( Edric POV )
Edric never went beyond the Narrow Sea. Come to think of it, before squiring with Lord Beric, he had hardly gone beyond Starfall. His father was quite protective of him, since he was the last thing that reminded him of his wife – Edric's mother.
However, the past few years, he had had the opportunity to travel, be it Westeros or Dorne, as Prince Quentyn's squire.
But today, he would go even further. After Lys, he would discover Volantis, the Queen of Cities.
Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he had in front of his eyes. As the fleet approached, he could see the wide delta of the Rhoyne, from which Nymeria's ten thousand ships had likely escaped from all those years ago to eventually find refuge in Dorne.
Edric's ancestor thus sailed these waters, and many Dornishmen did feel a lot of emotion as the ships sailed past the marshes and wetlands of this region.
But more than emotion, Edric was awestruck at Volantis itself. The Queen of Cities certainly earned its name as it towered in the distance. It spread along the coast, its harbor wide enough to engulf any Dornish city, while its walls seemed to never end.
The city was so large that it stretched on both sides of the Rhoyne, connected only by a long bridge whose foundations epitomized sturdiness as they supported not only the bridge, but the multitude of buildings perched atop it.
Despite this, however, there was an eerie feeling.
Indeed, black smoke rose from the western part of the city, while there were gaping holes in the walls. Fires burned and there were clearly traces of some sort of battle on the shores beneath the walls.
The long bridge itself wasn't safe. It spanned as usual, with a few columns of smoke rising here and there…until it stopped, about two-thirds of the way from the western part. There was a whole section of the bridge missing, cut clean in half by some sort of unnatural force, as it had been cleaved by a giant axe.
The eastern part of the city was much more intact, at least, from the outside. The black walls of the inner city were clearly visible. It was there, Nymeria Sand had told him, that the Old Blood of Volantis ruled from. Edric could also distinguish a building larger than the others, clearly a religious one, much greater than the Great Sept of Baelor. Could this be the famed Temple of R'hllor?
Edric didn't have time to ask himself the question, their ship was docking on the outskirts of the city, where a vast fleet bearing golden standards was waiting for them. The ships were less impressive than the modern vessels the Dornish had chartered for this endeavor, but all the same, it was an impressive sight if one never had seen a ship in his life.
The Golden Company clearly hadn't done things half-badly.
But Edric continued to scour the sky. Looking for what everyone was impatient to see.
Finally, as he walked down the plank, a black dot could be seen, right on the burning sun. The dot grew larger and larger, until Edric gasped. It was heading for them!
But then, the figure took some height, and passed right above them all, earning gasps from the entire retinue behind him.
Looking up, Edric could not contain his amazement.
A dragon.
In the flesh.
They had come back. They were real!
The golden-winged dragon did a few circles over them. It was clearly not as massive as the old ones he'd read about in his histories, but no less impressive. It passed between the ships at low level, a plume of seawater rising slightly as its wings scraped the crest of the small waves, before disappearing into the horizon, towards the north.
It took a few moments for Edric to snap out of his daze. He had seen a dragon!
And while most were enthusiastic, he could see that Prince Quentyn was uncomfortable. In fact, he was almost as white as the scales of the dragon that had passed between them. Surely, dragons were formidable creatures, but if the dragon had wished them dead, it would have ended them in a sea of dragonfire already. Then why was Prince Quentyn so afraid?
Edric had long given up on asking stupid questions.
Instead, he helped set up the Dornish camp, on the outskirts of Volantis, in a relatively well wooded area, allowing for some shade while taking advantage of the sea breeze to cool the area, and the rivers of an affluent of the Rhoyne to ensure a steady supply of freshwater.
Then, he chose his garments carefully. Quentyn had asked him, as second-most important lord in Dorne, to come with him for a diplomatic mission, towards both King Aegon and Queen Daenerys. What an honor!
Edric did forget that, after all, he was Lord Dayne, and since Anders Yronwood did not travel with them, he was indeed the second most powerful person on this expedition, although he would have said third.
Nevertheless, he wasn't the only one on this expedition, oh no! All of the main Dornish houses had sent at least a kinsman, to show the power of Dorne and the extent at which they were committed to their cause.
For some, they were brothers, sons or daughters of the current lord or lady. For others, like Edric or Lord Dagos Manwoody and Lord Daeron Vaith, they were more than happy to go along to represent their own house.
Therefore, appearance mattered. Edric chose clothes that were purple and white, showing the prominent features of his house. A scarlet belt, for like of better, and…oh, well, he wasn't skilled enough to have Dawn…his usual sword would do.
A cape bearing the sigil of House Dayne, the necklace given on his nameday by Aunt Allyria, a cream vest and some water sprayed on his hair so that his blonde hair would stick towards the back, and not drop in front of his eyelids which meant having to constantly bringing his hands to his hair: in front of royal company, it would not do!
His almost regal attire was matched by the prince, who had taken out the set he'd worn at the Baratheon wedding, except this time, it was the Valyrian steel sword taken from the corpse of Tywin Lannister that was at his side. This was bound to make a good impression on both dragons.
Although, he saw Prince Quentyn was clearly much more uneasy than usual. His features were drawn, as if he hadn't slept, and he hadn't regained his colors.
Still, he did his best to put on a smile while welcoming Edric.
"Where are we going?" Edric asked.
"To see Aegon, first of all," Quentyn replied, fidgeting with his belt. "Since he is my cousin by blood, we won't need a large ceremony. Just the two of us, and the two of them."
"The two of them?"
"Yes, Aegon and Ser Jon Connington."
"Wasn't he dead?" Edric reacted, surprised.
"So was Aegon." Quentyn chuckled. "Essos works miracles, don't you think?"
Edric didn't know what to answer to that, and instead chose to move on to the subject he was most interested in.
"And Daenerys Targaryen?"
"I've sent her a missive, but she will only receive us tonight, when the sun is setting," Quentyn replied, "this way, we may talk with Aegon for an hour, and we may attend this meeting with him, as to show unity."
Edric nodded. After all, it was Quentyn's idea that Aegon and Daenerys be betrothed, but he wasn't sure the interested parties were aware of this.
"And…the other lords?" Edric asked.
"They'll join us there too."
It seemed Quentyn had it all planned out, as usual. Then why was he worried, did something escape him? In any case, he did not ask.
The two of them, and their escort, made their way to the camp of the Golden Company, which was in a frenzy of activity.
There, some knights led them to a massive command tent, flying the golden flag of the company, coupled with the usual golden skulls at the entrance of the said tent.
At the door, the guards on duty stopped them.
"Your weapons, please," the bulkiest one said.
Quentyn let out a sigh, but did as told. He and Edric got rid of their weapons, giving them to their escorting guards, before walking into the tent.
There were no guards inside, just two men, sitting down on two small chairs. A bit…poor, especially for someone who called himself King of the Seven Kingdoms.
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