The "Telescope" made it through the Stepstones with a few scares. The Myrish captain, who had been on edge the whole way, finally breathed a sigh of relief when the ship pulled into the harbor of Tyrosh to resupply with fresh water and provisions.
In Gendry's view appeared a large and bustling city. Tyrosh was a fortress city protected by high walls, located at the northeastern tip of the Stepstones and not far from the mainland. Its inner walls were made of fused black dragonstone.
Tyrosh was much larger than its Dornish neighbor, Sunspear. At the harbor stood the Weeping Tower, and within the city was the Fountain of the Wine God.
"Quite a lively place!" Gendry remarked, watching the busy Tyroshi docks where ships came and went. Many of the dockworkers were slaves, overseen by their masters.
The Free Cities were mostly seaports with thriving trade. Having never left King's Landing, Gendry found distant Tyrosh quite different.
At the Tyroshi docks, Gendry saw many different people from the known world. The dark-skinned ones were from the Summer Islands, and those with olive skin were likely from Dorne or Myr.
The Tyroshi were the easiest to spot—they were noisy, flamboyant, and greedy. They loved bright colors and dyed their hair and beards in vivid hues like blue, green, chestnut, pink, purple, scarlet, and crimson.
"That's the ancient Valyrian black wall. The Valyrians built their fortresses like that!" On the bow of the ship, where the sea was calm and most people were still resting, only Maester Qyburn pointed to the black wall of Tyrosh and said to Gendry.
Gendry's education had been quite late even by the standards of noble families. Qyburn had to teach him everything he knew to make up for the lost time.
Fortunately, Qyburn found that Gendry had an extraordinary memory and comprehension, which greatly increased his confidence and sense of achievement.
"Great relics!" Gendry exclaimed. The Valyrian city-states were beyond their time—Valyrian roads, Valyrian black walls, dragonglass candles, and the forty Valyrian Dragonlords. After Valyria's fall, the world became a battlefield for barbarians.
Even the Dothraki, who had barely escaped, became overbearing.
The Targaryens, who had survived by luck, were only mid-ranking dragonlords back then and had hardly mastered core technologies like blood magic and architectural science.
"The black wall of Volantis is even more magnificent than Tyrosh's, and Volantis has the largest population."
"I don't see many Volantenes in King's Landing."
"We'll go to Volantis if we have the chance. Although Volantis suffered greatly in the Century of Blood, its foundation is the richest. There, you'll see the most magnificent black wall in the world, a relic of Valyria!"
"That would be wonderful!" said Gendry.
"Valyria's achievements were inseparable from the art of blood and fire, profound magic! Many say magic has died, but I believe it still exists, only like tides, with highs and lows. When the dragons disappeared, magic seemed to weaken, too!" Qyburn was still fascinated by magic, which was why he had gone astray.
"Have you ever seen the stars and fire of magic?"
"I haven't achieved that yet, but I believe it's possible!" Qyburn said awkwardly. "But magic can't be forced, just like how the Targaryens always wanted to hatch dragons, leading to tragedy after tragedy!"
"But if one day you get the art of blood and fire, activate the blood of the storm, and call for the revival of the Rhoyne, then I'll share a bit of your glory too!"
"Easier said than done!" The two watched the ship set sail and then returned to the cabin.
"Your Grace, the Tyrosh you just saw is only one of the Free Cities, and it's so prosperous. If we get support in Essos, whether we advance or expand here, there's much to be done," Maester Qyburn said humbly.
"There's no need to call me that, Maester Qyburn. I'm your apprentice and a bastard with nowhere to go!"
"Great deeds come from hard work! Only if you aim high is there a possibility!" Maester Qyburn insisted. "Let me tell you about the current situation in Essos! Trade, especially the slave trade, is the core of Essos' economy." Qyburn took out a brief map of Essos.
"We've left Tyrosh and will soon arrive in Myr. Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys once formed the Triarchy, but now it's long broken apart.
The three cities check each other, and all dislike Volantis. As for Pentos, it's the weakest and a loser to Braavos. Volantis is greedy and arrogant, with hardly any friends. Braavos is currently in a unique position, wealthy, powerful, and independent.
Lorath, Qohor, and Norvos don't have much value to discuss. The key is these six major city-states and their entanglements and attacks on each other. And externally, the Dothraki are also formidable enemies who often cross the Rhoyne to invade!"
Gendry saw the distribution of forces divided by the Rhoyne River. Qohor controlled the area between the Cheen River and Aen Ior, and Volantis' power only reached the Sorrowful Land in the middle reaches of the Rhoyne River.
Between Aen Ior and the Sorrowful Land was a buffer zone between the two city-states, and thus also the area with the densest bandits on the Rhoyne River.
"Maester Qyburn's analysis is good, but he probably couldn't predict that someone would take on the slave system and make enemies with the whole world."
"The Essos continent is very different from Westeros in terms of systems, customs, and beliefs. No one has ever truly unified the Essos continent. The managers of Essos are mostly wealthy merchants, and they are not fixed. It's just that the names are different."
"Magnate, Consul, Governor, or Sea King," Gendry said.
"Yes! Anyway, these people need elections. That's their game!" Qyburn looked at Myr deep in the Bay of the Sighs. "Our opportunity is here!"
"The Disputed Lands!" Gendry saw the place Qyburn had marked.
"Yes! Ever since the alliance of the Free Cities was broken, they have been fighting each other for the sovereignty of this land, and also supported many mercenary companies! By the way, there are also the Stepstones not far away, which are also considered no man's land."
The ideal is full, but the reality is only one person.
Gendry looked at that piece of land. The Disputed Lands used to be very fertile, but they have been continuously ravaged by war, and the sovereignty still cannot be determined to this day. Chaos is the ladder. It is very simple to find a mercenary company to hide here.
"Can't get away from fighting. It would be great to get a dragon!" Gendry thought to himself.
...
"A mace!"
"A set of black scale armor, no helmet!" These were the spoils Gendry took from the golden-toothed pirate. Plate armor or scale armor was the most expensive of all armors and was considered a good prize.
"The Bastard of Blackwater sent me two gold dragons, Captain Dunster of Myr gave me fifty gold ship coins, and some miscellaneous silver and copper coins, enough to sustain life for a long time!" Gendry looked at the currency in his hand. The currency of Myr was flat and oval-shaped, with a ship printed on it.
"And those gifts, the telescope Dunster gave me, the tapestry, a little bit of spices, valuable wood carvings, and so on, sent by other guests..." Gendry felt that it was on the "Telescope" that he had earned his first pot of gold.
The ship had already seen the coastline and city outline of Myr. Before disembarking, Gendry took stock of his belongings once more.