Chapter 38 Chapter 37 Daenerys

Ves Dothrak's "horse gate" is two huge bronze steeds, standing on their hind legs, leaping forward on their front legs, their hooves meet at a height of more than a hundred feet from the road, forming a pointed arc. Dany really didn't understand. Why would a city need gates if it had no walls? ... What's more, there was no building as far as she could see.However, the horse gate still stands here, huge and beautiful, and the two big horses frame the scenery of the purple mountains in the distance.Khal Drogo led the khalasar under their hooves and continued down the Way of the Gods, the bloodriders following close behind, while the bronze steed cast long shadows across the rippling steppe.

Dany followed on the silver horse, escorted by Ser Jorah Mormont and her brother Viserys, mounted again.The Dothraki had nicknamed him Remal Khal, King of Sore Legs, sarcastically, since the accident that day on the steppe and she had made him walk back to the khalasar.Khal Drogo offered him a carriage the next day, and Viserys agreed.He is stubborn and ignorant, but he doesn't know that this is just a mockery of him.Because only eunuchs, the disabled, pregnant women, the old, the weak and children ride in carriages.For this reason, he got a new translated name Rajat Kao, which means "chariot king".The elder brother actually thought that Kayo had made a mistake because of Dani, and wanted to use this to make amends to him.She begged Ser Jorah not to tell him the truth, lest he be dishonored.The knight replied that being king was all about being able to endure a few insults...but he listened to her anyway.It took Dany much pleading now, and all the bedtime lessons Doria had taught her, to get Drogo back, and allow Viserys to join them again at the front of the line.

"Where is the city?" she couldn't help asking as they passed under the bronze arches.Looking around, there are no buildings, no human habitation, only grasslands and roads, and both sides are full of ancient plunder that the Dothraki have plundered from various places for thousands of years. "Ahead," Ser Jorah answered, "at the foot of the hill." After passing the horse gate, the gods and heroes from all walks of life stood awe-inspiringly on the left and right sides of the road.Dany rode her silver pony past long-forgotten gods once worshiped by fallen cities, some waving lightning skywards.Many stone statues of kings sat on the throne, looking down at her coldly, but their faces have been eroded by wind and rain, and even their names have been lost in the mists of time.Slender girls danced on marble pedestals, covered only by flowers, holding broken jars and pouring out nothing but air.There are also various monsters standing on the green grass on both sides of the road: the black iron dragon with jeweled eyes, the roaring griffin, the manticore with its tail ready to stab, and other unknown monsters .Some statues were so cute that she couldn't breathe, but some were so deformed and horrible that she didn't dare to look at them again.According to Ser Jorah, most of these statues came from the shadowlands beyond Asshai.

"There are so many," she said as the little silver horse walked slowly forward, "and they come from many places." Viserys wasn't particularly interested. "It's all the rubbish left over from ruined cities," he sneered.He had said it in the Common Tongue especially, because few Dothraki could understand it, but Dany couldn't help but look back at her people in Kass to make sure no one heard them.He continued talking nonchalantly. "These savages only know how to steal the ready-made buildings of civilized people... and kill people." He laughed, "But they really know how to kill people, otherwise why should I ask them?"

"They are my people now," said Dany. "Brother, don't you call them barbarians." "Heirs of the Dragon can say whatever they like," Viserys said... still in the Common Tongue.He glanced back at Aggo and Rakharo who were riding behind, and gave them a mocking smile. "You see, these savages have no brains and can't understand the words of civilized people." On the side of the road stood a huge stone pillar covered with moss, fully fifty feet high.Viserys looked at the pillars boredly. "How long are we going to stay in these ruins before Drogo gives me an army? I'm getting tired of waiting."

"His Royal Highness must first meet with Doshi Kalin..." "Seeing some old women, I know." Brother interjected, "According to what you said, there will be a farce and a prophecy about the little things in her belly. What does this have to do with me? It stinks of these savages." He sniffed the baggy sleeves of his coat, into which he was accustomed to sew a sachet, but of little use, for the coat itself was dirty and smelly.The silk wool Viserys had worn from Pentos was muddy and rotten with sweat from his long journey. Ser Jorah Mormont said: "Your Majesty, the market in the west of the city should be to your liking. Merchants from the Free Cities trade there, and even merchants from the Seven Kingdoms come here. As for the khal, trust him." We will pick the right time to fulfill our commitment.”

"He'd better hurry," said Viserys coldly. "He promised me a crown, and I've made up my mind to get it, and no one should make fun of a real dragon." Then he caught a glimpse An obscene statue of a woman with six breasts and a mink's head rode over to have a closer look. Dany was relieved, but still uneasy. "I hope with all my heart my sun and stars will not keep him waiting," she told Ser Jorah when her brother was out of earshot. The knight looked after Viserys suspiciously. "Your brother should stay in Pentos and bide his time. The khalasari are not for him, as Illyrio told him."

"Once he gets those 10,000 elite soldiers, he will leave. My husband promises to give him a golden crown." Ser Jorah muttered, "Khaleess, I know, but . The horse king is not a businessman, Viserys thinks he sold you and wants to collect money now, but Khal Drogo sees you as his gift, he will return the gift to Viserys... just when It's up to him to give it. You can't ask him for a gift, not from Kaa. Asking Kaa for anything is out of the question." "But it's not right to ask him to wait." Dany didn't know why she was defending her brother, but she spoke anyway. "Viserys says that with ten thousand Dothraki Howler warriors, he could sweep across the Seven Kingdoms."

Ser Jorah snorted. "Give Viserys ten thousand brooms, and he won't be able to clean a stable." Dany couldn't feign surprise at his contemptuous tone. "And... what if it's not Viserys?" she asked. "What if someone else? Someone stronger? Can the Dothraki really conquer the Seven Kingdoms?" They continued down the Way of the Gods, Ser Jorah lost in thought. "When I was first exiled, I also regarded the Dothraki as barbarians who were naked and as wild as their horses. Your Royal Highness, if you asked me this question at that time, I would not hesitate I hesitate to tell you that only a thousand well-trained knights are enough to make a hundred times as many Dothraki flee."

"What now?" "Now," said the knight, "I'm not sure. Their equestrian skills are better than any knight's. They are fearless, and their bow and arrow range far exceeds ours. Most archers in the Seven Kingdoms are on foot, hiding in shields Behind walls or fortifications made of sharpened stakes. The Dothraki ride horses and shoot arrows, and they can move freely whether they charge or retreat. Your Royal Highness, they are very dangerous... and their numbers are also amazing. Your lord husband Kalasar has a full 40,000 mounted warriors." "Forty thousand people is really a lot?"

"That was the number your brother Rhaegar led to battle at the Trident," Ser Jorah said. "Not a tenth of them were knights. Infantry with guns and spears. When Rhaegar died, many people dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. Facing the desperate charge of 40,000 bloodthirsty roar warriors, how long do you think such a mob can last? In the killing field where arrows rained down , how useful is it in hard leather and chain mail?" "It won't last long," she said, "and it won't do any good." He nodded. "But Your Royal Highness, let me remind you that as long as the gods give the lords of the Seven Kingdoms a little bit of brains, they won't be reduced to that level. Horseback warriors on the grassland are not good at besieging cities at all. Can they capture the most powerful city in the Seven Kingdoms?" Weak castles, I doubt it. But if Robert Baratheon is foolish enough to fight them head-on . . . " "Is he like that?" Dany asked. "I mean, is he stupid?" Ser Jorah thought for a moment. "Robert ought to have been born a Dothraki," he said at last. "Your khal will tell you that only a coward hides behind a city wall and dares not face his foe, and the 'usurpation He's a man of great combat... His character would indeed impulsively fight the Dothraki army in the open. But there are many people around him, ha, these people are like accompaniment flute players, And they would never do that, like his brother Stannis Lord Tywin Lannister, Eddard Stark..." He spat. "You seem to hate this Duke Stark very much," Dany said. "He took everything I loved for a few poachers and his precious honor," Ser Jorah said bitterly.From his tone, Dany could hear the memory still tormenting him.But then he changed the subject. "Look," he pointed out to her, "this is Vestosrak, the city of horse kings." Khal Drogo and his bloodriders led the host through the bustling marketplace west of the city and down the broad avenue.Dany rode beside her on the silver horse, her eyes wide open at the strange scenery around her.Vistosrak was the largest city she had ever seen, and it was also the smallest.As far as she could judge, the city covered an area about ten times the size of Pentos, with neither walls nor borders. The wide, windswept streets were paved with grass and dirt, and wildflowers covered them like a carpet.In the free trade city-states of the west, towers, mansions, houses, bridges, shops and halls are all crowded together, but Vistosrak stretches lazily in all directions, bathed in the warm sun, looking old, arrogant and empty. Even the various buildings seemed strange to her.She saw tents of carved stone, straw mansions the size of castles, crumbling wooden towers, marble stepped pyramids, and timber temples with open roofs facing the sky.Some palaces even had thorn hedges instead of walls. "They all look different," she said. "Your brother is right," Ser Jorah admitted. "The Dothraki do not build. A thousand years ago, what they called building a house consisted of digging a big hole in the ground and covering it with grass. Weaving roofs. The buildings you see here were all built by slaves they captured from other places. Needless to say, those slaves naturally built them according to the local customs and customs.” Most of the halls looked deserted, even the largest ones. "Where are all the people who live here?" Dany asked.The market was full of children running around and adults shouting loudly, but here, she saw only a few eunuchs on errands. "Only the old wives of the dosh khalin and their slaves and servants lived in the Holy City," Ser Jorah replied, "but Vaes Dothraki is so vast that even if all the khals had brought Their khalasar returns to the Mount of the Mother, and there will be room here. The priestesses have prophesied that such a day will come, so Vaes Dothrak must be ready to welcome all children." At last Khal Drogo gave the order to stop as the procession approached the market east of the city.Caravans from Yidi, Asshai, the land of shadows, and the coast of the Jade Sea all trade here, and the majestic Mount of the Mother of God towers overhead.Dany smiled as she remembered Magister Illyrio's slave girl saying that Drogo's palace had two hundred rooms and doors of silver.The "palace" was a deep wooden dining-hall, with rough-hewn timbered walls rising forty feet, and a silken roof, raised to keep out the fleeting rains, and lowered to welcome the endless sky.Surrounding the hall, surrounded by high hedges, there is also a wide grassy horse farm, a fire pit, and hundreds of domed earthen houses, which protrude from the ground and are covered with weeds, looking like hills from a distance. A host of slaves were waiting to meet Khal Drogo.When everyone dismounted, they unfastened the arakhs at their belts and the other weapons they carried, and handed them to the slaves beside them, even Khal Drogo.Ser Jorah had explained in advance: In the city of Vaes Dothraki, it is forbidden to carry weapons, nor can it harm other free people.Under the watchful eyes of the Mount of Our Lady, even the Kalashar who are at war will temporarily put aside their prejudices and drink honey wine for fun.According to the decrees of the Dosh Kalin priestesses, all Dothraki in this place are of the same blood, belong to the same khalasar, and the same ethnic group. As Irri and Jiki helped Dany off her horse, Cohollo came to her.He was a squat, bald man with a hooked nose and a mouth full of broken teeth.Twenty years ago, when Drogo was attempted to be kidnapped and sold to his father's enemies, Koholo had rescued Karaka, then a young man, from sellswords, only to have his teeth smashed out with a mace.Of Drogo's three bloodriders, Koholo was the oldest.From the day her husband was born, his life had been tied to Drogo. Every khal has its own bloodrider.Dany had thought they were the Dothraki Kingsguard, sworn to defend their lord, but then she discovered there was more to it.Jhiqui told her that the bloodriders were not just bodyguards, they were khal's brothers, his shadow, his toughest friend.Drogo and they called each other "Blood of My Blood," and it was true, they shared the same life.According to the ancient tradition of the horse king, when the khal dies, the bloodrider must accompany him, to accompany him through the kingdom of night.If the khal were to die at the hands of their enemies, they would first avenge him and then gladly kill themselves and be buried.Jhiqui said that in some khalasars, the bloodriders not only drank the khal's wine, but lived in the khal's camp, and even enjoyed the khal's wives and concubines, but the khal's horses were never touched, because everyone's mount belonged to only one person. Daenerys is thankful that Khal Drogo doesn't follow these ancient customs, she doesn't want to be shared by many.Old Cohollo was kind to her, but the others frightened her.Ha Ge was huge, taciturn, and often stared at her fiercely, as if he had forgotten her identity.Ke Suo, on the other hand, has cold eyes, nimble hands, and a penchant for hurting others.Every time he touched Doria, he would bruise her white tender skin and sometimes make Iri cry secretly at night.Even his horse seemed afraid of him. But they share life and death with Drogo, so Daenerys has no choice but to accept them.Sometimes, she wished that her father had such a person to protect her back then.The Kingsguard in white and white armor in the song were always noble, valiant and true, but King Aerys died at the hands of one of them.Today people call that handsome boy "Kingslayer".As for Ser Barristan the Fearless, he served under the usurper.She couldn't help wondering if all people in the Seven Kingdoms were so hypocritical.When her son sits on the Iron Throne, she will give him his own bloodriders to protect him from the machinations of the Kingsguard. "Khalishi," said Koholo in Dothraki, "Drogo, blood of my blood, commands me to inform you that tonight he must ascend the Mount of the Mother and sacrifice to the gods for his safe return." Dany knew that only a man could set foot on the Mother's Mount, and that the khal's bloodriders would go with him and return the next morning. "Please tell me of my sun and stars, that I dream of him and anxiously await his return," she replied gratefully.In fact, as the fetus grows day by day, Dani gets tired more and more easily, and it would be nice to have a night's rest.The fact that she was pregnant seemed to inflame Drogo even more, and his presence had been exhausting her lately. Doria led her to the hollow mound prepared for her and the khal.It was dark and dark inside, like a tent made of mud. "Jiqi, please help me prepare for a bath." She wanted to wash away the dust of the journey and soak her sore bones.She was glad they were going to stay here for a while, so she wouldn't have to climb up the silver pony every morning. The hot water was extremely hot, which was just what she wanted. "I'm going to give my brother a gift tonight." When Ji Qi washed her hair, she made up her mind. "He will look like a king in the Holy City. Go to him, Doria, and invite him to supper with me." Viserys said to Lys, as opposed to her other Dothraki maids. Girls were better, perhaps because Magister Illyrio had let him sleep with her before in Pentos. "Yi Li, go to the market to buy some fruits and meat, everything is fine, just don't want horse meat." "Horse meat is the best meat," said Ily. "Horse meat makes you strong." "Viserys hates horsemeat." "Yes, Khaleesi." She came back with a lamb loin and a basket of fruit and vegetables.Jiki then roasted the meat with beets and peas, drizzled with honey.There were melons and pomegranates and plums, and some strange oriental fruits that Dany had never seen before.While the maids were preparing supper, Dany laid out the clothes she had cut to her brother's figure, including a tunic and leggings of white linen, sandals tied to the knees, a bronze medallion belt, and one painted with a charizard. leather vest.She hoped the Dothraki would respect him more if he looked less of a beggar, and perhaps he would forgive her for humiliating him that day in the grass.After all, he is still her king and her brother, and they both have the blood of the real dragon. She was about to put on her last present—a grass-green muslin cloak trimmed in pale gray to set off the silver of his hair—when Viserys came huffing, pulling Doria by the hand. hand, saw that one of her eyes had been beaten, and now it was red and swollen. "What audacity of you to have the bitch give orders to me!" he said, pushing the maid roughly onto the carpet. Dany hadn't expected the sudden outburst of anger. "I just wanted to... Doria, what did you say?" "I'm sorry, Khaleesi, please forgive me. I went to him as you told me, and told him that you ordered him to come and eat with me." "No one commands the dragon," growled Viserys. "I am your king! I should give you back her head!" The Lys girl cringed, and Dany patted her down. "Don't be afraid, he won't hurt you. Good brother, please forgive her. She just said something wrong. I told her to invite you to come and have dinner with me, if your majesty is willing." She took his hand Hand, pull him to the other side of the room. "Look, these are what I want to give you." Viserys frowned suspiciously. "What are these?" "New clothes. I made them just for you." Dany smiled shyly. He squinted at her, and said contemptuously, "It's just some Dothraki rags. Why, now it's your turn to choose clothes for me?" "Please don't... it'll be cooler and more comfortable in these clothes, and I think... I think if you dress like them, like the Dothraki..." Dany didn't know what to say so that she wouldn't wake up Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon. "I think you'll ask me to braid my hair next." "I won't..." Why is he always so cruel?She just wanted to help. "Actually, you haven't won a battle yet, and you don't have the right to braid your hair." It was the last thing she should have said.His lavender eyes blazed with anger, but he didn't dare to hit her, because her handmaid stood by and her kath warriors were outside.Viserys picked up the cloak and sniffed it. "It smells like horse dung. I think it's not bad for horses." "I asked Doria to sew it for you," she told him hurtfully. "Even Kaa would fit well." "I am the King of the Seven Kingdoms, not some grass-smelling, clanking-haired barbarian," Viserys snapped.He grabbed her hand. "You're becoming more and more ignorant, little bitch. Do you think it's okay to wake up the wrath of the sleeping dragon if you have a big belly now?" His fingers pinched into her arm, and the pain made her feel as if she had become a child again, and when she saw him angry, she flinched in fear.She reached out with her other hand and groped for the first thing she came across, which happened to be the belt she was supposed to give him, an ornately carved bronze medal chain.She swung it with all her strength. The belt hit his face.Viserys let go, and the sharp edge of a bronze medal cut his cheek, blood streaming down his face. "You're the one who doesn't know what's good," Dany told him. "Didn't you learn your lesson that day on the steppe? Please go away before I let the khas drag you away. You better pray for Drogo Kaa don't want to know about this, or he'll cut you open and gut you to eat yourself." Viserys got up. "Little bitch, you will definitely regret it when I return to China." After speaking, he walked out with his injured face in his hands, without taking any presents. His blood dripped on the beautiful silk cloak.Dany held the soft fabric, pressed it to her cheek, and sat cross-legged on her bunk. "Kalixi, your dinner is ready," Jiki announced. "I'm not hungry," said Dany sadly.Suddenly she just felt so tired. "Share your share. Please send some to Ser Jorah." After a while, she added, "Give me a dragon's egg, please." Yi Li brought the dragon egg with a dark green shell.She played with it repeatedly in the palm of her little hand, the scales shone with a bronze luster.Dany curled up on her side, pulling the silk cloak over her, and dropped the egg into the hollow between her swollen belly and her small, soft breasts.She loved playing with the eggs, they were so beautiful, and sometimes just being close to them made her feel strong and brave, as if she had drawn energy from the petrified dragon inside. While she was lying down and playing with the dragon eggs, she felt the baby's movement inside her... as if he was stretching out his arms to hug him, the same brother and dragon blood. "You are the true dragon," Dany whispered to him. "The true dragon. I know." Then she smiled and fell asleep, dreaming of home. ※※※※※※※ ①The respectful title for the heir of Kayo in Dothraki.