Wright didn't go inside immediately but instead stood by the street, waiting for the funeral procession to disperse.
In the distance, Odahviing's figure broke through the clouds, diving swiftly toward the castle. After flapping his wings forcefully, he soared back into the sky, and four small black dots fell from his body onto the castle.
Flying in the air, Odahviing glanced at Wright before turning and flying toward the distant sea. Wright, connected to him through magic, knew that Odahviing was hungry and heading to the Gorge to catch large fish.
The crowded flow of people on the street gradually returned to normal. Just as Wright was about to enter, he saw another small black dot flying from the castle.
The little gold dragon, Judvukah, currently an "unbonded wild dragon", flew over. The other three dragons had returned to rest with Wright's three children, and with Odahviing gone, the lonely little gold dragon often followed Wright, who carried Odahviing's scent.
Flap
The little gold dragon flew over the main city and landed on Wright's shoulder, using its claws to grip the collar of his clothes. It opened its mouth, breathing heavily as a faint sulfuric smell began to spread. It had flown from the castle to the South City, gliding from high to low, and for the first time since its birth, it had flown such a long distance alone.
Its wings were still a pale pink, and its body was covered in golden scales. Judvukah didn't have any special bloodline compared to other dragons. The color of the dragons was simply determined by the amount of metal in the mother's body when she laid the egg.
Seeing the crowd around him thinning, Wright scratched the little dragon's chin and walked into the large, gray building next to him.
"Eat well, drink well!"
"Take care of your health, sir!"
"Your wife's dress is beautiful; may you have a wonderful time tonight!"
Many guests greeted Wright as he entered. After chatting with a couple of merchant spouses, he finally squeezed through the crowd and approached the counter.
All guests had to register for service in the hall. In Tyrosh, such things weren't frowned upon, and with Nymeria leading the way and a group of artists praising it, spending a night with a dancer was seen as a noble tale. Many guests came in pairs, with couples enjoying the place together, while others came from distant places attracted by its reputation.
Inside the hall, many high-end red sofas were available for guests to rest and register. The walls were painted with golden hues, adorned with many artists' paintings. The floor was polished to an extraordinary shine, and the various decorative pieces were all luxury items. The plain, gray exterior of the building contrasted with the golden and splendid interior.
"Lord Wright, it's a pleasure to serve you!" Behind the counter in the hall, three young women dressed in light, gauzy dresses spoke simultaneously.
"I'm here to find your boss." Wright sat on a high stool by the counter. Two serving girls quickly walked over—one brought slippers and personally helped Wright put them on, while the other placed a glass of Dornish Summer Red Wine from a tray on the counter in front of him.
"The boss is on the third floor. However, only members can enter. We've already reported this to the business manager. This... this is the law you set, Lord." The woman behind the counter spoke a little nervously but managed to finish her sentence.
"I have it." Wright took out a white steel card from his pocket and handed it to the woman. The woman took the card, looked at it, and then at Wright. After confirming several times, she lowered her head to register it in the ledger.
Taking a sip from the golden goblet, Wright could tell it was top-quality! He glanced at the other guests in the hall; their goblets were silver. The little dragon on his shoulder stretched its neck toward the goblet and, when Wright wasn't paying attention, stuck out its tongue and began drinking.
Hiss~~
The little dragon hadn't had much before realizing the goblet was being moved away, and it started hissing. Wright grabbed its neck and moved the goblet out of reach, saying to the serving girl, "Give it a glass of water!"
The little dragon, fixated on the goblet, began to call out again when it saw the serving girl take it away. Wright flicked his middle finger against its forehead, and it immediately quieted down.
"Heh, don't spoil it!" Wright smiled, explaining to the guests in the hall, all of whom were watching him.
Less than a minute later, the woman returned the card to Wright and smiled. "Lady Nymeria is the highest-ranking guest here, so all of Lord Wright's expenses will be discounted by 30%."
"This wasteful woman! This place, aside from its nice décor, has no better service than elsewhere. Spending a lot here as a VIP is just for fools. I'll raise taxes here when I go back!"
Wright muttered to himself as he looked at the shiny words "Nymeria Martell" on the white steel card.
Weighing the card in his hand, he wondered which mage had simplified the magic light spell and etched the magic circle onto the card. Among all known metals, after the best Valyrian steel, the next best materials were gold, silver, and white steel. Gold and silver were too soft for such thin cards, while white steel, although a bit less magical in conductivity, was hard and durable. Wright thought the person who created this was quite talented.
Tucking the card away, as a high-ranking guest, the woman behind the counter personally led Wright to the designated area.
On the left side of the hall was the men's area, and on the right, the women's area.
"Madam, why are we heading to the right?" Wright asked, holding onto the little golden dragon's claw on his shoulder to keep it from running off.
"Lord Wright, your current consumption is using Lady Nymeria's VIP card, which only grants access to the women's area," the woman leading the way said with a cheerful smile.
The news had spread quickly when the Lord arrived with the little golden dragon, and the female attendants had already prepared themselves. Even the female guests, upon hearing the news, stopped their services, tidied up, and hoped to catch the Lord's eye. A dragon without a master was truly irresistible.
"I am here to find someone!" Wright, who had never been to the women's area in either of his lives, steadied his mind and said with a serious expression.
At that moment, several more attendants appeared at Wright's side, pointing toward the women's area. "Please enter, Your Excellency!"
"The boss is inside, Lord Wright, please follow me," the leading woman smiled as she took Wright's hand.
Wright adjusted his collar, keeping a firm grip on the little golden dragon on his shoulder, and walked into the women's area.
"Why does he get to enter the women's area? I'm a VIP too!" Some guests outside were dissatisfied upon seeing Wright go in.
"As long as our boss agrees, it's fine," an attendant explained.
"I know your boss. I'm going to find him," a disgruntled guest replied.
"It's not the one you're thinking of, but the real boss."
In Tyrosh, owning such a large plot of land and completing the building in such a short time, along with the lavish decorations and numerous female attendants from various cities across two continents, it was clear that the typical overweight figurehead boss could not accomplish all of this.
Many speculated that Wright was the true owner behind the scenes. And from today's demeanor, it seemed that Wright only knew the true boss and was quite respectful toward him.
The guest, growing more suspicious, waved his hand and went into the men's area.
Wright walked through two opaque curtains into a small hall, where the scent of various perfumes and cosmetics filled the air.
"Greetings, Lord Wright!"
This was the changing room, and many female guests immediately gathered around to greet him.
"Enjoy yourselves! I'm just passing through," Wright said, his smile almost frozen as he pushed the leading woman further inside.
Beyond was the bathhouse and a large hot water pool. Wright walked along the adjacent hallway, where mosaic tiles lined the floor.
At the end of the bath area was a luxurious staircase. Reaching the second floor, Wright passed a lounge area with sofas and various snacks before entering a corridor. The floor was covered in thick carpets, and the sound of women's voices echoed, with some rooms open. As Wright passed by, he glanced in, only to see more mosaics.
"What a cute little dragon! Can I touch it?"
"Wow, it's really Lord Wright!"
The guests here were even more enthusiastic than the attendants, and Wright repeatedly declined their invitations, walking briskly away.
Climbing another staircase, two female guards holding swords stood at the door to the third floor. Upon seeing Wright, they were shocked. After verifying his VIP card, they opened the door, and Wright was greeted by yet another mosaic-filled room.
Wright was truly here to find someone.
The woman leading him no longer followed, guiding him down several corridors and around a few bends to a large wooden door. Several burly men holding battle axes opened the door upon seeing Wright.
Inside was a luxurious and spacious room, with both living furniture and an area for receiving guests. A floor-to-ceiling window opened to a small garden on the rooftop.
Wright sensed that the person he was looking for was in the small garden, so he walked over quickly.
"Oberyn, has business been affected?"
"There's a vampire scare in the city! Once these merchants leave, who knows when they'll come back next!"
Oberyn was lounging in a wooden recliner, soaking up the sun, with a white damp towel covering his face, revealing his scarred, muscular body.
There was a table next to him with a variety of fruits and expensive bottles of wine. Wright noticed that it seemed like more than one person had eaten the fruit.
An icy chair rose from the floor, and as Wright sat, he grabbed a towel and tossed it at Oberyn's abdomen.
"Where is Doran?"
Oberyn didn't seem to care, nor did he remove the wet towel from his face. He continued in a muffled voice, "I had guessed your purpose. Ellaria has already gone to fetch him."
"Mm!" Wright didn't continue speaking. Despite the rare occasions when their thoughts aligned, their differences were vast on most matters. One was an elder prince, the other a newly risen high Lord, and neither could persuade the other. Each time they spoke at length, they would end up arguing. For years, they had communicated only through letters.
Not long after, Oberyn's lover, Ellaria, entered through the large door from the other side of the garden. She was pushing Doran's wheelchair, with Ellaria's bodyguard, Areo Hotah, following behind.
Areo was tall with broad shoulders and had a head of graying hair. He always carried a long-handled battleaxe, which was even taller than he was. That battleaxe was his wife.
Born in Norvos, Areo had been trained as a beard monk since childhood. After completing his training, he married his battleaxe and branded it onto his chest. This custom in Norvos prevented these guards from being distracted by family ties, ensuring they could not be coerced by the enemy, much like the Kingsguard in Westeros.
"Wright, you broke your promise! My son, Trystane, and my unborn grandson are dead!" Doran shouted angrily before his wheelchair even reached the table.
Wright replied seriously, "It was an accident. There were other forces involved! Magic is not all-powerful; it cannot see into people's hearts."
Doran turned to shout at his brother, who was lying there, "Oberyn! Get up!"
"You two continue talking, I'll listen," Oberyn didn't rise, instead, he took off the wet towel and placed it on the table, casually picking two grapes and popping them into his mouth.
Wright watched the display. Doran was furious, while Oberyn was indifferent. In his mind, Wright thought, one is a cunning strategist, the other a ruthless man. He could only trust half of what either of them said.
The seeds for the Dorne civil war had been sown since Wright and Nymeria's formal marriage. However, without water and nourishment, the seed would have died. But when Wright and the dragons appeared in Tyrosh, it allowed the seed to break through the soil.
The true instigators of the Dorne civil war were the three men in this small garden: Wright, Oberyn, and Doran. Nymeria and Anders had remained in the dark. Their positions were different, but they all pointed to one outcome: reshuffling through war.
Wright took the initiative, aiming to unite the Seven Kingdoms and have his descendants control Dorne. Oberyn had gradually shifted his stance, adjusting to the changing situation, moving from an opposing side to one of support. Doran had no choice but to take the path of desperation. Without war, the people of Dorne would surely perish, or even if they survived, they would become slaves helping Wright count his money.
Oberyn looked at Wright's increasingly mature face and thought to himself how this boy, only a few years old back then, had now grown into a powerful lord controlling vast lands and four trading city-states.
Back then, Oberyn had passionately assisted Doran, wholeheartedly helping the three Targaryen heirs to grow. But all of that changed when Wright emerged from House Baratheon. First, Viserys was killed, and the death of the male heirs caused the restoration forces to lose their most significant hope.
Years later, Aegon and Daenerys were somewhat promising, growing into figures capable of leading armies in the game of thrones, hatching three dragons. With enough time, the retaking of Westeros was just a matter of time.
But then it was Wright again, with the Tyrosh siege, and the dragons' return, marking the Baratheon family as Dragonlords. Especially when Wright spoke with Oberyn through Nymeria before the war, it further fueled his thoughts of switching sides. Wright's growth, both personally and in terms of power, had surpassed all expectations. Dorne couldn't afford to offend him.
After the Tyrosh war, Oberyn and Doran had already altered their strategy toward House Baratheon, but fate had other plans. When Quentyn Martell sought to marry Daenerys, Wright witnessed it firsthand. Then came the news of the Meereenese war, followed by the deaths of Aegon and Quentyn. The internal opposition in Dorne to House Baratheon could no longer sit idly by.
The aftermath of the war was devastating, and anyone could visit the area outside Meereen. From that point, all the rumors spread by the Golden Company about Wright's weak position were shattered. Wright truly had the power to wipe out a city by himself—and with strange magic to boot. Fighting the dragons of House Targaryen was one thing, but fighting against Wright's dragons and magic... who knew how they would perish.
To prevent these people from making foolish decisions that could lead to Dorne's destruction, Doran had no choice but to initiate the civil war, urged by Oberyn.
Oberyn and Doran had never betrayed Dorne or its people. They only chose to sacrifice a few in order to win a better future for Dorne. They had earned Dorne a dragon capable of protecting it for centuries.
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