Chapter 32 - Chapter 32: Dany's Dream

Five days of relative leisure passed, and the group of knights Dany had sent to the Third White City finally returned. They were dust-streaked, weary, and sunburned, but the spark of excitement in their eyes burned brighter than their exhaustion.Aggo, though visibly drained, was practically vibrating with enthusiasm. "Khaleesi," he said, his voice alive with awe, "I walked west for half a day and saw mountains rising in the distance. Since you told me not to leave the plains, I only wandered around the edges, skirting the desert's extremes."He paused to catch his breath, the excitement barely restrained in his posture. "The forests are sparse, and the mountains stretch endlessly. Antelope and elk roam freely. I hunted a deer with a bow and arrow, intending to bring it back for you, but the relentless heat turned it into maggot-infested meat within hours. It could not survive the sun."Dany nodded thoughtfully, calculating the distance in her mind. "A half-day's ride… Scouts don't need to conserve their horses like we do. Three horses each can cover roughly a hundred kilometers in half a day. It's not far, yet it solves most of the dragon's food problem." Her mind flickered to the idea of riding her dragons to the western mountains for hunting. It would be faster, though far more dangerous than sending horsemen."Did you see any signs of humans?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.Aggo squinted at the horizon, as if measuring the sun. "We set out before dawn," he said slowly. "By the time the sun rose high enough to scorch, but not yet reach its peak, we stumbled upon crumbling stone houses. Low and few in number, they were already half-buried by the wind and sand."Dany nodded, piecing together the puzzle. These must be the villages of the White City, ancient settlements slowly devoured by the desert. Without walls or defenses, time and wind would erase them entirely.Jorah, ever the pragmatist, interjected. "Princess, if I'm not mistaken, after crossing the western mountains, we will reach Slaver's Bay."Dany's gaze sharpened. "Ser Jorah, we have discussed this before. I will not leave until life here becomes unsustainable. This land is ours for now.""Yes, Khaleesi," Jorah replied, his voice tinged with reluctant acceptance.Dany turned to Rakharo, her other bloodrider. "And you? What did you see?"Rakharo's lips were cracked from sun and wind, his skin darkened to a deep bronze-red. He looked weary, yet resolute. "No signs of humans, no large animals. Even the devil grass grows thin as we move south."Dany placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now that we know the harshness of the south, we can focus on developing the western mountains," she said, offering him reassurance.Rakharo's eyes brightened slightly. He untied a long, blackened stick from his saddle, holding it up like a prize. "Khaleesi, look at this! Guess what it is!"Dany raised an eyebrow. "Charcoal for filtering water?" she guessed, surprised. But as she lifted it, she paused, her words faltering. "No… it's heavy. Wait, light…" She spoke two contradictory thoughts at once.From afar, the stick resembled ordinary charcoal, but in her hands, it was denser, almost metallic. Upon closer inspection, it gleamed faintly with a dark sheen, heavier than charcoal yet far lighter than iron.Suddenly, a memory struck Dany—the dragonbone bow she had recovered from Drogo's pyre. Her heart quickened."This is dragonbone? Raw, unprocessed dragonbone? How is this possible? Did you find a dragon's corpse?" she asked, a mixture of horror and fascination in her voice.Rakharo's chest swelled with pride. "You guessed it, Khaleesi. A dragon's skeleton, larger than a stone house, mostly buried by wind and sand. Its size surpasses even Balerion, the Black Dread. The desert cannot completely cover it.""Impossible!" Jorah exclaimed, shaking his head. "I've seen Balerion's skull in King's Landing. His mouth alone could swallow a horse."Rakharo laughed triumphantly. "I rode through that dragon's mouth myself!"Dany's eyes widened in disbelief. "By the Seven Gods… This must be one of the dragons that fell on the Red Plains during the days of Old Valyria. Balerion was the largest Targaryen dragon—but this…" She swallowed hard, trying to comprehend the enormity."Dragons were treasures to the Valyrians," Jorah muttered, confused. "Why didn't they reclaim this one?"Dany's eyes sparked with revelation. "Perhaps… it is the sixth dragon to survive the Cataclysm of Old Valyria."House Targaryen had once been among the dragonlords of the Valyrian Freehold. Before the volcanic eruption that destroyed the Long Summer Lands, Daenerys Targaryen, a virgin girl of the family, received a prophecy in a dragon dream: Old Valyria would be destroyed.Her father, the current head of House Targaryen, believed the prophecy. Despite mockery from the Valyrian nobility, he sold their castles, manors, and businesses, and led his entire clan, along with their five dragons, on a ship away from the Long Summer Lands.During the Cataclysm, most dragons perished in molten lava, their bodies consumed by flames and toxic fumes. The Targaryens became the sole surviving dragonlords of the world.Dany's thoughts raced as she imagined the dragon's death—a magnificent creature struggling through the Red Waste, gravely wounded, eventually succumbing to pain, leaving only a colossal skeleton behind.Jorah nodded, agreeing with her speculation. "As long as there's enough food, dragons continue to grow. Balerion reached his limit and died of old age. Hardly any dragon could surpass him—unless this one is special."Dany traced the geography in her mind. The Red Waste bordered Slaver's Bay, and west lay the Land of Long Summer. Old Valyria had been near the mouth of Slaver's Bay, not far from where they now stood. The dragon's remains were roughly 300 kilometers from the Third White City, with the sea another 200 kilometers beyond.After giving her bloodriders three days of rest, Dany left her handmaiden and the young warrior Karls in White Cloud City. At dawn, she departed with Jorah and thirty centaurs, each mounted on three horses. By eight in the morning, they reached the Third White City, before the sun had burned away the last shadows.Passing the second "Devil's City," Dany paused. Two-meter iron spears pierced the walls like macabre sentinels, each topped with a skull. The dry wind made them rattle, sending a chill down her spine. Even over centuries, the desert's dry air had preserved them with only a thin layer of reddish-brown rust."Do the horsemen have this custom?" she asked Aggo."No," he replied cautiously."Every khal has his own methods," Avanti interjected. "This is not ours, Khaleesi."Jorah whispered, "Perhaps the city's defenders resisted too fiercely, leaving many dead. If we clear it, we might find relics of the past—valuables like opal bracelets."Qiao Ge shook his head. "We cannot take what belongs to the dead."Dany nodded firmly. "Our purpose is dragon bones. Everything else is secondary."From the outside, the Third White City resembled a smaller version of White Cloud City. Inside, however, she noticed differences. Houses were shorter, denser, and the city lacked a grand palace. It was built for survival, not grandeur.Seven or eight horsemen had been stationed there and had prepared food in anticipation of her arrival, having seen the dragons overhead.During lunch, Dany visited the "library," actually the city lord's office. Most books were illegible, though a few scrolls revealed maps and trade routes. One map caught her attention—it showed a network resembling a Silk Road.Qarth, straddling the Jade Sea and Summer Sea, held strategic significance akin to Earth's Suez Canal. Meereen, the largest city in Slaver's Bay, had the world's largest slave market. Connecting these cities were White Cloud City and the Third White City, forming a straight line.Traveling across the Red Waste shortened the journey by seventy percent compared to the long, dangerous sea route. For centuries, these White Cities had flourished as trade and resting points along this ancient road.Tracing the route with her finger, Dany's mind raced. If White Cloud City could not sustain three dragons, she could establish a new city along the "Silk Road," nearer Meereen. Future White Cities would guide her path to resources and villages, supporting her plan to cultivate the land.The Red Waste was no dead end. It was a paradise, hidden from the world, where she could prepare her dragons and forces in secrecy. Here, prophecies, White Walkers, Jon Snow, or Westerosi politics mattered little.When her dragons matured, she would ride north, sweeping across the Dothraki Sea, crowned as the first and only female khal to unite the world.Three dragons, hundreds of thousands of warriors, and the power to command entire lands—she would surpass even Qin Shi Huang, Genghis Khan, Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon. None of them could compare."Hahaha," Dany giggled, imagining the beauty of it all."Khaleesi, Khaleesi, what's wrong with you?" Aggo's voice broke through her reverie."What do you want from me?" she snapped, slightly annoyed.Aggo ignored her tone and widened his almond-shaped black eyes. "It's getting dark."Dany glanced around, realizing the sun had begun its descent. "It's dark. Time to move."Their journey would follow the rhythm of the desert—hiding by day, traveling by night, guided by the stars, and ever closer to discovering the secrets of dragonkind.(End of Chapter 32)---