Chapter 9 Slaves and Maesters
The Summer Sea.
This vast sea is a crucial waterway connecting the three continents of Westeros, Essos, and Sothoryos, and it is also a pirate's paradise.
Since Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr formed the Triarchy, or the "Kingdom of the Three Daughters," the sporadic piracy from the Narrow Sea to the Summer Sea has indeed decreased significantly.
But in its place came "legal" pirates.
Is it ironic?
Not at all, after all, maritime trade is indeed fast money, but nothing is faster than a no-capital business.
The ships from Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh are particularly adept at switching flexibly between merchant ships and pirate ships; some of them even allied with the Ironborn who sail longships in the Sunset Sea. As a result, the entire ocean is in a strange superposition of stability and chaos.
On the vast sea, a huge oar-powered warship was slowly sinking, while another oar-powered warship, with a naked woman's coin painted on its sail, was trying to escape the area.
But it seemed it could not escape.
A sail-and-oar warship, a full circle larger than the fleeing oar-powered warship, was tightly pursuing it, continuously hurling large stones.
Another massive warship with high bows and sterns sped from the other side. The wind was just right, and its huge sails billowed, allowing the entire oarless warship to ride the wind and waves, reaching the oar-powered warship in the blink of an eye.
Both large ships had a pattern of a fire-breathing Silver Dragon combined with laurel leaves painted on their purple sails. In the distance, three or four more sail-and-oar warships with the same sails could be seen approaching the area.
"Goddess curse it." The pirate captain dodged the javelins and stones thrown by the large sailboat, then pulled over his first mate, who was frantically running across the deck. "Didn't you f*cking say this area was safe? Where did the Silver Dragon fleet come from?"
"I do not know!" The first mate roughly pushed the captain away. "Quick, raise the white—" Before he could finish, a javelin pierced his chest precisely.
What followed was an overwhelming rain of arrows, javelins, and stones.
"Raise the white flag, quick, raise the white flag." The captain watched helplessly as the large ship crashed into the bow of his own vessel.
"No—"
Thud.
The large sailboat crashed straight into the pirate ship's bow. The bow of the large ship pressed down, wood splintered, and the entire pirate ship was knocked to one side.
The captain lost his footing and was directly thrown into the sea.
The rest was much simpler.
Another sail-and-oar warship quickly approached, threw grappling hooks, and successfully captured the pirate ship.
According to normal procedure, the Varezes Family's warships would plunder all the treasures from the pirate ship, rescue the slaves captured by the Lyseni, and then scuttle the ship. This was something the Varezes Family had been doing for a long time.
However, this time it was not as quick as usual.
Because a young man was found inside the ship.
"That is pretty much how it happened."
Evans Dane sincerely introduced his background. He came from distant Westeros, the youngest son of House Dayne of Starfall in Dorne. As he had no right of inheritance, his family sent him to study at the Citadel in Oldtown. However, during an outing, he was captured by pirates. He and several companions were taken prisoner by them.
This was the shipyard and dock near the Deepwater Port of Volantis. Volantis possessed a natural deepwater port that stretched as far as the eye could see, and having this excellent harbor was why Volantis had always maintained an important trade position.
Both this shipyard and dock were properties of the Varezes Family.
Upon learning that his fleet had rescued a maester from Westeros, Lord Dragonzel Varezes, who had just finished wrangling with the Senate, rushed to the shipyard without delay.
Maester Visari, who was on duty, also arrived.
After all, he was the only one who could confirm whether this man was truly a maester.
"An acolyte." Maester Visari made his judgment as soon as he saw Evans.
Evans's face immediately turned red. He scratched his head awkwardly; he indeed had not yet sworn his vows to become a maester, and the chain he wore only had three links: black iron representing the study of ravens, yellow gold representing economics, and red copper representing history.
It simply could not compare to Maester Visari's many-linked chain.
Maesters are a unique order in Westeros. They are trained at the Citadel in Oldtown. A full maester undergoes a long period as an acolyte and assistant until he is judged learned in many disciplines before swearing his vows.
Maesters in Westeros are not only scholars but also healers, engineers, economists, historians, and even advisers. The Citadel where they study holds the greatest collection of books in Westeros, virtually monopolizing knowledge. After swearing their vows, maesters set aside their surnames and forfeit all rights of inheritance. The Citadel assigns them to the castles of various lords to serve as counselors and healers.
One lord once remarked about maesters: "Sometimes I truly feel my maester is the master of the castle."
They serve the castles they are assigned to for life, until death.
The highest position among them is the Grand Maester in King's Landing. A maester who attains the chain of Grand Maester serves the Iron Throne directly and holds a seat on the Small Council, part of the political structure of the Seven Kingdoms.
"Who is your mentor, acolyte?"
"It is Maester Grey," Evans said cautiously.
"Oh." Maester Visari nodded, then turned to Lord Dragonzel Varezes and said, "He can be trusted. This young man is my student's student."
Lord Dragonzel Varezes looked Evans Dane over from head to toe. This seventeen-year-old acolyte wore a dirty grey robe, had pale skin, short light-gold hair, and violet eyes.
"It matches what is written in the books," Lord Dragonzel Varezes thought to himself. All his impressions of Westeros came from the volumes Maester Visari brought and his mother's recollections when her mind had still been clear.
But Maester Visari had been away from Westeros for decades.
When he left, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen was still on the Iron Throne. Now, King Viserys I Targaryen had long since passed, and a new king sat the Iron Throne with many princes and princesses to his name.
In these short few days, Lord Dragonzel Varezes had been working without rest on many matters, and he was indeed somewhat weary. However, some questions still needed to be asked.
For example, the recent situation and customs of Westeros.
The prophecy in the flames told Lord Dragonzel Varezes that if he could achieve results in the Valyrian Ruins, he would soon journey west to Westeros.
He needed to gather intelligence in advance.
After all, listening to accounts was less taxing than exhausting one's mind in speculation.
Lord Dragonzel Varezes sat in his seat and gestured for Evans Dane to sit as well.
"You—" The young acolyte was somewhat flustered, but he still sat down after a subtle nod from Lynn Valtaken, who stood nearby.
"Evans," Lord Dragonzel Varezes said calmly, "I would hear of the recent situation and customs of the Sunset Lands." He poured a cup of fruit wine and handed it to him.
"I will tell you all that I know." Evans Dane hesitated as he looked at the cup in his hand, but finally drank the fruit wine.
It had a distinct sweet and sour taste, with a rich aroma of ripened fruit.
"Let us begin with politics." Lord Dragonzel Varezes poured himself a cup as well, though he did not drink. "For instance, the current King and the great lords of Westeros."
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