"After all, he is not a pure horseman blessed by the old woman beneath Mother Mountain. Blue-eyed Hago possesses martial skills that rival any great Khal, but lacks their courage.
Just as those who dwell in stone houses are adept at using poison and trickery, he is tainted by the Watson bloodline and accustomed to using shameless means to strike at his enemies."
Old Afanti shook his head, his face filled with disdain, and said, "Sending people to sneak into the enemy's Khalasar to kidnap the Khal's son is something that has never happened in the Great Grass Sea for thousands of years.""Everyone knows that we Dothraki solve problems by riding fierce horses and wielding our curved swords."
Dany couldn't help but lament that the blue-eyed Haggo was too unlucky. If his father had been proficient in the art of war like the Thirty-Six Stratagems or the teachings of Guiguzi instead of the Spring Cry technique, with his quick wit and willingness to do shameless things, he might very well have created a golden family.
The group chatted as they slowly caught up with the main force.Even though the scorching wind would carry red grit, obliterating any trace of the party's passage across the purgatorial plain, that process would still take a day or two.
Dany and her group were only an hour's ride behind Karl's company. On the ground of gravel and red sand, there were still the marks of the horses' hooves. Under the crimson light of the Bleeding Star, the subtle traces spread across the red desert like a shallow river.
Strikingly obvious.As Avanti grew older and wiser, he realized through several conversations with Daenerys that she was a very peaceful and kind Khaleesi. Gradually, he became bolder and even dared to say to her in a rebellious tone: "The comet in the sky has made it easier for us to travel at night, but that red, like the blood of the gods, is also full of ominous signs.
Especially in this purgatory wasteland, the red sandy land and the dim sky, blood-red from the weeping star, are like a red hell. It seems that something bad has happened without our knowledge."
"Yes, yes, I feel the same way."The old man from his ten-man squad echoed him, and gradually, even Daenerys' bloodriders became uneasy.
This old fool, daring to spread rumors in front of me?!
Daenerys was furious and rebuked him, "I ask you, did the comet appear before Khal Drogo was buried?"
The old man was startled by her stern tone and stammered, "No."
"I ask you again, is the bleeding star a symbol of Khal Drogo?"
"Yes."
"Was the Khal's horse as red as embers?" she demanded again in a forceful tone."Was Khal Cao accompanied by five hundred brave warriors who died in battle?"
"Yes."
Following Daenerys's loud questioning, the surrounding horse lords went from fear to bewilderment, and gradually, a hint of understanding appeared on their bewildered faces.
At this moment, Daenerys concluded: "Our Khal rides his steed into the Night Lands in flames, that comet is Drogo riding a red horse, and the bloody trail stretching across the sky behind the comet is his bloodriders leading five hundred roaring warriors who spilled their blood on the battlefield, following behind the Khal as they did in life."""Their heads were all cut off, how could it not stain the sky red?" she questioned Afanti.
"Because Drogo knows we travel by night and sleep by day, knows we are struggling to cross the Red Waste, so he is reluctant to leave and continues to lead his men to protect us. When we are completely safe, Drogo will truly enter the Night Lands."
Daenerys' words were impeccable. The comet would leave sooner or later, and when they were completely safe was up to her, the big boss, to decide."Sure enough, the horse people were persuaded by her words, each revealing a look of sudden understanding, their gazes towards her filled with awe and admiration.
Even the old horseman Afanti was sincerely convinced. After all, it was "common knowledge" that Cao had ridden his steed into the starry sky amidst the raging flames. Daenerys's words had no flaws, and everything was too coincidental, as coincidental as fate itself.
"Khaleesi, you are as wise as the crone of Vaes Dothrak," he exclaimed.
The crone of Vaes Dothrak is the leader of the dosh khaleen.Daenerys didn't like hearing that; she didn't want to be a dosh khaleen, even though she theoretically already was one.
"Avanti, Watson is sick and can't drink water, so give him your share of mare's milk," Daenerys said, and without waiting for a reply, she rode off.
"I..." Avanti opened his mouth wide, looking bewildered and aggrieved. "I'm also an old man, I need mare's milk too!"Back with the main body of the khalasar, Daenerys's explanation of the bleeding star quickly spread, and the Dothraki people secretly sized up the khaleesi at the front of the column while whispering amongst themselves. Although embellished, it was largely the same story.
"Alas, even her son is dead, how could the khal not 'bleed'? The khaleesi must be secretly bleeding too, right?"
"Yes, hundreds of warriors died on the battlefield with the young master, how tragic, the blood even stained the sky red.""We can rest easy now. I was so frightened before. It left a clear streak of blood across the blue sky even in broad daylight. I thought it was an omen of bad luck."
To a large extent, the superstitious horselords had their worries reduced and their confidence boosted.
In fact, not only Dany and her khalasar were affected by the bleeding star, because as it became increasingly distinct, it stained the sky red at night, as bright as dusk; during the day, it shone with the sun, as if a knife had been cut across the face of the sky god.
The entire world of Ice and Fire was panicked by it, and like Dany, they tried their best to describe it as an omen favorable to themselves.Well, Robert Baratheon, who usurped the Targaryen throne, was killed by his own wife, and his "not-really-his" son, Joffrey, inherited the throne.
However, due to the rebellions of the four great houses of Stark, Tully, Tyrell, and Baratheon, prices in King's Landing soared, the people were starving, and Stannis Baratheon revealed the affair between Queen Cersei Lannister and Jaime Lannister, coupled with Joffrey's cruelty rivaling the "Mad King."Several reasons combined have led to King's Landing being rife with discontent at this moment, and the common people are calling the comet the "Red Sword."
The Red Sword of blood and fire is a sign that the heavens are about to punish Cersei and her children.
After the great victory in the Whispering Wood, Greatjon Umber pointed to the red trail streaking across the azure sky and laughed, saying to his liege lord, Robb Stark, "That is the banner of vengeance unfurled by the Old Gods for Ned."
Edmure Tully, the young lord of House Tully, happily believed it to be the sigil of House Tully - a silver trout leaping from a blue field.Well, Edmure saw a long-tailed fish, fiery red against a blue sky.
In the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, full of vigor, said to his vassals, "That is a good omen for us Ironborn, a burning torch, no different from what our ancestors held.
The Drowned God has brought a torch from the sea, foretelling a rising tide. Now is the time for us to gather our fleets and bring swords and fire to the world, as he has done in the past."
In the ancestral lands of House Targaryen, the birthplace of Daenerys, the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold—Dragonstone."Melisandre, the Red Woman, told Stannis Baratheon, now the Duke of Dragonstone, 'This is dragon's breath, the bleeding star, the ancient prophecies are coming to pass in you.'"
"Then she spoke the prophecy that represents the core content and ultimate prophecy of 'A Song of Ice and Fire.'"
"After the long summer, the stars will bleed, and the cold darkness will envelop the world. In this terrible time, a warrior will draw a burning sword from the fire. That sword is 'Lightbringer,' the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who wields it is Azor Ahai reborn, and he will drive back the darkness.""Now, the long summer is ending, the bleeding star has appeared, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt, and wake dragons out of stone.
Your Grace, you are the one from prophecy, the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, destined by fate to save the world."
"Alas, why me!" Stannis ground his teeth. "I only wanted to be a good brother, a good subject, why must I be king, such a responsibility..."
Renly Baratheon of Storm's End, the Martells of Dorne, the Night's Watch on the Wall.Everyone saw the red comet in the sky, and they all had their own interpretations of this unprecedented phenomenon.
At this moment, in distant Westeros, no one knew that as the stars wept blood, someone had been reborn and awakened the stone dragons.
It seemed...
Well, Dany was definitely not Azor Ahai reborn; she was just the last layer of the matryoshka doll.
On the third day of traveling south through the Red Waste, Dany's khalasar traveled about 130 kilometers, totaling over 300 kilometers in three days.Food consumption isn't actually that high. They have at least one horse per person, so they don't lack horse meat. The key is water and the extreme living environment.
"Khaleesi, the number of brackish water pits we encountered today was more than half less than yesterday. Many of our waterskins are empty," Quaro said with a bitter face.
Dany wiped her face and forced herself to cheer up. This was the third time she had set up camp, and like yesterday, she had built a low, curved stone wall.
After arranging the affairs of the camp, the eastern horizon was already showing a hint of dawn.After thinking seriously for a moment, Dany said solemnly, "The centaurs must not lack water. Quelo, I'll teach you a new way to get water."
She led Quelo and a dozen other centaur warriors to a high ground, pointing to the plain below, "Have you noticed? Some places are overgrown with weeds, while others have no plants at all. Looking further, you can see that the places where demon grass is most abundant can almost form a line."
"Maybe there's an underground river there, or maybe it used to be a river."Having come this far, the streambed of the first creek we encountered is long gone, leaving only clumps of regularly distributed reddish-brown devilgrass, constantly hinting at something and fueling speculation.
Danni's method is simple: divide the team in two, with the strongest warriors riding ahead on horseback for dozens, even hundreds, of kilometers. They follow the areas with the most devilgrass, digging pits as they go.
Deep pits, deep enough to seep groundwater.
Even if there's no water, it will moisten the sand – soil that can be squeezed to produce water. Then, the second group of water-collecting knights filters the damp soil through gauze.This method is slower and less efficient than puddle filtering, and the pits can't be dug too large, otherwise you won't be able to find a stone or tree trunk to block the opening.
You can only dig more holes, dig deep holes.
Daenerys also demonstrated it in public, scooping the water out of a bitter puddle and placing the excavated sludge in a cloth pouch supported by tent cloth.
Drops of dirty water dripped from the bottom of the cloth pouch, and the pit from which the mud had been removed visibly began to seep water.
Upon seeing this, the Dothraki cheered and rejoiced, as if they had already conquered this terrible red wasteland.Jorah drew Daenerys aside, his face etched with worry. "Your Grace, you are sacrificing the strength and lives of your able warriors to feed the useless old and weak."
...
The fully completed English PDF of this fan-fic is now available on my Patreon shop.If you want to support my work and enjoy the entire story in one go, grab the PDF and binge-read it from start to finish without any breaks.
Patreon Shop:patreon.com /InkNovels
Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Holy Flame"
"The Game of Thrones Upgrade System"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Godzilla vs. Dragons"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
"Game of Thrones: The Most Powerful Dragon Queen"
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones: Rise of a Lord with the Army-Building System"
(End Chapter)