The next morning in the city of Myr brought with it an unprecedented wave of shock. When the people had gone to bed the previous night, they had thought the morning sun with it would bring uncertainty about the assault Lord Aeos would launch on the city.
But no. Lord Aeos, by his sheer genius and brilliance, had secured an overwhelming victory in the darkness of the night itself.
Not a single soldier from his camp had made a move. They had most probably been asleep when these earth shattering events took place inside the city walls. A battle had been won by Lord Aeos without any clash between two armies.
Of the little more than two dozen Magisters who ruled Myr, half had been killed. They were killed at their own doors, killed while sleeping in their beds, killed during visits to brothels, and even killed while on their way to relieve themselves.
Almost all the Magisters who had been killed or attacked were those who had been the most vocal against Lord Aeos and had vehemently opposed the surrender to him. It had been a systematic elimination and assassination at the hands of Lord Aeos and his message could have not been more clear.
Half of the city's ruling authority had been vanquished. Dismembered. This had unleashed a massive shock through the city. The entire drama had started to unfold in the night when the guards of the Magisters had rampaged through the streets searching for those who had killed their masters, when battles had ensued between rival factions, and when chaos had broken out within the estates of the Magisters. By morning, things had calmed down, but the full impact of the night's events was still to be felt.
To deal with this impact, another gathering of the Magisters was called first thing in the morning.
All the remaining Magisters gathered in the very same hall where they had met the day before, except that their numbers had been reduced by half.
Florosol was again present in the meeting, as were a few dozen guards, the supposedly trusted guards of the Magisters. After what had happened the previous night, trust among the Magisters was at rock bottom.
The atmosphere in the room was more tense and anxious than it had been yesterday. There was a sense of fright and suspicion lingering in the air.
The Magisters were afraid, and that fear was plastered clearly across their faces. Every few moments, they would look around, wondering if a sword was coming for their necks next.
Lord Aeos had accomplished exactly what he had intended. He had established his authority, his power, and a sense of horror in the hearts of the living Magisters. It was only a matter of time before they buckled under the pressure.
"So," one of the traitorous Magisters, acting under the guidance of Florosol, began to take control of the assembly. The remaining three were ready to support him. "Are there any more voices that oppose surrender or wish to defy Lord Aeos?"
"What do you say, Magister Ritter?" he asked, looking toward a plump, heavy and a ugly man.
Ritter was a middle-aged man, and out of all the Magisters present, he was the one whose expression was the most frightened. A couple of his guards stood just behind him to protect him at any cost, and a gash, a deep, fresh cut, was visible on the right side of his neck which had been bandaged by a cloth.
Ritter remained silent. He only clenched his fists in frustration and gritted his teeth in anger.
"Let us all be honest with ourselves," the traitorous Magister continued. "Of all the Magisters who vehemently abused Lord Aeos in yesterday's meeting and opposed the surrender, only Lord Ritter survived."
"And not because he was spared," he continued. "But only because he had great fortune. The gash on his neck speaks volumes about how close he had been to death. If not for his loyal guards, Lord Ritter, too, would not be present in this meeting."
Ritter clenched his fists even tighter but still did not say anything. Of all the Magisters who had been targeted, Magister Ritter was the only one who had survived and only because he had possessed incredible luck.
Just moments before his room had been attacked, he had slipped away from his wife to go to his concubine. This had forced the spies to change their plans when they found only his wife sleeping in his own room.
The guards had been alerted, but the assassins still did not abort their goal. They reorganized and launched a frontal assault on Ritter. They had fought until the end. Everyone else had perished in the battle, and the assassins had almost been successful in their mission. The sword of one of them had reached Ritter's neck, but the Magister had survived. Somehow.
"There must have been a traitor present in this hall yesterday," one of the Magisters lashed out. "This is the only explanation for how Lord Aeos knew who was opposing and abusing him."
"Magister," another of the traitorous Magisters remarked. "There were more than two hundred traitors, or spies, present in the estates of the Magisters. A few in this room do not really come as a surprise to me."
"I believe that I do not need to repeat what happened with Lord Erecon," he continued. "He had married a beautiful wife, a lady who brought with her great wealth and claimed to be the daughter of a rich merchant from Yunkai. She claimed her parents had been killed by the rebellious mob and that she hated Lord Aeos and that was the reason she claimed to have left the city of Yunkai."
"Magister Erecon, in his greed to secure her wealth and to gain access to her contacts in Yunkai, married her," he said. "And what happened last night?"
"That lady slit Magister Erecon's throat in his sleep and has been missing since then," he said. "This is the reach Lord Aeos has. I would not be surprised if I found out that a few of you, too, have been working for him."
A traitor was accusing the rest of the Magisters of being traitors. Such irony it was, but no one refuted him. They only exchanged nervous glances with one another wondering if the Magister sitting next to him was a spy of Lord Aeos.
"We should be frank," another of the four remarked. "Lord Aeos killed half of us because we missed one of his deadlines."
"We do not know what he will do if we do not open the gates for another day. I think the further we delay, we will also be diluting our chances of getting a pardon and retaining our wealth."
This produced a stir among the Magisters. The discussion continued for some time. Yet, it was merely a formality.
With the four Magisters taking the reins in their hands, and the rest of the Magisters too frightened to speak against Lord Aeos, surrender was the only option remaining. They had been ready to battle because they had felt that their own personal lives were not at risk, but now Lord Aeos had shown that his reach was unimaginable.
"What do you say, Magister Ritter?" one of the four questioned.
Ritter took a deep breath before he finally nodded his head.
"I agree," he said. "The gates should be opened."
The matter was decided and the city of Myr fell to Lord Aeos. He now had gained control of six important and powerful cities of Essos. Astapor, Yunkai, Meereen, Lys, Myr and Tyrosh. And his empire also included the city of Qohor which was being ruled by Rhaenys.
He was now without any doubt the most powerful and the most influential man throughout the whole of Essos.
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This brings us to the end of this arc. To be honest, it became much longer than I had expected, but I believe I have done a good job writing these chapters.
Please, I would request you all to give your opinion and review specifically on this arc.
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When I initially began writing, I had planned a few small, separate subplots regarding Tyrosh, but I will no longer be including them. The arc has already grown quite lengthy, and it is time for us to push our story forward. There are many loose ends to tie up, and the time has come for the stories of Westeros and Essos to start converging. For those who have been waiting, we are getting very close to canon.
Furthermore, I do not think I will be writing about the conquest of any other city in such extensive detail again. Lord Aeos is already powerful enough, especially after conquering these three cities and the disputed lands along with them, that every city would tremble at his mere presence.
But do not worry. It would not go monotonous. We will have a few exciting subplots.
I again want to reinforce that I will not be introducing any gods or any such entity interfering in the affairs of this world. But this does not mean that it will have no 'unexpected plots.' I will be expanding a few of the unexplored canon plots, for which I have already dropped enough hints. I think the Faceless Men had been too obvious. Can you think of the other one?
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