Chapter 43: Chapter 43:"By baiting"
Ragnar approached Vahaemorys and inquired, "My Lord, are we planning to attack Pentos by morning?" Vahaemorys, rising from his seat, replied, "No, we won't. We can't afford to waste our forces on unnecessary actions." Ragnar was puzzled by Vahaemorys' statement. Vahaemorys clarified, "We will only use our strength to intimidate them, not to engage in battle."
Ragnar continued to press for information, asking, "Then, my Lord, how do you plan to bring Pentos to its knees?" Vahaemorys responded, "There's no need to take down the city by force. It would be a wasteful endeavor when we can achieve our goals without paying a steep price." Ragnar exchanged a glance with Vahaemorys, eager to understand his Lord's strategy.
Vahaemorys elaborated, "Given that the Prince of Pentos has been both ignorant and foolish enough to provoke us, he's made it easier for us. By baiting the influential figures within the city with the promise of power, we can manipulate them to do the rest of the work." He then turned to Ragnar and questioned, "How many spies have you dispatched to Pentos?" Ragnar replied, "More than 100."
With a confident smile, Vahaemorys instructed, "Excellent. In my name, instruct them to assassinate Prince's aid from Valyria and offer deals to the city's top figures." After receiving his orders, Ragnar bowed and exited Vahaemorys' room to contact the spies through the glass candle.
On the following morning, Vahaemorys rode his Drakaroth who is disguised as Igneel to Pentos, leading his forces stationed outside the city gates. As he arrived, he found that the magisters had already surrendered the city. Vahaemorys' men had taken their positions within the city, and the magisters had opened the gates in surrender. Some had attempted to protect the Prince of Pentos, who was an archon sent from Valyria.
This prince, though from a dragon lord family, held a lower status in Valyria, and had been sent to Pentos to exercise some semblance of power on behalf of their family. He was now trapped in this precarious situation, unable to escape due to the timely assassination of his dragon by spies from Athens, who had acted swiftly before the arrival of Vahaemorys' forces.
As Vahaemorys touched down on his mighty dragon, he was met with the presence of the Pentosi officials and their entourage. They attempted to approach Vahaemorys in an effort to gain his favor, hoping to secure beneficial agreements. However, their audacious approach was swiftly thwarted by Vahaemorys' imposing and loyal personal guard, Ragnar. Armed with a Valyrian steel longsword, Ragnar stood as a formidable deterrent, preventing any further encroachment.
Vahaemorys was not particularly fond of the presence of these shrewd and shadowy trading merchants. While he had dealt with them extensively in Athens, he was well aware that, aside from the Valyrian former slaves and his men from Sorthoyos, his forces were still in the process of establishing their footing in this unfamiliar continent.
The Valyrians and their newly acquired slaves were making strides in taking over trade operations, but they were not yet self-sufficient. As a result, Vahaemorys had to work with these shrewd merchants to ensure the success of his growing city of Athens.
Vahaemorys wasted no time implementing his plan. His first order was to command his men to dismantle every temple in Pentos, save for the temple dedicated to the Valyrian Gods. With the help of Drakaroth's installed magical arrays, they effectively halted the flow of faith-based power in the city. The red priests, who had attempted to defend their temples with their magic, found themselves powerless against Vahaemorys' forces. Those who dared to resist were quickly subdued and taken captive, ultimately becoming new slaves under Vahaemorys' control.
Within a week, more than 40,000 Pentosi people were in chains, their beliefs proving to be their undoing. The once-mighty temples scattered throughout Pentos were reduced to rubble. Jay had also claimed all the slaves owned by the magisters, without any room for negotiation. The magisters, who had initially believed that keeping the city gates closed was their only option, now regretted their choices, realizing that they had made a grave mistake in opposing the formidable House Narnareon. They could only hope for some semblance of a favorable agreement with Vahaemorys, even if it meant relinquishing true power.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone