"He was never truly one of the pure Horsemen blessed by the old woman at the foot of the Mother of Mountains," Avanti said, his face showing disdain and his head shaking. "Blue-eyed Haggo possesses martial skills no less formidable than any great Khaos, yet he lacks their courage.
Just as those who dwell in stone houses are skilled in poisons and schemes, he, tainted by Watson's blood, is accustomed to striking his enemies with dishonorable tactics.
"Sending men to infiltrate the enemy's Kalasar and kidnap the Khaos's son is an act unprecedented in the Great Grass Sea's thousand-year history.
Everyone knows we Dothraki solve our problems on horseback, with our curved blades."
Daenerys, however, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. Blue-eyed Haggo had been too unlucky. If his father had been skilled in the Thirty-Six Stratagems or Guiguzi's art of war and political maneuvering instead of the Spring Cry Technique, his sharp mind and willingness to employ ruthless tactics might very well have established a Golden Family.
As the group chatted, they slowly caught up with the main body of the procession.
Even though the scorching wind whipped up red sand, erasing any trace of the procession's passage across the Purgatory Plains, the process would still take a day or two.
Daenerys and her group were only an hour's ride behind Kalasar. On the gravel and red sand, hoofprints marked the path, and under the crimson glow of the Bleeding Star, these shallow tracks spread across the Red Waste like a shallow river.
They stood out strikingly.
The old Avanti, cunning and experienced, had gradually grown bolder after several conversations with Daenerys. He discovered she was a kind and gentle Khaleesi, and dared to say, "The comet in the sky makes our night travel easier, but its blood-red light, like the blood of the gods, also carries an ominous weight.
Especially in this Purgatory Plains, with its red sands and the dim, blood-red sky illuminated by the Bleeding Star, it's like a red hell. It feels like something terrible has happened without our knowledge."
"Yes, yes, I feel the same way," his ten-man team's elder chimed in. Gradually, even Daenerys's Bloodriders grew uneasy.
*How dare this old fool spread such ominous nonsense in my presence?!*
Daenerys's anger flared. "Tell me," she snapped, "did the comet appear before Khal Drogo's burial?"
The old man flinched at her stern tone, stammering, "No..."
"I'll ask you again," Daenerys demanded, "is the Bleeding Star a symbol of Khal Drogo?"
"Yes."
"Was the Khaos's steed as red as burning embers?" she pressed, her voice sharp and commanding.
"Yes."
"Did five hundred of the Khaos's valiant warriors die in battle to accompany him?"
"Yes."
As Daenerys's voice rang out, the surrounding Horsemen shifted from fear to confusion, and gradually, a glimmer of understanding dawned on their faces.
At that moment, Daenerys declared, "Our Khaos rode his fiery steed into the Land of the Night. That comet is Drogo himself, riding his crimson horse. The blood-red trail behind it represents his Bloodriders and the five hundred roaring warriors who spilled their blood on the battlefield, following their Khaos even after death, just as they did in life."
"Their heads were severed," she challenged Avanti. "How could the sky not be stained crimson?"
"Because Drogo knew we were night stalkers, hiding by day and traveling by night. He knew we were struggling across the Red Waste, so he refused to leave, continuing to guard us with his men. Only when we are completely safe will Drogo truly enter the Land of the Night."
Daenerys's logic was flawless. The comet would eventually depart, and who but the ultimate authority could determine when they were truly safe?
As expected, the Horsemen were convinced by her words, their faces lighting up with understanding as they looked at her with awe and reverence.
Old Avanti, a respected Horseman, was also genuinely persuaded. After all, it was a "universally known fact" that Khaos had ridden his steed into the starry sky amidst raging flames. Daenerys's explanation was flawless, and everything aligned too perfectly—as if fate itself had orchestrated these events.
"Khaleesi, your wisdom rivals that of the old women of Horse Lord City," he praised.
The old women of Horse Lord City were the leaders of the Dosh Khaleen.
Daenerys didn't like this comparison. She had no desire to become a Dosh Khaleen, even though she was theoretically already one.
"Avanti, Watson is ill and cannot drink water. Give him your share of the mare's milk," she said, riding off without waiting for his reply.
"I..." Avanti's mouth fell open, his face a mixture of bewilderment and indignation. "I'm an old man too! I need mare's milk!"
When Daenerys returned to the Kalasar main force, her explanation of the Bleeding Star quickly spread through the group. The Horsemen stole glances at the Khaleesi at the head of the column, whispering among themselves. Though some embellished the story with their own embellishments, the core narrative remained the same.
"Ah, how could Khaos not 'weep blood' over his son's death? The Khaleesi must be weeping blood in secret too, right?"
"Yes, hundreds of warriors died with the Young Master on the battlefield. How tragic! The sky itself was stained crimson with their blood."
"Now we can rest easy. It had been terrifying me—a vivid streak of blood in the blue sky even in broad daylight. I thought it was an ill omen."
Superstitious horsemen, to a large extent, found their fears eased and their confidence bolstered.
In truth, the Bleeding Star affected not only Daenerys and her Kalasar. As it grew increasingly prominent, it stained the night sky red, glowing like twilight, and during the day, it shone alongside the sun, as if a celestial knife had slashed across the face of the sky god.
The entire World of Ice and Fire trembled in fear. Like Daenerys, they desperately tried to interpret the phenomenon as a favorable sign.
For instance, the court of King's Landing called it the "Red Messenger," proclaiming the arrival of a new king to the world.
*Hmm, Robert Baratheon, who stole Daenerys's family's throne, was murdered by his own wife. His "true-blue" son, Joffrey, inherited the throne.*
However, due to the rebellion of the four great lords—Stark, Tully, Tyrell, and Baratheon—prices in King's Landing soared, leaving the people starving. The public revelation of Queen Cersei Lannister and Jaime Lannister's incestuous relationship by Stannis Baratheon, coupled with Joffrey's brutal reign, which rivaled that of the Mad King,
These factors combined to ignite widespread public anger in King's Landing. The common folk began calling the comet the "Red Sword."
The Red Sword of blood and fire was seen as a celestial omen of divine punishment for Cersei and her son.
After the decisive victory at Whispering Wood, Greatjon Stark pointed to the crimson trail streaking across the azure sky and laughed, declaring to his lord, Robb Stark, "That is the fiery banner of vengeance unfurled by the Old Gods for Ned!"
Edmure Tully, Young Master of House Tully, joyfully interpreted it as the sigil of his house—a blue fish leaping from a river—but with a fiery glow.
In truth, Edmure saw a long-tailed fish against a blue sky, tinged with crimson.
On the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, full of pride, told his vassals, "That is an auspicious sign for the Ironborn—a burning torch, just like the ones our ancestors carried!"
"The torch brought by the Drowned God from the sea heralds the rising tide. Now is the time to assemble our fleet and let swords and fire descend upon the world, just as he did in the past."
At Dragonstone, the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold and the ancestral home of House Targaryen, the birthplace of Daenerys.
Melisandre, the Red Priestess, told Stannis Baratheon, the current Lord of Dragonstone, "This is the breath of the dragon, the Bleeding Star. The ancient prophecy will be fulfilled through you."
Then she spoke the prophecy that lies at the heart of *A Song of Ice and Fire* and its ultimate prophecy.
"After the long summer, when the stars weep blood, a cold darkness will shroud the world. In that terrifying hour, a warrior will draw a burning sword from the flames—the sword known as Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes. The one who wields it will be Azor Ahai reborn, and he will drive back the darkness."
"Now, the long summer draws to a close, and the Bleeding Star has appeared. Azor Ahai will be reborn in the Land of Smoke and Salt, and he will awaken the magic dragons from the stone."
"Your Majesty, you are the one foretold in prophecy—the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, destined by the heavens to save the world."
"Ugh, why me!" Stannis gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching. "I only wanted to be a good brother, a loyal subject. Why must I become king? Such a burden..."
Renly Baratheon of Storm's End, the Martells of Dorne, and the Night's Watch on the Wall—all saw the crimson comet in the sky. Each interpreted this ancient and unprecedented phenomenon in their own way.
At that moment, in distant Westeros, no one knew that as the stars wept blood, someone had already been reborn, awakening the dragon of stone.
It seemed...
Well, Daenerys was certainly no reincarnation of Azor Ahai. She was merely the final layer of a nesting doll.
On the third day of their southward journey through the Red Waste, Daenerys's Kalasar had traveled approximately 130 kilometers. Over three days, they covered a total of over 300 kilometers.
Food consumption wasn't the primary concern. With at least one horse per person, they had no shortage of horse meat. The real challenges were securing drinking water and surviving in this extreme environment.
"Khaleesi, we've found less bitter springs today than yesterday, and many of our water skins are empty," Quillo said with a grimace.
Daenerys wiped her face, forcing herself to rally. This was the third time she had halted the caravan, and as before, they built a low, curved stone wall to fortify the camp.
By the time the camp was secured, the eastern sky had begun to glow with the pale, fish-belly white of dawn.
After a moment of serious contemplation, Daenerys said gravely, "The centaurs' water supply must not run low. Quillo, I will teach you a new way to find water."
She led Quillo and a dozen centaur warriors to a high vantage point, pointing to the plains below. "Have you noticed? Some areas are overgrown with weeds, while others are completely barren. Look further—you can see that the densest patches of demon grass form a nearly continuous line."
"Perhaps there's an underground river there, or it was once a riverbed."
By now, the stream they had encountered first was long gone, leaving no trace but scattered clumps of reddish-brown demon grass, their regular distribution continuing to hint at something and fuel their speculation.
Daenerys's method was simple: divide the group into two. The strongest warriors would ride ahead tens, even hundreds of kilometers, following the areas richest in demon grass. As they traveled, they would dig pits.
These were deep pits, deep enough to tap into groundwater.
Even without water, they would moisten the soil—soil that could be squeezed to yield water. The second group of knights would then place this damp soil on gauze to filter the water.
Compared to filtering water from puddles, this method was slower and less efficient. The pits couldn't be too large, or they wouldn't be able to find stones or logs to cover the openings.
All they could do was dig more pits, and deeper pits.
Daenerys demonstrated this publicly. After draining a brackish pool, she placed the excavated sludge into a cloth bag suspended from a tent.
Drip by drip, the dirty water dripped from the bottom of the bag, while the pit where the mud had been removed visibly began to seep water.
The Horsemen cheered wildly, as if they had already conquered this terrifying Red Waste.
But Jorah pulled Daenerys aside, his face etched with worry. "Your Highness," he said, "you are sacrificing the energy and lives of your strong warriors to nourish the useless and infirm."
(End of Chapter)