287 AC, Summer Sea…
Gerold was on a ship going to Volantis but the ship was not alone in the sea. Hundreds of galleys were cleaving the seawater in Summer Sea. Galleys were from Lys and Tyrosh but the biggest of them was the personal ship of the Prophet, Gerold.
Gerold was wearing heavy armour with a golden sun painted on it. However, there was no sword on his belt or hand. Instead, he was holding nothing other than his prized staff. Unlike him though, the man beside him was like a peacock. His armour was painted with every possible colour in Tyrosh. If someone saw him they would have thought him as a jester in some court but from his height to build, it was obvious that he was not some fool but someone important with quirk tastes. This man was, of course, Gerold's recent follower Trios.
Currently, Gerold's eyes were closed as he felt the touch of the Summer Sea's harsh winds but he was not bothered by it. As he was feeling the wind, suddenly, a small and white creature jumped on his shoulder and caused Gerold to open his eyes. Gerold smiled at the little creature and patted his head.
This little creature was a baby gorilla and it was the product of the egg which Trios gave Gerold as a reward for solving his riddle. Gerold was expecting a human child when he heard the priests saying that the statue shall reward him with a new life if he can solve the riddle despite being rewarded an egg. However, just a few months ago the smallest egg Gerold ever saw was cracked and what came out of it was the smallest animal Gerold has ever seen.
Gerold named it Kobo and even though he was small at first, he grew quickly and already became as big as a duck.
After the egg cracking Gerold remembered the other prizes he got from Trios so the first thing he did was asking the use of the coin and the answer he got was not satisfying as much as the egg. Trios told him the coin was a ticket to his personal heaven so it was useless for Gerold.
Gerold raised his head and looked at the shore they were nearing. He was able to see a small town from there. The plan was easy; they were going to land at the Orange Shore, just west of Volantis, then from there they were going to march to the city to lay siege. Of course, they wouldn't have to lay siege if not for the incompetence of Aemon. The idiot was elected as one of the three Triarchs but he had a big mouth so he spilt the beans with a little encouragement from the demon's temple. So here was Gerold, getting ready to land and march with men of faith.
Sixty thousand men were accompanying him on this crusade and forty thousand of them were from the men Gerold asked Reaner to prepare for this war. The rest was from Tyrosh and small sellsword companies. However, the galleys were not carrying men only, they were also carrying wood bought from Westeros. Though there were not many trees near Volantis, they cut down all trees because of the invasion.
To Gerold's dismay, most of the sellsword companies were hired by Triarchs before Gerold could hire them. Even the masters of Slaver's Bay sent gold and slave soldiers, unsullied, from Yunkai to help Volantis as they were the nearest free city to their bay in case of the Prophet taking over the city, their hold in western Essos would have weakened.
It did not take long for all the soldiers to land and get ready for marching. From Orange Shore to Volantis, it was three hours of march so they arrived before the city as soon as the sun reached its peak in the sky.
The city walls were already brimming with men of Volantis and sellsword companies. In fact, there was a big company of men just outside of the gates with twenty elephants arranged in front of them.
Gerold recognized them as the Golden Company because of the elephants. They were the only sellsword company who used elephants in battles. They were wearing golden armours glittered in the sun.
On the other hand, like Gerold, his men were wearing white armours and helmets. Their armours were contrasted with the black cloth bound to their arms. However, there was no golden sun on their chest, instead, there was an open red hand with white spots on it. It was the symbol of God's light showing mercy to even the most sinful men.
Gerold was planning to make a camp in front of the city to prepare for the siege but there was already a big company of men outside the city so making camp was out of the question. He needed to deal with the Golden Company as his men were tired because of the journey.
He called the commander of his army and told them to prepare to engage against the Golden Company. The commander's name was Lazor and he was not noble or a rich merchant though he was considered as a genius in ways of war in free cities.
As Lazor moved hwachas just behind the cavalry, Gerold rode his white horse in front of his men and took a sword from one of the commanders and gave his staff to him. He galloped to the other end of his army while raising his sword over his head.
"Men of faith! Today is the day for vengeance! Today is the day for blood!! Rain upon them like the light of God" Gerold rode his horse while a small fire ignited in each man's heart, "Earn your place by his side! Ride in His name! Ride for His will!"
The men roared at the top of their lungs while brandishing and raising their swords high in the air. Suddenly, hundreds of arrows raised high in the sky from behind the cavalry and hid the sun behind their feathers.
Gerold stopped his horse in the middle of the army and looked at his man. Their eyes were blazing with fervent light. He turned his head to the city and one last time raised his sword and shouted, "For God!"
His men echoed his words as they raised their sword. The arrows rained upon the men of the company as Gerold charged forward with the men riding behind him while shouting.