Chapter 735

The waves lapped against the hull, seagulls wheeled and cried overhead, and the sunlit sea shimmered like polished glass. The scent of salt and brine filled the air as, looming on the horizon, the world-renowned Bronze Titan of Braavos finally came into view.

More than two months had passed since the fall of Volantis, and now, at last, Aegor had led his fleet to the doorstep of Braavos.

The voyage between the two cities had not taken nearly so long. Instead, much of that time had been spent securing his previous conquests.

The swift capture of Lys, followed by the coordinated uprising of the Red Temple’s militant arm and the slave revolts in the western district of Volantis, had led to a nearly effortless—yet utterly decisive—victory. With barely a proper battle, two of the Free Cities had fallen to him, adding yet another chapter to his growing legend. The manner in which they had been taken—without prolonged siege, without drawn-out attrition—would likely be studied in military histories for generations to come.

But taking a city was one thing. Holding it was another matter entirely.

Aegor faced two primary challenges: establishing a stable government and managing the transition from slavery to a functioning free economy.

For the first, he borrowed elements from Littlefinger’s governance in Meereen, blending them with lessons learned from his own success in Oldtown. The new administrative structure followed a three-tiered approach:First, he appointed the most meritorious of the nobles who had followed him—lords from Dorne, the Arbor, and the Iron Islands—as the ruling Governor’s Council.Second, he empowered local minor nobles, long suppressed under the old order, as bureaucrats and advisors.Third, he offered autonomy in commerce and trade to the city’s merchant elite, forming an Economic Guild Council in exchange for their cooperation.

Unlike Oldtown—where the ruling Hightowers had surrendered and thus retained their lives—the elites of Lys and Volantis had resisted to the bitter end. There had been no mercy for them. In Volantis, the inner city behind the Black Walls had become a slaughterhouse on the night of its fall. The old order had been burned away in blood and fire.

With the Seven Kingdoms’ lords holding the highest authority, there was no risk of separatist ambitions. Meanwhile, local bureaucrats ensured the administration functioned smoothly without alienating the native populace. And the merchant class—having tasted the benefits of self-governance—had no incentive to side with the remnants of the old aristocracy.

This system would not last forever, but it would hold long enough. Long enough for the war to end. Long enough for Daenerys to oversee deeper reforms.

As for the second challenge—abolishing slavery—Aegor had no prior experience in such matters. He could only follow Daenerys’s lead, adapting her policies as best he could.

His approach was simple, even crude:Former slaves who wished to remain in their previous occupations could continue working, but as paid laborers, with wages and rights governed by a dedicated office.Those who refused—or whose masters had perished—were absorbed into the new city administration or enlisted in the military, becoming government employees or soldiers sworn to the Queen.

Inevitably, there were failures.

Just as in Meereen, many of the newly freed found themselves worse off than before—without homes, without work, without structure.

To this, Aegor could only shrug, offering a silent apology:

"Perhaps you were never bad people. But history does not care. You were simply unfortunate enough to be crushed beneath its wheels."

There were greater matters at hand. He could not stop to help every single soul left adrift in the aftermath.
----


Seated in the Black-Walled Keep, Aegor had personally overseen the restoration of order in Volantis, directing his troops to repulse several desperate attempts by outlying settlements to "liberate" the city. He left behind half his fleet to secure the conquest before setting sail once more.

The other Free Cities—Tyrosh, Myr, and Pentos—had already responded to the news. They had withdrawn their fleets, severed trade routes, closed their ports, and braced themselves for invasion.

But Aegor wasted not a single day on any of them.

Instead, he sailed straight for King’s Landing.

Pausing briefly off the coast of Dragonstone, he received word of a significant development:

The Vale had formally sworn fealty to Daenerys, opening Gulltown as a supply base for the coming war against Braavos.

This changed everything.

Rather than docking in King’s Landing for resupply, he altered his plans a second time.

Riding his dragon alone into the capital, he delivered a brief report to the Queen before departing immediately to consolidate the naval forces on both sides of Blackwater Bay.

And with the newly assembled Imperial Fleet under his command, he set course for the Vale—Gulltown would serve as his staging ground.

Braavos was next.
----


The Narrow Sea was calm in summer, storms rare, skies clear. The fleet’s journey was swift, the waters tranquil, the winds ever in their favor.

But the Braavosi fleet did not simply wait for them to arrive.

The proud, highly disciplined navy of Braavos launched multiple skirmishing attacks during the final stretch of the voyage.

It was a hopeless effort.

With superior firepower, greater range, and overwhelming numbers, the Targaryen fleet crushed each attack with ease. One by one, Braavos’s squadrons were scattered, driven back into the depths of their own harbor.

With no path to victory, the Braavosi commanders made the only rational choice.

They retreated.

Like the other Free Cities before them, Braavos’s ruling council recognized that an open battle was unwinnable. They ordered their warships to withdraw into the safety of the city’s natural defenses—its reefs, lagoons, and fortified channels.

For the Targaryen fleet, morale soared.

For Aegor, however, this was no cause for celebration.

The true battle had not yet begun.

Braavos lacked a Red Temple or a militant Hand of the Fiery God. There were no great slave populations to incite into rebellion.

A direct assault was the only option.

Unlike the strategic blunder of Qing-era Admiral Li, who had infamously refused to engage an invading fleet, the Braavosi had reason to remain in port. Braavos had never fallen to a land invasion, and its geography—an archipelago of fortified islets—made naval conquest exponentially more difficult.

Even if Aegor broke through the outer defenses, victory would not be immediate.

The city would not fall in a day. It would have to be taken island by island, through bitter, bloody attrition.

This would be a hard war.

But Aegor had the Seven Kingdoms behind him.

He could afford to bleed for this.
----


As the fleet advanced, the Bronze Titan loomed ever larger.

Then, a disturbance.

A single-masted sloop appeared to the north, bearing white sails, tacking unsteadily against the wind as it approached.

Aegor did not hesitate.

At his command, the fleet parted, a scout ship dispatched to intercept.

He had almost lost his life in Oldtown to a feigned surrender. He would not repeat that mistake.

Even if this vessel carried an emissary of peace, they would first be screened before being permitted anywhere near him.

Moments later, the scout vessel relayed its findings.

This was not a Braavosi diplomat.

The man aboard was a priest of the House of Black and White.

He called himself Jaqen H’ghar.

And he claimed to be an old friend of the Hand of the Queen.