Under the Red Dragon

This is an ordinary world within the endless expanse of universes, yet to the billions of living beings within it, their world is uniquely mysterious.

In ancient historical records, the priests and scholars of the divine churches knew that their world was boundless, roughly divided into four major continents.

Westeros, Essos, Sothoryos, and the most mysterious continent located southeast of Essos, south of the enigmatic Land of Always Winter—Ulthos.

According to historical records, the vast continent of Essos stretches from the Narrow Sea on its western edge to the legendary Jade Sea on its easternmost side.

This continent is the birthplace of known civilization, with the first great human civilization rooted in Old Ghis.

Old Ghis was a slave-holding city-state located on the southeastern coast of Essos, bordering the Inner Sea—Slaver's Bay—to its west.

Old Ghis created an infantry legion armed with long spears and large shields, organized in tight formations and known for its strict discipline.

It was with this legion that Old Ghis expanded its territory, becoming the first vast empire in human history, ruling for many centuries.

However, a people rising on a peninsula across Slaver's Bay brought an end to Old Ghis's long reign.

This was Valyria, an archipelago located south of the central part of Essos, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Smoking Sea.

Valyria was a small civilization composed of shepherds.

This small civilization of shepherds discovered dragon lairs within a special area of Valyria—the Fourteen Flames, a massive volcanic range.

After long exploration and learning, the Valyrians developed the secret art of taming dragons, training them into cruel weapons of world conquest.

Valyria had no king; they were led by elected archons, calling themselves the Freehold.

The Freehold fought five major wars against Old Ghis, each ending in Valyrian victory. In the last war, the Freehold decided to eliminate their rival completely.

Thus, the city of Old Ghis was razed to the ground by the dragon legions, its magnificent pyramids, temples, and houses incinerated by dragonflame, and the land covered with salt, ash, and bones.

The Ghiscari suffered heavy casualties, the survivors were enslaved, and countless died in the Valyrian mines.

The burning mountains of the Fourteen Flames were rich in a unique mineral, used by the Valyrians to forge legendary steel swords.

After the Valyrian rise, the demand for minerals increased, prompting them to intensify their conquests to replenish the slaves in the mines.

To the east, they crossed the region once ruled by Old Ghis—the Ghiscari territories—and to the west, they reached the coastline of Essos, establishing numerous colonies along the way.

These conquered colonies were the precursors to the later Free Cities.

In Andalos, the Valyrians defeated the iron-clad Andals, forcing them to flee to another continent west of Essos—Westeros.

The enraged Andals settled in Westeros, defeating the First Men and the Children of the Forest living on that continent, conquering all lands except for the far north.

They brought to Westeros the faith of the 'Seven Gods,' the knightly system, and iron weapons.

The Rhoyne is the largest river in Essos and the longest in the world.

The Rhoyne River valley nurtured the ancient Rhoynar civilization, as old as Old Ghis.

The Rhoynar were pioneers in iron forging and could summon water magic, but they too were defeated by dragonfire.

The Rhoynar were a unique people who valued equality between men and women, each city ruled by its own prince and princess.

When the Valyrians came to conquer with their dragons, the Rhoynar rose up in resistance. Led by Prince Garin, they relied on courage and passion to fight against the three Valyrian dragonlords who came to conquer—those families who rode dragons in battle were called dragonlords.

They fought against the Valyrian vanguard of over a hundred thousand soldiers and a hundred or so huge, ferocious war elephants.

But with their strong courage and spirit, the Rhoynar killed two giant dragons with magic and crossbows, repelling the first Valyrian attack.

However, the enraged Freehold then dispatched three hundred enormous dragons, obscuring the Rhoynar sky. Countless dragonflames rained down, countless warriors were burned to ashes, and even the Rhoyne River was boiled and evaporated by the dragonfire.

The Valyrians burned the Rhoynar homes, turning countless cities into ruins. The survivors fled by sea, enduring hardships to escape to the Dornish Desert in southern Westeros, settling there and living with the sands from then on.

Since then, the Freehold became the most powerful empire in the world, and Valyria the proudest people. Their territory stretched from the Narrow Sea on the western edge of Essos to Slaver's Bay on the east, from the Summer Sea at the southernmost tip of Valyria to the Shivering Sea at the northernmost edge of Essos.

Western and central Essos were subjugated to the Freehold, except for the flat grasslands of the Dothraki in the central-eastern region of the continent, and the barren wasteland adjacent to the Dothraki, the Red Waste.

Their tentacles even spread to the island of Dragonstone in the eastern sea of Westeros, where they established an outpost.

Perhaps this was in preparation for the Freehold to continue conquering Westeros.

This was the dominant civilization in the world, the Freehold of Valyria, possessing thousands of dragons, against which no civilization dared to contend.

However, even such a hegemonic civilization could not explore Sothoryos, located far beyond the Summer Sea. Once, the dragonrider Jenaara Belarys of the Freehold and her dragon Terrax.

The two hoped to find the legendary Boiling Sea and the River of Steam on Sothoryos, but found only endless jungles, deserts, and mountains.

Moreover, this continent was a place of plagues and beasts, with various powerful snake-monsters, crocodiles, and ape-monsters, which were huge and could kill an elephant with a single punch.

There were also vampire bats that supposedly drained human blood, and tall lizards with claws on their legs and patterned skin, like some kind of dinosaur. In the sea, there were sea beasts the size of islands.

Most terrifying of all, there were also wyverns, similar to dragons. They did not breathe fire, but compensated with greater fury. Some species of wyverns hunted in packs of a hundred.

It was said that lizardmen and cave dwellers lived on this continent, as well as the already discovered Brindled Men.

The dragonrider Jenaara flew on her dragon for three years and could not find the borders of Sothoryos, so she could only return to the Freehold, claiming that Sothoryos was as vast as Essos.

"So, this is the so-called 'Valyria of the Freehold'?" Several scholars, cloaked in robes, observed this great city-state.

This was a vast city that even these scholars couldn't help but admire, rich and glorious, with the incredibly wide Valyrian roads and dragon roads created with exquisite carving techniques and fire and magic.

The city also contained a large number of huge, topless spires for dragons to climb and take off, as well as countless sphinx-decorated buildings.

The city transported various unique tropical and cold-region crops produced in various colonies.

From the sturgeon and whale oil of Lorath in the north to the fine grape wines of Lys in the south, all were offered for the Valyrians to enjoy.

Those Valyrians with silver-gold hair and purple eyes all possessed beautiful appearances and figures, like the elven race born in this world, possessing their own charm.

Moreover, the hair of these Valyrians ranged from white to silver-gold to gold, and their eyes ranged from light purple to deep purple and light blue, each with its own unique style. Even these erudite scholars were amazed by the beauty of the Valyrians.

However, the racial composition of the city of Valyria was quite complex, with a large number of races migrated from other conquered regions.

There were also dozens, hundreds, or even hundreds of huge dragons, controlled by powerful wizards and dragonlords with whips, magical horns, and witchcraft, constantly taking off and landing over the heads of the scholars.

"Truly, an exciting civilization," one scholar sighed, "It makes me want to immediately apply to have those powerful warriors capture a few dragons so we can study them properly. I haven't felt this impatient in a long time."

"These dragons, although the magic content within their bodies is low in detection, they possess such a large size. Even the ancient dragons in the world of Acaenia are not as large as the dragons circling in the sky, which truly surprises me."

The scholar stared at his prey with the eyes of a hunter, looking at the 200-meter-long dragon circling and roaring in the sky, his eyes filled with surprise, praise, and desire.

"Let's not act rashly for now, we still need to be careful," the young caster next to him warned the scholars. The young caster was also supporting a Valyrian dressed as a priest.

This was a Valyrian high priest, because the Valyrians worshiped many different gods, including Baelarion, Miraxis, and Vaghar, as well as the mysterious sects worshiped by the great bearded monks of Norvos, and others.

Although these casters had used spells to bewilder this Valyrian high priest, learning that the dragonlords who ruled Valyria believed that all faiths were false, and that the rulers here extremely despised clergy and temples, considering them only products of primitive worship.

However, in order to appease the lower classes and slaves, allowing them to imagine a better life after death, Valyria encouraged theism.

The Freehold also promoted religious tolerance, maintaining the division of believers to prevent these believers from uniting under monotheism and resisting the rule of the dragonlords.

But these casters and scholars were not local natives; they had their own thoughts.

"Before we understand the true power of this world, we still need to act cautiously," the young caster said, "Lord Rosani is still waiting for our investigation results and reply. We cannot lose the big picture because of small things."

Many scholars and mages nodded.

"However, such a slave civilization that forces people to pray for death every day claims that people born in their country and owning land have the right to speak about governance,"

One scholar laughed disdainfully: "These Valyrian forty dragonlords loudly proclaim their country as 'freehold,' a Freehold, which makes me laugh with shame,"

"And their colonies outside the homeland are all without exception slave societies, raising Unsullied as mercenaries to become their violent institutions, yet they call themselves the Nine Free Cities,"

The scholar lowered his head, wrote two lines in his notebook, and then raised his head and said: "My opinion is that these dragonlord families need to be purged, and then personnel should be supported to re-rule and deliver benefits to the empire. What are your opinions?"

"Since they do not respect the gods, then we, the dependents and children of the gods, will grant them final liberation."

…

Valyria, the mountains of the Fourteen Flames are rich in minerals, to which the Valyrians are insatiable. Valyria captured many slaves from the conquered lands, forcing them to mine minerals from the flames of the Fourteen Flames.

Valyria obtained a large amount of wealth from this, as well as the magic minerals for forging Valyrian steel swords.

In the Fourteen Flames, the most common way for slaves in the mines to die was to be suffocated alive by the hot mines, leading to frequent uprisings.

However, because the Valyrians were proficient in magic and riding dragons, the resistance was often suppressed in an instant.

The number of slaves who died in the mines was unimaginably large.

During rare breaks, countless Valyrian slaves from all over the world prayed to their respective gods, praying not for hope, but for the release after the end of this life.

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In the dark underground mine, it was sultry, and occasionally flames would suddenly burst out from the ground of the mine, igniting the numb bodies of the slaves.

But these slaves were still using their remaining strength to pray to their gods.

So, the low echoes of prayer spread throughout the mine.

A slave knelt in the dark depths of the mine, praying in a low voice, his tattered cloth shirt draped over his head, blocking his ears and eyes, and blocking the praying voices of other slaves.

He originally had his own name, but it no longer mattered.

Like those hundreds of slaves from different countries, he prayed to his god in his own language, also praying for the same thing—to end the pain and gain release.

However, even this extremely ordinary and simple thing could not get a response from God.

In the reddish darkness, his face was faintly visible, "Could it be that this torment needs to continue endlessly forever?"

At this moment, he heard prayers in hundreds of languages. Although he could not understand them, he understood that these people were asking for the same thing.

He suddenly understood that these countless slaves were not crying out and praying to several, dozens, or hundreds of different gods, but in fact, it was the same god.

All Valyrian slaves were only praying to the same god for liberation, that is, the different incarnations of the god of death.

At that moment, he revealed a smile. He rose from the darkness. The King of Light, the Drowned God, the Goat, the Night Lion, and the Stranger were all but incarnations of the Many-Faced God, merely facets of the Many-Faced God.

He stepped out of the darkness, walking slowly in the deep mine tunnel, chanting in a low voice: "Before the Many-Faced God, all beings are equal."

"Mortals must all serve, whether slave or monarch,"

"Mortals must all die, whether good or evil,"

"People believe in their respective gods, but at the end of life's journey,"

"The Many-Faced God awaits!"

His deep chant drowned out the prayers from all around the mine, echoing and reverberating.

A slave stood up, staggering behind him, joining the chanting.

Another slave raised a trembling hand, echoing the magical chant in his own language.

One slave after another gradually gathered into a tide. They came from different countries, speaking different languages, but today, they were all gifted the gift of faith by the 'Many-Faced God'.

"Before the Many-Faced God, all beings are equal,"

"Mortals must all serve, whether slave or monarch,"

"Mortals must all die, whether good or evil,"

"People believe in their respective gods, but at the end of life's journey,"

"The Many-Faced God awaits!"

In the deep and remote mine, mysterious songs floated.

Meanwhile, in the cities of Valyria, amidst the crowded masses, red-robed monks entered a church-like building in the gradually descending night.

The symbol hanging on this building was a flaming red heart, representing the church of R'hllor, the Lord of Light.

The Lord of Light, called the True God by his monks and witches, was the god of heat and life.

Believers called him the Heart of Holy Flame, the God of Shadow and Fire.

These monks in red robes were the priests who served R'hllor, the Lord of Light.

Many stray children were often given to the temples of the Lord of Light to be raised, and the temples also bought slave children and raised them to become monks, warriors, or temple prostitutes.

Inside the temple now, raging flames had already been ignited. Many monks in scarlet robes surrounded the flames, performing unique rituals, worshipping their True God, R'hllor, the Lord of Light.

The petitioners begged R'hllor to grant them dawn. They stared intently at the flames, hoping to see visions of the future from within.

Believers believed that R'hllor would show his glory at certain times, showing them the future.

A witch, also draped in a scarlet robe, sprinkled powder into the flames, praying for the glory of the Lord of Light.

Boom!

In the next moment, the flames suddenly surged. Within the flames, an infinitely terrifying head with boundless majesty appeared. Those dark golden eyes seemed to carry a light that pierced through all hearts, stabbing toward the red-robed witch whose eyes witnessed this moment.

"Ah!"

The red-robed witch screamed. Two lines of bloody tears flowed from the red-robed witch's closed eyes. The surrounding monks quickly stepped forward, supporting this red-robed witch with a unique status.

But the injured red-robed witch seemed to have been strongly stimulated at this time. She pushed away the many monks, shouting loudly in a shrill voice: "Stay away from me, stay away from me!"

"Hehehe, hahahaha!"

"That is destruction, that is birth, that is the end, that is the beginning!"

"It's over, it's over!"

"That thousand years is over!"

"The evil god with the dragon's head is born from hell!"

"Coming out to deceive the nations in the four directions of the earth!"

"Coming out to cleanse the order of the world in all directions!"

"Calling the earth to gather for war, calling the world to redefine the rules!"

"Their strength is like a dragon, like a god, their number is as numerous as the sands of the sea!"

"Whoever obeys them will receive forgiveness and rest, whoever resists them will receive fire and thunder!"

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