"Your Grace, this is Astapor's Green Grace."
Early the next morning, after spending the night resting in the rooftop garden, Daenerys was preparing to return to Punishment Square to continue freeing slaves when Cleon arrived with a middle-aged woman dressed in green robes. A veil of fine green gauze covered both her head and her face.
"Please, have a seat, Ser Broken Chains—and you as well, Lady Green Grace."
Daenerys gestured invitingly toward them.
She was having breakfast: chilled persimmon soup, white bread, boiled goose eggs, grilled bacon, and a steak sprinkled with chopped scallions.
An enormous amount of work awaited her today, and she might not even have time for lunch, so she had made this breakfast especially hearty.
Unlike the aloof Great Masters, Daenerys had a long wooden table set directly on the grass, nearly eight meters long and aligned north to south.
She sat at the northern end.
Whitebeard and Jorah sat on her left, each enjoying the same breakfast as hers, only in larger portions.
Doreah, Jhiqui, and Irri had already eaten earlier. As handmaids, they were not considered of high enough status to dine at the same table as Jorah and Whitebeard.
In Westeros, a king might dine with minor nobles, but he would never share a table with servants.
Daenerys was no naïve saint determined to overturn every custom.
Rather than trying to change traditions that had endured for thousands of years, she'd rather find a way to grant her three handmaids knightly status someday.
Ser Broken Chains and the Green Grace took the seats to Daenerys's right.
The Green Grace carried herself with effortless elegance and composure.
The former butcher, however, looked somewhat awkward, though his excitement far outweighed his discomfort. This tangible elevation in status intoxicated him.
Doreah came over and served them breakfast.
Daenerys asked, "Lady Green Grace, the Unsullied didn't disturb the Temple of Divine Grace, did they?"
Before this, Daenerys had been little more than a novice surgeon. Politics was completely foreign to her.
Even so, she understood the ancient principle:
"The affairs of a state rest upon sacrifice and war."
She firmly controlled the military through her ten thousand Unsullied and three dragons.
As for "sacrifice," it referred not merely to religious rites but also to faith, tradition, and ceremony.
Before attacking Astapor, she had already assigned Unsullied to guard—and monitor—the Temple of Divine Grace.
The temple's priestesses could not be allowed to suffer persecution, lest it spark religious unrest, which would be an even greater headache.
At the same time, she couldn't allow them to interfere with her plans.
The Temple of Divine Grace itself was another uniquely designed pyramid.
Its clergy consisted entirely of women, all collectively known as Graces.
The Green Grace was the High Priestess among them, equivalent to an archbishop.
Each city generally possessed only one Temple of Divine Grace, and each temple had only a single Green Grace.
In other words, the woman before her was Astapor's religious leader.
Incidentally, the Green Grace was also named Grazdan—
Simply the feminine form of "Grazdan."
The original Grazdan had been one of the great figures of the ancient Ghiscari Empire. Ever since, any Ghiscari with a respectable family background had wanted to bear that name.
"Your Grace," the Green Grace replied softly after taking an elegant sip of persimmon soup, "the Unsullied are the most disciplined of soldiers. They did not disturb the temple."
"That's good. Once the unrest in the city has subsided, I'll withdraw them."
"Your Grace..." the Green Grace asked nervously, "how do you intend to stabilize Astapor? I mean... Yunkai, Meereen, New Ghis, and the other city-states won't simply stand by and ignore what you've done."
Daenerys waved her hand carelessly.
"Oh, I haven't thought that far ahead."
She declared boldly,
"When I see injustice, I act. When it's time to step in, I step in."
Hmph.
Three thousand Unsullied were enough to defend Qohor. How many groups of three thousand do I have here?
Besides, only New Ghis possesses a proper standing army. Yunkai and Meereen rely entirely on slave soldiers to maintain their rule.
Let them come.
Let's see whether Queen Daenerys's cannons are powerful enough!
...Verbal cannons, that is.
Every slave soldier they sent would simply become another warrior fighting for freedom.
The more she fought, the larger her army would grow.
Who knew?
Perhaps she'd end up commanding a million soldiers.
That alone would frighten the slave traders to death.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if everyone joined forces against her, surely her current followers could hold out for two or three years.
And after two or three years...
Wouldn't she still sweep across the world with three fully grown dragons?
The Green Grace sighed.
"Then what is your ultimate goal, Your Grace? Have you abandoned the idea of returning to Westeros?"
A sharp light flashed through Daenerys's eyes.
Instead of answering, she asked,
"Lady Green Grace, may I ask—which god does your temple worship? The Harpy?"
"No."
"We do not worship the Harpy."
"In truth, the ancient doctrines have long since been lost. Today's Ghiscari have very little in common with the Ghiscari Empire of old."
"The Temple of Divine Grace does not exist to spread religion."
"We exist to serve the people."
Slaver's Bay occupied much the same position in this world as Egypt did on Earth.
Many people mistakenly believed Egyptians had always been the same people throughout history. Others even doubted the authenticity of Egypt's ancient history and the pyramids themselves, claiming there was no five-thousand-year history at all and insisting that the pharaohs had never truly used pyramids as tombs.
Their reasoning sounded plausible enough:
If every pharaoh built a pyramid, then after five thousand years there should have been countless pyramids.
Why, then, were there only a few dozen?
Moreover, many pharaohs' coffins had not been discovered inside pyramids at all.
The reality, however, was that Egyptian history consisted of multiple distinct eras.
The ruling peoples changed repeatedly, and the line of the ancient pharaohs had long since vanished.
Different dynasties and different peoples brought different customs, traditions, and even religions.
Furthermore, many pharaohs never ruled a unified empire powerful enough to construct pyramids.
It was much like ancient China—certain dynasties possessed the strength of the Han or Tang, while others did not.
Thus, although there were many pharaohs, not every one of them qualified to have a pyramid.
Or perhaps the ruling dynasty of the time simply did not bury its dead in pyramids because its religion lacked any doctrine of resurrection.
The Ghiscari of Slaver's Bay were much the same.
Though they still called themselves Ghiscari, they were no longer truly the same people as those who had lived five thousand years ago.
Their culture and religion had undergone fundamental transformation.
Valyria, after all, would never have permitted them to retain a powerful, unifying faith.
"The Temple of Divine Grace has priestesses of seven different colors," the Green Grace explained.
"The Green Grace serves as High Priestess."
"The Blue Graces are healers."
"The White Graces are girls of noble birth who study the arts expected of women in the temple. They may later choose to become priestesses of another order."
"The Pink Graces are attendants and may serve as ladies' maids to the nobility."
"The Gold Graces are scholars who educate the children of wealthy households."
"And the Purple Graces act as stewards and household managers for great families."
At that, she sighed helplessly.
"The Pink, Gold, and Purple Graces were products of the Valyrian era."
"Today, they have almost no purpose."
"Each Green Grace still requires Pink Graces to attend her."
"But the Gold and Purple orders have nearly disappeared."
"Nowadays, the most numerous are the Red Graces."
"What are the Red Graces?" Daenerys asked.
"Ahem..."
Jorah coughed awkwardly, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
The Green Grace, however, remained perfectly composed.
"The Red Graces are sacred prostitutes."
"We do not shy away from the desires of the flesh."
"The temple's finest residence is the Garden of Desire."
"Every night, the Red Graces wait there to be chosen by men."
"Those whom no one chooses simply wait until dawn."
Daenerys neither blushed nor feigned embarrassment.
By now she had realized that from Slaver's Bay all the way to Qarth, social attitudes toward sexuality were remarkably open.
Women wearing garments that exposed half a breast...
Erotic murals painted directly on city walls...
Such things would have been unimaginable in ancient China.
"From what you've described," Daenerys said, "the Temple of Divine Grace doesn't seem particularly supportive of slavery."
"But neither do we oppose it," the Green Grace replied.
"My conscience opposes it."
"The justice of this world opposes it."
"The moral bottom line of humanity opposes it."
"And any god possessing even a shred of compassion would oppose it."
Daenerys's voice rang clear.
"I will not oppose you, Your Grace," the Green Grace said with another sigh.
"Nor will the Temple of Divine Grace."
"I came only because I wished to understand your plans for Astapor."
A church without even a clear body of doctrine...
Its ability to inspire resistance was so weak that Daenerys almost pitied it.
"I promise you this."
"My target is slavery—and slavery alone."
"If a queen cannot give her people a better life, then she should step aside for someone who can."
"Lady Green Grace, I will make Astapor a better place."
"At least for the overwhelming majority of its people."
Her expression was solemn.
"I understand."
The Green Grace rose.
"Then I shall take my leave."
"Wait."
Daenerys stopped her.
"I hope the Temple of Divine Grace will become more deeply involved in governing the city."
"You mean...?"
the Green Grace asked in surprise.
"No matter how wise a ruler may be, no one can govern a kingdom alone."
"When a king rules solely according to his own wishes, his kingdom is already nearing destruction."
The Green Grace fell into thoughtful silence.
Jorah stared at Daenerys in astonishment, never expecting such words from her.
Whitebeard's expression grew emotional, his eyes even glistening slightly.
"I intend to establish a governing council to administer this city."
"Lady Green Grace, you are qualified to hold one of its ministerial seats."
Looking at the dignified High Priestess, Daenerys asked,
"Will you accept?"
"Thank you, Your Grace, for granting me this opportunity."
"I am deeply grateful."
The Green Grace's voice carried unmistakable excitement.
"Excellent."
Daenerys smiled.
"Then you may begin exercising your authority immediately."
After the Green Grace resumed her seat, Ser Broken Chains leaned forward eagerly.
"Your Grace... may I ask whether I'm qualified to become a council minister as well?"
"Of course."
"You are, after all, the very first Astapori noble under my banner."
Afterward, Daenerys dispatched the Green Grace, the former butcher Cleon, and Jorah to continue capturing the remaining pyramids.
She herself took Whitebeard to Pride Square to continue freeing slaves.
Today, even larger crowds had gathered.
Excluding the Unsullied, Astapor's population numbered nearly one hundred thousand.
The ratio of slaves to Ghiscari was an astonishing seven to one.
There were over eighty thousand slaves.
Ironically, the Ghiscari themselves had become the minority.
The previous day, six thousand Ghiscari had been killed by the Unsullied and the enraged slaves, leaving barely half their original population.
Not only in Slaver's Bay—even in Volantis, the greatest of the Nine Free Cities, slaves outnumbered free citizens by five to one.
That alone demonstrated just how promising Daenerys's campaign to "liberate the world" truly was.
As long as she stayed steady and didn't do anything reckless...
Victory was inevitable.
"Beneath this lies the ashes of two thousand slaves who gave their lives fighting for freedom."
Standing atop the first tier of the pyramid beneath the blazing sun, with tens of thousands of slaves watching, Daenerys pointed to the enormous wooden chest nearly two meters tall beside her and shouted into the metal speaking trumpet,
"I promised that their glory would never fade."
"Before I remove your slave collars, I wish to announce two things."
"First..."
"No slave master will ever punish you again."
"From this moment onward, this place shall no longer be called Punishment Square."
"It shall be called People's Square."
"Who are the people?"
"The people are you."
"They are me."
"They are all of us."
"The people are the true masters of Astapor!"
"Long live People's Square!"
"Long live the Mother of Dragons!"
"Mhysa! Mhysa!"
Hundreds of thousands of white, black, brown, and amber arms shot into the air.
The crowd roared until they were hoarse.
The overwhelming wave of cheers seemed capable of tearing apart the white clouds overhead.
In truth, those standing farther back couldn't hear a single word.
But three brilliantly colored dragons circled and cried above Daenerys's head.
That alone was enough to fill everyone with uncontrollable excitement.
Daenerys lowered her right hand.
Once silence gradually returned, she continued speaking through the metal trumpet.
"The second announcement."
"At the center of People's Square, where the platform once used to punish slaves now stands..."
"I will erect a monument using the ashes of these two thousand Guardians of Freedom."
"It shall be called the Monument to the Guardians of Freedom."
"It will honor every fighter who has sacrificed for freedom—past, present, and future."
"It will embody their will."
"And it will preserve their glory forever."
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition:
" Game of Thrones: The Rising Direwolf "
" Game of Thrones: The Beginning of a Fantasy Journey "
" Game of Thrones: High King of Padania "
" Game of Thrones: The Throne at the Peak of Power "
" Game of Thrones: Pride of Winter "
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
many more are available 30+.
patreon.com/EminentWriter
(End of Chapter)