Worm of the Unsullied (White Banner), and Scarback Simon of the Free Wings (Black Wings on Blue).
Additionally, Quello served as the commander of the Free Wings' heavy cavalry, commanding five hundred armored guards dedicated solely to protecting the Queen on the battlefield.
These were just the standing forces, numbering nearly fifty thousand.
However, during this era of a great leap in agricultural production, the standing army also had to farm—not as heavily as ordinary peasants, but at the very least, enough to stockpile grain for themselves.
Only when the horsemen beside Daenerys dispersed did Jhiqui ride over to report, "Khaleesi, someone is here to see you."
A quarter-hour later, Sister Lemore rode alongside Daenerys by the Worm River, with only Jhogo and Jhiqui at their side.
Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling—with every step Little Silver took, the bells woven into Daenerys's braid chimed crisply behind her head.
"Your Majesty has indeed earned great merit in battle. I daresay even in the Dothraki Sea, few khals possess bells as grand as yours," Lemore said with admiration.
"They don't deserve to be compared to the Khaleesi," Jhiqui replied disdainfully. "The Khaleesi crossed the Red Waste, defeated the Undying, beat the Pirate King Euron, conquered Astapor, and swept away over a hundred thousand soldiers of the Ghiscari Alliance. Except for that Euron fellow, who was rather underwhelming, any one of her feats is enough to become a legend in Vaes Dothrak."
"The allies will bring even more bells for the Khaleesi," Jhogo added.
Seeing the two horsemen full of confidence and seemingly dismissive of the allied forces, Lemore didn't know how to respond.
"Khaleesi, you should go to Vaes Dothrak and show those khals who betrayed you the wrath of the true dragon," Jhiqui said passionately.
"Yes, you must reclaim the people left behind by Khal Drogo. With fifty thousand roaring warriors and a hundred thousand tribespeople, Khals like Ls wouldn't be harder to crush than a lamb," Jhogo said.
"Jhogo, you..." Daenerys sighed and held her forehead.
This Jhogo—he really had no sense of discretion.
Right in front of an outsider, he had revealed most of her plan to deal with the allied forces.
There was another critical reason she had chosen Meereen as the battlefield, a reason she hadn't told anyone: once she conquered Vaes Dothrak on dragonback, she could lead hundreds of thousands of roaring warriors to strike the allied forces from the rear—Meereen's northern side connected directly to the heartland of the Dothraki Sea.
"Sister Lemore, what brings you to me?" she promptly changed the subject.
"It's about Prince Aegon," Lemore replied calmly, giving no hint as to whether she had guessed the Dragon Queen's plan.
"Oh? What about him?" Daenerys asked curiously.
"Do you doubt his identity?" Lemore asked.
"I don't trust the Spider."
"You're right not to trust him. Prince Rhaegar didn't trust him either," Lemore said with a nod.
"But Princess Elia was involved in the matter of Prince Aegon."
"Are you certain?" Daenerys frowned.
"Lemore is not my real name. I was Princess Elia's companion. We grew up together. Before the fall of King's Landing, Her Highness sent a letter to Starfall, asking me to help raise Prince Aegon."
Lemore spoke in an even tone, but her words hit Daenerys like a thunderclap.
Her pupils constricted as she asked uncertainly, "You're Ashara Dayne, sister of the Sword of the Morning?"
No wonder. Even the plain gray robes of a septa could not conceal the grace and elegance of this woman. No wonder, even at nearly forty, she still possessed such stunning beauty.
So it was Ashara Dayne.
The most dazzling woman at the Harrenhal Tourney, who captivated both Barristan and Eddard Stark—two of the greatest "simps" in Westeros.
"Yes, I am Ashara. I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I didn't mean to hide my identity from you. But aside from Barristan, no one can confirm who I am, and I'm not as famous as Ser Clinton," Ashara said apologetically.
No—you are far more famous than that Clinton fellow.
Ashara Dayne: sister of Ser Arthur Dayne.
The unrequited love of Ser Barristan.
Rumored lover of Eddard Stark.
Alleged mother of Jon Snow, the prophesied child.
When I passed through Dorne, I even made a special trip to Starfall to pay respects at the white stone Sword Tower where you were said to have perished.
You're incredibly famous!
"They say you were heartbroken by Ser Arthur Dayne's death and jumped from the white stone Sword Tower to end your life," Daenerys probed.
"Your Majesty, Arthur's death did sadden me. But besides my second brother, I also have an elder brother and a younger sister. That rumor was spread by the Spider. He has the means to make everyone believe his lies," Ashara said with a bitter smile.
That makes sense.
Daenerys reflected.
Arthur was the second son—that's why he went to King's Landing to serve as a White Knight.
Just like Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull—he was the uncle of the Oldtown heir and also a second son.
As for Barristan—now he was someone who truly viewed honor as life itself.
As an only son, he was willing to give up his title, lands, and betrothed to a cousin, all to follow in the footsteps of the legendary White Knights.
Since Arthur Dayne wasn't Ashara's only relative, she had no reason to grieve herself to death.
(End of Chapter)
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