The slave master's will crumbled fast.
Under Daeron's quiet pressure, the man spilled everything without much resistance.
The one pulling strings behind New Ghis and stirring trouble with the ironborn was a Great Master from Meereen — Xizdala Zo Lorak, master of the Great Pyramid and one of the most powerful men in the city.
In the old stories, this same man had briefly been one of Daenerys's husbands. His family was ancient and influential in Meereen, and unlike most of the rotting nobility, they actually wanted to restore the glory of Old Ghis.
Jose broke completely and kept talking. "Xizdala Zo Lorak holds real power in Meereen. After Prince Rhaegar started fighting over the Stepstones, he secretly reached out to the Triarchy and Volantis. He's been playing both sides."
"Once you took the Stepstones and Tyrosh, he started sending money to the Triarchy to help them fight you."
"Not long ago he worked with Volantis to ambush the Lannister ship in the Smoking Sea. When that blew up, it caused all the trouble out there."
"He's been pushing the slave cities to drive the ironborn out of the Stepstones. He wants that thorn removed."
"He keeps trying to turn the Triarchy, Qohor, and the Free Cities against House Targaryen so he and Volantis can dig around in the Smoking Sea without interference."
"Word is he's been recruiting every half-blood dragonlord he can find in Volantis and Qohor, hoping to use whatever's in the Smoking Sea to create dragonrider bloodlines of his own."
"Ambitious bastard," Daeron muttered, the smile gone from his face.
He had known Slaver's Bay wasn't as simple as it looked.
Now he had the proof.
"Besides the Triarchy, the real long-term threats are Slaver's Bay, Volantis, and Qohor," Daeron said coldly. "From now on, they're priority targets."
He had expected this.
As House Targaryen rose, almost every power in Essos was lining up against them. They feared the last dragonlord family would restore the old Valyrian glory and come for them next.
So they were doing everything they could to slow him down.
"Still," Daeron said after a moment, "this isn't all bad."
He could see the bigger game clearly.
The war between the Iron Throne and the Triarchy had stopped being a regional conflict. It had become a clash between two continents.
Westeros, under his rule, was becoming a centralized kingdom strong enough to threaten any Free City and carve out territory in Essos.
From the Essosi point of view, that was terrifying.
His conquest of the Stepstones and Tyrosh had only confirmed their fears.
[The Valyrian dragonlords are back.]
Faced with that threat, the powers of Essos were being forced to work together. They were quietly funding the Triarchy, trying to trap the Iron Throne in a long, grinding war.
The Triarchy had become the perfect proxy.
From now on, the Triarchy would never be allowed to make peace with the Iron Throne. Their backers would keep feeding them just enough to stay alive and keep bleeding Daeron's resources.
The Triarchy itself didn't matter anymore. They were just the blunt instrument.
"Which means this is an opportunity," Daeron said with a cold smile. "I'm not some arrogant old Valyrian dragonlord who only knows how to conquer and enslave. I actually think about what happens after the war."
"The Triarchy is proud and stubborn. They're not exactly popular with the rest of Essos either. They don't have to keep fighting to the death just because someone else wants them to."
There was a real chance he could turn them.
More accurately, the Triarchy was already disliked across Essos. Why should they keep bleeding for people who didn't even respect them?
Better to find a new patron and keep what little independence they still had.
"Once New Ghis falls, the Triarchy will definitely make a move," Daeron guessed. "Myr and Lys will probably launch an attack to try and take back Tyrosh."
"This next battle is going to matter."
If he handled it right, he could break the Triarchy's pride and force them to cut ties with their so-called allies.
Then he could bring them in.
"Legally, House Targaryen already has claims on Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys. I have a real shot at becoming a king who rules territory on both sides of the Narrow Sea."
Daeron sat back and started planning how to fight the coming battle for maximum effect.
He couldn't just crush them completely or they would panic and fight to the bitter end.
But he couldn't go too easy on them either, or they would get arrogant again.
"Time to show some real skill."
He had complete confidence in himself.
He ordered the two ironborn lords to drag the prisoner away and told them to fetch Jaehaerys and Victarion.
Once he had secured a safe base for the ironborn, it was time to return to King's Landing.
The war with the Triarchy could not wait.
---
Meereen.
Xizdala Zo Lorak sat on the throne inside his Great Pyramid, listening to the report from Astapor with a deep frown.
"Great Master, the Targaryen Dragon King and his ironborn have taken New Ghis. Slaver's Bay is in danger!"
The messenger was laying it on thick, but Xizdala didn't get angry. He simply played the role of the calm, forgiving ruler.
"I'll handle it. You may go."
The man glanced at Xizdala's horned hairstyle, then bowed and left without another word.
"New Ghis has fallen?"
Xizdala muttered to himself. He found it hard to believe an entire slave city had collapsed so completely and so fast.
It only made his fear of House Targaryen stronger.
"Meereen will not send any aid. We can't afford to draw their anger."
He chose to stay quiet and invisible.
It wasn't cowardice. It was caution.
The Iron Throne's armies couldn't reach Meereen easily, but if Daeron flew his dragons here and burned the city, the damage would be catastrophic.
He still had big plans. He couldn't afford to become a target yet.
"Just don't come to Meereen," he muttered, pressing his hands together and offering a quick prayer to the harpy.
If the dragons had to go somewhere, let it be Yunkai or Astapor.
Worst case, he could always hand over that idiot Great Master who had been secretly selling dragon eggs. That would buy him some goodwill.
Selling a dragon egg for coin instead of using it himself was beyond stupid in Xizdala's eyes.
He had nothing but contempt for those nobles who talked endlessly about the glory of Old Ghis but refused to actually change anything.
Handing one of them over in exchange for peace was an easy choice.
After the fear came jealousy.
"One family with dragons kept the world quiet for three hundred years," Xizdala murmured, staring into the distance. "Now that family has changed. They've started to hunger for war again."
After the Doom, House Targaryen had hidden on Dragonstone for over two hundred years.
After Aegon the Conqueror took Westeros, they spent another hundred and thirty years trapped in the power struggles of the Seven Kingdoms.
Only after the Dance of the Dragons wiped out their dragons did the real threat disappear.
Now, two hundred years later, Dragon King Daeron the Third had hatched new dragons, crushed rebellions, and was hammering the Triarchy. He had brought House Targaryen back to power.
And this one was aggressively expansionist.
"Aegon the Conqueror had vision, but his military skill and governing ability were nothing special," Xizdala said with reluctant respect. "Daeron the Third is far more dangerous. He will be the greatest threat Essos has faced in centuries."
As long as House Targaryen stayed in Westeros, it was manageable.
But the moment they took Tyrosh and pushed their power into Essos, Xizdala remembered exactly how cruel the old Valyrian dragonlords had been.
"House Targaryen cannot be allowed to return to Essos."
He made his position clear. He would not share a continent with a living dragonlord family.
He called for his elderly messenger.
"Wise one," Xizdala said politely, "send word to Myr and Lys. Tell them what happened in New Ghis."
"At once, Great Master."
The old man took out paper and ink.
Xizdala waited patiently, already thinking several steps ahead.
He would feed the news to the Triarchy. They would not waste the opportunity. They would strike hard at Tyrosh while Daeron was busy in Slaver's Bay.
That would force him to split his attention.
And while the Dragon King was occupied, Xizdala could dig deeper into the Smoking Sea.
He smiled faintly to himself. "Whoever finds that lost Lannister ship will hold the advantage."
Dragons were the most powerful magical creatures in the world.
Whoever controlled dragons controlled wealth and power.
---
Several days later.
Tyrosh. The Prime Minister's office.
Tywin read the latest report with a deepening frown. "What the hell is that boy doing? He went all the way to Slaver's Bay to conquer some random city?"
He was busy stabilizing Tyrosh and preparing to move against Myr.
Daeron suddenly attacking New Ghis felt like pointless distraction.
"My lord, His Grace sent an explanation," Steffon said carefully. "He wanted a safe place to settle the ironborn."
"Hmph. War is not a child's game," Tywin said coldly. "Our strategy should be focused on crushing the Triarchy, not wasting time on some city thousands of miles away."
"In the end we catch nothing and just end up smelling like fish."
Steffon had nothing to say.
They didn't know what was happening around the Smoking Sea, so they couldn't guess Daeron's real intentions.
"Ser, send word to Kevan and Lord Lucerys. Tell them to come see me. We need to strengthen our defenses."
Tywin's political instincts were sharp. He could already smell the coming storm.
Myr and Lys would not let this chance slip by.
But if they thought they could take Tyrosh back from him, they were dreaming.
Steffon hesitated, then added, "My lord, Lord Lucerys sailed out a few days ago to patrol the Stepstones. He may be gone for some time."
"Patrol?" Tywin's eyebrow rose. He immediately understood Lucerys was deliberately avoiding him. "I gave no such order. How dare he leave Tyrosh's sea defenses weakened on his own authority?"
Steffon lowered his head. "Lord Lucerys said he is the Master of Ships and commander of the royal fleet. He does not need to obey your orders."
"Does he not understand that while the king is absent, the Hand rules in his place?"
Tywin's green eyes turned cold and sharp. "Send someone after him. Tell him the Hand orders him back. If he delays because of his own pride and it costs us the coming battle, the law will not be kind."
Steffon bowed and left.
Once he was gone, Tywin let the anger fade from his face. He looked as calm and unreadable as always.
He had only performed that anger for effect.
House Velaryon had risen too quickly. They were attracting too much attention.
Lord Lucerys had always been a sycophant who bullied those beneath him. Now that his house had real power, he was throwing his weight around and making enemies everywhere.
"A minor house like Velaryon only dares act this arrogant because of their Valyrian blood," Tywin thought with disdain.
His ambitions went far beyond petty rivalries between Westerosi houses.
House Velaryon had simply gotten lucky.
Other lords already disliked them. Tywin was happy to let them clash while he handled more important matters.
"Word from King's Landing says Prince Viserys has tamed a young green dragon named Alex. He can already be used in battle."
Tywin wrote quickly. "If Myr's fleet comes from the east, having a dragonrider to support us would make things much easier."
At the same time, he felt a sharp stab of envy.
"Westeros really has changed," he muttered. "Even a spoiled prince can ride a dragon and become a dragonrider."
Tywin's tone was sour. "If Elia had agreed to the marriage alliance, I could have had a grandson with dragon blood. A real dragonrider."
He had never been impressed by Viserys's behavior at court.
But even that useless boy only needed to have dragon blood and earn Daeron's trust to become a dragonrider overnight.
The gods were truly unfair.
"That little monster Tyrion isn't on Bloodstone Island. Who knows which brothel he's rotting in now."
Tywin set his quill down and made a decision. "It's time to bring him back to King's Landing. I need to sound the boy out and see if he's willing to take more than one wife."
After conquering Tyrosh, the political landscape of the Seven Kingdoms had shifted.
Through generous rewards and new titles, the great houses had been well fed.
If the crown now pushed to restore the old custom of multiple wives, the resistance would be much weaker than before.