[294 AC]
Returning Dawn and Eclipse to their sheaths at the left side of his waist after swinging them in a half circle to remove the blood from his blades, Phenex appeared on the Plaza of Punishment.
Most of the battles had finished by now, so he knew it was time to bring something else to Astapor besides death and blood, as the Unsullied and other slaves by his side watched him with eager and passionate eyes.
Fire erupted from his form once again, as he directed it at the bound slaves, incinerating the chains and nails used to crucify them while turning all the crosses to ash. The punished slaves though stayed unharmed and even regained their vitality, their wounds healing in but a moment's notice.
Turning to the Unsullied, Phenex said: "From now on you are the protectors and guards of Astapor, choose a leader amongst yourself and have him meet me tomorrow morning. Also, make sure that order returns to the city and wait for further instructions."
"Yes, Red One.", one of the Unsullied bowed and replied firmly, before leading the others back into the city, while Phenex approached the main gate and saw his Feathers accompanying some of his other subordinates while they moved the gold back to the ship.
Missandei, Jaehaerys, and Daenerys were amongst them and as he approached and Phenex noticed the obvious relief in Missandei's eyes while her eyes looked at him with warmth and longing.
Jon and Daenerys on the other hand seemed a bit shaken at having seen him enact such violence on the Good Masters of Astapor, even though they had known of his plans for the city beforehand.
Still, he could see in their minds that they had already come to terms with and realized the necessity of his actions, having witnessed the cruelty of the Good Masters themselves all around the city over the last few days.
…
It was a few days later when Stannis arrived with a fleet of over two thousand ships and roughly 100.000 soldiers and several hundreds of his priests and priestesses from various branches, which were led by Kinvara.
It was also under Kinvara's lead that the priests and priestesses took control of the city and started to rule the city with the same efficiency as they had done in the other Blessed Cities.
Phenex knew that the seven thousand members of Fiery Hand were likewise on their way to Slaver's Bay via the land, along with another fifty thousand soldiers, and that they would arrive within a few days and start their conquest of Meereen.
Sapphire, Obsidian, and Lyra had also followed the fleet and so Phenex, Jaehaerys, and Daenerys were now reunited with their dragons, though Phenex didn't plan to allow the two to fly into battle as they were much too young and inexperienced for such a thing.
He on the other hand planned to let Sapphire lay waste to the opponent's naval forces under his instructions, as her might would save a lot of time and many of the Blessed Cities' soldiers.
The Unsullied on the other hand were to stay in Astapor and act as guards and enforcers under his priest's orders, like he told them to. They may have been an elite force, but a hundred Fiery Hand members would still be enough to utterly wreck them, so there was no need for them to move into battle alongside the rest of his forces.
Especially so since they lacked familiarity and experience, something his soldiers had gained plenty of by fighting the Dothraki and the pirates over the last few years.
Phenex planned to take his troops to Yunkai and conquer the city by storm, before moving on to Meereen and reuniting with the rest of his forces, ending his conquest of Slaver's Bay.
…
Two weeks.
Two weeks was all it took to conquer Slaver's Bay. The Yunkai'i weren't able to put up any resistance against his priest's magic, while their fleet of ships was quickly taken care of by Sapphire's rampage and the forces under Stannis' lead.
Meereen didn't fare any better against the Fiery Hand, as they just single-handedly conquered the city, the fifty thousand soldiers they had brought with them didn't even have to help them.
Phenex left it to his priests and priestesses to govern the cities as they did in Astapor and the Blessed Cities, though he instructed them to be ruthless when it came to dealing with any riots. Unlike Daenerys in the original timeline, he didn't plan to let the Sons of the Harpy gain any foothold.
It was an easy thing for him and his priests to see the spark of deceit in the hearts of those who had surrendered, so he ordered them to be shipped off to Mantarys as prisoners and have them work in the mines.
His judgement didn't have to be fair, nor did Phenex care about others thinking of him as a tyrant, as his power enabled him to decide what was right and wrong, what was just and what was not.
Phenex also knew that it would take a considerable amount of time to reform Slaver's Bay completely and strengthen the economy there to make them self-sufficient with slavery being a thing of the past now.
Thankfully, the cities had a rich history and the saved-up wealth could be put to use in developing their infrastructure and productivity.
Another point of concern was that he had to leave behind twenty thousand soldiers in each city for the time being, as the Dothraki were a serious threat to Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor.
Since the Blessed Cities had rebuffed them and hunted them down every chance they had, the Dothraki had put the focus of their raids on the other Free Cities, including Slaver's Bay and their surroundings.
And yet the raids weren't the biggest issue, as the Dothraki seldom attacked large cities, such as Astapor or Meereen, instead, they traded with them. And the goods that the Dothraki had to offer more than anything else were slaves and Slaver's Bay had always been their biggest buyer.
Now that it was under Phenex' rule though that had changed, which meant that the Dothraki just lost one of the most important pillars of their economy. Without tradings from Slaver's Bay, there were bound to be serious consequences for them.
Phenex knew that they would probably run low on food and other necessities, which would lead to them attacking Slaver's Bay, or at least the small settlements that were part of it, but didn't have their protection.
It was also for this reason that he had ordered the Fiery Hand to hunt down any Dothraki khalasaar that neared the area, while new roads between the cities and towns in Slaver's Bay were being constructed, along with watchtowers and outposts for permanent guard stations.
In the end, Phenex knew that the Dothraki were a problem he would eventually have to deal with, but he decided not to do so for now, similar to before when he held off on his conquest of Slaver's Bay after securing the Stepstones and Basilisk Isles.
It would take some time for Slaver's Bay to be reformed and his rule there solidified, like it had happened with the Blessed Cities, the Stepstones, and the Basilisk Isles.
After that had happened it would be time to end the threat the Dothraki posed to his territory once and for all, though he had not yet settled on how he wanted to take care of them.
…
Standing at the bow of the ship, which was headed towards Volantis, a nightly breeze wafting around her gently, Missandei's gaze was focused on the blazing form of an azure-coloured crane with tailfeathers that burned in the colours of a rainbow.
The fiery creature flew around a massive dragon with scales that also shined in an azure colour whenever the moonlight pierced through the sparse clouds or the hauntingly beautiful bird's flames illuminated its draconic form.
Both creatures flew at a low altitude and not too fast, so Missandei could see them clearly even from a distance.
The young girl was so captivated by the beautiful dance the flaming bird performed in the night sky, that she didn't even notice a Red Priestess appearing beside her and likewise gaze at the phoenix, the priestess' lips carrying a gentle smile and an affectionate look in her eyes.