House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Grey Gallows.

Passing by a rocky, lifeless island was an enormous red ship with red sails. A wooden statue of a woman holding a heart could be seen at the ship’s prow. Beside the statue stood a woman dressed in equally red robes. Her long red hair swayed in the salty sea breeze.

"Melisandre, we have been granted permission to sail the Narrow Sea by order of Prince Daemon." A young priestess, around fourteen years old, spoke in a respectful tone as she held it up close to the red-haired woman’s chin.

Melisandre turned her head, looked at the girl with her red eyes, nodded, and spoke in a calm tone. "You have something for me."

Though there was nothing visible in the girl’s hand, Melisandre’s tone made clear she was certain the girl had something for her.

The young red priestess showed no surprise at the words and drew a scroll bound with a red ribbon from within her robes.

Melisandre took the letter in her hands. It bore no wax seal, so she simply unrolled the paper and read its contents with a calm gaze.

"Change course for Dragonstone." After reading the letter, Melisandre looked at the girl and spoke in a calm tone. A smile appeared on her red lips.

Just as she had expected, Kinvara had changed her mind upon learning of the civil war about to break out in Westeros. Originally, the visit to Westeros had been merely a routine attempt to spread the Red Faith, but, with civil war on the horizon, Melisandre saw a chance for the Red Faith to truly gain a foothold in Westeros.

To enter Westeros and truly spread the red faith among the common people. Not like the other visits, where the king had only allowed the faith to spread with the permission of the local lords. This had kept the Red Faith from spreading through Westeros for a very long time.

Not a single lord or lady allowed them entry, which simply made it impossible for the priestesses to gain any ground in Westeros. Combined with the Red Faith’s opposition, there were a mere hundred, or perhaps even fewer, believers of the Red Faith in all of Westeros.

Melisandre wanted permission to spread the faith regardless of the will of the local lords. So, she sent an urgent letter to the Great Red Temple of Volantis, stating her intentions, addressed to the High Priestess.

Now, Kinvara had truly accepted her request.

Melisandre now had the backing of the Red Faith; she had been made responsible for aiding Prince Maekar in his conquest of the Iron Throne. All of this in exchange for permission to spread the Red Faith across Westeros.

Honestly, this was a risky decision on the part of Kinvara and Melisandre. They knew that, should they fail, they would never again have the right to set foot in Westeros. However, rather than gaining a mere handful of believers every few years, both women decided to risk everything on this bold move.

Despite the risk, Melisandre felt it was worth taking. Otherwise, even after a thousand years, the Red Faith would never spread through Westeros. The resistance of the lords, of the Faith of the Seven, and of the king himself was simply too great.

So great that even she, a woman nearly two hundred years old, found this continent too difficult a place to spread the Red Faith.

Looking at the continent on the horizon, Melisandre had never felt so exhilarated as she did now. It felt as though flames ran through her body, filling her with endless energy.

"R’hllor is watching me." Melisandre murmured, feeling it more strongly than ever before. Her fanatical faith only grew stronger in that moment. If such a thing were even possible.

-

Dragonstone.

Bahamut entered the hollow in the mountain and walked to the stone platform with practiced familiarity. The dragon could walk through that enormous cavern with his eyes closed and never collide with anything.

Maekar climbed down from the saddle and stepped onto the stone platform. He removed his gloves and saw a man approaching. He wore silver armor and had blond-black hair.

It was Corlys Velaryon.

"I burned ten warships a few days ago; how did the battle turn out afterward?" Maekar asked with a smile. He could see the sea snake was in a good mood. A sign the battle’s outcome had been a pleasant one.

"We won a battle near the Sea of Myrth. We sank about seven ships and damaged another ten. The ships you burned are the ones that fled toward Pentos or Braavos," Corlys answered with a proud smile.

Together with the ten ships Maekar had burned, that made seventeen destroyed and ten more in urgent need of repair. That was a massive blow to any fleet. Not to mention he had lost only two ships himself, and neither of them belonged to House Velaryon.

Maekar was pleased by those words. It was truly good news for raising the morale of the army and of the entire continent.

"That should curb the arrogance of the Kingdom of the Three Whores a little." Maekar replied with a touch of sarcasm. He could see exactly why Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys had entered the war. Nothing more than the chance to claim the Disputed Lands.

However, any fool could see that this was merely a strategy to draw the Kingdom of the Three Sisters into the war. Not to mention Braavos, not even Volantis or Pentos would accept such a thing happening.

The heel of Essos was one of the most fertile lands on the continent. Whoever conquered that place would hand a fortune to their enemies every single year. How could Braavos, Pentos, and Volantis simply stand by while such a danger grew right beside them?

Still, Maekar did not believe the rulers of Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys were fools. They knew they were being used, but the temptation of claiming the Disputed Lands was simply too great.

"Corlys, we need to fracture the Kingdom of the Three Daughters." As he walked alongside the Lord of Driftmark, Maekar spoke in a calm tone. "It is about time this ridiculous prototype of a kingdom vanished from the map."

"It is not so easy." Corlys shook his head. "Despite their fragile alliance, they know that dissolving the kingdom would make them easy prey for Braavos and Volantis."

"What if we conquered Lys by backing them?" Maekar asked thoughtfully. In his eyes, Lys was better suited as a target for conquest. It was weak and lacked the strength to rebel after being strengthened over the years.

"Protection against Volantis and Braavos." Corlys understood Maekar’s intention and showed a hesitant look. "It is possible, but that alone will not make them bend the knee."

"House Rogare is the strongest family in Lys; they own a bank in the city of Lys." Maekar looked at Corlys and continued speaking. "We could use House Rogare to gain control of Lys."

"That will enrage the Iron Bank." Corlys said in a cautious tone. Any house, family, or organization would react the same way Corlys had. The Iron Bank was fearsome, so fearsome that it controlled a large part of the entire world’s economy.

"Corlys, are you still worrying about the consequences?" Maekar shook his head. "This will also help reduce Westeros’s dependence on the Iron Bank."

"That will make House Rogare far too strong." Corlys knew this was a good thing, but he still hesitated to accept it. House Rogare would grow far too powerful if this happened.

"You are not thinking about it properly," Maekar said with a smile. "Who said only House Rogare would control that bank?"

"We will split the ownership rights of the bank. House Targaryen will control 51% of everything; we can split the remaining 49% among the other noble houses."

Corlys’s heart began beating faster at those words. If House Velaryon held a stake in that bank, it would grow rich. Even without the sea routes, as long as they held a share in the bank, they would never have to worry about running out of money.

"We would need the king’s approval." Corlys calmed himself, but his words practically already conceded acceptance of the deal.

"Our king will not refuse; he will welcome financial independence from the Iron Bank, along with full coffers to rebuild the kingdom." Maekar said with a laugh. There was no way Jaehaerys would turn down something this good.

If there was one thing that worried kings the world over, whether on this world or on Earth, it was money.

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Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard