-Chapter 201-

-Chapter 201-

-POV MC-

As I entered the command tent, I directly asked: "Where is Jalabhar Xho?"

"With the other savages, doing so-called diplomacy," Aegor Velaryon said, snickering.

I frowned, displeased by Velaryon’s tone, who continued saying:

"The truth is, he’s probably the one who warned the other savages of our approach and who tried to..."

"I’m stopping you right there," I said, raising a hand.

My admiral's mouth closed like magic, literally, as I used my telekinesis to keep his mouth shut.

"Aegor, I gave you command of my third fleet, not the right to speak on how I handle my conquest or even the right to insult a recognized Prince of the Empire," I said softly, staring at him, silently daring him to respond negatively.

I released the magical grip I had on his head, and he nodded, saying:

"I apologize for overstepping the limits of my authority."

I nodded without saying a word, then turned to Viserys and asked:

"How are we going to resolve this matter as quickly as possible?"

"I don’t know yet, but what I can say is that most of the Summer Isles princes are gathered, the others will arrive in the coming days," Viserys said.

"We don’t have to wait for them, we must leave tonight," I said.

"What’s going on?" asked Viserys, sensing something was wrong.

"The situation has changed," I said, without going into details, as we were not alone.

"Legionnaire!" I shouted, and almost instantly, a legionnaire entered and kneeled.

"Your Imperial Majesty," said the legionnaire at the tent's entrance, kneeling, not daring to enter.

"Prepare horses and announce our arrival to the Princes of the Summer Isles. I only have a few hours to spare for them," I told the legionnaire.

He immediately stood up, saluted me militarily before turning around and running off, eager to accomplish his mission.

---

-POV Jalabhar Xho-

"Your Emperor has arrived," Barrana Koxhoria, High Priestess of the largest temple dedicated to our gods located in the city of Tall Trees Town, the greatest cultural center of the Summer Isles, told me.

‘She is the only person capable of influencing the princes of the islands as a whole. It’s thanks to her that Jhaba and Rabha…’

"And?" I asked, full of hope.

"I’m still determined to offer my allegiance to your Emperor as long as he accepts our conditions, but I truly doubt Tharanos will do the same," the High Priestess said.

I frowned at the mention of my old enemy’s name, for it had been more than a decade since I had lost my position as Prince of the Red Lotus Valley to this young ambitious and fearless warrior.

"He won’t fight the Emperor, he doesn’t have the guts to."

"I don’t want my people fighting him either, especially now that I’ve seen the monstrosity he commands, much more imposing than that of this prince…" she said, searching for the name.

"Viserys," I said, helping the High Priestess, who was no longer young.

"Yes, Viserys," she said, her eyes widening as she finally remembered the name of Prince Viserys.

"Don’t forget what I’ve told you about him. As long as you recognize me as the Prince of the Summer Isles and submit to his authority, he will leave. All he’s interested in is the Goldenheart wood, archers, and precious stones," I told the High Priestess, who stood up, irritated by my speech.

"I’ve heard it all before, the thousands of times you’ve repeated the same story," she said.

"But you’ve never explicitly stated that you supported me," I said, finally expressing my concerns.

‘The Emperor is already here. If I don’t have the majority support, he could hand over the position of Prince of the Summer Isles in compensation for Riverrun, as many at court think,’ I thought, worried about my future.

Seeing that she remained silent, I pressed on, saying:

"That’s the only thing I’m missing to ensure the majority of the Princes' voices."

"I want to see him in person first, before giving you my support or not. While I’m sure I will order my people to bend the knee, I will never let my people be ruled by someone who cannot represent our interests."

"Someone like me," I said, now understanding her reluctance.

‘To the Emperor, I’m just an excuse to invade the Summer Isles, while to my people, I’m nothing more than a puppet. I’ll have to win the support of the other princes soon, or I will become useless,’ I thought.

I watched the High Priestess walk away from me, then took a deep breath, now ready to take some risks for my future.

---

-POV Viserys Targaryen-

Sitting on my horse, I watched the natives eye us warily while murmuring in their language.

I didn’t understand their language, but I didn’t really need to, because in their eyes, I could read everything I needed to know.

‘Fear, anger, rejection, but also a bit of hope.’

"What’s wrong with you, Viserys? You’re usually more talkative," Aegon said, laughing.

‘He thinks he’s already won, but I’ve seen these people. They’re nothing like the Westerosi. Their mentality is different. They are free and will not trade this freedom, which is their pride, for security,’ I thought.

I hesitated for a few seconds because I knew Aegon’s nature: he didn’t like being contradicted.

‘But he hates being lied to even more,’ I thought, deciding to speak up.

"I don’t think we will gain the allegiance of the Princes of the Summer Isles as easily as we think," I said, watching Aegon’s face to see if he was displeased.

"You don’t think?" Aegon said, not really taking my concerns seriously.

"No," I said firmly.

"Trust me when I say they won’t want to fight against me with the terms I’m going to offer them," Aegon said.

I frowned, confused, and asked suspiciously:

"You plan to offer them something?"

"The future," Aegon said in a mysterious, almost jubilant tone.

‘More cryptic and stupid answers,’ I thought, irritated, as I watched my nephew give a slight kick to his horse to move ahead.

‘Let’s hope what’s making him more conciliatory isn’t too serious,’ I thought, hoping the Empire hadn’t plunged into war.

---

-POV Jalabhar Xho-

In the great hall where we had been invited to gather by the High Priestess, the Princes of Walano and Omboru, along with those from the islands closest to them, made their entrances one after the other.

I grew increasingly tense as great names came forward, and among them were the two most powerful princes of the Summer Isles.

‘Jhaba Kho and Rabha Bhoxo,’ I thought, spotting the two leaders of the princely houses Kho and Bhoxo in the crowd, both dressed in magnificent feathered cloaks from all kinds of birds.

I even noticed the fiery toucan feathers, a rare bird from beyond our seas.

Together, they ruled over more than a million people and controlled more than a dozen vassal principalities each.

‘Although we don’t fight like the Westerosi, wasting tens of thousands of lives for our ambitions, every child of the Summer Isles knows how to fight, hunt, and become an expert archer to be fully considered a man and warrior by others,’ I thought.

I tried to discern their thoughts by inspecting their facial expressions, but I quickly hit the harsh reality.

‘I’ve been away too long to read the expressions of my people,’ I thought, for from a young age we are taught to maintain impassive faces in the presence of strangers and to mistrust them like the plague.

Noticing that some were glancing at me and discreetly pointing fingers, I slightly puffed out my chest, applying my father’s teachings.

‘Be as hard as stone, my son, for our enemies will show you no mercy,’ he liked to repeat to me all day long.

‘He wasn’t wrong. Tharanos made sure to prove my father’s lessons, which I didn’t take seriously, too caught up in women, wine, and my bow,’ I thought, determined not to repeat the mistakes I had made in the past.

‘It’s time for me to prove I deserve this place, the place of Prince of the Summer Isles.’

Some time passed, and everyone calmed down as they saw the large open doors suddenly close.

All those who had been talking or whispering to their neighbors fell silent, and the distracted people focused on the huge doors of the temple hall.

Everyone had seen the massive dragon hovering over the city and felt the terror instilled by the sight of a dragon in each person's heart.

‘Now let’s see how they behave in the presence of the one who controls this beast,’ I thought, internally jubilant, though keeping my face outwardly emotionless, not revealing any of my thoughts.

The wait was endless, but after a few moments that personally felt like hours, the doors finally opened slowly, letting a sliver of light into the temple.

‘We hold grand gatherings in the temples to avoid any excesses, out of respect for our gods, but I’m not sure if the Emperor will show as much courtesy as we do,’ I thought, mentally siding with my people and slightly detaching myself from the Emperor’s control and mental pressure.

Once the great temple doors opened, I saw the Emperor enter in his Valyrian steel armor, a sight that stunned the various people gathered in the hall, for all knew what Valyrian steel was.

‘And valued it even more than regular steel, which is very rare here and a sign of great wealth,’ I thought.

Usually, only princes or members of princely families or wealthy merchant families could afford to wear such steel armor.

I frowned when I saw that following him, a hundred legionnaires took their places in the hall, forming a semicircle and closing off any exit.

I turned my gaze to the High Priestess, who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the Emperor’s actions, unlike me, as I could already sense some nervous reactions, notably from Prince Jhaba and Prince Rabha.

I had planned to stay in my corner until my time came, but the Emperor immediately turned in my direction and said loudly:

"Jalabhar, my friend, aren’t you coming to greet your sovereign?"

I wanted to curse, but I couldn’t.

Being watched by everyone, I couldn’t show any weakness.

I had to show strength to be the link between the Empire and my people, but I had to be careful not to offend the Emperor.

I calmly walked forward, and once in front of him, I did not kneel as is customary in the Empire, but I simply bowed my head.

"Your Imperial Majesty, it is a great joy and honor to welcome you to my homeland," I said, feeling a drop of sweat trickle down my temple as I raised my head to face the Emperor’s gaze, as well as that of Prince Viserys.

‘If he could kill me right now, he would have already done so,’ I thought, observing Prince Viserys’s murderous glare, ready to dismember me at the slightest opportunity for insulting the dragon.

To my great surprise, the Emperor did not express indignation or reprimand me for my lack of respect and simply said:

"I’ve heard from my uncle that you’ve done a good job."

I didn’t know if he was truly pleased with my performance or if he was slowly signing my death warrant to make an example, but I simply said:

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Don’t thank me," he said, walking past me, strolling freely, his hands clasped behind his back as he observed the glyphs and carvings on the walls.

"I’ve read a lot about the Summer Isles and have become fascinated by your people. A simple, respectful, brave, proud people, but most of all free… Free after fighting for that freedom," he said, looking at the High Priestess, slightly leaning on the long scepter that every High Priestess bequeathed to the next upon her death, representing the link between us and our gods.

He smiled as he looked at the High Priestess, then said:

"I don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point. I don’t need a dragon to burn your houses and kill you all."

The air suddenly grew colder, but the Emperor said with a snap of his fingers:

"I could kill you all in a second, just like that."

Almost at the same moment he snapped his fingers, all the torches and the large pyre where we customarily burned offerings for our gods took on a green hue.

‘A color I knew all too well.’

"Your Majesty," I said, trying to speak up to reason with him.

"SILENCE!" the Emperor shouted in a powerful voice that terrified me.

‘I forgot who I was addressing,’ I thought, watching all the flames in the hall converge towards the large pyre and take the shape of a dragon before bursting in all directions, forcing us all to reflexively shield ourselves with our arms.

Feeling that the pain I was expecting hadn’t materialized, I slowly lowered my guard.

What I saw deeply shocked me, for all the flames had disappeared without harming anyone, except for the one surrounding the High Priestess, who was looking the Emperor directly in the eye without flinching.

"I was expecting your arrival, son of fire," the High Priestess said, addressing Emperor Aegon in the common tongue.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, surprised either by the fact that she was speaking properly to him in the common tongue or because she didn’t seem to be afraid of his magical display, and said:

"You’re not afraid?"

"I can’t fear a future I’ve already seen," the old woman said with a small smile.

Curious, the Emperor asked, "What did you see?"

"Many things, yet so little. But what struck me the most is the suffering, the blood, the hope, and the prosperity you bring in your wake. Many people will die following you, that’s for sure, but even more people will prosper when the dawn rises upon this world," the High Priestess said.

The Emperor frowned slightly, suspicious, and said, "I only want three things."

"Name your price," the High Priestess said, almost without emotion.

"I want men ready to fight, precious stones, and ships," the Emperor stated.

"And what will we get in return?" the High Priestess asked.

"Everything the Empire offers its citizens, without any discrimination. Is that an acceptable offer?" he asked, though his tone left little room for negotiation.

"I suppose it is," the High Priestess said, seemingly resigned but satisfied for some reason.

She then turned to the other princes, who had calmed down but were still tense after the brutal display of magic.

"Kneel before your new sovereign, Emperor Aegon Targaryen," the High Priestess ordered in a weak but firm and authoritative voice.

The most devout immediately kneeled, but the greatest princes, like Rabha and Jhaba, hesitated.

Seeing this, I spoke up, hoping to make up for my mistake:

"Or would you prefer to challenge His Imperial Majesty in a duel of honor to the death, as our traditions dictate?"

The two looked at each other before simultaneously kneeling on one knee.

"Long live Aegon of the Imperial House Targaryen, may he reign until the end of time," said the High Priestess Barrana Koxhoria, originally from the island of women, formerly known as Abulu.

"LONG LIVE AEGON OF THE IMPERIAL HOUSE TARGARYEN, MAY HE REIGN UNTIL THE END OF TIME," they all repeated in unison.