The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Standing at the bow, Jeyne Westerling saw a dark outline on the horizon.

That was Essos.

The flagship, *King*, was flanked by thirty warships.

Naval Commander Wagner Gahr led the escort, with Lord Commander of the City Watch Rolph Spicer leading three hundred elite guards aboard the *Warhammer*, closest to the Queen's flagship *King*.

Both the *King* and the *Warhammer* were equipped with giant cannons at the bow and along the sides.

At the end of the year 301 AC, the Mountain convened a political assembly in the Free City of Pentos, across the Narrow Sea.

The first to arrive off the coast of Pentos was the massive fleet led by Queen Jeyne Westerling, with fifteen warships on each side.

The outermost ships on both sides, responsible for security, were equipped with giant cannons.

Of the nine Free Cities across the Narrow Sea, Pentos and King's Landing were the closest in a straight line.

Beside Queen Jeyne stood a handmaiden, holding Prince Gaven.

The prince could walk, crawl, and talk, and was a sturdy child.

His mother, Jeyne, couldn't hold him for long without getting tired, so she had a strong handmaiden specifically to care for the prince.

Such a task as watching the horizon from the bow while holding the heavy little prince was the glorious duty of the strong handmaiden from the Westerlands.

Besides Lady Doreah Qoherys, dressed in black, Queen Jeyne was also surrounded by numerous courtiers.

Among them were Hand of the King Jon Connington, who hadn't been able to get away; the Queen's own brother, Lord Reynard Westerling of the Riverlands, and his wife Sansa Stark; Lord Edmure Tully of the Riverlands and his wife Elinore, the Queen's younger sister; Lord Gyles Goodbrother of the Iron Islands and his wife; Prince Cyrion of the Summer Isles and his wife, the Summer Isles having already been conquered by Lord Redwyne of the Arbor; the young Lord Redwyne stood beside Prince Cyrion; Lady Ysilla Royce of the Vale and her husband Ser Landon Gahr, Landon Gahr being the Mountain's adopted son…

Besides the courtiers, there were also the Queen's warriors: Luke, the Queen's personal guard; two tall and imposing female generals: Zellara, the 'She-Bear'; Brienne of Tarth; Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Barristan Selmy; Little Mountain, Osfyrd Kettleblack; and Varamyr Sixskins… Varamyr brought three pets: an eagle and two plains wolves…

In addition, there were dozens of knights.

Above the flagship *King*, three small dragons were flapping their wings.

Lady, Dreamfyre, and Knight were traveling far from home with their masters for the first time, and it was also their first time flying over the sea.

They flew alongside the ship, occasionally diving into the sea to catch a small fish, and then dropping the fish on the deck, letting out triumphant cries.

Half an hour later, the outline of the great city of Pentos came into view.

Pentos was built very sturdily and grandly.

This was thanks to the war to abolish slavery initiated by Braavos; after the defeat, Pentos had to abolish slavery, and the city was not allowed to have its own armed forces.

For a place that was rich from maritime trade, without armed forces to protect itself, it had to build its walls as high and thick as possible to prevent invasions by the Dothraki and other enemies.

Of the nine Free Cities, only the Black Walls of Volantis were higher and thicker than the walls of Pentos.

Half an hour later, three warships approached, flying the flag of Pentos: a multicolored flag made of various pieces of cloth sewn together, as if sewn from scraps from a hundred families; this was the Ragged Prince's famous symbol: his war robes were sewn from countless pieces of cloth of different colors and materials.

Each piece of cloth represented the life of an enemy.

The Ragged Prince was appointed by the Mountain as the sole ruler of Pentos; the original forty magistrates were all dismissed, leaving only Illyrio Mopatis, who was on good terms with Varys the Spider, as the sole magistrate of Pentos.

The Ragged Prince in his coat of many colors and the large, richly dressed Illyrio stood at the bow of the lead ship; they had come to personally welcome Queen Jeyne Westerling.

Of course, these were not the only two to welcome the Queen; there was also Master of Coin and Chief Administrator of the Eastern Expedition Petyr Baelish, and Lord Eddard Stark of the North, who had returned to Pentos from Volantis, as well as the magistrates of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh and their wives… Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh were closer to Pentos, and these magistrates had arrived in Pentos long ago…

The magistrates of Volantis, Braavos, and Norvos, which were quite far from Pentos, were still on their way.

Half an hour later, the Ragged Prince's three warships led the way, and Jeyne Westerling's fleet sailed majestically into the port of Pentos.

Jeyne Westerling and many of the courtiers, servants, and warriors were crossing the Narrow Sea and arriving in Pentos for the first time.

Standing on the docks, the Queen looked up at the walls of Pentos, all made of huge stones; without cannons or dragons, it would be difficult for manpower to break through such a huge city.

On the walls, archers and swordsmen stood in rows, and ballistae pointed outwards from the battlements.

Pentos, which had never been allowed to have armed forces before, had rapidly developed a city guard after being taken over by the Ragged Prince; some Dothraki had also joined the city, bringing the best cavalry to Pentos.

On the docks, cavalry and infantry were arranged in two squares, each a hundred strong.

The cavalry were Dothraki, led by several khals; the infantry were Unsullied, led by heroes.

They were all there to welcome Queen Jeyne!

*

Kyu!

A dragon's cry; Sheepstealer flew high in the sky, appearing not to move, but in the blink of an eye, it flew far away.

A white dragon usually followed the dragon, but this time it did not.

Arianne Martell was pregnant, nearing her time, and had returned to Sunspear in Dorne to recuperate; the white dragon, Vermax, stayed with its master in Sunspear.

Arianne Martell was absent from the first Pentos assembly.

The Mountain's plan to control Dorne through marriage would soon bear fruit.

Dorne's inheritance rights only recognized the eldest, regardless of gender.

Whether it was a son or a daughter, born and growing up healthy, they were all the Mountain's children and would naturally have the right of succession.

The Targaryen family had made Dorne submit to the royal power through marriage, but Dorne had always maintained de facto independence.

The Mountain also controlled Dorne through marriage, bringing Dorne into the royal power; he had rewritten Dorne's de facto independence.

Dorne's military, trade, territory, politics, and taxes had all been incorporated into the unified management of the Red Keep's royal power.

*

In the sky, the dragon's voice made the three small dragons playing on the bow give excited cries; they recognized the voice of their mother.

High in the blue sky, their mother was flying near the clouds.

The three small dragons rose higher and higher, chasing after Sheepstealer.

Soon, the four dragons flew into the clouds amid dragon roars, disappearing from sight.

Jeyne looked up at the sky, her eyes filled with joy and worry.

It was the first time she had seen her little dragons fly so high.

Her little dragons, like her Prince Gaven, were growing rapidly.

Her son grew like a little tiger, leaving children of the same age far behind; judging by his current state, he would grow up to be a remarkable giant like his father.

On the docks, with a thud, all the soldiers knelt on one knee, bowed their heads, and placed their right fists on their left chests, paying their respects to Queen Jeyne.

The Queen smiled, noble and elegant: "Our remarkable warriors, please rise."

The Queen used 'please'.

When facing the soldiers' kneeling salute, the Mountain would either raise his right hand slightly, and the herald would shout 'Rise!', or he would casually say 'Rise', rarely using the word 'please'.

The soldiers rose together, with a thud, their movements uniform, as if they were one person.

*

At the end of the year 301 AC, the elephant party's Gelasio and the tiger party's leader Gelasio led five hundred guards and a dozen nobles to Pentos; five hundred soldiers was not a large number, but each noble brought maids, male servants, knights, family members, and personal guards, adding up to a team of over a thousand people.

The three princes of Lorath, the magistrates of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh; the magistrates and princes of Norvos and Qohor all arrived.

Each of these magistrates and princes brought no more than a hundred soldiers, but there were many nobles under their command.

These nobles would bring guards and knights, male and female servants, and family members, and each knight usually needed a retinue of three to dozens of soldiers; servants were also indispensable.

All in all, each magistrate's and prince's team was several hundred to nearly a thousand people.

The five khals from the Dothraki Sea, which was twice the size of Westeros, each led five hundred elite Dothraki guards to Pentos to attend His Majesty's political assembly.

For a time, Pentos was bustling with activity, with all kinds of ethnic costumes, all kinds of special goods, all kinds of people watching the excitement, setting up stalls, doing trade, and all kinds of women from pleasure houses, coming and going like a tide inside and outside the city.

Whether it was day or night, Pentos never closed its gates.

It was brightly lit.

Apart from Princess Arianne Martell of Dorne being absent to prepare to give birth to the Mountain's child, all the lords of the North, the Iron Islands, the Riverlands, the Vale, the Crownlands, the Reach, and the Westerlands had all arrived.

After the Mountain set fire to and collapsed the Eyrie of House Arryn of the Vale, the line of succession was interrupted, and Lady Ysilla Royce of Runestone was temporarily acting as the Warden of the East.

Petyr Baelish held the title of Lord Protector of the Fingers, but he did not stay in the Vale to exercise jurisdiction; he was the Master of Coin of the royal family, and after the Eastern Expedition began, he was the chief administrator of the army, coming to Essos with the army; he had no power and no way to intervene in the affairs of the Vale.

Therefore, Ysilla, because of her status as the Mountain's adopted daughter, was appointed by the Mountain as the Warden of the Vale.

Ysilla's husband was Landon Gahr, the Mountain's adopted son from Crackclaw Point; no matter how you looked at it, the representative of the Vale was one of the Mountain's own people.

And unknowingly, Littlefinger's official position and real power as Lord Protector of the Fingers had fallen into a void.

*

In the first month of the year 302 AC, even the southernmost Dorne in Westeros experienced a drop in temperature and a cold, snowy rain, while across the Narrow Sea, the temperature was only the coolness of autumn.

The temperature was low in the morning and evening, but warm as spring in the afternoon.

Under the chairmanship of King Mountain, the nobles of Essos and Westeros sat together for the first time to hold a political assembly.

Inside the Ragged Prince's huge palace building, long tables were filled with delicacies from all over the world, with dozens of bakers, hundreds of maids, and hundreds of chefs busy at work.

All kinds of roasted meats, pastries, fruits, salads, steaming boiled meats, bacon soup, and bread were piled in front of the lords.

The Mountain and Jeyne sat high above.

On the left was Hand Jon Connington, followed by the host, the Ragged Prince of Pentos and Lord Illyrio; then came the courtiers and lords from Westeros… On the right was Daenerys Targaryen, followed by the Dothraki khals and the magistrates, princes, and princesses of the nine Free Cities…

This political assembly began with eating, and began with the Mountain raising his glass and drinking it all in one gulp…

Whether it was the elephant party's Gelasio from Volantis or the magistrate of Lys or the prince of the Summer Isles, none of them had held a political assembly focused on food.

Only the five Dothraki khals were carefree, drawing out their boning knives and devouring the food, and soon, small mountains of bones piled up in front of them.

Many of the magistrates, who valued noble cultivation, etiquette, and hierarchy, and had some concerns about the political assembly, did not know whether their power, status, and wealth would be weakened or stripped by His Majesty after this political assembly; these noble magistrates only tasted a little and maintained a rational sobriety.

But as time went on, the atmosphere gradually became more lively; some generals and knights liked wine and liked to toast, and they began to toast the people around them, and then toast the nobles further away; the nobles responded, and as they responded more and more, those uneasy noble magistrates finally slowly weakened their worries and began to raise their glasses and drink heartily, and eat large pieces of meat.

The Mountain also seemed to not know that this was a political assembly; he drew out his short sword, took a bear's leg, cut the meat with his short sword, and devoured it in large pieces on the blade.

Soon, in front of him, like the Dothraki khals, small mountains of bones piled up.

Hand Jon Connington had a naturally dignified appearance, and was imposing without anger; like a lady, he only took a few sips of wine, tasted some oriental dishes, and then dipped bread in honey, slowly gnawing on it, waiting for His Majesty to speak.

Since it was a political assembly, eating must be secondary, and politics must be the priority.

But looking at His Majesty's appearance, apart from eating, it seemed that there were no important political affairs to announce.

Jon Connington looked at the whole scene; the table was very long, with a total of three tables, and more than a hundred people sat on each side of each table.

He saw several generals who had drunk too much starting to hold down an unlucky guy and force him to drink.

If everyone was drunk, and His Majesty then announced political affairs and discussed some important changes, wouldn't that be a joke?

Jon Connington stood up; he was the Hand, and although he considered himself temporary, he had to act like a Hand in this position.

He decided to start the unseemly political assembly and make it seemly.