Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 161 Before the Wedding

Viserys looked strangely at the shy boy in the accompanying team of lords who was trying to distance himself from Aegon and his party and formed his own team by riding behind the lords of the Stormlands.

The boy had platinum hair and large eyes so dark blue that they were almost purple. He and seventeen-year-old Aegon rode side by side, and one might have mistaken them for brothers.

The boy's four guards rode close behind him, trying to raise the banner of House Dayne, which Sister Ashara Dayne and several of her maids had sewed for her nephew over several nights. Not only that, their horses were loaned to them by the Golden Company.

Daenerys followed Viserys' gaze and rode closer to explain to him, "The boy's name is Edric Dayne. He was brought back by scouts sent out along the Kingsroad. At that time, they were thought to be spies sent from King's Landing. Who knew that the boy was the twelve-year-old earl of House Dayne in Dorne. According to him, he walked all the way along the Kingsroad from the Riverlands. He had been serving as a knight's squire to his aunt's fiancé, Beric Dondarrion of Blackhaven. Ser Beric died in the Riverlands. He had planned to go to Blackhaven to report to the Dondarrion family and then return to Dorne. The road from King's Landing to Summerhall was blocked by the Lannister army, but the Kingsroad to the south was not blocked. They wanted to take a detour to Summerhall via Felwood Castle, but they were caught as scouts. Now ask about the situation and become a new guest at our wedding."

Viserys commented: "The current Earl of House Dayne, at such a young age, is traveling around the world during a war?"

Daenerys whispered, "Are you thinking about his hair and eyes?"

Viserys shook his head. "No. I was thinking of Ser Beric Dondarrion."

Silver or platinum hair and blue or purple eyes are not particularly rare features in Westeros and Essos, and if Viserys had to pay attention to everyone he saw with similar features, he wouldn't be able to keep up.

Daenerys wondered, "What's wrong with this man?"

"There are rumors in the riverlands. I heard them from the Intelligence Office," Viserys said. "Traders from the riverlands say this Ser Beric has been killed several times."

"Killed several times?" Daenerys became alert. "How did he do that?"

Viserys said mysteriously, "That is what we are here to learn." He called out to the knight who rode behind him, "Ser Barristan."

Barristan rode up to follow. "Your Majesty."

Viserys waved his whip. "Ask young Lord Dayne how Ser Beric died. Is it true that he was killed several times?"

Barristan looked over there strangely, then looked at the king. He didn't know why the king was interested in such ridiculous nonsense, but he nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty."

It was not until the marching troops reached a mooring pier on the vast River Wend that the old knight returned to the king with a frown and a troubled look on his face.

As they boarded the first ship, Viserys asked, "What did you learn, ser?"

The old lord replied in hesitation, "Your majesty, young Lord Dayne said that Ser Beric was killed six times. Each time he died, he was resurrected by Thoros of Myr. He did not truly die until the seventh time."

Young Lord Dayne shyly and uncomfortably described to Barristan every death of Ser Beric. For some reason, he had promised to keep some of the things secret, but the part he told did not sound like a story a child could make up.

Viserys wondered. "Did he tell you what Ser Beric did to die the seventh time?"

The old knight was even more confused: "He said he promised others to keep it a secret." He couldn't help asking. "Your Majesty is very knowledgeable. I would like to ask, is this true?"

"That's right, ser. You will accompany me northward. I have a task for you along the way." Viserys said bluntly, "If you encounter any strange creatures in the north, find a way to have the Night's Watch capture them alive and bring them back to you - of course, don't take too many risks. If it's dangerous, forget it, your life is more important."

The old knight asked curiously, "Aliens? Your Majesty, are you talking about White Walkers?"

Viserys was vague: "I am not sure, ser. But I think the Wall is in danger, and the wildlings must not come south for no reason. Maybe it's winter? But I haven't seen the Wall request support so urgently in the past winter. Something must have happened, but I can't think of any other change that would make the wildlings ignore the Wall's strong defense and come south."

The old knight was tangled again: "Then you let the prince and Sir Jon."

Viserys said, "Their affairs are another matter. They only need to confirm with Maester Aemon and can leave the Wall at any time. I asked them to bring more people because I was afraid that something might happen to them, which would be bad for my reputation. The same goes for you. Your main purpose is to serve as a witness. Other things can be put aside for now. Do them while you can. Of course, it would be best if nothing happened. I also hope that I am just being overthinking."

Viserys said so, but his serious tone still made the old lord take it seriously and his expression became solemn.

"Don't worry too much. I've prepared some things that might be needed on this trip among the supplies I sent to the Wall from Dragonstone. Dragonglass and fuel. Legend has it that dragonglass is a fire from underground, a weapon of the Children of the Forest, and a weapon used to fight aliens thousands of years ago." Viserys was a little embarrassed to explain, "Sir, I don't want to make public the dragonglass on the ship, lest I be laughed at. There's a fable in Essos about a man who was always worried that the sky would fall, and then he lost his appetite and had a headache every day about what to do if the sky fell. I don't want to be seen as such a person by others. The dragonglass will be placed together with the fuel, and you can find some trustworthy people to look after it together. If it turns out that I was being too suspicious, you can say that the dragonglass was accidentally shipped as the wrong supplies."

Although Viserys looked cheerful, as if to say that he was the one who was worried about the sky falling, he was so well prepared that the old lord could not help but feel more solemn.

Send Stannis and his loyal followers to the north, let Aegon and Jon lead the Golden Company north, and prepare dragon glass and fuel for special situations.
You know, the "Prince Aegon" originally planned to bring only 200 cavalry guards, but later Viserys talked about the difficulties of the Great Wall in the north and the possibility of unnecessary conflicts with the lords of the north, and persuaded him to bring 500 more cavalry.
Jon Connington would also be happy to bring more men.

But in fact, from Barristan's perspective, seven hundred cavalrymen in full armor are more than enough to travel around the entire North, let alone the Great Wall, if the supply of materials can keep up.

If you think about it more carefully, King Viserys even arranged horses and armor for Stannis's new Night's Watch so that they could provide sufficient support to the Great Wall in the north - it was privately decided that they would only be armed there when the ships heading north reached Eastwatch.

By this calculation, the nearly 300 new Night's Watch troops are all cavalry.
There are also plans to send guards from Dragonstone to accompany him.
What on the Great Wall can stop a thousand armored cavalrymen?

Barristan couldn't help but wonder if it was just his imagination.

But he always felt that King Viserys was hinting at something when he asked him to ask young Lord Dayne about something that sounded so ridiculous.

The return journey was downstream, and Viserys felt more and more that the Wender River was now a very important strategic location in his current territory.

The Wender River connects the Stormlands and the Narrow Sea. Advancing by land and water along this route can greatly shorten the marching time from the Narrow Sea to the Stormlands, while the Stormlands are connected to Dorne by land.

Blackwater Bay is a huge bay that is relatively calm during the storm season. Cape Marseille blocks most storms. Sailing in Blackwater Bay in autumn and winter is much safer than sailing in the Narrow Sea where storms are unpredictable.

The only problem was that it was too close to King's Landing. However, the Lannister and Tyrell coalition was trapped in King's Landing and dared not go out easily. Viserys could make full use of this river. Compared with the rush to the battlefield in this sudden outbreak of war, the return time was relatively abundant. In order to ensure that there were no accidents, the fleet took a full three days to return to Dragonstone.

At this moment, Dragonstone Castle is already bustling with preparations for the wedding of the king and princess.

On the one hand, it was to ensure the safety of the wedding, and on the other hand, the port of Dragonstone was indeed not big enough. When Viserys went to the Stormlands, he had already informed his newly appointed Prime Minister Oberyn to close the port of Dragonstone to the public for a few days before and after the wedding.

The sudden appearance of a group of guests from the Stormlands at the wedding was not part of Viserys' plan. He really didn't want any more uninvited guests to cause any accidents.

In order to accommodate so many guests, the castle of Dragonstone had to increase its staff, and servants were transferred from the canteen of the town affairs department, and all the usable rooms in the castle were cleared out to accommodate the guests. In addition, the garrisons outside the town of Dragonstone also had to prepare enough large tents, corresponding chefs and staff to accommodate the nobles' accompanying guards and sergeants, free riders, and mercenaries of the Golden Group.
Too many people means confusion, so in order to prevent drunken brawls and fatalities at the wedding banquet venue outside the town, Viserys specifically requested that different areas be prepared to accommodate the accompanying soldiers and guards of the Stormland lords, the Golden Company's mercenaries, Dragonstone's own mercenaries, free riders, and guards transferred from the Narrow Sea lords to serve as banquet hosts, accompanying and supervising.
In addition, we should also pay attention to the castle. The lords of Dorne and Stormlands feasted together in Viserys' castle in a friendly manner. It can be regarded as Viserys' personal majesty. However, there is no guarantee that there will not be dignitaries who forget Viserys's deterrence after getting drunk and make trouble at the king's banquet from noon to dusk and night.

Fortunately, Prince Oberyn was an experienced ruler with many years of experience in governing and managing the local area in Dorne. He took over the reception and distribution of the guests brought back by Viserys after they disembarked.

The half of the Unsullied Guards that Viserys left for Oberyn all obeyed his orders resolutely, and among the narrow sea lords who stayed behind on Dragonstone, there was no one who could challenge the position of the Prince of Dorne, so his authority was unquestioned, and he soon became well-established. During the time when Viserys was away from Dragonstone, he was calm and at ease.

It is not easy to prepare a wedding for a king, even though Viserys said that it can be simple and not extravagant, and there is already a draft. But many managers in this world cannot do things well even with a well-planned draft. This is why many policies look good in the planning stage, but often various problems arise in the implementation stage.

To some extent, the management of Dragonstone and the preparations for the King's wedding can be regarded as the new Hand of the King, Oberyn, showing his ability to King Viserys and letting Viserys know that he would be a qualified prime minister.

In fact, when this Prince of Dorne is not in a state of panic, his many years of experience and talents in managing the entire Dorne for Prince Doran are more than enough to make him the Prime Minister.

But there are some things that even the Prime Minister, who the King promised to be fully responsible for, cannot deal with for the King. After reporting to Viserys on the recent situation of Dragonstone and the preparations for the wedding during this period.

Oberyn mentioned a matter that was neither big nor small: "Your Majesty, a few days ago, two people who claimed to be your maid and guard came to Dragonstone to see you. Ser Jorah recognized them and temporarily placed them in the town inn to wait for your return to deal with them."

"Butch and Ani, right? I see." Viserys knew who they were as soon as he heard them. "Thank you for your hard work, Prime Minister. People often say that the king dreams and the Prime Minister builds dreams. I will need your assistance in the future and share the affairs of state with me."

Prince Oberon said proudly: "Your Majesty trusts me, I will serve you."

After seeing Oberyn off, Viserys had no time to rest and quickly asked Godian to go and find Jorah.

Of course Jorah knew why the king wanted to see him, so he gave a complete report on Butch and Anie.

After Lys and Viserys separated, they waited for Viserys in Volantis for more than half a year. It has been nearly a year since they separated. Now that they have found Dragonstone, even Viserys has to sigh that things are impermanent and people are no longer the same.

It wasn't really unkind of Viserys to send the two men back to Illyrio after Lys had thrown them off, but they still chose to go to Volantis.
Viserys couldn't help but feel emotional about their experiences. "So, Butch and Ani heard about Dragonstone from Volantis, and then they came back through all the hardships?"

The news they brought indicated that the Eastern Continent was not peaceful at the moment, and was not much better than Westeros.

Their return journey was also legendary. Essos was far from peaceful, the Stepstones were at the frontline of the war, and the Disputed Lands were in danger because of the departure of the Golden Company. Lys and Volantis were nominally allies with Myr, but secretly they were all scheming to take advantage of Myr's weakness.

The Dothraki have been ravaging the Rhoyne River for a year. It is said that Khal Drogo, whose army once expanded to the point of causing unrest in the surrounding free cities, was assassinated in a very dangerous way. The assassin failed to take his life, but the assassin's weapon was poisoned, causing the Khal to be seriously injured.

The Dothraki have never been a nation that can still unite under a wounded leader. Although Khal Drogo did not die after being wounded, the Khalasar could not help but begin to split. His tribe, which had expanded rapidly in just one year, began to suffer the backlash of rapid expansion. A huge Khalasar split into several tribes of new khals within a month. These new khals began to fight and kill each other in the Golden Fields and the upper reaches of the Rhoyne River.

It was in this crisis that Butch and Ani crossed the Golden Fields on a river merchant ship on the Rhoyne River trade route in Volantis, because the Dothraki burned, killed, and looted in the upper reaches of the Rhoyne River, and the trade route was cut off. They had to go to Qohor by land, and then return to Pentos via Norvos along the road built by the Valyrians, and finally took a ship from Pentos to Dragonstone.

In Qohor, which seemed to be far away from the dispute, the followers of the Lord of Light formed an armed group and were fighting with the Black Goat followers in Qohor for the gods they believed in. There was even a vicious incident where thousands of followers of the Lord of Light rushed into the temple of the Black Goat followers with weapons and massacred them, and even burned the temple. The local army of Qohor had to intervene in this religious war.

The situation in Cohor is very tense now. The religious war within the city-state may lead to the intervention of other forces.

Relatively speaking, Norvos, Pentos and Braavos are the only areas in the Free Trade Cities that can be considered peaceful today.

It can be said that according to the current situation, it is possible that the turmoil in Essos will last longer than that in Westeros.

After all, there is now a person in Westeros who seems to be able to end the turmoil in the Seven Kingdoms, while the chaos in Essos does not have a powerful armed group that can end the conflict in the short term. They have to shed enough blood before they can see the day when the conflict ends.

But Viserys doubted that Essos could end its strife before the long night foretold came.

Viserys thought about it again and again. "Ani and Butch are my elders, but I don't have a suitable place to put them. Well, let's put it this way. Lady Fremy in the Sleeping Dragon Tower has no one to take care of her. You bring Ani and Butch to the castle and let Ani help me take care of her. And Butch, let him come with me and help me protect her."

Ani and Butch were not trusted by Viserys to begin with, and now they have returned from abroad, so they need to be carefully watched for a while. If they can behave themselves, they will be assigned appropriate positions in the castle depending on the situation. If they are not obedient, they can only concentrate on serving Lady Flemmy from now on and wish for their own happiness by her side.

This was a stopgap measure Viserys came up with, but it was also a test.

Logically speaking, it was definitely the right move to put these two people next to Fremy. Fremy was a dangerous person that Viserys had seen with his own eyes. With such a person, Ani and Butch would definitely not be able to cause any trouble. It can be said that up to now, Viserys had never thought that these two people might pose a threat to him.

And it seemed as if everything had come together, the day after Viserys returned to Dragonstone, when the divorce period was only one day long.

Viserys's treasurer had returned from Braavos with his treasurers, and even with him was a Braavos banker, a loan agent for the Iron Bank of Braavos named Tycho Nestor.

According to the information reported, because the financial representative sent by Viserys refused to accept the debt owed by the former Iron Throne to the Iron Bank during the negotiation, this contact person came specifically to communicate and negotiate with His Majesty the King himself. By the way, as a representative of the Iron Bank, he sent gifts and blessings to Viserys' wedding.

The gift from the Iron Bank representative was a little unexpected to Viserys. The other party did not hide it, but wrote directly in the information on the report that he would present Viserys with Queen Rhaella's crown as a gift.

(End of this chapter)