Post by Ser Mehran S'Disraeli on Apr 14, 2008 13:32:36 GMT -5
Location: Shores of Dominion.
Time: Early Morning.
Time: Early Morning.
I stood on the beach, smirking at the ship slowly sailing in the distance. It's white and green sails became invisible after an hour or so, but still I remained. This plan had worked so well. I am, after all, the most resourceful and cunning of all of the Khans who ever led the Harem. And I was not surprised to see that Kriggud had fallen so willingly into my trap. But then, men are all the same.
Kriggud was once a great ranger for the Night's Watch on the Wall. He and his fellow ex-ranger swarmed my village and killed so many of our good men. My own father, the leader of our village, was among his victims. With gruesome evilness I have not since witnessed, he hacked my Father's head from his neck without a second thought. My life ended that day, with that silencing blow, and I promised to avenge my Father.
I followed those two reviling creatures back to their wall, and was caught. Of course, back then, I wasn't as careful as I am now. Being the rogue leader of a society of assassins will instill caution into a woman. They shanghaied me back to the wall, tied straddling a fat horse, and put me to work. I was pretending to be a man, and those fools fell for it. I have always been a master of disguise. The only reason I got caught was because bathing is a group necessity, and I was beaten by my fellow "recruits." They saw my loose breasts and I was immediately discharged. It makes me angry to this day--Hipolyta was a female and a fully-loved and revered member of the Watch. But oh well, I'm better off for it.
I was ejected and managed to finagle myself South of the Wall. This would be the second time I had slipped by the Night's Watch to visit the Southern Cities. Here is a complication to which a wildling-raised woman takes time to assimilate. But no matter, because on my way to King's Landing, I was halted by something I would come to love more than myself. I had wandered into a meeting of acolytes employed by the Harem of Irye.
This group...has come to mean much to me. At the time, I only understood them as a band of murderers. They lived by a code I found foreign and strange, they performed a profession that I strongly disliked, and they seemed to possess an evil akin to the Murderer Kriggud's. But an old man, Armenion, saw some good in me. He brought me to know the ways of the Harem, and because of his generous guidance, I quickly overthrew the leader. I'm told she resides on a beautiful beach in the southwest, but the official tale is that I murdered her. Such is the way of succession in the Harem of Irye.
I have taken my Court all over these lands. Our most recent voyage was to the Free Cities to find my true heritage. The only thing I found was more lies and pain--I lost several of my men and women to the Sorrowful Men and other such maladies. But I did find my new self, a new awareness. I dropped my wildling surname, Pharys, and adopted a new term: Khan. It's a Dothraki title for a feminine leader, which are rare, I am told, and I think it fits. There are those that still refer to me by old names and titles, and that's fine. All my names are the same, and they all mean one thing: me.
While in the free cities, my plans for revenge on Kriggud came to full fruition. I happened upon reckless carnage in the pits of Mareen. Here, gladiators of all types and varieties gathered to do one thing: kill each other for the money of slaveowners. The idea of slaves is revolting to me, who grew up with the Free Folk of the North, but I could see a definite means to an end. I went home and took my Court of Miracles with me. Kriggud would soon receive his comeuppance for his crime.
When I arrived home, we visited the Gates of Summer, always remaining undercover. We had a fine time, learned many secrets, and even witness an advancement in the nobility. It was an experience I'm glad to have, especially after the fourth War of the Iron Fist. I also saw my quarry there. Kriggud had seen fit to grace the bottom feeders of society with his presence. Something I must make understood--I had been gaining on this man for several months at this time. He didn't know who I was, only knew that being with me made him a free man. I have that effect on people. I had become very close to him, all the while closing off my true feelings.
On the last day of the Gates of Summer, that great gathering of realms, I slipped a drug into Kriggud's food and drink. It was something I had gathered in the far lands of the Free Cities, and was virtually unknown in these lands. I watched as he started to nod into what would be a twenty-four hour sleep of the dead. When he wandered off to go back to his emcampment, I knew the time had come. As soon as night fell completely, I struck.
With the help of some of my strongest and best men, I had Kriggud carried on a raised dais made of cherry wood and red curtains. I have always found that when you make the ordinary extraordinary, you can get away with a lot more. I led the dais down to the road, where he was put into the back of a wagon, and taken to the shore where I now stood. I had made deals with the slavemasters of Mareen, telling them that I had a slave of a force to be reckoned with. I told them about his strength, his fury, and his physical prowess. That's all I had to mention, and I had them hooked. The prices for such a man rose and rose, and eventually I took ten-thousand gold for the man who once took my Father's priceless life.
As the ship sailed, I felt a dismissal of burden. My mind had been plagued with thoughts of angry revenge, and now that task was over. I had a new task to focus on now: infiltrating the council of the Dominion of the Unconquered Sun. This wouldn't be an easy task, but I have done anything in my life that was simple. I turned away from the water and began the walk back to the Court of Miracles, pausing only to blow my now-enslaved lover a kiss.