The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Illyrio Mopatis was a very astute governor.

In his youth, he was an excellent mercenary and, secretly, a high-priced assassin.

But now, he couldn't even walk uphill without gasping for breath, let alone wield a sword.

He felt uncomfortable going out without his special carriage.

The pampered Illyrio cherished his life, his port, and his city.

He loved Pentos, and the nobles, merchants, and citizens of the city knew it well. That's why he was always elected governor every four years, without exception.

He was devoted to the city, just like he was to his love.

Illyrio had been married twice. His first wife was the sister of the city's prince. After her death, Illyrio married a woman from a pleasure house. He loved her deeply, but this led to a consequence: the prince was angry and forbade him from entering the palace again.

But that didn't stop him from being governor. The governor of Pentos was elected. The nobles and the people had a sense of who was truly dedicated to the city. Illyrio's relationship with the prince was a private matter.

Later, when a plague struck Pentos, Illyrio's second courtesan wife died of the disease. To commemorate her, Illyrio kept one of her hands, preserved it with secret methods, placed it in the most expensive brocade box, and always carried it with him, pretending that his wife had never left him.

He also commissioned the best painter to create a portrait of his wife, which he kept in a pendant around his neck.

Illyrio almost never parted with these two items.

His love for Pentos was like his love for his courtesan wife.

When the Mountain had left and was completely out of sight, Illyrio quickly arrived at the port in his sedan chair.

The fire at the port had been extinguished.

As soon as the governor arrived, he immediately selected the best sailors, the best captain, the fastest longship, and the most experienced Unsullied soldiers from among the many merchant ships, and ordered them to rush across the Narrow Sea to notify the navies of the Nine Free Cities to immediately withdraw and not attack Westeros.

"No one can cross the Narrow Sea and reach the waters of Westeros in seven days," said Maggi Archbold, captain of the Stormbreaker, in a heavy tone.

"Release two ravens every day, and on the seventh day, release all the ravens in the cage," Illyrio's Unsullied brought a cage of ravens. There were dozens of ravens in the cage, all of Illyrio's ravens: an all-out effort!

The red eyes of the ravens looked like small, dancing flames.

Dozens of ravens—even in Westeros, only the great nobles had the ability to raise ravens on such a scale. Ravens were fierce and carnivorous birds. In Westeros, ravens only feared mountain eagles.

The people managing the ravens were not maesters, but two monks in yellow robes.

Not far from Illyrio's mansion was a huge temple where the High Septon had performed the wedding ceremony for Daenerys and Khal Drogo. The temple had red walls, the same color as the walls of his mansion. The monks in the temple had long been cared for and financially supported by Illyrio. Those who were proficient in the languages of Westeros and knew how to raise ravens, having studied in Oldtown, had been helping Illyrio raise ravens.

As the behind-the-scenes boss of a long-established intelligence organization, Illyrio had a three-dimensional information transmission capability. He had every means of communication.

But Captain Maggi Archbold was not optimistic about releasing the ravens.

Ravens were well-trained, intelligent, fierce, and bloodthirsty. They would find ships at sea to perch on, and then fly forward, station after station. The captain wasn't worried about the ravens' ability, he was worried about the Dragon Mother's dragons.

"Governor, the Dragon Mother's three dragons won't let the ravens deliver the message."

"Carry out the order," Illyrio said in a heavy tone. "If the message isn't delivered, when you return, your home, your ship, your city, will all be a pile of ruins."

The captain and sailors were silent, as if suffocating.

"Depart!" Illyrio shouted.

So, the Unsullied horns sounded, and Illyrio personally released two ravens.

All of these ravens had small iron tubes tied to their claws, each containing a letter with the same message. As long as one raven could deliver the message, it would be a success. If dozens of ravens couldn't deliver the message, it would be fate. Pentos would be slaughtered by the Mountain's dragon, without a doubt.

No matter how strong their flying ability, ravens couldn't cross the Narrow Sea without resting. And at sea, there were many merchant ships coming and going. The masts and sails, the decks and bulwarks of those ships were the only places for the ravens to land and rest.

Generally speaking, ravens wouldn't fail to deliver a message. But now, there were two different situations. First, the time was too short. Second, Daenerys's dragons would threaten the approach of any birds, including ravens, unless the three young dragons had learned to accept ravens in a short period of time. Or the three dragons were not above the fleet, which was possible.

Dragons preferred movement to stillness.

Optimistically, the chances of these letters being delivered were high; but pessimistically, these lucky ravens, having avoided being killed by other birds and the waves of the sea, might be killed by the dragons or be too intimidated to approach the fleet when they got close.

Dragon威(Dragon's Might/Awe) was an invisible pressure on people, beasts, and birds. The fear came from the depths of their flesh and blood and could not be suppressed. Dragons were also very sensitive, especially to the aura of birds.

*

At daybreak, Daenerys's second fleet entered the port of Dragonstone, and the troops disembarked and took up residence on the island. The day before, Daenerys and the first fleet had already landed on Dragonstone and moved into the famous castle on the island—Dragonstone!

There wasn't a single Mountain's soldier left on Dragonstone. Only the island's fishing villages and the castle remained. The fishermen hadn't fled at the sight of them.

Dragonstone Fortress had high walls and a deep city, and the castle was majestic, with blacksmith shops, meeting halls, port barracks, and training grounds. It became Daenerys's best base for attacking Westeros.

The Unsullied and Dothraki disembarked from the warships with a rumble and entered Dragonstone to rest.

Everything was normal, the sun was shining, and the morale of the warriors was high. The soldiers of the Nine Free Cities were also very excited. They had come with the Dragon Mother in the hopes of making a fortune. Most of the soldiers in the Free Cities were mercenaries. Mercenaries were less likely to die for their cause and more likely to dream of getting rich. It could be said that every mercenary was thinking about how to sack a city and make a fortune.

Everything was normal, and the Imp and the Dragon Mother were arranging everything in the highest map room of the main castle tower.

After breakfast, Daenerys came to the city wall to overlook the port and the island. Her three dragons were in front of her, feeding on the gargoyle-covered city wall.

The first thing that made Daenerys notice something was wrong was the black dragon Drogon.

Drogon was feasting on the stone gargoyles of Dragonstone, but suddenly stopped, his long neck slowly tilting to one side, his dragon eyes flashing, as if he was about to say something—based on experience, Daenerys knew that Drogon had heard a sound and was on alert, but the sound was obviously extremely distant and ethereal. Daenerys didn't hear any unusual sound, but she knew Drogon had heard it.

However, Daenerys didn't take it to heart.

Drogon was the most warlike, the fastest-growing, and the most suspicious and sensitive.

Soon, the bronze dragon Rhaegal also showed alertness. He also stopped eating, holding a large fish that he had just grilled in his mouth, not swallowing it, just holding it in his mouth, his long neck raised high, his eyes flashing, as if a powerful enemy had appeared in the sky.

Daenerys looked up at the sky. The sky was blue and the white clouds were floating. There was nothing there.

The white dragon Viserion was the slowest to react. He was still feasting, but the black dragon Drogon let out a soft cry, flapped his wings, and with a loud whoosh, the wind whipped Daenerys's silver-gold hair. Drogon flew into the sky, rising higher and higher, straight into the clouds.

Daenerys shouted, "Drogon—"

Drogon ignored her. He shot into the sky like a black arrow.

A dragon's nature was to fight!

Daenerys felt Drogon's excitement. Drogon was very excited, as if he had found an enemy worth fighting.

The white dragon Viserion stopped eating in amazement, looked up at their departing leader, and the bronze dragon Rhaegal let out a soft cry, spread his wings, and flew out as well. He didn't shoot into the sky like an arrow, but circled the city wall for a small circle, let out a dragon's roar, and Viserion, who was still preparing to eat, had to drop his food, looked at it reluctantly for a few times, let out a low cry, and also took off.

So, Rhaegal rose higher, chasing after Drogon.

The white dragon Viserion soared, following Rhaegal.

And the black dragon Drogon had already become a small black dot in the high sky.

Not many soldiers in Dragonstone's port, training ground, main castle tower, or on and off the city walls noticed the departure of the three dragons. They were used to the dragons flying and swooping, used to the dragon's roar, and used to watching the three dragons eat and fight each other.

But Daenerys felt a strong sense of unease.

What was attracting the three dragons in the depths of the sky? The three dragons hadn't gone out to play after they were full, but had abandoned their food while they were eating and flown into the air. Dragons were animals with a large appetite and were very greedy. This was the first time they had abandoned their food and flown into the sky.

Daenerys stared at the high sky. The black dragon's shadow had already disappeared into the sky, and the bronze dragon Rhaegal was also rapidly shrinking, leaving only the white dragon Viserion far behind.

Daenerys suddenly felt extremely uneasy.

What was in the depths of the sky?!

Obviously, there wouldn't be anything there. Was she just overthinking things? She looked at the window of the map room in the main castle, but couldn't see the Imp in the map room. The Imp didn't appear at the window of the map room. Whenever she felt extremely uneasy, she hoped to see the Imp and tell him about her unease. Although the Imp's analysis wasn't always the standard answer, it always gave her reliable analysis and advice. Many times, the Imp was also a friend who could talk to her, giving her conflicting and uneasy heart a sense of stability.

Daenerys's unease was rapidly amplified, otherwise, she wouldn't have hoped to see the Imp's figure at the window of the map room.

Her personal guard captain, Ser Jorah Mormont, was rapidly ascending the stairs below the city wall… The port, the warships were still coming in, already filling all the waterways… The sky was still so blue, and the white dragon Viserion had become as small as a pigeon…

Kyu!

A dragon's roar faintly came from the distant depths of the sky, the sound was melodious and distant, lingering for a long time…

Daenerys's face changed. That was the black dragon's roar of declaration of war…

Daenerys's eyes widened, her mouth opened into a large O-shape. She didn't realize these subconscious actions, but Jorah Mormont, who was rapidly approaching, sensed something was wrong: "Your Majesty…"

Daenerys held out her hand, stopping Jorah from speaking. She was listening to the dragon's roar coming from the depths of the sky. The sound was very subtle, but she could hear it, she could sense it very clearly…

Kyu Kyu Kyu!

Several subtle dragon roars came, sounds of battle, anger, and slaughter. One of the sounds was deep and powerful, although equally subtle, but it wasn't the black dragon Drogon's voice… It was the unfamiliar roar of another dragon…

Daenerys's eyes instantly filled with shock. Then, she heard the dragon's roar of the bronze dragon Rhaegal joining in, and then the dragon's roar of the white dragon Viserion joining in. She was too familiar with the roars of her children. After several dragon roars, she concentrated, but she never heard that unfamiliar dragon's roar again. Daenerys didn't dare to move even slightly, the sounds were too subtle, she was afraid that if she moved, she wouldn't be able to hear any of the dragon roars…

Jorah Mormont, standing beside her, had no choice but to stand with his hand on his sword, staring at that beautiful face, his eyes full of love…

After a long while, Daenerys's raised hand didn't come down—she never heard that unfamiliar dragon's roar again, and even the dragon roars of Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion disappeared… Her heart tightened. Jorah Mormont noticed that Daenerys's raised white hand clenched into a fist, and blue veins bulged on the back of her hand…

"Daenerys!" Jorah said softly, his voice full of tenderness, "You…"

"There's another dragon," Daenerys's voice was full of shock and surprise. "There's another dragon…" She spoke incoherently, her voice murmuring, "Another dragon appeared in the sky… They've all disappeared. Where did they fly to? Whose dragon is that? They're fighting… They're fighting in the depths of the sky…"

"Daenerys!" Jorah Mormont's large hand pressed on Daenerys's shoulder. "Calm down, Daenerys, look into my eyes. Nothing has happened, there is no other dragon, your children have gone out to play, they've always been like this."

"No, Jorah, I heard another kind of dragon's roar, just one sound, but it was definitely not the voice of my children, definitely not."

"Daenerys, you're hallucinating." Jorah Mormont put a little more force on the hand holding Daenerys's shoulder. He said in a deep voice, "Daenerys, I didn't hear or see anything unusual. You are the only one in this world who owns three dragons. They've gone out to play and will be back soon."

"No, I heard another dragon's roar, I'm sure of it!"

There won't be another dragon's roar—my Queen, the Dragon Horn, where is the Dragon Horn? Let us summon them back.