Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

"The truth is, Blue-eyed Haggo, though a skilled warrior rivaling the greatest of the Khals, lacked their courage. Unlike the stone-dwelling people, who excel in using poison and deceit, he, tainted by the blood of Westeros, resorted to despicable methods to strike his enemies."

Old Afanti shook his head in disdain and said, "Sending men to infiltrate the opposing khalasar to kidnap the Khal's son? Such a thing has never happened in the thousand-year history of the Great Grass Sea.

Everyone knows that we Dothraki settle matters on horseback with arakhs in our hands."

Dany couldn't help but reflect. That Blue-eyed Haggo was indeed unfortunate. If his father had mastered the art of strategy instead of mere seduction, his cunning mind and shameless resolve could very well have established a golden lineage.

As the group chatted, they gradually caught up with the main forces.

Even though the scorching winds of the wasteland swept red sand into the air, erasing any traces of the khalasar's journey across the purgatory plains, it would still take a day or two for such tracks to vanish entirely.

Dany's group was only an hour's ride behind the main body of the khalasar. On the ground of crushed stone and red sand, the hoofprints of the herd remained visible. In the blood-red glow of the Weeping Star, the faint tracks resembled a shallow river running through the crimson desert—strikingly clear.

Afanti, a seasoned elder, had grown more confident after several conversations with Dany. Realizing she was a kind and gentle Khaleesi, his boldness swelled. He dared to voice a taboo thought:

"The comet in the sky is a boon for night travel, but its blood-red hue, as though stained by the gods' blood, is filled with ominous portents.

Especially here, in this purgatorial wasteland. The red sands, the blood-tinged sky under the comet's light—it's like a vision of hell itself. It feels as if something terrible is happening, unbeknownst to us."

"Yes, yes, I feel the same," chimed in an elder from Afanti's group of ten riders. Soon, even Dany's bloodriders began to look uneasy.

This old man dares to spread such nonsense in my presence? Dany was furious. She rebuked him sharply, "Let me ask you: Before Khal Drogo was laid to rest, did the comet appear in the sky?"

Afanti, startled by her stern tone, stammered, "No."

"Then tell me, is the Weeping Star not a symbol of Khal Drogo?"

"Yes."

"Was Khal Drogo's steed not as fiery as embers?" she pressed.

"Yes."

"Did Khal Drogo not have 500 brave warriors who died gloriously in battle?"

"Yes."

As Dany's sharp questioning rang out, the surrounding Dothraki went from fearful to confused, and then slowly, their faces began to show glimmers of realization.

Dany delivered her conclusion: "Our Khal ascended to the Night Lands on his fiery steed. That comet is Khal Drogo riding his red horse. The bloody trail across the sky is his bloodriders leading the 500 warriors who spilled their blood on the battlefield, following him as they did in life.

"Their heads were taken—how could the heavens not be stained red?" she demanded of Afanti.

"Khal Drogo knows we travel by night, knows we struggle to cross this crimson wasteland. He stays to protect us, leading his warriors. Only when we are safe will he truly enter the Night Lands."

Her words were flawless. The comet would eventually disappear, and Dany alone could decide when they were "safe."

As expected, the Dothraki were convinced. One by one, they nodded in awe, their gazes toward her filled with reverence and worship.

Even the old horseman Afanti was genuinely convinced. After all, Khal Drogo's fiery ascension to the stars was a "known truth." Dany's explanation left no loopholes—it was all too coincidental, as if fated.

"Khaleesi, you are as wise as the crones of Vaes Dothrak," he marveled.

The crones of Vaes Dothrak were the leaders of the dosh khaleen.

Dany didn't appreciate the comparison. She had no desire to be one of the dosh khaleen, even though she was technically already one.

"Afanti, Wason is unwell and can't drink water. Share your mare's milk with him," Dany ordered, spurring her horse forward without waiting for a reply.

"But—" Afanti gaped, his face a mixture of bewilderment and grievance. "I'm old too! I need mare's milk!"

When Dany rejoined the main khalasar, her explanation of the Weeping Star quickly spread. The Dothraki whispered among themselves, occasionally stealing glances at their Khaleesi. Though the tales grew more embellished, the core of her story remained unchanged.

"Sigh, even a mighty Khal would 'weep blood' at the death of his son, wouldn't he? Surely, the Khaleesi must have shed blood-tears in secret as well."

"Indeed, hundreds of warriors perished on the battlefield alongside the young lord. How tragic! Their blood must have stained the sky red."

"Well, at least we can be at ease now. I was terrified earlier—seeing that distinct blood-red streak across the blue sky, even during broad daylight. I thought it was a bad omen."

For the most part, the superstitious Dothraki felt their fears eased and their confidence bolstered.

In truth, it wasn't just Dany and her khalasar who were affected by the Weeping Star. As it grew brighter and more vivid, it painted the night sky red, casting a twilight-like glow. During the day, it shone alongside the sun, as though a slash had been cut across the face of the Sky God.

The entire world of Ice and Fire was gripped with unease. Yet, like Dany, they tried to interpret the comet as a favorable omen for their own cause.

In King's Landing, the court called it the "Red Messenger," declaring it a sign heralding the new king's reign.

Of course, this coincided with Robert Baratheon—the usurper who had stolen the Targaryen throne—being killed by his own wife, Cersei Lannister. His "true someone else's son," Joffrey, had ascended to the throne.

However, unrest brewed. The rebellion of the Starks, Tullys, Tyrells, and Baratheons caused skyrocketing prices, widespread starvation, and growing discontent in King's Landing. The scandal of Cersei's incest with Jaime Lannister, exposed by Stannis Baratheon, only added fuel to the fire. Coupled with Joffrey's cruelty—worse than the Mad King's—the people of King's Landing began calling the comet the "Red Sword."

The Red Sword of Blood and Fire, they believed, was a divine warning of punishment for Cersei and her son.

In the Whispering Wood, after their great victory, Greatjon Umber pointed to the red streak in the blue sky and laughed, saying to his liege lord, Robb Stark: "That's the Old Gods raising their fiery banner for Ned's vengeance."

Edmure Tully, the Tully heir, saw something else in the comet. Joyfully, he remarked it was the sigil of House Tully—a leaping trout on a blue field.

Well, what Edmure really saw was a long-tailed fish against the blue sky, glowing red like fire.

On the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, filled with ambition, declared to his vassals, "That is a sign for the Ironborn—a burning torch, just like those our ancestors once carried.

"The Drowned God has sent this fiery torch from the sea, signaling the coming tide. It is time for us to gather our fleets and bring swords and flames to the world, as we did in the past."

On Dragonstone, the ancestral stronghold of House Targaryen and the westernmost outpost of Old Valyria, the red priestess Melisandre interpreted the comet differently.

To Stannis Baratheon, the current lord of Dragonstone, she proclaimed, "This is dragonfire—the Weeping Star. An ancient prophecy is about to be fulfilled through you."

She then spoke the prophecy at the core of A Song of Ice and Fire:

"After the long summer, when the stars bleed, the cold darkness will envelop the world. In this terrifying time, a warrior will pull a burning sword from the fire. That sword is 'Lightbringer,' the Red Sword of Heroes. The one who wields it is Azor Ahai reborn, and they shall banish the darkness."

"Now, the long summer wanes, the Weeping Star has appeared, and Azor Ahai will be reborn amidst smoke and salt, awakening the stone dragons."

"Your Grace, you are the one foretold in the prophecy, the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, destined by the heavens to save the world."

"Why me?" Stannis Baratheon gritted his teeth, his frustration audible. "All I ever wanted was to be a good brother, a loyal subject. Why must I bear the weight of this responsibility?"

In Storm's End, Renly Baratheon gazed at the red comet, as did the Martells of Dorne and the Night's Watch on the Wall. All across Westeros, people observed the crimson streak in the sky—a celestial phenomenon unseen before—and interpreted it in their own ways.

Yet at that very moment, far away in Essos, none of them knew that as the stars wept blood, someone had already been reborn and had awakened dragons from stone.

Still...

Dany was certainly not the reincarnation of Azor Ahai. She was merely the final piece of a much larger puzzle.

On the third day of their southern trek across the Red Wastes, Dany's khalasar had covered approximately 130 kilometers, making it over 300 kilometers in total since they began.

Food consumption was manageable; with at least one horse per person, they had no shortage of horsemeat. The real challenge was water and surviving the extreme environment.

"Khaleesi, the brackish water pits we found today are fewer than half of what we discovered yesterday," Qhono reported with a grim expression. "Many of our water skins are now empty."

Dany wiped the sweat from her face and forced herself to stay composed. It was the third time she had ordered the khalasar to make camp, just as she had the day before, building a low, curved stone wall for some measure of protection.

As the eastern sky began to lighten with the dawn, Dany finished overseeing the camp's preparations.

After a moment of deep thought, she spoke gravely, "The water for both people and horses must not be compromised. Qhono, I will teach you a new way to find water."

She led Qhono and a dozen other Dothraki warriors to a nearby rise and pointed toward the plain below. "Do you see? In some places, the grass grows thick, but in most, there's nothing at all. Look farther—you'll notice that the areas with the densest demon grass almost form a line."

"Perhaps there's an underground river there, or it could be the remains of an ancient riverbed."

So far, the dry streambeds they had encountered showed no trace of water, but patches of reddish-brown demon grass scattered in patterns hinted at possibilities.

Dany's plan was simple. The khalasar was divided into two groups. The strongest warriors rode ahead, traveling tens or even hundreds of kilometers, following the path where demon grass was most abundant. Along the way, they dug pits—deep enough to reach groundwater.

If no water appeared, they collected damp soil, squeezing moisture from it. The second group of riders would then follow, extracting water from the moist earth by filtering it through cloth.

Though slower and less efficient than filtering water from brackish pits, this method could yield results. However, the pits couldn't be dug too large, as they needed rocks or tree trunks to cover the openings. Instead, they focused on digging more pits and digging them deeper.

Dany even demonstrated the process herself. She emptied a brackish water pit, scooped up the muddy remains, and placed the sludge into a cloth sack stretched over a makeshift frame. Slowly, drops of dirty water began to trickle out, and the pit itself, now emptied, began seeping fresh water back into view.

Seeing this, the Dothraki erupted in cheers, as if they had already conquered the hostile Red Wastes.

But Ser Jorah Mormont pulled Dany aside, his face clouded with concern. "Your Highness, this method sacrifices the strength and lives of your fittest warriors to sustain the weak and infirm."

(End of Chapter)

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