The Tip of the Iceberg

Daenerys had not been seized by Drogo and dragged away. She rode instead in a carriage Magister Illyrio had prepared with deliberate care, packed and presented almost like a gift.

Only then did she learn from Illyrio, who traveled with her, that the marriage arranged for her was not meant to be with Drogo at all.

"Is Khal Drogo not the strongest khal on the Dothraki Sea?" Daenerys asked, unable to understand. "Why would he give me to someone else?"

Illyrio's smile turned helpless. "Princess Daenerys, I do not know why. According to the news that reached me, Khal Drogo truly has brought the whole Dothraki Sea under his rule.

As for why someone exists whom he would wish to honor with such a gift, we may only learn that once we reach our destination."

The magister spoke vaguely, but Daenerys could hear that he knew little more than she did.

Yet the hope that had nearly gone out inside her flared back to life at once. She felt certain this had something to do with Lord Ronan. Only Lord Ronan had the strength to make Khal Drogo bow.

Still, Daenerys had only seen Ronan's Jomsvikings at the shore. Out here on the endless grassland of the Dothraki Sea, surrounded by Drogo's great tide of riders, had Lord Ronan truly done it?

Everything remained a guess. The real answer would only reveal itself when they arrived.

There was no terror on the road, but the tension never left her. The long column marked the Dothraki Sea like a moving scar, frightening the nearby city-states while displaying Khal Drogo's power.

This was supposed to be the most dangerous land in the world, yet no one dared trouble the khalasar. For now, they were the masters of the Dothraki Sea.

Just as Illyrio thought he had seen the full measure of that power, a horn sounded.

Cold sweat broke across him before he understood why. Then he saw the Dothraki halt with grave faces, and he knew something larger was moving.

An instant later, rapid hoofbeats rolled across the plain. An army the onlookers had never seen before appeared in the distance.

They carried themselves with fierce confidence, but beneath that wild exterior was iron discipline. Even the horses beneath them spoke of riders who were far from ordinary.

There were only a little more than a thousand of them, yet their bearing did not pale beside a khalasar numbering in the tens of thousands.

The Dothraki beside Illyrio tightened their hands around their weapons. That alone told him these horsemen were not strangers.

When Illyrio saw proud Khal Drogo riding beside their leader, a suspicion took shape. Was this the khal to whom Drogo meant to offer his gift?

Then Drogo and the leader left the column together and rode toward a low rise. What Illyrio saw there shocked him more deeply still.

The hill was not high. A rider could cross it in a few breaths. Yet above it flew a black banner he knew too well: the head of the Blood Wolf, and behind it the roar of men cresting the rise.

And there, standing on the hill, was the man himself. The impossible had become real. Ronan was the new khal, and more than that, he was the khal who had conquered Drogo.

The moment Drogo dismounted before him, Illyrio understood everything. Despite himself, he looked back toward the carriage. Truthfully, he envied Daenerys.

Daenerys could not see clearly from within the carriage, but Elyra saw enough. She leaned close and whispered, "That khal does not look Dothraki."

Daenerys's heart beat so hard it felt as if it might break free of her chest.

Illyrio, sharp as ever, hurried to offer congratulations. "Princess Daenerys, it seems we all underestimated Khal Ronan."

At the sound of Ronan's name, Daenerys could no longer hold herself together. Joy broke through her, and she wept.

Lord Ronan had not lied to her. He had truly come. Once the result was known, the tension among those who understood began to fade. The rites of the gathering, however, still had to continue.

Ronan did not go to Daenerys at once. There were too many eyes. This was not the moment to reveal everything. Let some people believe he was merely another khal.

As a clever merchant, Illyrio knew how to face a new power. He realized that this so-called sellsword company had become a well-equipped army, at least in his eyes.

Compared with the magisters and lords still hiring Unsullied, the strength Ronan displayed was enough to make a man uneasy.

And that did not even include the Dothraki. No one needed to guess how large Ronan's ambition might be. Apart from House Targaryen, a new option had appeared before Illyrio.

Perhaps bending toward Ronan would not be a bad choice.

He also saw some of Ronan's intent. House Targaryen could serve as a banner, while the Blood Wolf Company could mislead most observers. So long as the news was sealed away, Ronan could keep many people blind.

Even the clever Sealord would never imagine that a sellsword company had conquered the whole Dothraki Sea.

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